The Hot Zone Review: Preparing for War
Lisa Babick
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It's Dr. Jaax against the world.
On The Hot Zone Season 1 Episode 3 and The Hot Zone Season 1 Episode 4, Dr. Jaax tries to convince the powers that be that the Ebola threat is real.
She's still met with skepticism after an old colleague of Wade's shows up and causes trouble.
Throughout the series so far, Dr. Jaax has shown an unbelievable tenacity to stay the course despite all the obstacles getting thrown her way.
It's one thing when your superior raises his eyebrows but quite another when your husband stabs you in the back.
Jerry was confident Nancy would be able to get her point across to the critical people in the meeting room, but when allowed to take over the mission, he didn't hesitate.
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He claimed it was out of love for her and their children, and it's true he felt an overwhelming need to protect all of them, but what he did was a low blow.
He should have fought for her to stay in charge of the mission.
It's what a truly supportive husband would have done.
She was the one who took the bull by the horns from the very beginning. She never gave up. Not once.
She wasn't doing any of this for glory. All she wanted to do was save thousands of people and stop the virus from spreading.
She felt it was her job and duty as an American soldier, a doctor, and a human being.
Yet Jerry didn't see it that way even after she was willing to forgo seeing her sick father to complete the mission.
Wade didn't have her back, either.
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It's understandable that he wanted to be in the front lines to fight this monster.
One of them had to be there to see it through, but it was another betrayal that hurt even if she didn't show it.
Still, it allowed Nancy to visit her father before he died and spend a little time with her kids.
But she's not giving up, and she doesn't have any plans to step aside.
Jahrling let her know that Bruce, the worker from the research facility, had tested positive for the virus even after testing negative for several days.
Once that was discovered, everyone he had come in contact with and every other worker at the research facility got taken in to be tested and observed.
An empty room suddenly became filled with people because that is how rapidly the virus can spread, especially when it's airborne as Jaax had warned.
I don't quite understand why Trevor was so quick to dismiss Dr. Jaax's claims.
He had seen the devastation caused by the virus when he and Wade investigated it in Zaire in 1976, so his inability to even consider possible dangers of it being on U.S. soil was mind-boggling.
If anything, he should have taken every precaution to prevent the spread of the virus even if it didn't turn out to be Ebola after all.
My guess is that he might have been jealous of Wade's determination to track it down.
He didn't have any desire to do anything more than just what his bosses told him to do.
And in a situation like the one in Zaire, it wasn't the right choice.
Some people have a hard time looking at the bigger picture and don't want to involve themselves in anything more than what they have to do.
Trevor was only concerned about his own personal community instead of the entire global one.
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But he was also scared about what he saw, and when people are scared, they usually run.
He didn't want to believe that the horrors he saw in Zaire could happen right at home, and it didn't help that Wade was right in the thick of it.
We still don't know if Jahrling and Ben are infected.
They have yet to show any symptoms, but they also haven't cleared the incubation time frame yet either.
Jahrling was stupid for going to a train station where there are hundreds of people.
Even with gloves on, if the virus were airborne, thousands of more lives would be at stake.
And you have to give credit to Jaax for not turning either he or Ben over to be quarantined.
She needs both of them on her side at this point.
While she might not be in the front lines fighting the virus head-on, she can still work the backend as needed.
At some point she's going to be back in charge.
Something will go wrong. Someone will make a mistake.
And Nancy will be the one who saves the day -- as it should be.
The world can count on Dr. Nancy Jaax, and so can we!
Over to you!
What did you think of this installment of The Hot Zone?
How did you feel about Jerry's decision to take over Nancy's mission?
What is Trevor's problem?
Will the virus be contained?
Hit the comments and share your thoughts.
The final two episodes of The Hot Zone air tomorrow night starting at 9/8c on National Geographic.
Be sure to check back here for our review and to share your thoughts on how it ends!
If you need to catch up, you can watch The Hot Zone online right here via TV Fanatic!
