Liza Ortiz/Season 1/The Dog

## Summary

This article contains details of the events during the episode "The Dog" which were directly contributed to or witnessed by Liza Ortiz.

## Plot Details

The episode opens with Christopher Manawa looking out through the shutters of Salazar's Cuts at the riot outside - now in full swing. He can hear helicopters, see people destroying property and then the eyes of an infected man looking directly at him. Chris is startled and calls out for his dad, his dad (Travis) is sitting in the shop behind him with Liza and the Salazar family. Travis asks him what he sees and reminds him that he's told him to stop looking. Chris mumbles something about a man outside and turns back to the window.

At Salazar's Cuts Travis is talking to Liza, he's saying that as soon as things settle down they'll go to Madison's. Chris wants just the Manawa family to leave and for them to be together. Liza starts to answer him but the noise outside suddenly escalates and Ofelia enters from the back of the shop saying that they are breaking in next door. Travis insists that they are safe and then offends Daniel by implying that there's nothing in the shop worth breaking in for. Daniel doesn't say anything right away, though he does tell Chris to put back an open razor that he'd picked up. Daniel gets up to tell Travis that there's "more than combs here", and then dismisses Travis' reply as him just trying to deceive Chris into thinking everything will be OK.

Chris interrupts what is turning into a tense conversation by calling his dad - telling him that the wall is hot.
The two men check the wall, it's blistering with the heat, and immediately make arrangements to leave. They all group together by the door and Daniel unlocks it. Some young men rush in as soon as the door opens, forcing the group by the door to step back. As the rioters push their way in, the group leaves. Daniel is reluctant to leave with the rioters destroying his shop but Griselda pulls him, and he goes.

Outside a policeman is being attacked by another policeman, a sergeant, who is biting his throat under his protective vizor. Liza and Travis pull him away. The Manawas hurry through the crowd followed by the Salazars, the Infected are mixed in with the crowd, attacking people; the riot police are advancing down the street but to no apparent effect.

Downtown the two families are pressing on trying to find a way out of the fighting. Young people are climbing up scaffolding and jumping up and down at the top. The families, with some others who are caught up in the riot, work their way through scaffolding below as quickly as then can. The Manawas and then the Salazars with Griselda at the back. The Fire Dept are using a high pressure hose pipe to try and control the crowd. The water jet knocks over the scaffolding with several people on it, and traps Griselda underneath it. Both families turn back to help, Daniel and Chris lift the debris and Travis picks up Griselda as you would a child, he puts her in the back of his pickup. Chris and Travis get in the front and the others in the back. Travis does a 3-point turn so enthusiastically he knocks over a motorbike. He accelerates away, rioters banging on the truck as it gets out of reach. The police advance, and the fighting continues. Griselda is being cared for in the back of the truck by Liza as her husband holds her and Ofelia speaks to her. She has a nasty wound on her right foot and Liza calls out to Travis that they "need a Doctor".

In the pickup the radio is telling Travis and Chris that "eleven states have declared a State of Emergency and have requested the assistance of the National Guard". As they approach the hospital they pass an abandoned ambulance at the side of the road, back doors open and trolley half out. The Infected are wandering around, one still wearing his white Doctor's coat. People are running and yelling, sirens wailing and lights flashing. It's a chaotic scene that stuns the two families. They hear screams and drive slowly past a policeman running with the crowd carrying an assault rifle.

     Another policeman waves them on, they pass more men with weapons, policemen. They're shooting and killing what look like some patients from the hospital who are in night clothing and gowns. In the back they crouch down and take what cover they can, Travis drives on and they leave the Hospital behind, smoke is coming from the roof of the building as it goes out of sight. Travis asks Liza where to next and Daniel says that all of the hospitals "will be the same", he asks Travis to take them home with him and that he will call his cousin - and that they will be gone in the morning. He and Travis bicker, both keeping score about who is indebted to who and each blaming the other.

They all go silent and watch as a massive power failure throws the city into darkness, block by block. The apparent scale of what is happening has suddenly expanded in their eyes, it has gone from a terrifying but localised riot until it covers the entire city.

They arrive at the Clark home and Travis goes into the dark house, calling for Maddy. Liza and Chris follow him in. Maddy Travis goes in the lounge and sees Infected Peter Dawson eating what is left of the dog. He tells Liza and Chris to get out and Infected Peter hears them, gets up and walks towards them. Travis talks to him and tries to fend him off but falls backwards. Infected Peter is on him at once and Travis has to fight to keep him away.

Madison comes in with the shotgun and Travis continues to fight Peter, telling Madison to put the gun down. Madison hesitates, Daniel doesn't. He takes the weapon from her and shoots Infected Peter in the face from about 2 metres. Peter keeps on coming, his face a ruin. Daniel steps up close to Peter and fires again with his last shell at point blank range blowing away half of Peter's head and, finally, putting him down. Travis and Madison are speechless with shock, Liza is watching from the back of the room and is just as shocked. Daniel hands the shotgun back to Maddy and Chris goes outside to vomit. Travis looks at Madison numbly and asks "What did you do?"

Liza looks after Griselda's foot injury and asks Travis for pain killers. Travis replies that they only have aspirin and tells Daniel that the phone is in the kitchen if Daniel needs to call his cousin. Liza goes to Chris and checks on his bloodied nose.

Madison wants to leave right now, Travis thinks the morning is the right time. They argue about what to do for the best, Travis persuades her, just, that waiting until light will be safer than setting out in the dark. She tells him to "take care of Peter", to remove his body and the dog's, in other words.

Liza, is doing what nurses do before and after everything else they do - she's washing her hands. She tells Travis that what he said was true, that the dead don't stay that way. He tells her that she's doing a good job with Griselda. She's grateful for the faith he has in her, that she says he's always had in her, but sees more problems with Griselda's injury than Travis has even considered. She tells him that he can't fix everything and it sounds like an argument well rehearsed, over many years. Travis says that he's relieved. He says, perhaps a little tactlessly, that he "thought it was going to be awkward having two wives in the house." and walks away, it seems their moment of reconciliation was just that, a moment.

Later Liza is getting a glass of water from the kitchen and sees Madison looking out of the window at the back garden. It looks as if she's drinking something a lot stronger than water. She reaches out to Maddy, saying that they need to suport each other for the sake of the children. Madison breaks in and says that she needs something from Liza. She talks about Susan Tran, whose infected and reanimated body is still pushing dumbly at the fence outside. She tells Liza that Susan has care for her children while she went to work and looked after her when her husband died. Liza says that she sounds like a good friend. Maddy nods and agrees. Then she says that if ever she, Madison, ends up like that she needs Liza to "take care of it", not to let Travis do it. Liza looks at her and, finally, gives the tiniest of nods before walking away.

Alicia finally comes out of the house and the two families pull off the drive. Liza is in the pickup with Chris and Travis. Two Chinook helicopters are thudding around overhead. They drive through the housing estate and Maddy sees Susan's husband arriving home. She calls out to him but he can't hear her over the noise of the Chinooks and she goes after him. We see Patrick going through the house and hear him calling for his wife. He enters the back garden, where we know Susan is, and goes towards the maze, seeing her inside. He sees how bad she looks and holds out his arms for her, not understanding the danger. Maddy comes around the corner shouting to him and infected Susan reaches for Patrick her husband as her head explodes from a round shot by a National Guardsman. The garden fills with shouting soldiers.

Later: Liza, Chris and Alicia come out onto the porch and watch as the soldiers load another body into a truck and paint Urban Search and Rescue FEMA marks on the houses.