BWW Recap: There's 'No Bull' on THE LAST MAN ON EARTH

There are seven people on Earth. The rest of society died during an unknown plague. After spending months alone, they find each other and create a small community in Malibu. These people know isolation. They lived it, watching the world around them die. Even together, isolation pervades their lives.

Nobody on THE LAST MAN ON EARTH is accustomed to having a community. Not yet, at least. None of the women (except Carol) want children. There's a rooted sense of distrust among everybody. Tandy's constant lies in season 1 did not help this factor. As everybody is coming apart in this episode, Tandy (and to a lesser extent, Carol) is the glue keeping everything together.

After last week's episode where Tandy saved Phil 2's life, then locked him in the stocks, what happened was going to be interesting. Phil 2 adopted the role of de facto leader immediately upon entering the group. He posed a very obvious threat to Tandy, and once Tandy finally showed himself as a formidable threat last episode, Phil 2 couldn't take it.

We open tonight with Phil 2 trying to convince Tandy to be let out. Tandy tells Phil 2 that he's in the stocks because "They're a family." Interrupting this conversation, Todd yells for everyone's attention: the cow had a calf, a baby bull. Everyone agrees to search for the bull in Malibu that impregnated their cow. Phil 2, upon hearing this, convinces Tandy to let him out, so he could search for the bull with them. After Tandy gives the group a pep talk, and Melissa agrees to let Phil 2 out after getting tired of Tandy's speech, he lets Phil 2 out. Phil 2 was indeed conning Tandy. He takes the truck and drives to Canada. "What about family?" Tandy asks him. "We're all alone," Phil 2 responds.

Phil 2 would rather go back to an isolated life than stay in Malibu. He takes a very cynical view of everything. They're not alone; there's a whole community in the house behind him. Phil 2 is embarrassed, though. Embarrassed that his power was threatened. That he impregnated a woman he doesn't love. Embarrassed that he doesn't think he's good enough. All of this is shown in his attempted suicide, and then leaving the group.

On the other side of the mansion, Todd and Melissa's relationship reaches a boiling point. After the past couple of weeks where things have been rocky (after Melissa's not wanting to have children, and Todd's lying about the bacon), things come to a head tonight. They have a big fight, where Melissa slyly hints at her not wanting children being a reason for their division. They end up breaking up. Both of their characters, instead of working together towards something, break apart, towards their own internal isolations.

While Todd and Melissa break apart, Todd and Gail grew closer tonight. Todd walked in on Gail making out with the CPR dummy (made to look like Gordon, RIP). Gail admits that she was making out with the doll. After his break-up, Todd goes to Gail for comfort, in a mirror of her going to him for comfort earlier. In their mutual secret-sharing, these two characters form a new bond. They end up kissing. Relationships are built on secrets and trust, and there's very little of that on this show.

All of this comes to a head in the episode's climax, when all six of the remaining members fight at the dinner table after spending the day in the heat, unable to find the bull. Tandy tries to give another pep talk, but it goes south. He starts off talking about Phil 2's leaving, but it devolved into Tandy talking about how everybody has sinned. He has good intentions, but goes about it the wrong way, as per usual. He calls out Melissa trying to have sex with him when he was married, Todd's bacon lie, Carol's lie about Tandy's death, and Erica's "teenage" pregnancy. He stokes the fire that has been the undercurrent of these people's relationships. Everybody ends up fighting, in by far the funniest scene of the season.

While these people live together like a community, they're not real friends. As Tandy blatantly points out, everybody has done something distrustful. "Nobody's perfect," Tandy says, and that is very true for this group of people. Relationships are built on trust, and this group just cannot do that. They're too secretive. They've been conditioned from their years of isolation; they need to learn to open up and trust each other, or the future of humanity is doomed.

On a very literal level, Mike Miller, Tandy's brother, is hyper-isolated. He returns tonight as he attempts to make radio contact with Earth. While everyone in Malibu is fighting, driving wedges between their relationships (and Phil 2 literally driving away from everyone), Mike wants nothing more than human contact. He begs for it; he craves it. He wants nothing more than to be back among humanity.

In the end, Phil 2 returns with the bull, killed. He offers to go back in the stocks, but the group offers him forgiveness. They all celebrate with a large, beef feast. They put their differences aside, and celebrate. Whether this happy state will continue is to be seen, but based on the lack of trust among these people, it won't. At least, not for a while.

The Last Quotes on Earth

Tandy: "Finding this bull is our "One giant leap for mankind." Finding this bull is our "I have a dream." Finding this bull is our "Where's the beef?" literally."

Tandy: "Teen pregnancy." Erica: "I'm 25."

Tandy: "Gail, you barfed in the humidor!" Gail: "I did not." Tandy: "It was tortilla chips and chardonnay!"

Melissa: "What do you know, you're drunk by 10 am?" Gail: "How dare you I wake up at 11."

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Leave your comments or thoughts on tonight's episode below or tweet me @gunnar_larson! Tune in next week for the ninth episode of THE LAST MAN ON EARTH season 2!

Photo Credits: THE LAST MAN ON EARTH official Twitter

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