Fear The Walking Dead Makes A Pit Stop

SPOILERS FOR SEASON 2, EPISODE 2 FOLLOW!

By: Tyler Miller

Fear The Walking Dead has an issue that is well known to those that watch the show; it’s slow, it’s characters make dumb decisions, and sometimes it seems like the show is going nowhere. These things aren’t really issues with me like I stated in my recap of last week’s episode. This week though I’d say was an exception.Last night’s episode really didn’t have much of anything happen in it. Our gang of survivors (have they earned that title yet?) are still on the run from the boat that’s chasing them. Thanks to the yacht log Nick got from the capsized boat they discover that San Diego is gone, leaving them with nowhere to go now. As a last resort, they decide to hide at a ranger station until their followers are gone. Night falls as they approach and they spot a house with a light that gets turned on and off a few times. Strand docks the boat on the pier and everyone goes to the house except for him, Daniel, and Ofelia.

The land group approaches the house and Travis asks for help and information. It looks like the door will stay closed until a little boy comes running out, causing the rest of the family to come outside. Travis introduces himself to the father George and they all go inside for a bit to talk. George and Travis chat about the state of the world and George tells him that the southern coast is essentially gone since the military is napalm bombing all the cities there. Basically, the world has gone to shit and there’s not many places to run to. Meanwhile, Madison is talking to George’s wife Melissa who’s grilling her about what she used to do before the apocalypse when her oldest son Seth comes in to check on everyone.

As for the other kids, Nick and the youngest son Harry get along real well and it’s actually pretty cute. Alicia drinks wine and explains the meaning of “Ring Around The Rosie” to the daughter Willa, and Chris keeps being depressed. Harry takes Nick up to his room and shows him his toys, in the process also showing that he understands what’s happening to people in the world and that when they turn they have to die. It’s actually kind of sad that he knows this and fully understands. He also mentions that he has “power pills” that’ll keep him safe from getting sick like other people have something that comes up again later.

On the boat, Ofelia and Daniel talk about the possibility of staying there and how both the world and Daniel are cruel, something that Ofelia finally understands. Daniel then goes to the bridge and kind of interrogates Strand about his boat, showing that he still doesn’t really trust him although he’s helped them and let them on the boat.

George and Travis continue their conversation and George reveals that he believes nature is the cause of the zombie disease as some sort of grand plan. He’s also studied Travis’ heritage and culture, and he’s pretty inspired by it. At this point our main crew head back to their boat and Madison tells Travis her suspicion that Melissa purposely turned the light on because she wants to leave.

The next morning Chris goes to help Seth with his “chores,” which means clearing walkers off of the fence down by the shore. He’s pretty damn good at it too with his pickaxe. Chris gets a shot at it and enjoys it as it’s kind of cathartic for him, although Travis isn’t happy that he’s doing it as a father in the apocalypse is expected to be (unless you’re Rick Grimes of course). Travis talks to George about this, but George tells him that’s simply how things are now, and he’s right. Things get a bit odd though when they go to fix a fence nearby that’s separating their little home from a nearby town with walkers. They’re talking and George says that him and his family aren’t leaving their home, as he would rather die on his land. To him, he’s not giving up or anything. He’s simply mending the fence.

We then get a little bit of a music montage, that consists of Alicia walking around with her earbuds in (really?) and Nick looking around the house for drugs, but instead finding the “power pills.” On the boat, Strand sees that their followers are gone so it’s time to finally head out. Meanwhile, Madison is helping Melissa with crops and asks her whether or not she purposely turned the light on. Melissa confesses and asks Madison to take Willa and Harry with them because she wants them to have a chance at life, to which Madison agrees. She goes to Travis about it to get him on board and he’s hesitant on the matter, realizing it probably won’t be the best thing to do. Meanwhile, Daniel does some digging and finds a hidden trunk with a gun and some maps of Mexico only furthering his suspicions of Strand. Then to further our suspicions, we see Strand on a radio talking to someone about arriving at a location at a specific time.

Nick then goes to Madison and Travis and tells them about the pills he found, telling them that he believes they’re actually poison that George plans to use on the family. This is enough to get Madison and Travis to bring the kids along. Things go south though when George catches Melissa about to give them the kids. It gets worse when Harry comes down saying that Willa is sick after taking one of her pills. They run upstairs and see she’s died and turned, causing her to bite Melissa. Madison, Travis, and Nick take Harry to the boat and get ready to leave, but Strand demands that they give the boy back. Things get even crazier when Seth comes on and holds them all at gunpoint, demanding Harry back. They eventually cave and give him back, and watch as Seth shoots his zombie mother in the head while they sail away.

Other thoughts:

• Strand continues to be on the of most interesting characters on the show. He’s smart and has the brains of someone who’s been prepared for the apocalypse, but at the same time he’s mysterious in his own right. Who is Strand talking to on that radio and where is he trying to go? I hope we don’t have to keep asking for too long.
• That boat that was following them may be gone now, but it’s definitely going to show up again at some point. No doubt about it.
• Nick and Alicia talking about how the kids have to grow up in this world mirrors some of the conversations Rick and Lori had in the earlier seasons of The Walking Dead. Having the concern come from Nick though was surprising and pretty sweet considering his age and the fact that he only just met the kids. It’s nice that he really cares about them.
• Although George was a bit too crazy in the sense that he would poison his whole family and that he wouldn’t let them leave, he was definitely prepared for this world as well with his survival skills. I wish we could’ve seen a bit more of him, although he was really just a way for Travis to learn that the world is gone and to accept that.
• It’s nice that you want to help everyone Madison, but I’m sorry. You just can’t do that.

This week’s episode was the definition of filler. Nothing really happened this week that was noteworthy or really helped to move the story forward. Aside from the fact that the followers are now gone, I feel like one could watch the premiere and the next episode without really losing anything. The episode was really just a pit stop to a much more exciting episode that’ll be coming next week. We’re finally getting to see what happened to the plane from the Flight 462  mini-series, and Charlie is going to join the cast! Plus there should be some nice walker killing action too for those that crave that type of stuff. Regardless, it should be much better than yesterday’s episode.