Survivors - 3 Gone Away

Very pleased to see that Survivors isn't just disaster porn - not that I don't like that, I watched ep 1 again yesterday before making my previous post - but that it has other issues on its mind.

This ep not only has what until a week ago I would have said was the tensest shopping trip I've ever experienced, but a whole political/philosophical debate sparked off by the word 'looter' and whether it still means anything and, if so, who to.

Well observed that Abby is to some extent swayed by the Wormley faction's arguments, and I was too, while Dave was still talking about rationing and preventing hoarding. And I've read a lot more apocalyptic SF than her, my default assumption is 'of course the concept of looting is meaningless in this situation'. So well done Terry. Even the continuation of the debate among the Abby faction in the car afterwards doesn't feel overly forced.

Interesting bit of possible class solidarity between John (the reluctant Wormleyite) and his fellow middle class members Abby and co when he tells them to conceal themselves while he puts Dave off the scent.

When Talfryn Thomas is fingering the washing on the line, we see some green and black striped socks which might be a mistake for the blue and black striped socks Jenny is seen to be wearing in episode 1, or might just be another pair from an assorted colours pack she bought in 70s M&S before all this began.

It occurs to me btw that there are only two characters in Survivors who we see in the pre-disaster world - Abby in the opening scene of ep 1 when she's playing against the tennis machine, and her daily woman when she enters same scene to call her to the phone. (Yes, I know the plague is already well in progress at that point, but we don't know that till the second scene in the kitchen).

Also Abby appears to be the only person involved who's actually had the plague and recovered. Jenny, Greg and Talfryn all appear to have had natural immunity.

NB btw the careful way that the possibility of other diseases like typhoid - 'not the plague' - has to be introduced. It would be interesting if they later put the plague back in the foreground, maybe with some very isolated people who've never been exposed to it, a bit like the bone fever/fat death escapees on Helliconia who find themselves regarded as freaks for their pains.

Timeline: Tom Price's visit to the farm takes place, he says later, 3-4 days before he meets the trio. When we first see them it might well be the same day as the end of ep 2: Jenny's expressing gratitude for 'the first hot meal she can remember'.

Abby says she's been driving around aimlessly, perhaps referring to the gap between eps 1 and 2 (Monday-Thursday week 2).

The shopping expedition might be the same day or more probably the next day at the earliest (Monday week 3). Jenny's socks have joined Abby's clothes on the washing line when Tom Price arrives, suggesting it's at least Monday. That would mean Price was on the farm about Friday week 2, which sort of fits with Abby finding the abandoned Rolls on Saturday. But it doesn't give him much time to go to London and back, because it was Friday that he met Jenny at the clothes shop. Perhaps 2 or 3 days have passed between the opening scene and the foraging trip. It's about the middle of week 3, and this is really the last point at which we can date back day by day to the plague outbreak.