What I Watched Today
(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)
Fear the Walking Dead
Alicia goes to the tree that says, if you’re reading this you are still here. she asks, but where are you? A zombie pokes out of the bushes, his arms tangled in them. One arm falls off as he pulls himself out. Alicia takes a knife out of her back pocket. The zombie faceplants, but another comes from the other direction. A third comes out of nowhere, and grabs Alicia. She calls for Victor. She accidently drops her knife, and as she’s fumbling around for it, Victor comes up from behind, and pikes the zombie in the head with Alicia’s old weapon. Just for good measure, he gets a few more that have arrived. He asks if she’s all right. She is, and says she’s sorry, but he tells her, don’t be. He finishes off the bush zombie, and Alicia asks him, does he ever get the feeling the universe is trying to tell him something? They keep going.
Alicia checks a map. Victor says they’re low on fuel. She asks if he doesn’t think they’ll find the convoy. He says, even if they do, what help they can be? He’s not sure it’s good for Alicia be out there. What does she think this person is going to do that they can’t? She isn’t sure, but she does know how she feels when she sees the trees. A man’s voice on the radio asks if anyone is there. Alicia copies, and he asks who it is. She says, you go first, and he says, Alicia? Victor says, he saw the tapes? and he says, Mitch? Victor says, it’s Victor. How may they assist him? He says his name is Wes, and Victor owes him a ride.
Wes’s motorcycle is loaded on the back of the truck. Alicia asks, what happened? and Wes says all these holes spontaneously erupted in his bike. Some a-holes did it. He thanks them for the movie. This all happened because he was busy watching it. He says Logan is a big fan of theirs, and Alicia asks why Wes didn’t call sooner. He says he didn’t know if they were real. Usually people who claim to be good, are just the opposite. He thought he’d push his bike home, but he can’t. His brother is waiting, and probably thinks he turned into an eater by now. Victor kills a passing zombie. Alicia tells Wes, get in.
Al and Morgan go inside a bank. They get rid of some zombies in the lobby. Al tells Morgan it might be time for a new stick, but he’s good. Al opens the vault. Morgan asks how she knew the combination, and she says she went out with a manager a while back. When she opens the door, a zombie pops out, and she dispatches it. A dead employee lies on the floor, apparently a suicide, and Morgan says, a helluva way to go. He asks if Al doesn’t think it’s overkill, but she says, no; it’s smart. If something happens to them, the tapes will survive. Morgan says if something happens to them, he’s not sure there will be anyone left to watch them. Al says if Logan and his d*ck squad keep trashing the truck stops, they need as many backups as they can get. She asks why he joined her, and Morgan says he didn’t think it was smart for her to be out on her own.. She asks if he’s going to make her work for it, and he says, there’s nothing to work for. He goes to the car to get the bags of tapes.
Wes asks how long they’ve been looking for the person who painted the trees? Alicia says he saw the tape. He asks how that’s going, and she says, it’s going. He tells them not to take it the wrong way, but don’t they have bigger fish to fry? Victor says, there’s no fish frying for them, and Alicia says they’re trying to help where they can. This is different. She needs to meet them. Wes asks what she thinks is going to happen if she does, and she says she wants to know how they do it. Wes says, the trees? It’s just paint. She wants to know how they see the world they way she wants to. Wes says if they find them, let him know how it goes. He can’t see it ending well. It hardly ever does. Alicia says, sorry about what happened with Logan, but Wes says, it’s okay.
Zombies feed on a deer by the side of the road, just to get some gore in. They drive past to a police station. Wes says, home, sweet home. He hands the tape back, but Victor says, keep it. You never know. Wes appreciates the lift, but Victor wants to thank Wes. He says they needed a reminder of why they’re out there. Wes says he’ll tell his brother what’s up. Alicia says they’ll unload the bike, and leave Wes some gas. Alicia closes the gate, and they hear gunshots from inside. A wounded guy runs out, Wes chasing him. The guy jumps in the truck, and Wes starts to follow, but Victor stops him. Wes shoots at the truck, but it gets away. He shoots a zombie just because, and runs out of bullets. One gets close, and Victor intervenes. Victor takes it that wasn’t Wes’s brother.
Wes gets out more guns, and throws one to Victor. They shoot zombies, and gas comes out of the bullet hole in one of them near Victor. He says, teargas, and tells Alicia, get inside. He’s coughing up a lung, but picks up the weapon, telling Wes to get inside too. He finishes off the gas-infused zombie. Inside the station, Alicia pours water on his eyes, and asks if he can see. It’s just a blur, and he groans. She puts water on a cloth, and tells him to hold it on his eyes. Alicia wonders what the hell that was, and Wes says, people are people; that’s what he means. That man pulled a gun on him a while back, and took his sh*t. Alicia asks if that’s why Wes brought them there; to kill him. Wes says he brought them there to take it back; that was a bonus. Alicia says, his brother? and Wes says, he doesn’t have one, but he did for a while. Victor says they can’t let the guy die; they have to find him. Alicia says there’s still time, and Wes asks if she’s kidding him. He shot first. Victor looks at all the zombies crowding the door, and says they’re not leaving any time soon. Alicia asks how many Wes has killed. He digresses, and she says he can’t kill one, let alone a herd. She guesses they’ll find out if he can help.
Al puts the tapes in a safe deposit box. Alicia radios, and Al asks if she’s okay. Alicia says she knows they’re not supposed to broadcast their location, but she’s not sure what to do. They need help, and there’s not a lot of time. Alicia asks Victor if he can see anything, and he says, not yet. She says Al and Morgan are trying to find the guy, and Victor says, they will. Alicia says Victor has been doing what she can’t for a while, so she doesn’t have to. She doesn’t want to kill the dead, but she does want to help. Does he think both are possible? Victor says, maybe not, but he’s willing to keep on trying until the universe tells them otherwise. She takes his hand.
Al speeds along, while Morgan reads the map. He says a junction is coming up that should put them on the same road the guy took off on. They see Logan’s truck, and a line of men blocking the road. Al says, great. Morgan tells her to stop, and they get out. Al asks Logan if he’s moving his rig, but he says he seems to have run out of gas. Morgan says, someone’s life is in danger, and Al asks if Logan is really doing this. Logan says they don’t seem to give a damn about putting their own lives at risk, but care about everyone else. If they don’t want the guy to bleed out on the side of the road, and want to make good on their promises, tell him where the damn oil fields are. He gets silence, and says, they’ve got all day and then some. He wishes they could see things the same, but face it, they can play this out, but they both know where going. It sucks, because he’s really grown fond of them. Tick…tick…tick…
Al asks Morgan, what about the service road? but he says, too far north. If they hadn’t come across Logan there, he would have stopped someone else. They have no time for this. They walk up to Logan, and Logan says, where is it? Morgan asks why he needs the gas. They might be able to help him. Logan asks if Morgan thinks that take what you need horsesh*t works on him. He came up with it. He bought it then, but he doesn’t now. Morgan says, they do. It could work out for him. He just has to let it. Logan says, it’s bigger than they are, but it’s going to help people. Just not in the way he likes; it’s big boy stuff. He’s tired of waiting. Grow up or die. He wants to know where the fields are. He’ll even settle for a quick look at the journals. Morgan says they can’t do that, and Logan says, they’re going to let the sad sack die by the side of the road. This is the kind of pragmatism and non-stupidism that makes them more alike than Morgan thinks. Morgan says if Logan gets the field, it will put more lives at risk. They’ll find another way to get where they’re going. He tells Al, come on. Logan says, a bit of friendly advice. Helping other people isn’t going to make Morgan feel better about not helping them. Morgan says, who? and Logan says, his wife and son. Morgan says, what did he say? and slams Logan up against the side of the truck, pressing his stick against Logan’s throat. Al stops him from going any further, but Logan looks pretty scared. He tells Morgan if he doesn’t want people in his business, don’t put it on TV. Morgan walks away, and tells Al, let’s go.
Zombies clamor at the windows of the police station. Alicia says, it must have been important, what he took. Wes says, it was. He thinks the pr*ck took it when he left. Isn’t Alicia going to ask what it was? She says, why? and he says, so she can tell him a story. She can relate it to herself; a lesson to impart. Alicia says they’re out there, trying to help. He says, he knows, and hates to burst her bubble, but he’s not like the woman in the mine field. He doesn’t need his wounded soul healed, or be set on the right path. The guy was an a-hole. He just wants back what the guy took. Alicia says, what if he doesn’t get it? He’ll have shot the guy for nothing, and could have died for nothing. Wes says, somebody’s got it, and Alicia asks if it has anything to do with what happened to his brother. She lost a brother too. He says, they’re two peas in a pod. Alicia says she’ll find another way out. Wes says, he died. Nothing melodramatic, no great story. He just went out for condensed milk, and didn’t see an eater coming, and that was that. Alicia says she’s sorry, and the motorcycle? Wes says, it was his. He knows what she’s trying to do. She sees a guy who’s taken a bit of a beating, and thinks maybe she can appeal to the part that lost a brother, and she can change him; bring out the light. That’s got nothing to do with why they’re here, or why he shot that scumbag. She asks, then why did he do it? He says, this is the way things are. We shoot we kill. If it wasn’t him, it would be someone else. Al radios, telling Alicia about Logan’s roadblock. Wes says, see what he means? Alicia says, it doesn’t have to be like that. He hasn’t killed anyone yet, and the guy is still out there. They can help him.
Alicia gathers some weapons and ammo. LOUD zombies scrabble at the door. Victor is there, and Alicia tells him that she thinks she can get a squad car; she saw where the keys are. She tells Victor, stay there. He asks if she’s sure about this. She hasn’t killed any dead since before the plane. She says someone out there needs their help. If this is what it takes, this is what it takes. Wes says, wait. He’ll clear them. He’ll help her. He knocks on the door, and says, this is going to get loud.
Wes goes to the back of the house, and outside. He moves to the front, and begins to knock off the zombies one by one. They start moving toward him, and he keeps taking guns out of a gym bag. When he’s gotten them all, he radios that he’s heading to the back now. Alicia looks over sets of keys, and finds the right ones. A lone zombie walks right through the glass door. Victor runs in, and Alicia says he can’t see. She grabs a pipe, and says, sh*t. I don’t really get this business about not wanting to kill the dead, since they’re dead. They’re deteriorating. Isn’t it just putting them out of their misery? <sigh> Alicia raises the pipe, and flashes back to the times she’s killed zombies. While she’s busy visiting Memory Lane, Victor stabs it in the back of the head. He asks, how many more? but Wes sees what’s going on, and shoots the rest of them. He asks if Alicia and Victor are okay.
Morgan is thoughtful as Al drives. She says they can take the farm road, and go the rest of the way on foot. She tells Morgan that she’s sorry, and he asks, why? She says she shouldn’t have put that in the documentary. Morgan says he knew it was there, and he was okay with it. Al says he didn’t seem like it back there, and Morgan says, they made the documentary to show who they are; get people to trust what they had to say, and know who they were. That’s just who he is. Al says, bullsh*t. That’s not just who they are – ghosts. What they lost doesn’t define them. Maybe what they do. Maybe. Maybe it’s what they’re running from. Alicia radios, and Al asks if they found him. Alicia says, yes, but it’s not what they’d hoped for. Alicia stands next to an empty car, while a very slow zombie walks down the road. Alicia says, sorry, and Wes says, why? He’s getting it back.
Wes follows the slow zombie. When he gets close, he says, hey. The guy turns, but he’s not dead. He throws the bag at Wes, and then jumps on him. He puts his hands on Wes’s throat at squeezes. Wes feels around for his knife. He finally gets ahold of it, and jabs the guy in the side. He says, where is it? His manuscript. The guy says he just wanted to finish it. Wes takes the manuscript out of the bag. The guy says, it’s good stuff; really good stuff, and dies. Alicia says Wes killed the guy because the guy stole his book? Wes stabs the guy in the head, and says they made him care. He never should have radioed. They were right, but that doesn’t mean they’re right at this moment. At the end of the day, people are people. They leave you wanting more. He starts to go down the road, and Alicia picks up the manuscript. She says, your book. Wes says, he died for it. He can keep it, and resumes walking.
Al and Morgan bury the manuscript thief. Alicia looks at the manuscript, and Victor asks, how is it? Alicia thinks Wes wrote it for his brother. That’s why he wanted it back. He just wanted to write books. We see the last line says, if you are reading this, it means you’re still here. She says, the trees. Wes painted them. Victor says, sorry. He knows that’s not what she was hoping to find. Alicia says he’s right. She’s not going to find what she’s looking for from anybody else. She paints over the writing on the tree, and starts something new. I’m wondering if Wes’s brother didn’t paint the trees though. That would make more sense.
Wes keeps walking, and sees another tree that says, if you are reading this, it means you’re still here. He touches it, and nearly cries, looking at the ground. Maybe his brother is buried there? I have all kinds of questions this week.
Victor looks at Alicia’s tree. She’s painted a bird (a dove?) on it. He says, beautiful. She made it her own. A zombie toddles up, and he says he’s got it, but she says, no, and stabs it in the neck. Victor asks if she’s good, and she says, yeah, she’s good. She climbs up on the car, and writes on the tree: no one‘s gone until they’re gone.
Morgan looks at the new tree, and Al asks if he’s ready to head out. He says she was wrong and she was right. He’s not running from anything, but he’s not a ghost. He’s not just what he lost. He holds on because it’s connected to everything. Al says, the good stuff. Morgan says he’s even seen a little lately; Jenny, Dwight – how he used to be. Every time he tries to get past it and put it behind him, he gets worried that he lost some good too, so he holds on to it – all of it. Al says they’ll make sure he doesn’t lose anything he doesn’t want to. Morgan asks, how? and she says, tell her about his wife and son. He laughs, and says, okay.
The safety deposit boxes rattle at the bank. Everything shakes, and the vault door falls open. Logan says, we’re in. A woman in a truck says, she’s on it
Logan and his men look through everything. Logan finds the tapes, and I curse him out. The woman from the truck arrives, and asks how he knew they were there. He says, like he told them, it’s bigger than themselves. A guy says the journals aren’t there. Logan says they’re going to check the tapes. Someone slipped up, and the location is there somewhere. This is yesterday. How about tomorrow?
Next time, Logan says they’re about to buy a ticket to the promised land, Dwight tells Sarah the beer isn’t bad, and John has an idea.
😵 Potomac Worked My Last Nerve…
But I’ll always respect a betche’s opinion.
🎢 From Milk Man To Plastic Surgeon To…
Like a rolling stone, Kelly is movin’ on.
🚤 What Happens On Deck…
While watching a Below Deck marathon in honor of Chef Ben’s return, I learned about the stages of drunkenness, according to Kate Chastain. This is fun, I love everyone, I really love everyone, I hate you, I hate my life, Goodnight.
💃 But Rick Perry Was Okay?
I’d rather see Lamar Odom go.
To be fair, the opposition’s rebuttal.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/sean-spicer-responds-dancing-stars-backlash-1233815
🌌 This Ought To Liven It Up…
Another Monday is here all too soon.
What I Watched - TV With Theresa 