You would think after the terror they encountered on the water, our survivors would be on the lookout 24/7. Instead they headed to shore to play house and forget their problems in Fear the Walking Dead’s ‘We All Fall Down’. That’s the best way to spend your time, right?
Let’s talk about it!
Sit Back and Relax
While I appreciate the fact that our survivors got a lot of information about the condition of the outside world, this episode felt disjointed. Everyone, except Strand, continues to teeter back and forth on their stance on the apocalypse. They want to continue to live in the past without realizing or understanding that the world they knew is gone. If they don’t step up their game and come to this realization soon THEY’LL DIE.
All of their troubles, except Strand, were forgotten and they were able to sit back and have a drink. Alicia melted into the background after everyone conveniently forgot about her making a love connection with a random stranger on the water. Chris was off on his own after losing his mother. And Daniel was hovering over Strand for no reason besides being bored and trying to make us (the viewer) join in his paranoia. To bad we’re not buying it.
Oddly enough, even the teenagers were able to relax with some wine while watching the children. (Thank you Walking Dead, for continuing with the theme that no one watches their children.) As expected there was something wrong with the family that accepted our survivors into their home with no problem. At this point, I would have been more surprised if the family was surviving and happy on the island. Good thing that Nick was able to spot the crazy before they became a chew toy for a little zombie girl.
Strand vs Everyone
I loathe the amount of contempt, paranoia, and distrust that everyone has when it comes to Strand. Look, I understand their “concerns.” What was he doing in containment? Why did he have his boat on the ready? He could have been there because he was mouthing off to soldiers and didn’t want to leave his home. And his boat could’ve been ready because he was going on a trip. He’s a man of means and money. Is it too hard to believe that he was going on a trip before all of this went down? Now you’re wondering about the phone that he had and who he’s calling? The survivors don’t know about this yet. And it could be the person he was going to visit before the world went to hell.
If there’s anyone that we should want off the boat, it’s Daniel. He tortured someone in the first season. How convenient that everyone seems to forget that. I understand being cautious of someone, but what he was doing was overkill. He’s watching Strand like a hawk and trifling through his things without reason or permission. That’s a big no! How is Strand going to trust any of them with someone like Daniel hovering over him like crazy?
While we’re still on Daniel, let’s talk about how he didn’t want to stay on the island because he wasn’t invited. Suddenly he’s an honorable man? Also, it’s okay to want to take Strand’s boat away from him because he invited you on board? So if the people on the island invited them to stay, it would be okay for Daniel to take away their things? Daniel’s a confusing, twisted mess, who makes up his own rules as he goes along.
And then there’s Madison and her superiority complex when bringing the child, that they were going to kidnap, on board Abigail. She didn’t have to argue with Strand and make a big deal about how he doesn’t get to decide who comes on the boat or not. Last I checked the boat belonged to Strand. He saved all from the burning of LA because he let them on his boat. He did this for her, her family, and her friends.
Madison couldn’t be bothered to spare a couple seconds to tell him WHY she took the child? Really? Madison wasted time arguing with Strand for added drama. Pretty sure Strand would’ve been ok with the child hopping on if they told him, “Hey the daughter turned into a zombie and is eating everyone up. He’s got nowhere to go.” See? Simple. Instead they got into each others face, ramped up the drama, and have a nice (stupid) set up for more Strand drama next week.
Post Apocalyptic Nick
There’s been a shift in the way that Nick operates since the sh** hit the fan. He’s lived in chaos for so long that he’s adapting easily to this world. Nick doesn’t have the same distractions he did before because he’s isolated from the world with his family all around him. In a twisted way, I think he’ll work through his addiction for the first and final time under these circumstances.
Meeting the people on that island set Nick back. All of a sudden there was an opportunity to pull himself out of the isolation forced on him while on the yacht. He could search for drugs and lose himself again in this bit of “normal” they’d found. As soon as he discovered the drugs, he recognized that there was something wrong with the picturesque little family. Nick is a survivor in chaos. And that family was chaos waiting to happen. From now on he’ll be more wary when encountering people like this because it’s not what it seems. As much as he wants to go back and lose himself, the world he was addicted to is gone.
Nick is an asset in this new “normal” because he understands how to live another day. He understands when things are skewed and not what they seem. I don’t see him connecting to his family, and fixing what was broken between them, happening any other way. The apocalypse saved Nick.
P.S. Praise be, Nick took a shower and changed his shirt.
So what comes next?
Our survivors are going to ramp up the paranoia when it comes to Strand and meet up with the survivor of Flight 462. If you haven’t watched the web series yet, check it out HERE. Here’s hoping that she survives to live another day and isn’t killed off to move someone else’s story along.
In other news, Nick is going to go missing and the walkers are going to be everywhere! P.S. Someone’s dying!
Fear the Walking Dead airs Sundays @ 9/8c on AMC.
