Figures, one episode from finding out. It's a shame because the interaction between the cast has been great. Probably would have been better as a TV movie.

Hobnobber mentioned that it started becoming unrealistic for the locale. There are other things too. They're really playing this bit about "the feds can do anything and we just have to follow their orders" pretty heavy. Why push that fiction? Nobody in the whole country has more authority than the county sheriff in his own county, not even POTUS.
I guess they need that dynamic in the plot to build tension and create a crisis of conscience for the local law enforcement officers.

The show does highlight one serious aspect of quarantining populations with highly contagious and deadly pathogens: the necessity to use any means necessary to prevent potentially infected people leaving the quarantine area. If there is a serious biological outbreak or bio-terrorism attack, e.g. if someone unleashed smallpox (which most people are not inoculated against anymore), it could wipe out half the country within weeks to months. Asymptomatic people are hot (i.e. their breath is infectious) for 3 days, so if someone went to the airport for something, infected people would be all over the country in a very short time.

For this reason, security for NDMS, FEMA, and other organizations under the Homeland umbrella are authorized to shoot people who try to leave the quarantined areas. I was in NDMS for a while. I remember thinking about this. Shooting one person could save millions from dying, so the logical and ethical thing to do is stop them by any means necessary. But that would not make the act easy to do. These people did nothing wrong; they just want to live, to save their loved ones, etc. Personally, I would find it very difficult to have to shoot such people, but I know it would have to be done to stop them, if nothing else would. I would fire warning shots near people first, to use fear of immediate death to turn them back. Could I shoot a little child trying to escape? If they escaped the quarantine area it could mean that millions of other children would die. The child would have to be stopped. Still...pulling the trigger on such a child would haunt me forever, I am sure of that.

The show didn't really present this issue as clearly as I would have liked. Also, some of the cops in the show acted childish and ignorant of the seriousness of the quarantine procedures. I know the writers wrote it that way in order to create tension and drama. But it isn't realistic. I know that cops receive education and training about dealing with bio-terrorism threats, and they understand the seriousness and necessity of maintaining the integrity of the quarantine.

But television shows and movies these days seem to feature lots of emotionally labile characters. It is commonplace for characters to justify their actions based on the emotions they felt at the time. Watching these shows one might think it normal for people to be hyper-sensitive, and to impulsively make immature, reactionary decisions.

@write2topcat said:

Hobnobber mentioned that it started becoming unrealistic for the locale. There are other things too. They're really playing this bit about "the feds can do anything and we just have to follow their orders" pretty heavy. Why push that fiction? Nobody in the whole country has more authority than the county sheriff in his own county, not even POTUS.
I guess they need that dynamic in the plot to build tension and create a crisis of conscience for the local law enforcement officers.

The show does highlight one serious aspect of quarantining populations with highly contagious and deadly pathogens: the necessity to use any means necessary to prevent potentially infected people leaving the quarantine area. If there is a serious biological outbreak or bio-terrorism attack, e.g. if someone unleashed smallpox (which most people are not inoculated against anymore), it could wipe out half the country within weeks to months. Asymptomatic people are hot (i.e. their breath is infectious) for 3 days, so if someone went to the airport for something, infected people would be all over the country in a very short time.

For this reason, security for NDMS, FEMA, and other organizations under the Homeland umbrella are authorized to shoot people who try to leave the quarantined areas. I was in NDMS for a while. I remember thinking about this. Shooting one person could save millions from dying, so the logical and ethical thing to do is stop them by any means necessary. But that would not make the act easy to do. These people did nothing wrong; they just want to live, to save their loved ones, etc. Personally, I would find it very difficult to have to shoot such people, but I know it would have to be done to stop them, if nothing else would. I would fire warning shots near people first, to use fear of immediate death to turn them back. Could I shoot a little child trying to escape? If they escaped the quarantine area it could mean that millions of other children would die. The child would have to be stopped. Still...pulling the trigger on such a child would haunt me forever, I am sure of that.

The show didn't really present this issue as clearly as I would have liked. Also, some of the cops in the show acted childish and ignorant of the seriousness of the quarantine procedures. I know the writers wrote it that way in order to create tension and drama. But it isn't realistic. I know that cops receive education and training about dealing with bio-terrorism threats, and they understand the seriousness and necessity of maintaining the integrity of the quarantine.

But television shows and movies these days seem to feature lots of emotionally labile characters. It is commonplace for characters to justify their actions based on the emotions they felt at the time. Watching these shows one might think it normal for people to be hyper-sensitive, and to impulsively make immature, reactionary decisions.

ALL OF THIS. TopCat Please tell me the you wrote something about The Strain and Helix

I have not seen The Strain. I watched Helix and liked it a lot. I liked the first season the best. I couldn't get into the secret island hide out season for some reason. I liked the immortal strain thing. As I get older and less agile, the idea of being stuck with my 20 something year old body forever appeals to me. Of course, I don't know how I would feel about it after 200 years. lol