On the last episode of Fear the Walking Dead we met new characters. While Alicia proved to be apocalypse worthy, Chris has turned completely feral. This week we watch as Nick tries to outsmart the Drug Cartel.
Home
According to the dictionary, the word home means shelter, retreat, refuge, a person’s native place or country. But, we see in tonight’s episode that a home has different meanings to our characters as they try to make sense of the world they now must survive in. We need to remind ourselves that the survivors of this new world system are still holding on to hope that the government will eventually come up with a cure and that everything will go back to normal. They are still under the illusion that a home means they can shut the door on the apocalypse… silly rabbits.
It was fun watching how Madison and Strand escaped the infected bar crawl by using one of Nick’s tricks. Madison convinced Strand to get his “Zombie” on. I know the word zombie is not used in any of Robert Kirkman’s creations, but sometimes, it is the only word that can truly set the stage. Covered in gore, Madison and Strand escape only to learn that the truck is missing. While Strand is convinced that Alicia and Ofelia ran away in the truck, Madison knows that her daughter is not one to back down from a fight. Alicia is definitely the apple that doesn’t fall far from the tree.
There is still no clue to where Ofelia has disappeared to or if it was she who took the truck. It’s a little bit like when Beth went missing in the episode “Alone” of The Walking Dead Did Ofelia leave on her on or was she taken and, at this point…do we care?
Fear the Walking Dead, like its big brother, goes out of its way to prove that the best survivors of the apocalypse are the female of the species. We shouldn’t be surprised. The Walking Dead has already proven that Carol and Michonne not only excel in determination and cunning but that they can hold their own against any man. But, it was interesting to watch Strand take a back seat while Madison negotiated with the disgruntled wedding guests.
While Strand remains silent, Madison is able to persuade Oscar and the others into working as a team. Strand could have pulled the old “I’m the Captain,” routine on Madison, but Strand realizes that Madison is one hell of a tough cookie. Although Madison plans to make the hotel a home for her team and the wedding guests, Strand longs for his real home. We are reminded that Strand had a significant other and they had built a home together. This episode allows Strand to go through the needed grief process.
Nick
I love Nick. This kid has given new meaning to the word, adaptation. Apparently, our favorite druggie wasn’t as zoned out as we assumed and his keen observations have bought Colonia some much needed time. When the dog doo hits the fan, money will be as useful as a bag of blood sucking ticks and, barter will be the way to go. Nick promised the cartel lots of OxyContin for water and supplies. It was cool to see Nick and Alejandro argue over the need to cut the drugs with powdered milk. While Alejandro worried that the cartel would be angry that they were tricked, Nick knows from experience that the only thing an addict is looking for is a quick high.
One wonders if Nick hasn’t traded his addiction to drugs to placing himself in dangerous situations; both acts can give a person a rush. So, what’s your guess about Alejandro’s story of his immunity to the infected? Was he bitten by one of the infected or by the drug addict that he tried to rescue? I hope that Alejandro is immune to infection because it could lead to a whole new story line on both TWD and FTWD.
On tonight’s episode Luciana learns the fate of her brother, Pablo. What is a home if you can’t share it with family? Pablo and Luciana survived because they looked out for each other. Now, Luciana is alone; her brother chopped to pieces by the cartel. She was surprised to learn that Nick had a family that had survived. I had expected Luciana to take under serious consideration the nonchalant way Nick so easily left his sister and mother to fend for themselves. Instead, she rewards him with a lingering kiss and maybe more. I love Nick, but he’s not what I’d call “sponge worthy.”
Conclusion
The infected are given little backstory for us to even care about who they once were. The horror should lay with the fact that these zombies, and yes, I’m using that word, were once humans who lived, laughed, cried and dreamed. They were once someone’s significant other, someone’s child, brother or friend. Now, they stumble about looking for the steady buffet of survivors. While the celebration dinner is enjoyed by Team Madison and the wedding guests, Oscar and Strand talk about their lovers. Oscar doesn’t have it in his heart to kill the creature that is locked inside the honeymoon suite. To him, she is still Jessica. Strand understands and offers to relieve Jessica of her prison.
Alicia comes up with a great plan to rid the hotel of infected, but Madison will need to play the Pied Piper. Over the years, we’ve watched walkers disposed of in many ways, but I have to admit I enjoyed watching the infected act like lemmings as they followed Madison off the pier. Maybe, Madison should have kept the infected as protection against the human predators, just like the people of Colonia do. For now, the hotel and the town are home to the people who seek shelter within its walls, but…
Home is our sanctuary if we are lucky. It should offer permanent refuge, but like the Native Tribes fighting the Keystone Pipeline to protect their land and the treaty that guarantees their homes and their sacred burial ground from attack by greedy, money hungry corporations; Madison and Nick will learn that nothing is held sacred in the apocalypse and that the idea of sanctuary is merely an illusion.
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