‘Fear the Walking Dead’ Recap: ‘Pablo & Jessica’

New wrinkle! Victor and Madison survive not by finding the trapdoor in the bar. They survive by smearing themselves with walker blood and locking the walkers inside, once they escape. Victor is convinced they need to go, that Alicia and Ofelia took the missing truck and ran off for the sake of their own survival.  Madison knows better, her daughter wouldn’t leave her. The loud talk and piano playing is just one more screw up by this group, but they’re about to make good. The two survivors hear voices and rush to help. It is Alicia and her group!

While his mother and sister are fighting for their lives, Nick is at the colonia, wallowing in sympathy for the little girl whose father sacrificed himself. Nick heads to the clinic to speak to Alejandro and to offer to help to make up for his actions during the trade. He uses his knowledge of cutting  the drugs they use to trade with the warehouse gang to increase supply. Our hero. He convinces Alejandro that the gang won’t care about purity since they’ll get high, faster. Nick brags on his limited, but refined, skill set which will buy the group more time and more hope. I wonder if he’s thought about his biological family, a mother and sister who are still struggling and nearly out of hope. Maddie wants to go after Ofelia but the ever practical Victor reminds her that they have no way of knowing where to find her. Alicia tells her mother that this was Ofelia’s choice since she didn’t believe they would make it. Too bad for her. 

Elena, the hotel manager, informs the group that there are enough supplies to last for months, but the other group of survivors wants her gone… more importantly, they want her dead. That leads Maddie to try to strike a deal with Oscar, letting him know that no one is leaving the hotel, they may as well work together. Victor isn’t so sure it’s a good idea, but Maddie is tired of running and doesn’t want to fight to survive any more. At the colonia, perennial runaway, Nick, who is working his fingers to the bone to save his new family, wants to know the truth about Alejandro’s bite. The discussion turns into a gabfest about how tough Luciana is about about her trust issues. Alejandro questioning whether Nick believes him or not.  

Back at the hotel, the new group doesn’t want to trust Madison and Victor, but will work with her if they get rid of Elena. She must go if they are to join Madison’s group in clearing the dead and fortifying the hotel to have a shot at producing clean water and growing food.  Madison tells them that Elena didn’t kill Jessica, the sickness did. She tells them what they’ve seen on the outside and that it will happen there, too – if they don’t agree to join forces. Maddie is already calling the place home, but Victor does not. He misses the home he had with Thomas. The hotel will never be his home.

At the colonia, Alejandro tells his story. He was bitten while fighting to save a drug addicted kid who was mistaken for one of the dead. He survived, the boy he tried to save died. He tells Nick that he may feel safe among the dead, but men like Marcos are not safe and to be careful, they want him back at the colonia. The warnings and life lessons remind Nick of his mother.  Alejandro says that he is trying to be anything but, and then gives Nick permission to play soccer with Luciana and the children.  The fun and games are interrupted when Luciana realizes that Alejandro and Francisco are talking about “Pablo”, Luciana’s brother, who is reportedly in pieces. She walks over to the two men to find out what they are saying. She decides to join Nick on his journey to the warehouse.  Is it that she needs a shoulder to cry on, is it a suicide mission, or is she there to help because his Spanish is bad, as she says?  She takes the shoulder to cry on.

At the hotel, the small group is clearing the place floor by floor when Maddie and Alicia take a moment to bond while standing on the beach. Three buildings, 18 floors each –  looking out at the long pier above them, Alicia realizes they don’t have to kill the walkers one at a time. Her plan to is lead them out to the ocean to be carried away by the riptide.  Given how many “ocean dead” they fought while on The Abigail, she has to know they are simply passing the problem off.  Inside she told Hector that all of the dead had to be killed, not just locked inside rooms. If just one got free and infects someone and they would have to start all over. I get that they are fighting for their survival, but isn’t the same true, here?

Back at the colonia, Nick, who feels that “surviving feels like eating shit” is gifted with a home of his own when he returns. Not bad. At the hotel, Alicia wants to lead the dead to sea, but Madison insists that she do it. Alicia and Hector lead the dead from the streets. Victor and Elena clear the rooms. Madison pulls them from the courtyard. They all join together and head for the pier outside the hotel. At the end, Madison will jump the pier and be picked up by a waiting boat – if Hector and Alicia are able to reach her, given the choppy waves. She jumps and the plan works.  The dead follow her in.  She makes it to the boat without incident.

Luciana visits Nick that night. She’s impressed that he is reading the dictionary to learn to communicate. He talks about his golden child sister taking Spanish, wishing he had too. Luciana is surprised to know that Nick has family. She is mourning her lost family.  How would she feel knowing he left his family after the plague began.  

At the hotel, Oscar is not ready to break bread with Elena, it seems and is refusing to come to dinner. Victor decides to go to him. We learn that he realizes that Jessica is still in the room and that Oscar is protecting her. They commiserate over losing their true loves when Oscar says that he won’t let him touch Jessica. Victor says that he is sorry, that the situation is not fair to him or to her and then offers to help Jessica. His mournful speech about understanding loving someone so much you can’t speak or breathe, and the unfairness of it all, is the most we have seen him mourn Thomas and make it believable. It is sweet and sad. It is one of the most tender moments we have witnessed since Liza’s and Thomas’ deaths. Oscar liked who he was with Jessica. Victor liked who he was with Thomas. They bond enough for Oscar to trust Victor to help him let her go, for good.

Luciana wakes up in Nick’s bed. He is a gentleman and sits on the floor as she sleeps. She goes to avoid the town gossip. Before she goes, he asks if she is testing him. He and Alejandro had a long talk, earlier, about how she likes to test people before she can trust them.  He must have passed. She kisses him.  Hello, gossip!  She’s not leaving him, not tonight.

The episode was solid, not exciting, but it moves the ball forward. We will see where it takes us next week, as it looks as if fresh hell is about to break loose. I am still wondering what happens for Travis and Chris. Can Chris be pulled out of his downward spiral? If he is left behind by his father, will he eventually find his “family” and either kill them or be killed? His story is the more compelling story, for now, in my book.  We will have to wait to see what happens next.

 

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