Spoilers below for Y: The Last Man's fifth episode, "Mann Hunt," which releases Monday, Sept. 27 on FX on Hulu.
Yorick and 355 met up with Dr. Allison Mann in an otherwise uneventful fifth chapter of Y: The Last Man. The strength of "Mann Hunt" this week, believe it or not, was Yorick's ability to relate to Mann as another person having to deal with 355's rigid nature. The word "charm" was used, though that wasn't totally accurate. It was more of the show sharpening Yorick's usual bozo traits into an "everyperson" quality that allowed him to communicate somewhat successfully with Mann, who came with her harsh mindset.
Other than that, however, "Mann Hunt" was a soft fizzle, offering up only baby steps, perhaps hoping that glimpses of a ravaged, dystopian Boston would tickle viewers' fancy enough (though, as mentioned in a previous review, pop culture's been oversaturated with gloomy and grimy apocalypse stories).
Yorick wasn't the total inept monster he was last week in "Karen and Benji," but he was still a petulant complainer, incapable of following basic instructions for his own safety because his kryptonite seems to be him having to do anything he doesn't want to do. That, as 355 brought up last week, is part of the lifelong pampering and privilege he refuses to acknowledge. This week, however, Yorick's bumbling only brought him into contact with someone who assumed he was a trans male, so no real harm was done, though there was still no indication that Yorick, later on, fully registered Mann's comment about him not getting to have "much of a life from now on." That will have to be a tantrum for another day as the trio now preps to head out on a seemingly impossible trek across the entire length of the U.S.
The time in Boston amplified aspects of the current protests and pesky rebellion, and the fact that conspiracies theories and violent discord are currently having a wild day in the sun. We caught a bit more of that from the other side, too (since "Mann Hunt" also brought us back to D.C.), with President Brown having to welcome surviving crazy, Secretary Oliver (Jennifer Wigmore), back into the fold. At his point, though, with an inevitable coup attempt coming down the pike -- led by Oliver and Amber Tamblyn's Kimberly (with help from Jess Salgueiro's pregnant Christine, most likely) -- one wonders what the true stakes are here.
Since 355 and Yorick never called in their plans, that trio is effectively in the wind. So if Oliver takes over, what changes? Until the cell phone lost last week surfaces and Yorick's secret gets out, it all feels like a backwards race into a hellmouth. Who wants to rule over s*** mountain? An argument can be made, perhaps, that Oliver would manage to lead the country further into chaos, but Yorick's got to be the "capture the flag" goal, right?
"Mann Hunt" allowed Yorick to keep being a pest, yes, but in a nicer way, one that aligned him with fellow pest, Dr. Mann. It's not that they're frustrating in the same manner, but they're both obstinate in ways that'll surely muck things up during their cross-country journey. Nothing's been upended yet, and they seem to operate relatively well together (granted, Mann was drunk there at the end), but things could get annoying in an episode or two.
In fact, 355 was the episode's wild card this week, defying expectations a bit and taking her crew off the grid, and not before trying to visit an old safe house in hopes of seeing her old Culper Ring recruiter/mentor. Instead, she just found another agent and got into a Bourne-style brawl. There's a mystery surrounding this agency and what they knew prior to the virus outbreak that is way more engrossing at this point than why Yorick survived. Even President Brown is out for answers regarding the Culper Ring.
"Mann Hunt" only half-heartedly kicked the can down the road. Right now, it's easy to spot the seeds that are being planted and the dilemmas those roots will cause in the future. The series seems to value plot over character, which never produces the best outcomes story-wise. For example: Christine is going to be part of Jennifer's downfall, right? The story will probably shift her allegiance in an unbelievable way because it's where the narrative needs to go.
Seeing everyone just existing isn't quite enough for this show. This broken world isn't quite interesting enough. Plus, it'll probably be a while before we get to that San Francisco laboratory and get our next morsel of scientific theorizing. Mann is an interesting addition, and seeing how 355 has to wrangle both her and Yorick could lead to some effective character beats, but right now the series is stuck in a very bland spot, ruminating on the wrong things.
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