Charlize

"Charlize"
Pony sees the aftermath of a failed experiment.
Directed by	Griffith Kimmins
Written by	Brad Neely
Original air date	April 19, 2015
Starring	Frank Pony
Previous	"Best Face Forward"
Next	"Crow College"

"Charlize" is the third episode of Season 3 and the twenty-third episode of China, IL.

Summary

When a fog leaves Earth almost uninhabited, Pony searches for clues as to what happened.

Plot

A deadly fog spreads.

Pony goes to the campus hospital to become an assistant for Leonard, who reveals he is working on an experiment but refuses to disclose its details. Before Leonard escorts Pony out of the laboratory, Pony notices Leonard's test subject as well as a safety chamber with salt surrounding it. Suddenly, a panicking Leonard exits as well because of a fog behind him, the fog spreading and killing everyone with whom it comes into contact. Seeing the resulting commotion, Pony darts to the safety chamber as an airplane flies straight toward the Cakes' residence, where Baby Cakes and Frank are. As Frank darts away just before the plane's impact, the fog stretches across the entire world, seemingly leaving Pony the only human alive.

Information in Patient Zero's file.

Later, as the fog subsides, Pony exits the chamber and stays in the campus library, where she inspects Patient Zero's files, reads about a trip Leonard took before the fog resulted, studies information on open and closed circles, and notes involvement Patient Zero had with the Cakeses. At the Cakes' house, Pony watches a video depicting Leonard's experiment in which Leonard lays out an open circle of salt, decapitates a live chicken, and sips rum and subsequently spits it. Entering Leonard's relatively intact room after finishing the video, Pony sees another closed circle of salt surrounding a safety chamber, similar to the setup from the laboratory.

Pony searches for more clues.

Pony hears an approaching vehicle, and in it is Frank, who reveals he was in Leonard's room exercising as the fog was spreading, then retreated to the chamber upon seeing the plane. After conversing with Frank, Pony returns to the campus hospital to further investigate Leonard's experiment and its aftermath. Pony notices a bottle of rum and a dead chicken, then watches Leonard repeat the earlier experiment, except this time, Leonard executes another step: he kills the human sacrifice. The procedure creates the deadly fog, and Pony watches Leonard drop a sheet of paper while exiting the laboratory. Pony retrieves the sheet, which outlines a resurrection spell, and after reading it, Pony concludes that because Leonard had failed to spit the correct flavor of rum, Leonard caused the lethal fog.

The resurrection spell.

Afterward, Pony returns to the Cakes' home to tell Frank she is certain they can reverse Leonard's mistake. Pony asks that one of them be the human sacrifice, but Frank refuses to die and is hesitant to kill Pony, leaving Pony to kill Frank. Scared, Frank darts out out of the home, a determined Pony following while carrying the other requirements for the spell. Frank, hoping to evade Pony, hides in the history office, initially oblivious to the open salt circle surrounding him. Performing the first steps of the spell, Pony reveals herself and coaxes Frank into accepting a brief death, then completes the spell and releases a fog that negates the earlier one.

Trivia

• The episode's plot mimics the 2002 film 28 Days Later.
• During the start of the episode, the Smiths and Baby Cakes form a band. In an attempt to get the attention of Charlize Theron, they name their band Charlize, hence the name of the episode. Despite the episode title, the episode's main topic revolves around the aftermath of Leonard's failed experiment and Pony researching the events beforehand. The band is only mentioned at the start and end of the episode.
• During the first fog:
  • A crane operator dies, causing the crane to topple into a building and kill the Dean and the Mayor.
  • A taxi driver dies; the taxi collides into Steve.
  • A panicked mob tramples Matt and Flip Flop.
  • A pilot and a co-pilot die and their plane crashes into the Cakes' household, killing Baby Cakes while Frank darts to a location unknown at the time.
• Steve is revealed to have "dibs" on Pony, meaning no one else can have sex with her.
  • Frank assumes that Steve's death lifts these dibs. Later, Pony offers to have sex with Frank if he accepts dying for a short while, which is the only reason he accepts his brief death.
  • Because of Steve's resurrection, Frank realizes he cannot have sex with Pony after his sacrifice. Consequently, Frank accuses Pony deceiving him into accepting an ultimately unfair deal.
• The contacts on Pony's phone are Matt, Crystal, Frank, Steve, and Falgot.
• Cravid receives a paternity test telling him he is not the father.
• The rate at which the first fog spreads noticeably accelerates.
• At the start and end of the episode, Steve criticizes Pony for being too dependent on both him and Frank.
  • In the first few minutes, Pony asks to join the band and requests that Steve teach her to play the guitar. Steve rejects, claiming he has taught Pony a multitude of things, such as Excel and history.
  • After the second fog takes effect, Frank's claim that he helped "do something for [Pony]" only strengthens Steve's belief, Steve remaining unaware of Pony's contribution in everyone's revitalization as the only people to remember the execution of the spell are Pony and Frank.
• When Pony makes her way to Food 4 Thought, a Redbox kiosk can be seen.
• The first time Pony sings her "You Grow a Little Belly" song, all instances of shit remain intact. During Pony's second performance, however, all the expletives are censored.
• When Steve flirts with a woman, the two walk past a house numbered 1337.
• This episode marks Green's last appearance.

Quotes

Pony: ♪You grow a little belly♪

♪When you go through some shit,♪

♪Go through some shit,♪

♪Go through some shit.♪

♪You grow a little belly♪

♪When you go through some shit,♪

♪But the homies just♪

♪Say you thick.♪

---

Steve's Voicemail: You got Steve. If you're hot, leave a message, and if you're Pony, just figure it out yourself.

---

Pony: [Applying a bandage to her broken leg] That's all it needs, right? It's good.

---

Pony: I gotta find a place with no more corpses.

---

[Pony sees that Frank too has survived the fog.]

Frank: Well I guess it's just you and me!

---

[Pony stabs Frank.]

Frank: I die now. All right, please please please let there be angels.

---

[When the second fog revives the global population, Frank realizes Steve has "dibs" on Pony.]

Frank: I can't screw you, so you screwed me!

Characters Appearing

• Adam (mentioned)
• Baby Cakes
• Billy
• Cravid
• Crystal
• Debra Bowl
• Eve (mentioned)
• Falgot
• Frank
• Flip Flop
• Green
• Leonard
• Matt
• Patient Zero
• Pemsy
• Pony
• Ronald Reagan
• Stacy Megan
• Steve
• Sunshine
• The Dean
• The Mayor
• White Angus

Gallery

Leonard experiments on Patient Zero.

Pony notices of a chamber surrounded by salt.

Leonard makes a mistake and lets a fog out...

...and it spreads throughout Earth.

Pony gapes at the experiment's aftermath.

Pony inspects Patient Zero's file...

...and searches for more clues about Leonard's experiment on Patient Zero.

Pony discovers she is left alone on Earth with Frank.

Pony investigates Leonard's laboratory for more hints.

Ritual in hand, Pony states her plan to reverse Leonard's error—which involves in either her or Frank dying momentarily.

Scared, Frank runs off when Pony chases after him.

Pony struggles to stab Frank.

Frank agrees to let Pony stab him.

A second fog occurs, reviving everyone who died because of the first one.

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"Best Face Forward"	"Crow College"