Paymart is officially surrounded by the undead and the town of Mawinhaken has been seized by the zombie apocalypse. Day of the Dead, “To Anyone Who Can Hear My Voice”, shows the Mawinhaken townspeople that even the Pennsylvania State Troopers are no match for the zombie virus that continues to spread like wildfire.
Off For a Drive | Luke Bowman (Daniel Doheny) just divulged to his conservative mother, Mayor Paula Bowman (Miranda Frigon), that he’s gay, and he has decided to leave Paymart. Just as he’s about to leave, Cam Dermott (Keenan Tracey) hops in the passenger seat. “I’m… not going to let you go alone,” Cam tells Luke. Together, they take off with no destination in mind.
Out of Scope | Bobby Hart (Matty Finochio) is on guard duty. From the top of Paymart, he can see a large number of zombies heading towards the town’s crisis center. He radios in the information to Mayor Bowman. She gives him and the rest of the crew on security watch the order to stand their ground and hold the zombies off for as long as possible. “This is it. Time to fight,” says Mayor Bowman.
Bobby takes out as many of the approaching undead as he can with his sniper rifle. Bobby is so enthralled in making his kill shots that he doesn’t notice a zombie climbing its way up to him. He ends up taking a nasty bite to the leg that severs an artery. Quick reflexes allow Bobby to kick the zombie from the ledge before it could do any more damage.
To Seal, Or Not to Seal? | Meanwhile, Mayor Bowman makes the announcement to the surviving townspeople of the impending doom that lurks in the very near future. She tells them that they plan on fighting off the zombies for as long as possible in case any more survivors can make their way to Paymart. As soon as the security crew can no longer keep the zombies back, however, the mayor will be sealing the front doors shut so that no one can leave and nothing can enter.
Friends Again | Luke and Cam are driving down a country road with no obvious destination. Cam commends Luke for coming out to his mom and Luke erupts in frustration. Cam had learned a year ago that Luke is gay and he had pushed him to come out. Luke explains to him that he “can’t be gay,” but he is and he doesn’t know what to do about it. Luke cares about how others think of him and he knows his mom cares about what others think. Luke breaks down and Cam is right there to console him.
Hit Me with the Duct Tape | Mayor Bowman, Pops Parker (Jay Brazeau), and Police Captain Pike (Marci T. House) are discussing their next move after they learn that they are running dangerously low on ammunition. Just then, Bobby hobbles his way into Paymart calling out for help. He’s lost a ton of blood and his chances of survival look very slim. Dr. Jai Fischer (Dejan Loyola) bolts into action to try to stop the bleeding but he’s unsuccessful. Bobby dies in minutes.
Per Bobby’s last wish, Amy (Kristy Dawn Dinsmore) and Jai tape his body down so that he won’t be able to harm anyone once he turns into one of the undead.
Where’s Luke?! | Mayor Bowman realizes her son, Luke, is not at the store. If she leaves Paymart, she may not be able to get back in once the front entrance has been sealed. For the mom, it’s a no-brainer. Mayor Bowman arms herself and heads out to search for Luke. Lauren and Jai accompany her.
Town Takeover | Sarah Blackwood (Morgan Holmstrom) arrives at the Mawinhaken Police Department in search of help, but there’s no one to be found. She doesn’t know that most surviving Mawinhakens have made their way to Paymart, the acting crisis center. Sarah takes a peek at the town’s live surveillance cameras and sees just how rampant the zombie infestation has become. To Sarah’s surprise, she sees a zombie-fied Detective McDermott (Mike Dopud) right in the middle of the chaos.
State Troopers Have Arrived | Two Pennsylvania State Police Officers show up at Paymart in “desperate need of medical help,” but Pops refuses to open the doors to let them in for fear of jeopardizing the safety of everyone in the store. Captain Pike is adamant that they allow the officers entry.
Tension comes to a head and Captain Pike pulls her gun on Pops, demanding that he open the door and allow the State Troopers to enter. Pops is able to talk her down and they are forced to listen to the two officers be eaten alive.
Town Takeover | Luke and Cam are making their way back to Paymart. As they are driving through downtown, they accidentally crash their vehicle and are forced to finish the journey to the store on foot on a zombie-crowded street. Among the zombies is McDermott and he spots his son, Cam. The sight of Cam sparks some kind of recognition in McDermott and he becomes fixated on his son.
RELATED | “Day of the Dead” Episode ‘Lady Birders of Nepa’ Recap: Zombies – Friend or Foe?
Luke and Cam try to make a getaway and run to the back of a building in search of a fire escape, but there’s no fire escape to be found. With nowhere to go, they find themselves cornered by a group of flesh-eaters, Cam’s dad included. Lucky for Luke and Cam, Mayor Bowman arrives with Lauren and Jai, guns blazing. The boys jump into Lauren’s hearse and they take off, but end up colliding with Sarah and her car. Now, everyone must escape on their own two feet.
The group seeks shelter in a nearby alehouse. Cam is processing the loss of his father to the zombie virus and Lauren tries to comfort him. Sarah takes a seat with the two and tells Cam about how his father saved her life. Sarah assures Cam that she owes it to Detective McDermott to get Cam through the pandemic.
Luke and his mother, Mayor Bowman, come face to face for the first time since Luke told her that he’s gay. It’s painfully clear that Mayor Bowman isn’t accepting of Luke’s sexuality. After their conversation, Luke goes to the kitchen to get some space from his mom. On the floor is a trail of blood that leads him to the walk-in refrigerator. A very hungry chef-gone-zombie lunges at Luke from within. Luke takes off like a bat out of hell, and he and the rest of the gang are able to run out the back door unscathed.
Cleargenix to the… rescue? | Out of nowhere, Cleargenix shows up in an armored SUV. The Cleargenix soldiers instruct everyone to get into the vehicle while they hold back the zombies with their powerful water guns. Sarah sneaks away, being suspicious of the men’s motives.
Cam makes a startling observation as he watches the zombies be hammered by the water: the water is turning the dead into zombies.
Day of the Dead airs Fridays at 10pm on SYFY.
Dani grew up on the West Coast in sunny California. With a passion for film and television, she’s always on the hunt for binge-worthy flicks with diversity and positive representation of Womxn, the LGBTQIAN+ community, and other marginalized groups. Favorite genres include supernatural dramas, sci-fi, fantasy, horror and magical realism. Dani’s current favorite shows are Motherland: Fort Salem, Killing Eve, Dickinson, and Euphoria.
