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Earth Abides released its second episode on December 8, 2024, on MGM+ and answered the biggest questions raised in episode 1. At the end of its pilot episode, Ish has survived one year only with a dog named Lucky. Then, he sees a gust of smoke in the distance. In Earth Abides episode 2 titled The Space Between, Ish follows the smoke and reaches a house that was given for rent.
There, Ish comes under the gun radar of a woman trying to defend herself. When Ish surrenders himself, saying he is just here looking for another survivor, the woman allows him to enter her house. She introduces herself as Emma, and the two soon begin to bond. She eventually decides to move in with Ish to his parent's house, and the two eventually start to create a new world in the post-apocalyptic arena.
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However, during Earth Abides episode 2, Ish and Emma face a deadly threat when hundreds of giant rats suddenly start to cover the streets. Both of them get terrified and confused not knowing the reason behind it. The couple tries to fight off the rats by blasting them individually with the gun and burning all their garbage outside the house.
Realizing the rats are in thousands, the couple rushes back to the house and seals all the entrances with duct tape. However, things take a more grave turn when Lucky is bitten by the rats, who are left outside the house. However, Ish manages to get him back, and Emma treats his wounds. The sudden uprising of rats could indicate a worldwide rat plague, that could've caused the pandemic.
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Earth Abides. Viewer discretion is advised.
Ish finds Emma as a partner in Earth Abides episode 2
Previously, Earth Abides episode 1 left the viewers with the biggest cliffhanger—who's the survivor that Ish will find following the smoke. The series sticks authentic to the plot in George R. Stewart's 1949 book, by bringing the character of Emma into the storyline.
Earth Abides episode 2 describes Emma as the only person surviving in the neighborhood. In the beginning, she gets nervous seeing a stranger approaching her house. But as soon as she realizes that Ish is completely harmless, she lets him inside of her abode. Earth Abides fans get a glace at the history of Emma when she introduces herself to be originally from Pensacola.
Emma mentions that her father was in the military, and her mother worked as a nurse. She adds that as a child, their family was used to camping, and hence she was equipped with the skills needed for survival. With her first description, it could be comprehended that Emma is more competent for the new world than Ish. However, a lonely Emma then decides to move in with Ish.
While Emma looks around for potential resources around Ish's house, the viewers encounter a depressing truth. While Emma is busy doing the chores, Ish quickly cuts a hangman's noose from the ceiling. This alludes to the fact that Ish was considering ending his life if he could not take the loneliness anymore. In Earth Abides episode 2, meeting Emma provides Ish with a new reason to live.
The duo soon visit a departmental store for a supply run, using Emma's expertise to collect all the items they might need to survive. The duo eat together on the terrace, where Ish talks about his childhood days when he went out fishing. He eventually expresses his idea about the virus, saying that human beings have always been the virus on earth.
The pandemic is Mother Nature's way of healing itself from the disease it has severed for thousands of years. Emma exerts her will to live by saying, that although most people have been wiped out, they still have been an exception, which speaks a deeper purpose.
Ish and Emma soon begin enjoying each other's company, contributing their equal shares in making ends meet. Their relationship slowly grows deeper and approaches a different note when they get intimate with each other.
Later, when Ish wants to generate power to provide enough light and heat to sustain, he brings solar panels from the nearby shopping mart. He starts fixing them on the roof, completely based on reading manuals.
While fixing the panels, Ish falls down from the roof and strains his ankle. Emma has a keen eye for herbs and its medicinal benefits. With her help, Ish soon begins to recover himself. One day, Emma approaches Ish to ask how much time will it take for the solar panels to work. When he inquires about her restlesness, she ends up announcing that she is pregnant.
Realizing the responsibility of becoming a parent, Ish experiences shock and sadness simultaneously. He knows there aren't enough medical facilities left and a lot of complications could occur while delivering the baby. Emma affirms to him that her body is meant to do it, it's part of human survival characteristics.
Ish finds it very difficult to take the risk and hence, he decides to revisit the public library. He starts reading books on pregnancy and child delivery while collecting all the resources that Emma would require for the child. He is forced to shoot and butcher a cow after realizing that canned foods cannot sustain them, and Emma needs animal protein.
Finally, Ish succeeds is making the solar panels work, and electricity finally gets restored at the residence. A working refrigerator meant they could also stock their resources for a longer time. However, things get worse when Emma retrieves a large rat in the toilet, and Ish realizes he has been continuously ignoring Lucky's warning about those creatures.
Ish and Emma fight a rat plague in Earth Abides episode 2
After discovering the dead rat in the toilet, the couple finds themselves surrounded by thousands of rats all around the residence. Both of them are confused about where the rodents are coming from. However, they are pretty sure that these animals are hungry and will chew and tear every tiny piece of flesh they can reach.
Ish and Emma quickly run back towards their home, tightly packing every entrance around the house. But they forget Lucky outside and get is bitten by them, while struggling to keep the rats from eating him. Ish takes the risk of opening the entrance again and takes Lucky back inside. While Emma rushes to cure Lucky's infection, Ish quickly shuts the doors back again and starts killing all the rats that have been inside.
With Earth Abides episode 2 two years pass by after the pandemic, and the viewers can see cats coming out, and cleaning up all the rats. The day of Emma's labor finally arrives but it takes a lot of effort to bring the child out safely. Ish helps straighten the child's head, so as to not get blocked by the shoulders, preventing any further complications before the birth.
Terrified, and suffering from a state of shock, Ish goes into a trance, of thinking about the death of his loved ones, and what he is going to do if Emma dies during childbirth. But Emma finally suceeds in giving birth to a baby girl, whom she names Heather, paying tribute to Ish's mother.
Emma had dreaded her hair after she had lost her two girls to the pandemic. After the birth of Heather, she finally opens her hair, symbolizing that she could finally come out of her grief.
Emma writes their house address on a wall of the townhall, for other survivors to connect with them. Earth Abides episode 2 ends on a cliffhanger by showing an unknown figure, arriving at the town hall and looking at the graffiti.
Earth Abides episode 3 is scheduled to release on December 15, 2024 on MGM+. It is set to reveal the identity of another survivor, telling if he is a friend or a foe.
