‘Revival’s Intense Ending Just Flipped the Syfy Zombie Series on Its Head

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Revival Episodes 1 and 2.

Revival is a show that’ll probably remind you of other genre television like The Walking Dead or Wynonna Earp. The latter isn’t a surprise, since Melanie Scrofano once again plays a lead role and is dealing with the supernatural. But while Revival does feature the dead coming back to life, it differs from The Walking Dead due to its unique premise. In a small town in Wisconsin, the dead suddenly start coming back to life on what’s referred to as “Revival Day”, leading police officer Dana Cypress (Scrofano) to try and uphold the law in a place where the laws of nature have been shattered forever. She also has to deal with her younger sister Em (Romy Weltman), who’s struggling with drug addiction; her father Wayne (David James Elliott), who also happens to be her boss; and Ibrahim (Andy McQueen), a CDC scientist with whom she has awkward chemistry. But Revival saves its biggest plot twist for the end of its pilot episode, “Don’t Tell Dad“.

Throughout Revival‘s pilot, Dana is investigating a strange murder that involves the carcass of a horse and what looks like human teeth. Her search brings her to a farm, where she comes into conflict with one of the “revivers”: a crazed old woman who tries to kill her. Em tries to help her sister, but is stabbed through the stomach….and then winds up cutting off the old woman’s head, as her own wounds heal. It turns out that Em is a reviver, and the episode ends with her asking Dana not to tell their father. In one single scene, Revival doesn’t just set itself apart from other zombie shows on television; it also makes itself into must-watch TV.

‘Revival’s Twist Keeps the Spirit of Its Source Material Alive

Revival takes most of its story from the Image Comics series of the same name by Tim Seeley and Mike Norton, and the first issue, much like “Don’t Tell Dad,” ends with the reveal that Em is a reviver. A great deal of dialogue and scenes are pulled from the first issue, showcasing that it’s still possible to make great comic book adaptations that aren’t based on Marvel or DC characters. As the Revival comic progresses, it continues to unfurl the mystery behind “Revival Day” and reveals that Em played a key part in things. “Our “living dead” are the people you knew — or at least, they seem to be. And their sudden reappearance is going to cause a lot of problems for her. She’s going to be so busy with murders, a government quarantine, and her own family, she’s going to be a bit distracted from finding out why the undead are back working at Megafoods, and rejoining their old bowling leagues,” Seeley said when Revival was first announced at Emerald City Comic Con in 2012. Tying Em’s reveal as a Reviver to the overal events of “Revival Day” gives Revival a overaching story that can fuel multiple seasons.

The revivers are also different from your typical undead. Unlike the Walkers in The Walking Dead or the infected in The Last of Us. the revivers don’t become snarling, inhuman monsters; they just more or less like they did prior to their death. But they can’t die, as any wound they inflict upon themselves will instantly heal. On top of that, if the revivers experience negative emotions, they’ll cry blood and become violent — much like the old woman Dana and Em encountered. This instantly raises the stakes, both physical and emotional: how can Dana stop people who are virtually immortal? With the hints that the Cypress family has their own issues to overcome, what happens if Em goes into that feral state? This means that Revival can go into any direction, and it instantly makes the series that much more interesting.

“The rules [that apply to them] have changed, even though they have not,” Scrofano told the Los Angeles Times. “So as a metaphor for how we treat people who are different than us, I was really compelled by that. How do you fight for what’s right when you don’t fully understand what’s going on, but in your heart, you know we need to stand by these people?”

Dana and Em’s Relationship Is the Bedrock of ‘Revival’, Which Makes the Twist All That More Unsettling

The best part of Revival‘s pilot, other than the zombie mystery, is the dynamic between Dana and Em. Both of them are dealing with their own issues: Dana is looking to start a new life with her son Cooper, but the events of Revival Day draws her back into her small town, effectively cutting off their escape. Em has to deal with the fact that she’s been diagnosed with osteogenesis imperfecta, better known as brittle bone disease, which makes her living conditions that much more fragile — and she has to add the fact that she’s virtually immortal on top of that. This culminates in a scene halfway through “Don’t Tell Dad”, where Dana and Em are talking as Dana gives Em a ride to college. Throughout this conversation, they truly bond, which makes Em’s reveal as a reviver hit all the more harder. It also helps that there was apparently a bond between Revival’s leads, as Romy Weltman had nothing but praise for Melanie Scrafano. “She’s the lead of all leads. She held my hand the whole way through and taught me everything. She is a light.” Weltman said when discussing what it was like to work on Revival. That should bode well for future episodes, since Dana and Em are now bonded by secrets.

‘Revival’ Review: Melanie Scrofano’s Small-Town Horror Series Is ‘Wynonna Earp’s Darker Spiritual Successor

‘Revival’ premieres June 12 on SYFY.

Future Episodes of ‘Revival’ Will Reshape The Dynamic Between The Cypress Family

Dana and Em have a good reason to worry about Em’s status as a reviver. In this week’s episode of Revival, “Keeping Up Appearances”, Wayne decides to imprison anyone who’s revealed to be a reviver, which spells trouble for Em and Dana down the road. Showrunners Aaron B. Koontz and Luke Boyce discussed this revelation, with Koontz saying that it offers a look into how Wayne is still grieving for his wife and that a future episode will further explore the new dynamic between the Cypress family:

“Wayne also, I think, is still dealing with — and we talk about this in the first couple episodes — his wife’s death of just a couple of years ago. And I think the idea that, ‘These people have come back, but my wife can’t come back,’ starts to create this animosity of, it hurts. It hurts because now he’s having to deal with his wife’s death every time he sees one of these people, but yet he’s not able to look through that judgment that’s there to even understand or have the wherewithal to understand that maybe someone else close to him could be this.”

Revival has gotten off to an amazing start, as its first episode twist not only provides a mystery that will power the entire season but adds a new dimension to its strongest relationship. It’s been a while since a Syfy show became a must watch, but Revival more than succeeds in standing out from the pack.

New episodes of Revival air every Thursday on SyFy.