What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)

Fear the Walking Dead

What looks like a gang of convicts is led into the yard of a sugar processing plant. One of Ginny’s rangers says he’s not one to give second chances. It seems Virginia is. Who is he to argue? The people form a line, and he tells them that they’re here because they deserve to be in a grave. Think of it as a final chance to dig their way out. He bangs on a solid metal warehouse gate, and cocks his gun. Zombie noises come from inside, and there’s pushing on the gate. The prisoners all have pokey sticks, and one asks why they’re being made to do this. What’s in there? The ranger says, one way to find out. Aim between the eyes, and whatever you do, don’t get too close. He tells them to move forward, and they move closer, holding their spears ready. The ranger says, door, and another ranger pulls on the chain that raises the gate. Disgusting goop drips from bottom, and pools out on the floor. The gate is only a couple of feet up, and the ranger says, raise it, but the other one says, it’s stuck. Zombies start crawling out, and the ranger says, drop it, but a zombie grabs door guy’s leg, and drags him in, along with one of the prisoners that didn’t listen and got too close. The others try poking at them, and the ranger tells a prisoner, don’t just stand there; drop the door, but he says he can’t. The ranger moves him out of the way, and another prisoner gets dragged in. She claws at him, and says, please. He shoots her. The chain breaks, and the ranger is snatched in. One of the prisoners tries to help him, but can’t, and ends up getting dragged in too. When it’s over, one prisoner named Sanja is left standing, and blood mixed with goop flows out of the door.

Just outside Lawson, Victor dumps something in a barrel, and tells Alicia, that’s the last of it. Alicia pours gas on it, and sets it on fire. She tells Victor, they’d better get back before sundown. Al’s van pulls up, and Victor asks if there’s a problem. Ranger Marcus is driving, and says the wind is blowing toward the canteen, and they can’t enjoy lunch. Move it down. Victor says it’s his sh*t. If he doesn’t like it, come out and move it himself. Marcus gets out, and asks if Victor thinks he’s afraid of him, and Victor says Marcus wouldn’t have the tank if not for him. Marcus asks, if Victor is so important, why is he carrying a bucket of sh*t ? Victor says, he’s not, and tosses it near Marcus’s feet. A girl jumps out of the tank, and tells Marcus to leave them alone. He calls her Dakota, and tells her to get away from the fence. Victor wonders what the hell is going on, and Marcus says they’ll let Ginny settle it.

Alicia and Victor are led through town in handcuffs. Victor tells Alicia, he’s sorry, but she says, don’t be. Victor says, he deserves it, but he’d always thought they’d come into town under more auspicious circumstances. Dakota pops out, and tells them Marcus is an a-hole, which made it funnier. They all introduce themselves, and Dakota says she knows who they are. Alicia thanks her again for her help.   

While getting a haircut, Ginny radios someone to send a ranger to the western territories. He’s got to be out there somewhere. Her secretary or whatever asks if she’s ready for them, and she says, send them in. Victor and Alicia come in, and we see it’s Daniel cutting Ginny’s hair. Victor says he didn’t know Daniel was there, and Ginny tells them, have a seat. She hopes they don’t mind; she wasn’t expecting a visit. She adds that they could use some time in the chair themselves. Alicia asks what she did to Daniel, and Ginny says, nothing. He was hellbent on getting his cat, things got ugly, and he wouldn’t stand down. (I do not want to know.) She says, everyone has to contribute, and Victor asks if that’s the fate that awaits them. Ginny says she was hoping for more from them than cleaning out latrines. Alicia says that’s what she assigned them, and Ginny says, Victor assaulted a ranger in broad daylight. That can’t go unpunished. Victor asks where she’s sending them, and she says, somewhere that suits their more natural talents. She asks them to excuse her. She’s got more pressing matters to attend to. She checks her hair, and tells Victor that he’s already squandered one opportunity. Don’t waste this one. She leaves, and Alicia asks what that was about. Victor say he doesn’t know, and tries talking to Daniel in Spanish. Daniel says he doesn’t know what Victor is saying, and in Spanish, Victor says he doesn’t have to pretend. He asks Daniel to look him in the eyes, and say he doesn’t know who he is. He touches Daniel’s arm, and Daniel says he doesn’t know who Victor is. Daniel starts packing up his stuff, and Victor says Daniel told him to remember who he was in there. Can’t Daniel do the same? Daniel stops, and says he doesn’t know who Victor thinks he is, but he doesn’t know who Victor lost, or what’s weighing on him. He takes out a St. Christopher’s medal, telling Victor that he found it on one of the dead. His wife wore one. It helps people bear heavy burdens. He gives it to Victor, and says Victor needs it more than he does.

Victor and Alicia ride in the back of a tank. The driver tells them, get out; they’re here. Victor hopes it’s not what he thinks it is. It’s the sugar plant, and the ranger takes them to the warehouse, and Alicia asks, what’s in there? The ranger says they’ll find out when they clear it. Virginia is building the future. What’s in there is the key to getting it done… if they survive. They see a prisoner running, and he gets shot in the back. The ranger says they don’t take kindly to runners there. He gives Alicia a pokey weapon that’s no more than an armband, and Victor gets a spear. Alicia says she’s they’re going to need something more to make a dent, and the ranger says they’ll send a truck with supplies. If they’re still breathing when he gets back. He leaves, and Alicia says, they trust them? Victor says, for good reason.

Charlie joins them, and Alicia asks what she’s doing there. Charlie says she tried run away – twice. Janice comes along, and Victor guesses he and Alicia aren’t the only ones in the dog house. He asks what Janice did, and she says, what did she do, or what did they catch her doing? Victor asks, who’s in charge? and she says, the rangers keep it clear. Victor asks, what happened? and looks at the gate. We hear zombie noises, and Janice says, they did. Victor asks how many rangers there are, and she says, ten, nine now. He asks, what about the prisoners? Can they be trusted? She says, some, but not all. He asks, why? and she says, they’re not going to clear this place. They need to get the hell out of there.

Charlie explains that there were too many tanks, and they were leaking. They’re full of molasses, and it sticks like nothing else. If the door jams… Sanja is still there, and Victor moves toward the door chain, telling him, stay back. Sanja says he could have tried harder, but he didn’t. He was just the a-hole who watched. He heard about what Victor did. How he stood up to Marcus. He wishes he had the guts. Someone yells, twenty-four; let’s go. The ranger is back with the truck, and says he got them delivered. Victor and Alicia open the back of the truck, and Victor says, you’d think they could provide better weaponry, picking up a makeshift spear. Alicia tells Victor, this isn’t going to work. They need better people; more people. The rangers have guns. He says, the people there couldn’t cut it. Things could go very bad very fast. This can’t be their only move. Alicia wonders what this is really about, and Victor says, they’ve been listening to other people long enough. It’s time for them to start listing to themselves. Charlie finds Dakota in the truck, and is about to pounce on her, and Alicia says, it’s okay. Dakota says she won’t go back. She heard what they were talking about, and she can help. She knows what happens if they take out a ranger. Alicia asks, how? and she says Virginia is her sister. Victor tells her, come with them.

Hidden under a blanket, Dakota goes with Victor, Alicia, and Charlie to a more secluded spot. Victor says, start talking, and she says, they’re not the first people to try. If anyone kills a ranger, Ginny will hunt them down and kill them. If she can’t find them, she’ll hurt and kill people they love. Victor asks if Ginny isn’t going to come looking for Dakota, and she says Ginny will figure out she’s gone by time it’s dark. She wants to get away, and find other people who do. Alicia asks why Dakota thinks she can help, and Dakota says she knows who they are. She saw their tapes. Her sister was obsessed with them. Victor says their reputation precedes them. He asks how they escape, and Dakota says she knows what’s inside the warehouse. They just need to get it. He says, what? and she says, a weapon. He asks, what kind? and she says she doesn’t know, but it’s important enough that Ginny keeps throwing bodies at it. She wants what’s in there. Someone is out there trying kill her, and she wants to use it. He asks, who put it there? How does she know it’s in there? And why are so many dead between it and them? Dakota says, if they can get it, they can overpower the rangers; use it against them. Alicia asks why they should believe her, and Dakota says she hears what goes on, like the deal Victor made. Alicia asks Victor, what deal? and Victor says, sh*t. It’s not what she thinks. Alicia walks and he follows her. He says, Ginny splits people up. He asked her to keep them together. Alicia asks, why do that? She can take care of herself. Victor says he did it for himself… what he needs to do to survive. He can’t do it without help. Not without her. It’s the least she can do. She asks what he means, and he says Daniel told him to remember who he is. She helps him do that. It’s not about right or wrong, but about being someone you can look in eye when this is over. Alicia says, then he doesn’t think they should risk it? He told her they needed to make a decision for themselves. She thinks they should make this one. He asks if she really thinks there’s a way to do it, and she says she does. He says, okay; let’s do it then. It’s going to be dark soon, and Ginny will realize Dakota is missing.

Some of the other prisoners join them, and Victor asks a prisoner if he’s sure, and he says he wants to get out as much as they do. Sanja stands by the gate, and Victor says it’s their last chance to get these things out of the way. Alicia says, it will work, and Victor asks if Sanja is ready. He says, now, and Sanja raises the gate. Inside is a track, like the metal things set up when you wait in line for a ride. The zombies amble out, and Victor and Alicia bang on the metal bars. Sanja looks like he might have a heart attack, and the group stands ready. As the zombies come out, they stab and spear them one by one. Zombies are pouring into the track, and as they’re killed, the group takes turns adding them to a pile. They’re coming faster, and Sanja holds the side of the gate where they’re coming out; it looks like it’s about to burst. Alicia tries closing them off, but one grabs Charlie, dragging her in. Alicia stabs it quickly, and pulls Charlie away, but another zombie tries to pull her back. Dakota comes in from the side, and stabs it, and Alicia asks if Charlie is all right. Charlie says she’s okay, and Dakota shows her the knife, saying she can thank the ranger who had a run-in with Victor. A ranger’s voice says, all right. Get away from her. Two rangers are there, and one comes up to Dakota, asking what the hell she’s doing. She radios Ginny, and says they found her. She tells the group to put their weapons down, and they do. Dakota says she’s not leaving. The woman reaches for her, and Dakota backs up, saying, don’t touch her; she’s not allowed. The ranger says they’ll see what Virginia has to say about that. The gate isn’t holding any longer, and Victor tells everyone to pick up their weapons. He tells Sanja to let go of the gate, and the zombies through. The ranger radios for help. Victor and Alicia stand ready.

The zombies are corralled, and Victor says, they can do this. He tells everyone, spread out, and lifts the latch to the gate. A ranger tries to take grab Dakota, but she runs. Alicia, Victor, and the others use pieces of the broken gate as shields as they kill the zombies. One of the rangers is drug into a cluster of zombies, and that’s the end of him. I laugh, then Dakota pushes the other ranger into the zombies, and I really laugh. Victor loses his weapon, and says he thinks he knows how get something. He and Dakota run to a trailer. Sanja is in the trailer, and asks Victor not to make him go out there. Victor beeps the horn, and asks if they’re moving, but Sanja says, no. Victor keeps beeping, and Sanja says, it doesn’t work. Victor asks for Sanja’s knife, and tells Sanja to follow him. He tells Dakota, don’t move. Sanja says, Victor knows how much trouble they’re going to be in, and Victor says they were in trouble anyway. Sanja says he should have taken the rangers out; why didn’t he? Victor says, good question, and stabs Sanja. He says Sanja said he wishes he had stood up today. Today is the day he gets to be a hero. Victor gets the zombies’ attention, and basically tosses Sanja toward them.  

Inside, Charlie and Alicia take the rangers guns, and shoot the zombies. Victor watches as the zombies tear Sanja apart. Alicia and Charlie make short work of the zombies, and I think, that was fast. Why didn’t they just do that in the first place? Victor says, they did it. Alicia sees a mangled Sanja, and Victor says he tried to stop him. It’s what he wanted. He did it for them. On the radio, they hear Ginny say, don’t let her out of your sight. Victor says there’s not enough time to get what they came for. Dakota joins them, and they go back into the warehouse.  

Victor says, there’s nothing there; there’s no weapon. Dakota says, there has to be. Virginia said so. Alicia says, or they were sent on a wild goose chase to expose them. Dakota says she’s not lying, and Charlie says, they believe her. Victor says, here she comes, and Alicia says, they can’t hold her off. He says, no they can’t, and tells everyone, it’s over. Let’s go. Alicia, Charlie, and Janice follow him back out, with Dakota straggling behind. Ginny asks where her sister is, and Victor says, these people were just acting at his behest; just punish him. She says, why would she do that? He did what no one else could. Alicia says, for what? and Ginny says, the key to survival. Victor says, there’s nothing there, and Ginny says she’s been looking for a true leader. Each and every one of them is the key. This is how they survive. Congratulations. He formed an army. She goes over to Dakota, and says, never leave her side again. The rangers lead them out, and Victor asks Ginny what she wants an army for? Some of them are not her biggest fans. How does she expect them to follow her. She says that’s his job. He can find young soldiers – she shows him a Pioneers key – and this will allow him to use them however he sees fit. When the time comes, and she calls for a big show, he’d best be ready.  She gives him the key, and he puts it in his pocket.   

Daniel cuts Charlie’s hair, and she says he really doesn’t remember the warehouse? Skidmark? None of it? He asks if she’s a friend of Ofelia’s, and she says, no. Victor comes in, and says they’re loading the trucks at the gate. He has her things. She tells him, wait, and takes her banjo out. She plays, and Daniel whistles. He says, The Traveling Wilburys, and she says, yeah. He taught her; she learned it from him. He says, it’s a beautiful song.

Alicia opens the car door. Janice says she’s not coming. Victor wants her to stay there and work in the laundry. He said he had his reasons. She tells Alicia, good luck, and Alicia says, her too. Victor asks for a minute, and Alicia says he has the key to the city. He says it will afford privacy. They almost died. Sanja did, so they could do what they did. It could have gone differently. He should have hesitated. She says because he didn’t put a target on their backs by killing the ranger? and he says he didn’t trust his instincts. He knew what needed to be done, and he couldn’t. Like he told her, she made him remember the person he is. He needs to do the things he needs to do now; for him, for her, for all of them. To do that, he has to forget that person, and he can’t with her by his side. She says she’s seen him do plenty, but he says he doesn’t want to drag her down. He needs to forget who he is, but she doesn’t. He gives her the St. Christopher’s medal, and says, whatever happens, don’t ever forget. He backs away, and the ranger says, let’s go. Alicia walks to the car, and looks back at Victor. She looks at the medal, and gets in the car. It drives away.

As he walks back, Victor wipes a tear away.   

Daniel gets a donkey cart ready, and a ranger tells him, hurry up. He’s got to get going. Victor comes by, and says he felt sorry for Daniel because he didn’t remember, but now he envies Daniel. Victor keeps walking, and the ranger gets in the cart. Daniel whistles as he drives. He suddenly stops, and tells the ranger that he left his good scissors inside. The ranger says he’ll have to make due, but Daniel says it will take him twice as long to work with what he’s got. The ranger tells him, stay there, and goes back into the compound.

Daniel looks around, and gets down. He whistles, and hears a whistle back. He tells donkey, did you hear that? A zombie comes out of the woods, but before it gets to Daniel, someone stabs it in the head from behind. The person wears a cloak that hides their face, and Daniel says, much obliged, friend. If they are a friend. It’s Morgan, and Daniel says he knows who he is. Morgan says he could use Daniel’s help, and Daniel says he looks like he could use a haircut. Morgan says, it’s good to see him. Daniel says he thought Morgan was the him that she was looking for. They shake hands.

Next time, Morgan gets a shave, the end is the beginning, a lot of rats, and Morgan finally gets a better weapon.

The Walking Dead: World Beyond

Iris found out that Hope decided to sacrifice herself, and tried to get her to come back, but Hope refused. She said it had to be her. She’d found an office toward the front that had a siren. She was going to set it off and clear a path.

Silas got some backstory this time. We saw he’d been arrested, after it looked like he’d committed a murder, possibly his grandparents and/or parents. I have the feeling there’s something more to it though. In his flashbacks, we saw Silas and his uncle meeting with Felix, who said because Silas’s uncle had sponsored him, he was going to get a fresh start. His uncle told him, no matter what anyone said, he was a good kid. He later met Iris while he was cleaning her dad’s lab.

Silas told Elton that he didn’t have what it took to kill a zombie, but would hold the bags while Elton did the killing. Silas wandered off and had a zombie encounter, but when he was about to whack it out of existence with a giant wrench, he remembered whatever it was he’d done before, and hesitated. Iris came to his rescue, perpetuating the idea that he was scared.  

Felix and Huck caught up to the group, and Iris explained what Hope had gone to do. Meanwhile, Hope went to the rooftop, but when she started to crank up the siren, the handle broke off. Felix couldn’t believe that Hope left a trail of breadcrumbs, but when he came to find her, she’d gone rogue and kamikaze. Iris said she didn’t think it was just about their dad any longer, and Silas said their mistakes shouldn’t have to follow them, but sometimes did. He thought Iris did something she felt bad about. On the side, he told Iris that he thought if he came with them, he’d be strong, but he wasn’t, and Iris confessed that she didn’t feel strong either. She didn’t care about her sisters mistakes, or Silas’s, and he said she should. She asked what he was afraid of, and he said, himself.

Iris radioed, saying she took the siren apart, but couldn’t put it back together. Iris told Hope that they could do this, like when they were kids. Iris said she’d get the siren going, but when they heard it, they had to haul ass. Elton didn’t understand the phrase haul ass – which I found hard to believe, no matter how sheltered he was – and Iris had to explain it meant run. Hope was able to hand crank the siren, which drew the zombies. The group managed to haul ass, and get out and past them.

Silas flashed back to reading Iris’s copy of The Tyger by William Blake (Tyger, Tyger, burning bright…), and heard her read it in his head as he walked. As Hope ran, zombies followed, but got stuck in some oil, which she set fire to. A zombie grabbed her, and Iris arrived in time to help, but ended up in trouble herself, and Hope returned the favor. Everyone reconvened outside the airport, but one of the humongous piles of tires started to fall against the fencing. Silas held it until the zombie arrival, and another moment while Elton ran in to grab his suitcase, then let it fall, blocking the zombies in. Then they all stood there, looking at the zombies, and I was like, why aren’t you hauling ass?

The kids all refused to go back. Iris said she and Hope wanted to keep their promise to their dad, and suggested he and Huck help them. They were going on with or without them. Huck told Felix there was no turning them around, so keeping them safe was all they could do. Hope and Iris sat on a dock, and Hope said she was tired of being scared. She told Iris about how she’d felt responsible for their mother’s death, and how the pregnant woman had shot their mother, then Iris shot her. She didn’t want what happened to change the way Iris saw her, and Iris said they were kids, the goddam sky was falling, and none of them were ready for it. Iris held Hope she cried, and told her that they’d get through it. They were going to have to.

Felix said Iris and Hope’s dad would want them to be safe, so he and Huck were going to make sure none of them got hurt. Iris asked if that meant he was coming with them, and he said they gave him no choice. Hope said she was sorry for dragging him in, but she was glad he was there. Hope asked why Elton had gone back into the devil’s a-hole for his luggage, and he said his mom’s manuscript was in it. She’d almost been done, and he wanted to finish it. Hope told him it was an a-hole, but badass move. Silas remembered his grandmother telling him that life was good. They made it good.   

A recruit named Slade visited Elizabeth, wanting to know what happened that they killed an entire colony of people. She asked what he’d been told, and he said that they’d neutralized a threat, but with respect, it didn’t seem like a threat. She turned on all the appliances, so there was noise covering what she had to say. She told him they had energy, water, medicine, transportation, a council, school, culture, currency, agriculture, manufacturing, and law. They were the last hope. They inherited a population of over 200,000 to live and create the future. They might not have seemed like a threat, but they were going to be. Slade said he didn’t know if he believed that.  

They ate soup in silence, and there was a knock at the door. Elizabeth told him to answer it, and he opened the door to a couple of soldiers. She told him that he was to be remanded to the health and welfare complex in a labor oriented capacity until he was ready to serve again. He said he didn’t think he’d ever be ready to serve again, and she said then he wouldn’t leave. He asked if she thought about how many died, and she said they were the lights of the world. He said that was a lie, and she told the soldiers to take him out. He said he knew what they did.  

When he was gone, Elizabeth put all the appliances on again, rolled up her sleeves, and cried, dripping tears on her map. 

Next time, Felix wonders how to keep everyone alive, and Hope says it’s about to get bad.  

🧛🏽‍♀️ After Such a Dead Night…

It’s late, and I’m off like a dirty pair of underwear, as my dad would say. Until we reunite on Deck, stay safe, stay altruistic, and stay away from too much sugar. Especially if it’s covering zombies.