‘Fear the Walking Dead’ Recap: The Hotel Gets A Surprise Attack

What hell satchel is waiting to be ripped open when a family is actually trying to escape the colonia? What is it we don’t know when we see  Francisco, his wife, Ana,  and their child climb the death bus, smear themselves with blood, and run off to take their chances on the outside? I still can’t believe that the growing walker crowd hasn’t crashed that place, yet. Unfortunately for the small family, they are stopped by Marco and one of his goons, searching them for Oxy once he recognizes Francisco. They force the small family into their truck.

Another truck, another location, it’s Ofelia, who stops to kill a walker while searching for food in an abandoned restaurant. It’s next to water, so she wistfully watches the waves, remembering her last conversation with her lost love, Will, in the same restaurant, on the same deck. He wants her to come with him to Santa Fe, but she says she can’t. She nearly changes her mind when he surprises her with an engagement ring in her water glass. She still can’t quite say yes. Will thinks her parents are stronger than she thinks (understatement) and that her father is a sweet old man who will give them his blessing. Clearly, Will didn’t know her parents well.  She is back to scavenging.  Too bad she left the hotel, the group there is planting and moving forward on their plans to have a life, and make a go of the place: crops planted, fishing on the pier, surf lessons on the beach, the bar is set up, the generator is going, laughter… surreal. Alicia reminisces about big brother Nick, with Hector. She misses who he was, but not who he is. Hector’s brother is gone, too, as far as he knows, and he’s not missing him, either. Maddie brings ice water to the pair/couple.

News is spreading at the colonia about Francisco taking off – which is a shock considering the fact that he helped build and protect the place. Luciana says that he knows there are other communities out there doing better than they are. Nick agrees to go to the warehouse in Francisco’s place. At the hotel, Elena, Maddie, Alicia, and Victor are talking out a plan to find more gas for the generator when there is a knock at the door. Victor answers it, expecting Hector, but  is met by a knife blade.  Jessica’s mother, Ilene Stowe, repays his kindness in freeing her daughter with a shiv to the stomach. He is shocked, while she stammers on about him taking her (dead) daughter’s life.  Victor falls, calling out to Madison for help. As everyone gathers to help him, Oscar tries to make excuses for Ilene. No one cares to hear it, most especially Madison and Victor. Elena fears that she and Hector are next. Madison says that they’ll watch Ilene, for now, and decide what to do with her, later.  Oscar’s brother, Andres, has two years of med school under his belt. He wants to save Victor but he needs a suture kit and erythropoietin to help him replace the red blood cells he’s lost.  Elena knows a place with medicine left, but they have to drive… lemme guess, the warehouse?  Madison wants Ilene indefinitely locked up. It’s the only alternative to being put out on the streets.  The next person who engages in violence is permanently exiled.

Alejandro holds another community meeting. He tells the group that what lies beyond the wall is worse than death, it’s a wasteland, the end. They need to stick together, they need each other. Nick thinks Alejandro looks unwell and ruthfully, Alejandro is acting odd. Is it the bite? He is sweating profusely, seems paranoid, angry and is confronting Luciana with his suspicions that she wants to follow Francisco in leaving them. No one is allowed to leave until he says that they can, despite the fact that they are running low on supplies and water. Maddie, Elena, and Oscar are leaving to get medicine. Elena and Hector fight before she goes. It turns out she wanted him to come to the warehouse to convince his brother to come home, but he refused. Maddie tells her not to give up on her nephew. “At home” Nick and Luciana fight when he tells her Alejandro is afraid and is holding on too tight.  He wants to go to the warehouse, against orders.  She reminds him that Alejandro saved his  life, and that he is here because of  him. Nick tells her that he is there because of her. Rage and sexual tension, even in the apocalypse.

At the warehouse, Elena asks for her nephew, Antonio, and is granted permission to come in. She and Maddie carry the cooler with their trade, but Oscar must wait outside. Nick wants to get to the warehouse to stop the men from coming to find them – he tries convincing Alejandro that going is the right thing to do. No dice. He simply wants Nick to trust him that this is the right thing, to wait at the colonia. Antonio is not warm and fuzzy. There are no warm welcomes for his beloved, tia. The group is impressed with the fish and ice, wanting more ice. Maddie, being who she is, is asking Elena to eavesdrop on Marco’s conversation with Francisco and Ana. She realizes that the colonia he’s asking about must be where Nick is living. Stupidly, she runs in the direction of the yelling. WHEN is her time up? Alicia is suddenly the smartest person in the family. Elena has to force Madison to leave the room before they are both killed. Marco threatens to cut Nick’s balls off when he sees him again – thankfully, Elena doesn’t translate that one. Elena foolishly tells Antonio the hotel is safe, he can come home, but he warns her not to come back, telling her that they won’t be there much longer, anyway. Nick had better hope they’re gone before he gets there, since he’s talked a guard into joining him in a late night run to the warehouse. I think Marco would make good on this threat.

There is a playful scene with Alicia and Victor. He asks about her earlier statement about raising herself and she talks about watching Nick and his episodes, her father’s death, Maddie focusing on Nick. He tells her that she has her mother all to herself, but she doesn’t want her mother’s attention, like this. She wonders if  her mother even sees her. Damn the writers are clever!  Nick is seen, by Marco, who is watching him through binoculars. Nick knows something is up as he looks out into the hills where Marco is lurks. At the same time, Ofelia is taking a look back to arriving at home after her trip, the trip where she gets engaged and lies to Griselda about where she was and who was with her. Her parents think it was a girls weekend. Griselda talks about the horror they left behind and that she wanted more for her family, including her daughter, that they shouldn’t have to  live in fear.  It’s clear that is was the moment when she decided to break Will’s heart and stay with her parents.

At the hotel, Alicia freaks out when the group returns with what they needed, but she doesn’t see her mother. Elena explains that Maddie pissed off the wrong people. Thinking it means she’s dead, Alicia is shocked to see that her mother is alive and has drawn attention to the hotel by turning on the hotel sign for the world, and scavengers, to see. She is sickened that her mother put them all at risk over the rumor of someone who COULD be Nick. She is angry that Maddie is worried about him when he chose what was out there over her. When Maddie says that he could have changed his mind, Alicia reminds her that she never did, she stood by her mother.  The lights go out, but not before Travis (TRAVIS!) sees them. SO, Madison sucks as a person and a mother once again – though not totally. She did risk her life to save Victor’s. She just put everyone else in jeopardy when she returned. Once again, what she wants matters most. Ofelia is an ass who left everyone for dead, but not such a surprise, she has a history of betraying people who love her. Elena and Alicia are becoming the show’s heroes. I can live with that.  

Next week? More Travis and Chris. Travis may have to break his own rules and spill human blood!

 

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