RECAP: ‘Fear The Walking Dead’ Conflict Erupts On The Journey To Strand’s Destination [Season 2, Episode 6]

This week’s Fear The Walking Dead opening could have been the start of its own movie. Setting: Mexico, A small town church. Angelic choirboys, a boisterous energetic priest encouraging the parishioners to fight and shortly after we see them, first, take communion, they pick up guns. Thomas Abigail pulls up in a mad fury trying to stop them, warning them that they won’t win. One by one, those who have taken communion begin to fall, including the children, undoubtedly poisoned. Thomas grabs the dying priest, holding him close while being warned that the evil Celia is responsible. Dying priest? You know where this is going!

As I want more, the attention turns back to The Abigail. Chris and Travis are having a heart to heart about the killing of the “not sick” hostage. Luis is preparing to pay the toll to allow The Abigail to cross into Mexico when Strand and Maddie notice that there are two men approaching the boat, their contact, Miguel, and an unknown man. Maddie is asked to sneak everyone below while Strand and Luis try to figure out what is going on. The “pirates” are also interested in Strand’s boat, it’s value, and whether there are infected on board. A battle breaks out and by the time time the crew are back topside, the two strangers are dead and Luis is dying. He wants them to give his mother his owl medallion (Santa Muerte- Sacred Death)  Daniel tosses it overboard as Luis watches. Daniel clearly knows what the significance of the object is, but pretends not to.  

Why, oh WHY, do the writers keep killing off the new characters that I love far more than many of the regulars? Goodbye, Luis. The shooting stops. Strand speculates that the pirates believe they will be killed by whatever is waiting for them on land. As they hit land, the most disturbing thing they witness is a dog feeding off of a pile of the dead. Strand flips when he sees Thomas’ truck, but no Thomas. His yelling must have attracted walkers, the priest and parishioners who are still moving about. The battle for survival begins.  

Daniel grabs one of the choirboys and seems to remember either being a child who was held by the throat or holding a child by the throat, it’s not yet clear but my money’s on the latter. Maddie falls and Chris takes his time watching her struggle underneath a large male walker.  Alicia calls his name but he doesn’t move, leaving her to save her mother. Nick is frozen by the horror of witnessing child-walkers being killed and doesn’t notice everyone piling into Thomas’ truck. They finally make their way back to the walled compound:  large estate home, servants, workers in the field, it feels like paradise. It is hard to believe that the gates would hold if a large group of walkers pressed them, but they have held, so far. If you guessed that the “evil Celia” was Luis’ mother, you were correct. She greets Strand to give him the news that his Thomas is alive, only to learn that her Luis was killed by the military (pirates) who stopped them at sea.

While Celia is getting the bad news, a badass servant makes sure they all leave their weapons behind. Suspicious Daniel tries talking her into letting him keep his, but she is not having it and gives him the stink eye when it’s clear she doesn’t believe he has handed her everything. He finally gives her a second knife he was hiding. C’mon, you know there is more, somewhere. While Daniel is meeting his match, Celia takes Strand to Thomas, who has a bite shaped blood stain on his bandaged arm. Perfect, Strand arrives in time to say goodbye to his beloved. Who didn’t know this would happen? Strand faults himself for not arriving sooner. Their embrace makes me even sadder knowing they have so little time left.  

Strand’s guests have no idea that his world is falling apart as they are  bringing their own drama. Alicia, who is watching a recorded television show, is fighting with Chris. He pretends he wasn’t going to let Maddie die, since he thinks of her as his mom. He begs Alicia not to break up their family by telling. He leaves her with a cryptic warning, telling her he doesn’t want to hurt anyone. Nick is cozying up to Celia, who is charmed by him and charms him in return. She is not the tear shedding type, she doesn’t seem too upset.  She feeds him. I am nervous when she thanks him for telling her that Luis asked for her in the end, but shows more concern about why he has such a heavy smile.   

His heavy smile is linked to the killing, so Celia tells Nick the dead have always walked among them. Everyone’s times and dates with destiny have already been planned. Maddie comes in and behaves like the ungrateful guest she has always been. She sends Nick to shower and then stares down the woman who just lost her own son. Celia calls Nick special, she calls him impressionable. Celia says that he is enlightened, she calls him fragile. Sweet cheese and molasses, that woman is making me root for a poisoner and hoping for a repeat performance.

Celia and Daniel meet at a prayer/memorial wall with an owl carved in the overhanging tree and I am intrigued by their vibe. Birds of a feather. Maddie brings food to Thomas and Victor’s room, and Thomas begs her to look after Victor when he’s gone. Daniel isn’t ready to join the group dinner, that night, he is thinking of his wife. Alicia spills the beans to Maddie about Chris. Travis becomes angry about her accusations and then becomes angry that Maddie isn’t as invested in helping his son as much as he helped her with Nick through his addiction issues. Bonus points to the writers for bringing this up. So much has happened since the fall that Nick’s various stints in rehab and living on the streets have been a lost memory. What a nice way to tie viewers back to season 1. Making Travis’ point for him, she decides to spend the night with her daughter. He goes to his son.

It’s time to say goodbye to Thomas. Victor tells him that the world was never good enough for him, go to sleep. Thomas doesn’t want to leave Victor, so Victor offers to go with him, but Thomas’ refuses his offer even after Victor says there is nothing left for him when Thomas goes. They share a last kiss.

Outside, Daniel watches a dog being (sacrificed?) thrown into a bin and yelping. Ofelia and Nick go to the prayer/remembrance wall so that she can talk to her mother. As she prays, he begins remembering the first day of the outbreak (in the abandoned church). Daniel follows another  trail and finds a child talking to his walker-mother, trapped in cell with other walkers. #HershelsBarn. He confronts Celia/Hershel who thinks that they should be saved.  They are the family of the people on the land. They were being hunted – by the townspeople? She faults Daniel and the others for “killing” the parishioners when he realizes she poisoned them with wafers she is sitting out on a tray. She wonders why he fears death and tells him to make peace with it.  It turns out that she is going to care for Thomas as he slips away.  She washes him and talks about the song she sang to him as a child, to help him sleep. She tells Strand that she was wrong in her belief that he was never good enough for Thomas.  She tells him to go  sleep, after he asks how long it will take. Not long she tells him. Victor appears to be planning to join Thomas, anyway. The wafers were for him.

Out on the terrace, Nick meets up with Celia. They talk about the “dead” who aren’t really dead (which makes sense of her earlier comments to Daniel that she has nothing to be sad for since her son wasn’t shot in the head). She tells him that they are what comes next, when he wants to know what they are. Isn’t it odd that she hasn’t willingly joined them, given her beliefs? Strand lays next to Thomas as he dies and heads to his closet.  

He passes the wafers Celia was carrying, earlier. As that drama plays out, Chris sneaks out of bed, without waking his father, who is in the next  bed. He sneaks into Maddie and Alicia’s room and just as he picks up a knife from the bed table, a shot rings out – waking the women and causing him to flee. The shot was the sound of Victor giving  Thomas peace.

We conclude with Thomas’ death and Victor’s anguish. This is the beginning of the end.  From next week’s previews, it all falls apart. #HershelsFarm

 

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