Episode 204 – A Holy Charge
Xavier and Annie travel to Atlanta, contrasting life in this new world and the one he left behind in the bunker.
After that jaw-dropping cliffhanger, episode 4 of season 2 picks up on the road with Link and his crew at a camp as they pack up on their way to Colorado. Back at Graceland, Xavier wakes up to see Annie still has him handcuffed. She comes to check on him and unlocks the cuffs so he can start to move around and continue to heal.
He flashes back to President Bradford letting Sinatra know that they got the phone call that the first baby is about to be born in the bunker. He’s excited to be able to celebrate something hopeful and positive with the residents after all of their shared trauma.
Annie has been putting her medical education to good use and has been tending to Xavier’s wounds, as she asks questions about the bunker in Colorado. She estimates that he should heal up in about two weeks and insists that he will be taking her to Colorado, but he continues to insist that he is going to get Teri in Atlanta. As Xavier heals, Annie monitors her own vitals as her pregnancy progresses.
Xavier recounts his experiences in the bunker and lets Annie know he’s able to travel, and that he must go to Atlanta before taking her to Colorado. He describes the rollercoaster of fear and joy that is parenthood while she tears up at the thought of it. Annie agrees to go to Atlanta with him to get Teri if he then takes her to Colorado, so they pack up and grab the horse to head out on their journey.
On their first rest stop, Xavier sees Link’s old school ID and has some sort of memory of seeing Link before, but we’re not quite sure what to make of it yet. Back on the road, they come upon a few strangers. Everyone is fearful of one another after everything the world has been through up to this point.
In the flashback, President Bradford arrives at the hospital with Xavier and Billy in tow to greet the first expectant mother ready to give birth in the bunker. While waiting for labor to progress, Bradford learns that the expectant mother must have an emergency c-section and insists on being in the room with her.
Xavier and Annie take another break after she is experiencing some pain at an abandoned waffle house. Using a sack of flour and a blanket, he teaches Annie how to swaddle a baby. Annie talks about her fears about the world that her baby will be born into, and Xavier reminds her that you have to be able to trust people, even in this world. In the morning, just before heading back out on the road, Annie’s water breaks. She lets Xavier know that she’s been tracking her symptoms and knows she has pre-eclampsia and is clearly afraid to give birth because of it.
The lead up of Annie’s birth is intercut with scenes of the birth of the first baby to be born in the bunker. Xavier insists on going to get help, even though Annie argues against it. He runs until he finds what appears to be an abandoned house in the missile of nowhere and starts to collect supplies. Someone stops him at gunpoint, but Xavier disarms him and explains that he needs help for Annie. While he is away, Annie finds some paper and crayons and begins to write some sort of letter while fighting through her contractions.
Xavier returns with an entire group of people ready to help Annie give birth. One woman named Marie takes the lead in coaching Annie through her labor, as other begin to boil water and make room in the waffle house. These strangers have all come together to help this new life come into the world. As she begins to push, everyone is around helping in their own way to get her through to the finish line. Finally, her baby girl is born, and she cries tears of joy finally being able to meet her daughter. But she begins to have intense pains and continues to bleed, while her placenta will not pass. Annie knows there’s nothing that can be done. She grabs the letter she was writing and hands it to Xavier and makes him promise that he will be the one to take care of the baby, give her the letter, and take her to Link.
It’s a devastating moment as she watches her daughter being cleaned up by strangers and Xavier holds her while she continues to bleed out until she eventually loses consciousness and passes. Xavier and the group that came together to help dig a grave and carve a headstone for Annie to honor her life. Honoring her wishes, Xavier takes Annie’s little girl and prepares to continue his journey while the group helps him to pack supplies that the newly formed duo will need.
While we hear what Annie wrote to her daughter, we see Link’s crew arrive in Colorado at the door at the bunker’s entrance as Xavier arrives in Atlanta at a USPS hub. Using signs aimed at a camera, Link asks to be let inside the bunker. Xavier meets a man claiming to be a friend of Teri’s and says that Teri has been taken from him. TAKEN?! Next Monday can’t come fast enough!!
