RECAP: ‘Fear The Walking Dead’ Alicia Works To Reunite With Her Family [Season 2, Episode 5]

Connor’s ship (which should be renamed the S.S. Dead Man Walking) is stocked with whatever food wasn’t stolen by deserters who have long since left the boat. He appears to be as kind as Jack described him, and is even cooking a steak for Alicia while telling her about his days at sea.  She is being kept apart from Jack and Travis while Connor gets to know her – feeling her out to see if she needs to be pushed overboard. As they begin talking, he abruptly  leaves to take care of a shut down generator. Just as she begins to enjoy her food, Vida (life), the pregnant woman who boarded with Jack and Reed, steals her steak and walks out of the galley – disappearing on deck. It’s not clear if they left to test her to see if she’ll try to escape. Foolishly, she does run but has nowhere to go since  it turns out that they are docked on dry land, hoisted well above the pier. This couldn’t be the boat that was hunting The Abigail, earlier. It is a rusted out tub, a real P.O.S. boat. Jack catches her on deck and is now worried that it could have been Connor who found her. He is more worried that he’ll lose his plaything. She continues to want to know if her family is safe on land but has not yet received an answer.

Reed is having a much worse time than Alicia. Bleeding, cut, and with a rod sticking through his gut, he is sweating like Kanye West at a Taylor Swift concert.  Still he makes threats and treats The Abigail’s crew as if he has the upper hand. He fails to strike fear in Chris’ heart by talking about what must be happening to Travis on Connor’s boat. We find out that Jack severed their abusive father’s achilles and Reed is sure that Connor, like Jack, will look for him, and then wipe them all out.  Too bad for him that it’s Daniel cleaning his wounds because Daniel brings the pain to teach him who really has the upper hand. When Reed  threatens to hurt Ofelia once he’s rescued, Daniel lets him know that the men who are truly frightening never have to tell you how scary they are.  

Reed  looks fearful, now. Daniel is proud of eliciting information from him – now knowing that Connor has a dozen men and five boats. Perfect! Daniel and Ofelia can take one and go on their less-than-merry way. Travis and Maddie can take Alicia and Chris and go another. Nick hangs with Luis and Strand!  Just my wish. Maddie is tending to a weakened Strand in wheelhouse of The Abigail, and Daniel comes up to help Maddie locate Connor’s cluster of boats on radar. Luis is not thrilled they are headed north, instead of to Mexico, but Maddie refuses to turn back.  Strand almost admiringly lets him know that there is no talking to her.  We find out that Luis is most upset because he brought enough money to get him and Strand through to Mexico, but Strand is sure he can negotiate for the rest.  He is giving them a half day to save their family. Daniel wants each person on the boat to hit the deck to help take down Connor’s crew. Maddie is reluctant. The others  are still children, to her.

On the “Dead Man Walking,” Alicia is given the job of tracking mid-sized boats to invade. Jack teaches her that they randomly choose who lives and who dies by which boats they attack and which they leave. Below deck we see Travis wake up in a cage. Finding a book with a paper clip, he tries picking the lock until footsteps approach. To his surprise, it’s ALEX! Actress Yvette Nicole Brown, you are AMAZING! She was dead on that Alex was the tipster, sending Connor’s crew in The Abigail’s direction. Alex had nothing to put Jake down with on the raft, to stop him from turning. Both knew he was dying and had to go overboard. She strangled him after he pleaded with her to not let him drown. She is the one who wanted Connor to bring Travis to the boat.  

Back on The Abigail, Maddie is obnoxious as always, though she is right to be mad, this time. She is mad that Strand sent Nick to shore at night to find Luis. He reminds Maddie that he saw Nick’s potential within five minutes of meeting him while Nick was in withdrawal; yet in 19-years, she still has no idea who he is. Someone hug the writer who wrote that line! She warns him not to come between her and her son. My guess is that we will find out that she did that all on her own, long ago. Back on The DMW, Alicia realizes that The Abigail is closing in, which means that Reed and his crew didn’t drop her family off down coast. Jack tries to restrain her when she attacks him. She wants to get a boat and go find her family, he agrees to go with her. She is still clearly attracted to the guy and it creeps me out, but this is the new world.

Maddie is upset that Nick seems comfortable with a gun and warns him not to be, and also warns him not listen to Strand again.  She ignores him telling her that he doesn’t mind being out there.  She doesn’t yet know that he is the “Walker Whisperer.” Back on The DMW, Alicia and Jack plan to send Connor in one direction to hunt a new boat, while taking one of the crew’s remaining boats to get her family. Alex is below telling Travis that Alicia is going to work for the crew but she doesn’t know what will happen with him.  She wanted him because he put her and Jake in the boat, knowing what would happen (Jake’s turning)? He knew what the right thing to do was, but chose “the other.” I’m assuming that means he was comfortable leaving them to float off instead of fighting to bring them aboard. She may regret throwing her lot in with Connor because Strand and Daniel, who have just finished confronting/complimenting each other for joining the fight even though neither has skin in the game, have decided that it is time to “knock on the front door” of Connor’s harbor.

Back on The DMW, Travis talks to Alex about Liza and how he knows what it was like for her, with Jake. As she leaves, she tells him that Connor told her that he could use her, but people don’t use her. Is she taking over this crew? On The Abigail, Reed is goading Chris about his sister and Jack’s plans for her. He asks about Chris’ “real mom” – since he doesn’t look like Maddie or the other kids. He says that when the time comes, the people he calls family will put him down like a stray. Blood is the only thing that matters. As Nick comes up, Chris again faults himself for not pulling the trigger, but Nick tells him that none of them would have pulled the trigger on a pregnant woman. He tells him to not let it all get inside of his head.  

On The DMW, Alicia finally gets to see Travis and tells him her fears that everyone is gone or hurt, but he trusts that Maddie would make sure everything is ok.  When she tells him about her  plans with Jack, Travis tells her to take off and don’t come back for him.  She refuses to leave him behind. Upstairs, Connor is on the radio hailing for Reed, thinking he has possession of The Abigail. Maddie lets him know that he can have Reed when she gets her family – giving him 1 hour to make the trade.  He will,  as long as one of them brings Reed. Nick offers to go, but Maddie agrees to go instead. Too late? Chris has killed Reed, claiming he was going to turn. Luis thinks Reed’s death means it’s done and they have to turn around, but Daniel says nothing is done.  Nick starts cleaning the room so that Chris doesn’t have to see it. Ofelia joins him. The wound was only a shot to the cheek and  Reed really does turn.

Daniel arrives just in time to stop Nick from putting him down. Daniel and Maddie take Walker-Reed to shore to exchange for Travis, Alicia has been left behind. Vida tries to trap her in Travis’ old cage when the tables are turned and she ends up being caged, instead. Outside on the dock, Connor refuses to give up Alicia until he is sure his “brother” Reed is doing fine. Maddie cuts the ties behind his back sends him in Connor’s direction. Walker- Reed ends up taking a bite out of Connor and out of one of his men, when his hood is removed. Travis, who had just spoken to Alex about trying to avoid violence, viciously head butts Connor ‘s other goon before he and Maddie beat the guy silly. Jack, like Reed, has abandonment issues, and stands on the deck of the ship trying to convince Alicia that her family will abandon her just as they abandoned Alex — a perfect stranger. Alicia, literally, jumps ship leaving a pleading Jack behind in order to rejoin her family on their raft, making their way back to The Abigail.  

What do you think #FTWD fans, was Reed trying to goad Chris into killing him? Did he have his doubts that anyone would come for him before he died?  Did he want to go out on his own terms? Will Alicia and Jack see each other again? Will Alex become a cross between Reed and Connor?  So much action, so little time.  

See you next week when the action appears to be kicked up a notch!

 

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