Icarus (Episode 18)

## Details

Icarus is the eighteenth and final episode in the Pivot Zombie Movie and was released on April 30th 2022. Its title is an allusion to the story of Icarus in Greek mythology, which is similar to the incident in which Craig and his team are under the impression that they could bring a bright future to Bunker 03 residents by infiltrating the C.C.R's main base and killing Wesley before confronting the fact that they have to suffer from severe repercussions for their actions and overconfidence in the episode.

## Synopsis

The episodes starts with Craig's dream sequence in which he first sees Frank lending his hand to him and wakes up in a base similar to Winston Military Base. Craig is then confused with where he is and he finds Frank and the surroundings 'alive'. Missing his old friend so much, Craig gives Frank a hug and he confesses to Frank that he is not holding up well after the death of Jane in Annihilation (Episode 17). He also feels so bad for the death of Frank in Vulnerable (Episode 3) but Frank clarifies that Rob's life is valuable and it was worth his sacrifice. After that, Craig tells Frank he does not consider killing a lot of enemies as his accomplishment since he has lost so many people he cares for. Frank then understands Craig's agony of losing those people and he comforts him by describing such pain as part that has made Craig a soldier and a protector. He then leads Craig to Rob, whom Craig feels very sympathetic towards from the past incident.

Knowing Craig has tried his best to do everything for the team, Rob encourages Craig to be more autonomous and eradicate the C.C.R for his family. Rob also reminds Craig to keep cooperating with Vince, who has gone through a lot of events like Craig has. After that, Craig also meets Zoey, who tells him that it is not his entire fault for causing the team to ignore her after Nick's death in Execution (Episode 4) and it is partly due to the fact that her distant personality shut the team out in the past. She also tells Craig that she would like to spend more time to build more connections with the team if there were another life. Craig then comes across Mark and Gary. He wonders why he cannot see Jane here and Mark responds to him that Jane is about to reach out to them. Unable to wait for the arrival of Jane, Craig is tapped by Frank on the shoulder, causing him to leave the dream, which is actually Vince waking him up in his room in Bunker 03 in reality.

Vince then informs Craig that today is the day when they set off for tracking C.C.R's main base in London as previously discussed in Annihilation (Episode 17). Craig responds to him that he is ready for the search and he motivates Vince for the completion of their mission regardless of the danger they could encounter in London. They decide to leave Bunker 03 once they have finished eating and gearing up. On the other hand, Rachel tries to wake David up in their room since they have to catch up with Craig, Vince and Will for the search. They are ready to go to the bunker's entrance to convince Craig to let them join the search.

At the entrance of the bunker, Yasmin reminds Will that they should keep their radio on at all times in order to tell her the progress of the search before he sets off. She also suggests them returning to the bunker if the search becomes too tough on them. Will then reassures her that Craig and him are very certain that they will find the C.C.R successfully while Matt will stay here to help her take care of the residents. Still feeling worried about their safety, Yasmin reminds Will to be careful again and she would not want to lead the bunker on her own if they died during the search. Acknowledged by Yasmin, Will shows gratitude to Yasmin and he promises her that they will come back to the bunker safe and sound. Will then comes across David and Rachel. He wonders why they put their gear on and Rachel tells the guys that they want to join the search.

Although Vince appreciates the sentiment, he still refuses to let David and Rachel join because the search is too dangerous. Craig also sees eye to eye with Vince and wants less involvement for the search. However, David persuades Craig by reminding him of how he saved him and Frank in the past regardless of the danger they were in. He also feels grateful about how the people who risked their lives for him in the past have shaped him into the person he is now. Thus, it is the time for him exploit his power to protect the bunker through this secret operation.

Unable to refute David's points, Craig allows them to join the search. When they are about to leave, Yasmin tells them to radio her every morning during the search and Will advises her not to panic if she cannot receive their calls since they might not get a signal in some of the areas of London. After that, the team get into the car and leave.

After spending a night in a motel, the team finally arrive at London. They start searching the city for the C.C.R's base and first enter a convenience store to get some food for later use. They then get rid of some zombies on the road. During the search, they also discover a pub and take a break there. Leaving Bunker 03 for 11 days, Will keeps radioing Yasmin every morning to report the progress of the search. He tells her that the search has not been finished yet although they are getting deeper into London. He and the others also find some spent shells from C.C.R's weapons. Not hearing something major about the search, Yasmin wonders whether they will stop searching. Will then responds to her that they will come back to the bunker and rethink their strategy if they cannot find anything useful some days later. He also adds that they are keeping well in the search since it is easy for them to find shelter in London. Knowing Yasmin and the residents are also doing well in the bunker, Will ends the call and joins the team to search a couple of promising shops for more supplies.

When they enter a shop, they try their best to take a lot of canned food and also find some mouldy bread. Abruptly, Craig sees a group of C.C.R soldiers outside through a window in the shop. He then pushes David to the ground to hide from their sight while he tells the others to kneel down. Looking through the window carefully, Craig confirms the location of the soldiers' vehicle and decides to follow the vehicle to their base secretly without confronting them directly. The team then wait for the soldiers to return from whatever their mission was.

Following the return of the soldiers, the team get into their car and track the C.C.R's vehicle. They then notice the vehicle stops at the corner of a street next to an office building and stop their car as well. After they walk to that corner quietly, they discover that the vehicle disappears in the blink of an eye. Not believing what they see, they start to suspect that the C.C.R's headquarter is hidden in that plain building in the centre of London. Being vigilant, the team decide to recon the activity of the area from a vantage point of a tall building.

5 hours later, Vince and Craig are still monitoring the area while David and Rachel are sleeping. Vince asks if Craig cannot sleep because of not forgetting the demise of Jane. Craig then tells him that he still thinks about Jane and wonders if Vince has ever lost a loved one. Vince responds to Craig that he had an amazing marriage with a women, Claire, and he discovered that she did not love him anymore in later days because she had fallen in love with her childhood friend. Knowing the unpleasant truth, Vince resorted to breaking up with his wife though he did not want to. This also prompted him to join the British Army before the outbreak. Hearing Vince's unhappy story about his marriage, Craig understands that fact that Vince also suffers from losing someone he loves so much. He is then advised by Vince to get more sleep tonight in order to regenerate his energy for the infiltration tomorrow.

In the next morning, Craig is woken up by Rachel as they finally confirms the C.C.R's main base, which is located at the seemingly ordinary office building. Noticing a lot of C.C.R soldiers at the entrance of the base, Craig comes up with the idea of disguising themselves as C.C.R soldiers immediately in order to blend into the crowds and sneak into the base easily. They decide to find Wesley shortly after they infiltrate the base. Not knowing the exact location of Wesley, they plan to capture a scientist in the base and get such information through interrogation. They also plan to do that by dividing the team into two groups with Craig, Vince and Will being in the same group while David and Rachel are in the other group.

Having reached a consensus on the mission plan, the team gear up and pass through a group of C.C.R soldiers easily, with some of the soldiers wearing white armour. They then lie to a C.C.R colonel who question their business outside of the base by saying that they have dispatched some of the infected that gets too close to the base. When they are allowed to enter the base, they go underground and split up after Craig has reminded them to confirm their identities before talking to anyone in the base. After that, Craig's group enter a room and discover a C.C.R soldier. They then threaten him so as to obtain the exact location of Wesley. However, the soldier only tells them that Wesley is in his office without providing the exact location. Knowing the soldier will not betray Wesley, Craig stabs the soldier's head and they decide to hide his body before they keep searching the hallway for Wesley's office.

Their search ends suddenly when they discover a room with two colonels outside. They think that room should be Wesley's office. After that, they decide to talk to the two colonels to see if they are allowed to enter the room. Craig asks the colonels if they can go inside to talk to Wesley. One of the colonels then tells him that Wesley only sees a person at a time and this is his rule of meeting his subordinates. Knowing the rule, Craig tells them that it is him to meet Wesley and he is then allowed to get in without suspicion. When Will and Vince are waiting outside, the colonels ask them the reasons why they want to meet Wesley directly. The guys then lie that they have to report what they have seen outside the base.

After Craig has stepped into the room, he sees Wesley in front of him. Intimidated by Wesley due to his sombreness, Craig is trembling when Wesley asks him his name. Determined to kill Wesley, Craig points his gun to Wesley and reveals his identity. Craig then tells Wesley that he comes here to put an end to C.C.R's corruption as well as the reign of Wesley. Noticing Craig wants to shoot him, Wesley then reminds Craig that he and the team will be discovered once he opens fire and alerts the C.C.R squads in the base. Wesley also teases Craig by telling him to fight like a man. Feeling confident in himself, Craig puts down his gun and runs to Wesley. Not having as much strength as Wesley does, Craig gets punched to the ground and strangled at first but he counteracts Wesley's attack by poking him in the eye, allowing him to land a few punches himself. Craig is then thrown by Wesley and flies into the office door, alerting the colonels outside. Knowing the situation has gone rogue, Vince and Will kill the colonels without hesitation. They then enter the office and tackle Wesley to the ground in order to save Craig. The fight then goes on. Wesley gets strangled by Craig shortly while Vince bends Wesley's right arm intensely. Finally, Wesley is suffocated and dies.

Subsequently, David and Rachel enter the office. They tell the guys that they have hidden the bodies of the colonels outside and they have not been discovered yet, which means that there is a chance for them to leave the base stealthily and safely. When they are about to leave the office, Craig ascertains a program on Wesley's computer which includes an option of 'Base Self Destruct'. Not satisfied with killing Wesley only, Craig wants to get rid the whole C.C.R and decides to execute the operation although it is rejected by David. When he is about to press the 'Base Self Destruct' button, he notices that the detonation will start in 15 minutes, which is also the time for them to escape from the base safe and sound.

After clicking the button, the program causes an alarm sound to immediately flood the whole base and this puts all the C.C.R soldiers into confusion. The team then sprint to the entrance of the base and encounter C.C.R Colonel. He then questions the guys why there is blood on their armour and gets notified about the deaths of Wesley and the colonels through the radio. Knowing that they have been compromised, Rachel pounces on the colonel and stabs him without hesitation. The guys also kill the C.C.R soldiers nearby and get past the entrance door. However, Rachel is shot by more C.C.R soldiers from behind due to running slower and a bullet penetrating her helmet, causing her to fall unconscious and be unable to move. David then ignores Vince's warning and runs back to rescue Rachel. Unfortunately, the entrance door is shut automatically due to the detonation program implemented in the base, leaving David and Rachel stranded in the base, who are ultimately shot to death by the C.C.R soldiers. Not believing what he has seen, Craig yells in agony and feels helpless. Vince then tells Craig that they need to leave as soon as possible since the base is about to explode.

After 2 days of travelling, Craig, Vince and Will come back to Bunker 03. They are astonished to find out that the bunker has been sabotaged by the C.C.R with a few zombies wandering at the entrance. They also discover the deaths of Matt, Emily and Shaun as well as other residents. Still having the radio, Will calls Yasmin in an attempt to know if she is still alive. Nevertheless, there is no response from the radio. The guys start to rethink the significance of infiltrating the C.C.R's main base and killing Wesley. It seems that their mission is not considered as a victory since they have lost all the people they care about in the bunker instead of bringing them a bright future. They also blame themselves for creating the tragedy and wonder if it would be better if they did not start the infiltration mission and lived under the control of C.C.R.

When they are about to leave hopelessly, Yasmin and Luke emerge. Will gives Yasmin a hug and makes sure that she is fine. Yasmin then tells him that the whole destruction was caused by the C.C.R soldiers wearing white armour, whose sole intention was to kill all residents in the bunker. While the soldiers were attacking the bunker, Yasmin ran for her life with other residents. She then found Luke on her way out and they hid on one of the lower floors. It was not until she heard Will on the radio dropped outside of their hideout that they decided to come out from the bunker. Yasmin also asks the guys about the mission. Craig then tells her that they have killed Wesley, but David and Rachel died as heroes during the mission.

The episode ends with Yasmin asking the guys what they will do next after their home has been ruined. Will and Vince then suggest them going up north and search for a shelter in the countryside. Craig doesn't mind where they go as long as they all stay together. He wants to leave the bunker since he is unable to handle all the bad memories that have happened there on his own. Vince then puts a hand on Craig's shoulder and tells him that he is always at his side to bear all the misery they will face together, until the end. Knowing Vince is the only other remaining survivor left from the group they had at the beginning of the apocalypse, Craig appreciates Vince's encouragement and admits that he would truly be lost without him at this point. The remaining group then leave the bunker to start a new chapter and keep fighting for their lives.

## Characters

* Craig
* Frank (*dream sequence*)
* Rob (*dream sequence*)
* Vince
* David
* Mark (*dream sequence*)
* Zoey (*dream sequence*)
* Gary (*dream sequence*)
* Rachel
* Will
* Yasmin
* Wesley (C.C.R Supreme Commander)
* Matt
* Luke
* Shaun
* Emily
* C.C.R Colonel
* C.C.R Colonel Knight (*first appearance*)
* C.C.R Colonel Walters (*first appearance*)
* Numerous C.C.R Soldiers

## Trivia

* The first and only episode in 2022.
* It is the longest episode in the series.
* It has the longest production time in the series - about one and a half years since Annihilation (Episode 17).
* The series was originally planned to end in Eradication (Episode 15). However, it was altered to end after this episode due to necessary story expansion.
* This is the only episode in which all events or stories took place in the year, 2015.
* This episode is the second episode in which two main characters died (i.e. David and Rachel) so far since the demises of Rob and Zoey in Nightmare (Episode 11).
* This episode has the largest number of deaths of named characters (i.e. six or above) in the series.
* This episode has the largest number of deaths of C.C.R soldiers so far in the series after the detonation of the headquarters.
* This episode features the return of many dead characters in the form of dream sequence.
* This episode features the second time for the Survivors to infiltrate a C.C.R base/headquarters since Vendetta (Episode 12).
* This episode also features the first time for the Survivors to leave the fictional town, Cropford, to go to London for finding the C.C.R headquarters.
* Although Jane is mentioned in this episode, she is the only main character who does not have any on-screen appearance.
* Although the scientists are mentioned in this episode, they don't have any on-screen appearance.
* Although Gary appears in Craig's dream sequence, he is the only person who does not have any dialogue in Craig's dream.
* It can be observed that C.C.R soldiers from different places have armour in different colors. For example, C.C.R soldiers from London wear black armour while those from Scotland wear white armour.