RECAP: Fear The Walking Dead “Cobalt” [Episode 5]

We find good ole Doug at the detention center being taunted by a jackass named Strand, another detainee. He asks what kind of man leaves his wife and children alone when the wolf comes to the door. He tells Doug that if  his wife still looks like the woman in the picture Doug is clinging to, she will soon find another man to take care of her, leaving him to break down and be dragged off by the soldiers.  Our tormentor turns his attention to Nick, whose look tells us that he’s not having it and that Strand has his work cut out for him. At home Ofelia is flipping out screaming for her mother, yelling at the soldiers who are now on the other side of the gates – and challenging the residents to not wait until the soldiers come for the families that are still left. They have orders to get her under control and plan to do so until her boyfriend, Corporal Andrew, comes out of nowhere to try to stop the Sergeant in charge from attacking. Andrew is given a chance to get her to calm down. As all are watching, one of the soldiers decides that he has had enough. He is not detaining his own people any more.

At home, Maddie and Travis are talking about their next steps when Chris walks in, upset that he is not part of the planning. He is worried about his mother and is upset with Maddie in particular, snipping at her, asking her to not interrupt while he’s talking to his father. RUDE!  Then again, the kid was in the room when Maddie faulted his mother because her drug addicted son was dragged off #NeverNicksFault. Travis grabs him, asking what’s wrong with him. Chris feels that Travis would have done anything to save Maddie, nothing to save his mom. Travis tries to explain that Liza went willingly to help others. Instead of apologizing to Maddie as asked, Chris tells Travis to go be with his family and storms off.  Travis tells Maddie to let Chris know that he left to go get his mother. Maddie reminds him to bring Nick back too.

We see the infirmary where Griselda (whose foot was amputated)  is being kept and we see Liza working to help the others. At home, Maddie finds Susu’s letter goes to look for Alicia, ending up in Susu’s basement following a noise she’s heard. She grabs only an intermittently working flashlight. Now I know the writers are playing with me. There is no way, despite my fervent wishes, Maddie will be killed off despite her stupidity. It turns out that Daniel and Ofelia have lovesick Andrew tied up in the basement, looking for information. I’m guessing he will be a little less lovesick, after this.

Ofelia removes the tape from Andrew’s mouth and gives him water. She can’t look at him. He tries to convince them that after evaluation, all who have been taken will all be returned. Maddie gets in on the act, getting tough with Andrew, looking for answers. She later tries to get them to let him go, but the Salazar’s think they can trade Andrew for Griselda. This is unbelievably stupid. Outside, Travis is at the gate with Lt. Moyer, who is telling him that Exner is running the show regarding the quarantine, but he won’t get to talk to her.  Moyer tells him he is busy doing his best to keep his guys’ morale up, given the fact that they are all just young people who want to go home to their own mothers. Travis tells him it will be really bad for morale if the 11 people who were taken don’t come back, and the entire community, including all of the children, come down to the gates. Moyer claims he is going to take Travis downtown to see Exner. We learn that soldiers are still being lost (no shock) and that they have now been up for the last 50 hours – this doesn’t bode well for a long trip. In the Tran’s basement, Daniel is pleading Ofelia’s case, stating that she is a good person.  Daniel, it appears, is not. He takes off his shirt, preparing to torture Andrew – who has already started giving him information. How does this end well for his family? Daniel, for me, has shifted from wise sage to stupid and vicious.

On the way to see Exner, the soldiers stop to take out a “ripe one.” They want Travis “Mr. Mayor” to take out a walker. For some reason, the soldiers have decided to get out of the humvee to make this kill.  They taunt Travis about not wanting to get his hands dirty. They ask him if he thinks “the thing” is still human and if so, does it mean they are just murderers? Travis, as he takes aim, is reminded by the driver, Castro, that she is not a person. Looking at her name tag (Kimberly) he is unable to pull the trigger so Moyer takes the shot for him.  

Back at the medical center and we see Exner and Liz working on bitten soldiers. As the squad transporting Travis approaches, they learn another squad is pinned down in a local library and change routes to go help, warning him to stay in the truck. What Travis hears on the radio scares the hell out him, including the phrases “We’re cornered” and “There’s too many of them.” 

At the Tran’s home, Daniel is boring the hell out of me with more stories of his traumatic childhood, as if it excuses what he’s doing to Andrew, now. He is covered in Andrew’s blood, the blood of the man who saved his daughter from being killed, earlier. He is now threatening to cut deeper if Andrew can’t tell him what Cobalt is – the word they keep hearing on Andrew’s radio. Outside, Alicia is joking with a solemn Chris. It is the first sign of real friendship between the two families. They raid the home of one of the wealthy families, nearby, even putting on their clothes. Chris is shocked when he sees Alicia begin to disrobe in a mirror and blushes as he walks away. She seems pleased by the effect she has on him.  

Brother Nick is not having as much fun. After a temperature check, and a read of 101 degrees, the soldiers begin dragging him off when Strand tells them Nick is not sick and bribes a soldier named Melvin with diamond cufflinks to “round out” an expensive watch he gave  Melvin earlier. Maybe the snazzy watch explains why Strand is in a relatively empty cage while the others are crowded in together.   

It appears that Daniel has killed Andrew. Maddie wants to know whether Andrew “told us what we need to know.” She’s a peach. Even Daniel is crying over his actions. Moyer is now gone. Castro and crew are taking off to go see their families and plan to drop Travis a few blocks from home. Liza finds Griselda, recovering but dealing with septic shock. At the manor, Chris and Alicia begin to wonder where the family who lived there is now. They don’t pine for long, and decide to destroy everything, instead.  Travis makes it home to find a shocked Ofelia on the lawn. She must have told him everything because Travis runs in  confront Maddie, hoping she didn’t know what was coming. We learn that Andrew is not dead, but is now talking about the infected, including a crowd of 2000 – chained in an arena. Cobalt, he tells them, is the code to evacuate the soldiers from the L.A. basin and to destroy city, by tomorrow morning. Back at the facility, Strand tells Nick he didn’t save him, he “obligated” him. Nick reminds him he is an addict when Strand tells him he is a heroin addict, the gold standard of addicts, and to not sell himself short. He plans to make a move, soon, and needs Nick’s help.

Alicia and Chris are on their way home when they decide to hide from passing soldiers. Chris realizes the soldiers aren’t patrolling which tells him that something is wrong. Something has gone wrong for Griselda at the medical facility. She begins praying, and confessing her sins, in Spanish, as if she knows the end is near. Exner tells Liza her brain is swelling, and gives Liza a bolt gun to stop Giselda from turning once she dies. 

Daniel’s morbid curiosity leads him to the arena, where he finds the bolted doors Andrew warned him about… we see the enormity of the stadium and it is terrifying to think of 2,000 walkers inside.

“Like” us on Facebook  “Follow” us on Twitter and on Instagram