Warning! This article contains spoilers for Earth Abides episode 4.Earth Abides' episode 4 starts slowly, revealing what happens to Ish after he gets attacked by a mountain lion in episode 3. However, the more the episode progresses, the more intense it becomes as Ish and the survivors face a new set of setbacks, conflicts, and challenges. The episode’s opening moments revolve solely around the aftermath ofEarth Abidesepisode 3’s shocking ending in which Ish was viciously attacked by a mountain lion.
After revealing Ish’s fate, the episode shows how a few survivors depart from the main crew while several new ones join the community. While characters like Emma welcome the new survivors with open arms and cannot help but feel grateful about being surrounded by many humans in their grim post-apocalyptic world, Ish grows increasingly distant. He struggles to trust the new members of their group and even hates the direction all humans seem to progress in.
9All Survivors Join Forces To Save Ish
Ish Somehow Manages To Survive The Lion Attack
After Ish gets attacked inEarth Abides' episode 3, all the survivors come together to save him in episode 4’s opening moments. Together, all of them apply pressure on his wounds while Molly cleans him and stitches him up. During the procedure, Ish also briefly stops breathing. However, Molly performs CPR to ensure he stays with them. Although Ish sustains many fatal wounds on his body,he miraculously lives to see another day. For obvious reasons, his injuries take time to heal. However, he eventually seems to make a full recovery, with only a few scars left behind on his body.
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To avenge Ish’s death, Emma goes to the forest with her gun. As soon as she spots the mountain lion from a distance, she shoots it multiple times. She does this to ensure that the lion does not attack any of her loved ones again.
8Molly Reveals She Flunked Out Of Medical School
Ish Gives Her Credit For Saving Him
When Ish finally starts showing signs of recovery, Molly visits him and tells him she cannot believe he is still alive despite sustaining many fatal injuries. She commends his strength and says he would not have made it if it wasn’t for his ability to keep fighting. Ish responds by saying that he only stayed in bed while everyone else did all the heavy lifting. He gives Molly all the credit for using her medical forte and saving him. This is when Molly reveals she never completed Medical School. She recalls howshe flunked out after the first year and always felt incompetent.
Earth Abideshas been adapted from George R. Stewart’s 1949 novel of the same name.
However, when the pandemic destroyed nearly the entire human population, she got to adopt the tag of a doctor and live a dream of her previous life. She also says she is surprised she managed to save Ish. Ish then assures her that she was able to save him because she accepted her setbacks instead of running away from them.
7Earth Abides Introduces Another Major Time-Jump
It Jumps To A Time When Ish Has Fully Recovered
SinceEarth Abidesis about survival and community and not about Ish’s individual journey, it makes sense that the series jumps ahead to a few years in the future instead of solely walking through Ish’s road to recovery. After its first arc,Earth Abidesmoves to a timeline where Ish has almost made a full recovery, and the survivor community is up and thriving again. Many younger members of the community also grow up and become direct contributors to the community. Although Ish and Emma’s responsibilities as parents are reduced significantly, they still work hard to ensure humanity’s survival.
6Two Younger Survivors Leave Home To Explore The World
The Elders Happily Bid Them Farewell
After growing up in the survivor community, two younger survivors, who were born after the pandemic, decide to set out on a trip. Since they are old enough to look after themselves, their parents do not hold them back from exploring the world and learning more about it. One of the two leaving survivors is Emma’s daughter. Owing to this, Emma worries whether she will be able to keep herself safe in the outside world. Her daughter assures her that she has taught her enough skills to be able to keep herself safe and survive in the world beyond the boundaries of their protected home.
5The Remaining Survivors Realize They Are Running Out Of Water
They Visit A Nearby Dam To Check What Is Happening
Soon after the young survivors leave, the others realize they are running short of water. Ish and Jorge visit a nearby dam, hoping to understand what happened to the water. They not only find a dried-up river but alsonotice a pipeline from the dam has been severely corroded and destroyed. Ish estimates they only have a week to survive with the remaining water unless it rains. Moments later, a few vehicles pass above them on the dam, forcing them to flee the scene.
4Ish & The Team Run Into A New Set Of Survivors
The New Survivors Bring Resources Ish & His People Need
Although Ish and his team leave before the survivors can come and talk to them, the new set of survivors follow them to their home and approach them with warmth. Ish, as always, is apprehensive about letting them stay. However, their leader, Charlie, peacefully offers him their remaining water and also promises to help them dig a well with a boring machine. Since Ish and his people really need a water source, he is forced to agree to let them stay.
3Ish Grows Suspicious About Charlie But Emma Refuses To Believe Him
Ish Wonders If His Position Of Power Is In Danger
Ish tries to convince Emma that there is something wrong with Charlie. Emma brushes off his claims by saying that he said similar things about previous survivors who joined them. Even though Ish agrees he has previously been wrong about people and their motives, he refuses to believe that he is mistaken about Charlie.Emma firmly believes that Ish only feels threatened by Charlie’s arrivalbecause he questions his position of authority by swaying everyone with his charm. However, deep down, Ish genuinely believes that Charlie is up to no good.
2Charlie & His Crew Successfully Dig A Well
Ish’s Biggest Fear Materializes
While Emma wonders what will happen if they fail to dig out the well, Ish fears that successfully digging the well will lead to more dire consequences. Almost throughout theEarth Abidesepisode, Charlie and his men struggle to successfully dig out a well. However, just when everyone starts losing hope, a fountain of water splashes out of the ground, revealing the exact spot where they must set up their well. To Ish’s dismay, his biggest fear materializes, forcing him to reconsider his position in the community.
Jenna Berman
Evie
Ish was considered somewhat of a leader in the clan before Charlie arrived. However, after Charlie finds a solution to one of the biggest issues experienced by the survivors and successfully provides them with a resource essential for their survival, he questions Ish’s place as the leader.
1Ish Grows Concerned About The Survivor Community’s Changing Power Dynamics
He Also Fears They Are Heading Towards Their Primal Methods
Since the inception of the pandemic, Ish has heavily relied on his previous knowledge and ability to learn to survive. Emma’s arrival initially forced him to adopt several primal roles to ensure they survived in a world where society had collapsed. Although, over the years, he has managed to create a good balance between returning to his primal roots while still retaining modern methods to sustain himself, Charlie’s arrival and potential leadership threaten his approach. InEarth Abidesepisode 4’s ending, Ish fears Charlie will take over and prompt everyone to return to a more primitive existence.
Earth Abides
In this post-apocalyptic series, survivor Isherwood “Ish” Williams navigates the desolate remnants of civilization after a mysterious illness decimates humanity. Despite his initial instincts for seclusion, Ish faces the challenge of rebuilding society and fostering community in a world that has drastically changed.
