'Earth Abides' Episode 2 Recap & Ending Explained: Did Ish And Emma Have A Baby?

The first episode of Earth Abides introduced us to Ish, a geologist who got bitten by a rattlesnake while searching for rocks. He slept off the effects of the venom, but, unbeknownst to him, he slept through the apocalypse, which had been caused by a deadly pandemic. When he regained consciousness, he realized that his parents, along with a major chunk of the planet’s population, had perished. After burying them in the backyard, Ish tried to get to the city, but the irremovable blockage on the bridges prevented him from doing so. Hence, he drove all the way to Las Vegas and met two suicidal survivors there. After chilling out with them for a bit, albeit in the most anxiety-inducing fashion possible, Ish drove back home while the other two died by suicide. Ish befriended a dog, named him Lucky, and after spending a year in his parents’ house, he saw smoke on the horizon, which indicated that there was another survivor in the neighborhood. The second episode is centered around Ish’s interaction with this very survivor. So, let’s talk about it.

Spoiler Alert

Episode 2 of Earth Abides opens with Ish and Lucky meeting Emma, the only other survivor in the neighborhood. Emma obviously gets nervous after seeing a man approaching her house, but as soon as she learns that Ish means no harm, she lets him in. Through her conversation with Ish, we learn that she is originally from Pensacola. Her father was in the military, and her mother was a nurse. Emma used to cut her sister’s hair; that’s why she has some barbering skills. As a family, they used to do a lot of camping; hence, Emma knows how to forage and hunt well enough to make it through the apocalypse. 

It’s also apparent that Emma has a strong will, or else she wouldn’t have made it this far. But since she is lonely, she decides to move in with Ish. To be honest, I was expecting this trust-building phase to last longer. As a man in a post-apocalyptic world, regardless of one’s sex or gender, I would’ve taken my time before I trusted another survivor this easily, because desperate times make people very desperate, even though they don’t have to. I guess the plot of this show doesn’t need that kind of conflict, and that’s why Ish and Emma get along so easily. Anyway, while Emma looks around Ish’s house, Ish cuts down the noose that he had arranged in case he wakes up one day with the intention of ending it all. He doesn’t need it anymore because now he has a reason to live.

When Emma finds out that rats have eaten through Ish’s packaged food, the duo goes on a supply run. They eat. They talk about fishing. Then they eventually get to the topic of how humans are the virus and Mother Nature has essentially erased them so that Earth can heal. Emma says that, despite being labeled a virus, she won’t go down without a fight. That leads to a montage of Emma and Ish enjoying each other’s company while making Ish’s house feel like a home. Eventually, their relationship turns sexual, and this show wins the prize for the most boring and sauceless representation of passion and romance that I have ever seen. I thought that it was impossible to make two beautiful (very naked) people come off as dull and tepid, but thanks to Earth Abides, I stand corrected. 

After doing the naughty, Ish writes in his journal, while Emma craves some ice cream. So, Ish finally decides to get some solar panels so that the house can have some power. However, while installing them, Ish takes a tumble and injures himself. It’s not too serious, and he begins his recovery process pretty soon thanks to Emma and her medical expertise. A few months later, Emma announces that she is pregnant, and that causes Ish to get anxious because there aren’t any operational medical facilities that’ll help her with delivering the baby. When Emma assures him that her body is more than capable of birthing the baby all on its own, Ish’s worry decreases by a few notches, and he decides to hit the library to learn everything there is to learn about pregnancy.

Ish buys all the stuff that Emma currently needs and will need in the future. Ish also learns how to kill a cow and butcher it properly so that Emma gets all the protein that she needs to keep herself and the baby healthy. However, it’s easier said than done, and Ish goes through hell to obtain beef. Since the aforementioned solar panels have started working, storing the meat for a prolonged period of time isn’t an issue anymore. That said, a totally different issue arises: rats. And I’m not talking about 5-10 rats; I’m talking about literally thousands of rats roaming around the neighborhood in search of anything that they can sink their tiny teeth into. Ish and Emma try their best to prevent the rodents from getting in but Lucky gets injured in the process. 

At the end of Earth Abides episode 2, as the world enters the second year of the apocalypse, the cats clean up the area by eating all the rats. Conveniently enough, that’s when Emma’s body decides to push out the child. The delivery doesn’t go as swimmingly as expected, as Ish has to turn the baby while it is in Emma’s womb so that it doesn’t get stuck. Ish has an anxiety attack as he starts thinking about his parents’ deaths and what he is going to do if Emma dies during childbirth. After Ish finds his bearings, things get relatively easy; the baby enters the world, and she is named Heather by the happy couple. This somehow prompts Emma to use her graffiti skills to announce her house address to the world so that any other survivor out there can get the help that the couple can provide. Going by that last shot, it looks like there’s another person out there, but it’s not clear if this individual is looking for help or to hurt others. I guess we’ll know all about it in next week’s episode.