| Finding
the Mall - Ep.1-2 |
We first meet Lex's group at the railyard. We
will learn later that Ryan and Lex first became friends at boot
camp. Then there's Zandra, who is halfway to being Lex's girlfriend
- if he weren't so mean to her (and everyone); and there's Glen,
Lex's potential rival for Zandra, and who doesn't really trust
him. Four people with too much self-interest to be described
as friends. Yet here they are, waiting for Zoot to arrive in
his Police car. This was all Lex's idea, and Lex likes to get
his own way, making decisions for everyone else. He is hoping
to join the Locos. It's a question of survival.
Zandra is rather obsessive about her looks, largely, but not
totally, to impress Lex. She is a connoisseur of style and could
tell you the latest happenings in all the TV soaps (before the
Virus). To call her an airhead would be rather unkind.
Ryan might be described as 'slow', and he pretty much does whatever
Lex tells him. He too would like to get close to Zandra, but
while Lex is around that's never going to happen.
Zoot arrives, with Ebony at his side, and a good many Locos.
Lex was expecting to meet Zoot alone. |
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Lex is no diplomat, and he runs foul of Zoot almost
as soon as he arrives. Lex gives the order to run. As they scale a
wall, Lex ditches Glen, sacrificing him to the Locos. This serves
two purposes: the Locos suspend their pursuit while dealing with a
prisoner; and Glen will no longer be Lex's rival for Zandra. Zandra
is distraught, and unlike Lex cannot simply abandon Glen while she
can still hear the struggle on the other side of the wall. Lex forcibly
drags her away. Ryan and Zandra never learn what really happened,
though Glen and Lex will meet again....
Ryan tries to start a car, but it's out of gas. Zandra is still terribly
upset at losing Glen. |
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| By chance Lex's group (of 3) encounters Amber's
group in a Kids' play area. While Lex tries to bully Amber into
handing over any food, the Locos catch up with Lex. Then the
Demon Dogz arrive and a fight between the two rival tribes ensues.
Amber's group escape, and find the Mall. |
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| Lex's group sit the fight out under cover. When
the action is over, Ryan has a look around and finds nothing.
As they head back for sector 12, Lex spots the teddy Cloe has
dropped. This means Amber's group must be nearby. They soon
find them at the Mall, but Lex's renewed threats are thwarted
when Jack lowers the grille in front of and behind them. They
are trapped. |
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Despite issuing threats and ultimatums, Lex and
his companions have no choice but to spend their first night
behind the grille. Lex commandeers the only couch for himself,
leaving Ryan and Zandra to sleep on the stone floor. Ryan uses
Cloe's teddy as a pillow.
The following day, Amber allows the three out when intruders
are heard in the sewers. |
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| The intruder turns out to be Bray, and despite Lex's
bravado and self-proclaimed expertise in protecting people, Bray outwits
him and Ryan, and sneaks into the Mall while they go on a wild goose
chase. |
Once Lex, Ryan and Zandra have joined the fledgling
tribe, Zandra sleeps in the furniture store with the other girls
and younger kids (before moving to Lingerie in Ep.5).
We soon understand that Ryan has a thing for Zandra, not that
it's ever likely to happen. Zandra plays on this, stringing
Ryan along whenever Lex is being mean to her.
Zandra has an eye for design and gracious living. With a little
effort, and Ryan's help, she turns one half of the furniture
store into a comfy living space for everyone, leaving the remaining
half for sleeping. |
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When Bray brings a heavily pregnant Trudy to the
Mall, a vote is taken whether she can stay. Ryan votes with
Lex, no. Zandra votes yes. It's 5 to 4 against. Trudy goes into
labor, which changes everything. While the girls somewhat panic
over their lack of knowledge of childbirth, Bray calmly takes
the situation under control. He knows what's needed, including
some soap.
Salene remembers that Zandra has some soap, but this is Zandra's
special soap; to Amber it's just soap and tells Zandra
to go get it. |
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| In Ep.5 Paul and Patsy raid Jack's secret food stash
for candy and potato snacks, making themselves physically ill, and
making a mess in the Furniture store. Zandra elects to move out to
somewhere clean, and chooses Lingerie. |
Trudy gives birth to a girl. The excitement and
joy soon give way to alarm and concern as Trudy goes into a
delirious fever. Amber keeps vigil while Dal heads for his father's
old surgery in Sector 15 to find antibiotics.
Amber is exhausted and needs a break to make some soup. Seeing
Ryan and Zandra pass by, she asks Zandra to watch over Trudy
for a while. Zandra is sorry, but sick people make her feel
"Yuk". |
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| Rivalry
between Salene and Zandra over the Baby |
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With Trudy too ill to take care of the baby, Zandra
and Salene argue whose turn it is to have her. Salene's had
a particularly hard morning and feels it's her turn now. Zandra
says no, because she might wake her. Even Jack comments she
isn't a toy to be passed around. Suddenly Zandra realizes the
baby is leaking, and is desperate to offload her. Salene refuses
of course, just to make a point: "Couldn't possibly Zandra,
I might wake her". Lex thinks the situation is hilarious.
Trudy begins to recover, and she gets the picture that Salene
and Zandra both dote on her baby. Zandra boasts that she did
everything for her. But not quite everything - she left changing
her diaper for Salene. |
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We all know that Lex and Zandra will eventually
be an item, themselves included. But Zandra doesn't want a quick
fling, only to be hurt and let down. So she resists his advances
until she can be sure.
In Ep.8 Zoot fell to his death in the Mall, and a small group
took his body to the beach to give him a warrior's funeral,
sending him off in a burning boat. This has been a major upset
to their routine. The Café is filthy and Salene screams
on discovering that rats have begun to invade.
Zandra is convinced she saw a rat in her room and prepares to
spend the rest of the night sitting on the floor outside Lex's
room. Lex invites her in, so he can protect her. Thanks very
much, but Zandra doesn't want his kind of 'protection'. |
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In Ep.10 there's to be an election for tribe leader,
Amber vs. Lex. Lex knows just how to bribe people to vote for him,
and in Zandra's case it's a lipstick in her favorite color.
Zandra dresses to the nines when it comes to the vote. It is after
all a special occasion. Inevitably Lex wins. Then the truth comes
out about Jack's secret food stash, and Lex's first task will be to
put him on trial. Zandra wants to have him thrown out straight away.
In the event, Lex makes sure that Jack is cleared of the charge, to
stop Jack telling the court about Lex's water stash. |
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As leader, Lex gives all the chores to the girls.
Amber has an idea to make Lex see reason, and when the boys
are asleep, Zandra hosts a girls' get-together.
They decide to go on strike, to clean and cook only for themselves.
Despite Lex cutting the girls' water ration, the other boys are
sympathetic and Lex finds himself very much on his own. Lex
agrees to a three-way split of the leadership, making Amber
the real leader from now on. |
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In Ep.14-15 Cloe gets lost in the woods in her
efforts to protect her calf Bluebell from Lex. Mercifully she
meets Tai-San, who not only saves her from marauding Locos,
but also shows her how to find her way home.
Tai-San is first seen as a good influence on the tribe. She
leads them in a little ceremony to give them a name - "Mallrats",
as suggested by Lex.
As time goes by, Amber isn't so sure. For one thing, Tai-San
gets involved with Lex, leading to an actual fight with Zandra.... |
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| Zandra
gets Romantic - Ep.16 |
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Before Lex has even got up, Zandra invites him
to dinner that night. She hopes (so she told Amber) to bring
out some TLC from him.
The candlelit dinner is a great success, and Romance is definitely
in the air. Unfortunately (as Amber predicted) Lex gets carried
away and tries to rape her.
Hearing her screams, Ryan come to her rescue, pulls Lex off
her and near strangles him. Zandra calls him a hero. |
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Zandra shares her ordeal with the other girls.
Amber wants to see Lex punished, but Tai-San believes that marriage
is the answer, and offers to perform the ceremony.
Zandra goes back to Lex, and gets an apology. But when she proposes
marriage he thinks she's crazy.
When he tells Ryan, Ryan points out that there's no one around
to conduct a proper wedding ceremony. With this in mind, that
a so-called marriage wouldn't be legally binding in the old
sense, Lex reconsiders. |
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Zandra is ecstatic! In confidence she tells Salene
all about it. Salene can't resist telling all the girls in the
Café, and five minutes later they hear it all from Zandra
herself. She is over the moon!
Meanwhile at the railyard, Ebony has captured Bray, interrogating
him about the disappearance of Zoot. She's sure he knows something,
maybe holding him captive somewhere. |
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Preparations for the wedding proceed apace. Zandra
has never been all the way before and is worried about the wedding
night. She asks Trudy, but Trudy refuses to help. Surprisingly
it's Tai-San who proves most helpful.
Ryan is concerned for Zandra, fearing Lex might only be using
her. Lex assures him he'll really take care of Zandra and treat
her right. This is not what Lex told Dal and Jack. He told them
the marriage will mean nothing, and he can dump Zandra at any
time. |
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In the meantime at the railyard, while Bray is
still blindfolded, someone cuts his bonds. But when he looks
around, there's no one. Without asking questions, Bray heads
back to the Mall, followed unseen by Ebony.
Bray gets back just as the wedding ceremony is starting. Tai-San
calls Zandra to come down to her husband.
Suddenly Zandra screams. Ebony has followed Bray into the Mall.
The wedding will have to wait for another day. |
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Bob cuts off Ebony's escape back through the sewers.
Bray and Lex capture her and put her in the cage, to be guarded
round the clock.
Lex eventually gets back to Zandra. She's noticed how he seems
to enjoy watching Ebony in the cage. To prove her wrong he sees
no reason to delay their honeymoon. Zandra wants it all to happen
in the proper order, promising when they really are married,
she'll be the best wife in the world. |
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| Zandra wasn't wrong about Lex. True, Ebony is expert
at manipulating people, exploiting their weaknesses. And Lex's weakness
is sexy girls - or anything with a pulse. |
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Bob barks, raising the alarm and waking Amber.
She finds Ebony gone and Lex in the cage. The fear is now that
Ebony will bring back the Locos to attack the Mall.
While everyone gets ready for an attack, setting traps and alarms,
Zandra confronts Lex at every opportunity to ask what happened
in the cage with Ebony. He comes up with every explanation except
the truth, though he adds that if he had made out with
Ebony, it would be Zandra's fault for holding out on him.
Meanwhile, Bray has gone back to the railyard to make a deal with
Ebony. He offers her Zoot's talisman in return for her promise
to leave the Mallrats alone. |
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