Earth Abides – Season 1 Episode 3 “World Without End” Recap & Review

World Without End

Episode 3 of Earth Abides skips forward to year 6. Ish heads out into the wilderness but he accidentally hits a mountain lion. Before he can shoot it to put it out its misery, Ish spies a little girl racing through the woods. Ish spots her and hurries after. This is Evie, and Ish explains that he has two kids now and tries to encourage her to trust him. She doesn’t, and begins screaming.

Ish backs up and offers refuge if she wants to take it. However, there’s a bit of a unnerving feel to this whole endeavour as the lion is no longer infront of the car when Ish returns. However, the girl does decide to tag along and head back to the refuge that Emma and Ish have created.

Their kids are called Alex and Heather, although they soon welcome a third into the world, Joey. For now, at the house, they’re also joined by Maurine and her husband, Jorge. These are the two who spotted the spray-paint in episode 2. They’ve been living with Ish and Emma ever since. Maurine also has scars, just like this girl, but it pains her to talk about. For now, Maurine offers the girl kindness and runs her a bath. 

With Evie in the bathroom, Maurine looks through her belongings. She reads her journal, which is full of drawings about her experiences, and this also confirms her name too – which we know to be Evie.

Jorge and Ish head out to the forest and look over the area, trying to find the girl’s people. It’s clear that something really bad happened to her, as they find a rundown cabin with drawings and evidence of abuse. Maurine finds a letter from Evie’s mother, confirming that the girl suffered a lot of abuse from her father. This is why Evie is mute, because she chooses to be.

We then cut forward to Year 7. A nearby wanderer causes Ish, Emma and Jorge to patrol the perimeter. They have bells set up to alert to intruders, and there’s a tense encounter when a trio of newcomers, and their son Raif, show up. Ish certainly doesn’t trust them, given they’ve made a long trek to this poont, and he’s worried that this could upset the equilibrium of what they’ve built here.

For now, things seem to be getting along okay, with the newcomers – Ezra, Molly and Jeanie – joining the current gang as they head out scavenging for gear at the local shops. Molly wanders off on her own to the hospital, where she grabs bags of supplies. Ish still doesn’t trust these three, but Emma has a way of turning him around, and they do at least bring a sense of community.

Unfortunately one of them, Jean, appears to have an issue with alcohol. After finding booze in one of the stores, she heads into the bathroom and drinks heavily, bashing the mirror in frustration at her own reflection. She’s late for her period and is spinning out, not wanting to be a parent. It’s a complete contrast to Emma and Ish’s current family set-up and works as a parallel to what they’re experiencing.

However, we then cut forward and see Jorge and Maurine welcome a child into their commune. And just like that, we cut forward to year 14. It’s Heather’s birthday and everybody enjoys cake. Ish and Joey find solace at the library together, but there’s something going on right now. This has been the 17th day in a row where its rained at night, and the storm appears to be getting really bad.

When Ish and Joey head home, Lucky happens to be gone. Turns out he’s outside, and been struck by a falling tree. It’s a really horrible moment, and Ish eventually buries him in the garden. However, things take a horrible turn when a cougar shows up and looks set to attack Joey. Ish jumps in the way and takes the brunt of the attack himself.

The Episode Review

Earth Abides is really starting to fall off, and this episode exemplifies why. A story is only as good as the conflict and this has very little of it. Last episode’s cliffhanger is just completely abandoned in favour of a time jump, and these are used so haphazardly through the show that you never get a chance to actually invest in these characters or understand what makes them tick.

For example, you have Ish’s kids who have very little characterisation, despite potentially being a focal point of the story after Ish was attacked from the lion. And I’m guessing this is supposed to be the same lion that he hit early on?

Furthermore, you have the drama involving the trio of newcomers which could have kept the tension going for a while. Instead, that’s also brushed over with very light characterisation for any of them.

Had the creators stretched the story here out over several seasons, allowing for a more intimate structure akin to something like The Leftovers, I can see Earth Abides being a really enticing watch. As it stands right now though, the show is quite poor, which is a shame because there’s definitely parts to like here.