What I Watched Today

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

Fear the Living Dead

The dead feed on a deer. Some Rangers on horseback shoot them. In a car with Victor, Dakota says the Rangers are slowing them down. Without an escort, they’d be there already. He says, without an escort, they might not make it. She asks if he thinks the Rangers are there to keep her safe. He says he assigned them, so yes. She says they’re keeping an eye on her. They’re just a bunch toy soldiers. They’re keeping an eye on him too. Ginny doesn’t fully trust him yet. He says, she will, and Dakota asks when he’s going to do it. He says, do what? and she says what he was planning at the molasses plant. He says he has no idea what she’s talking about, and she says she’s sure he doesn’t. She looks out the car window, now covered in blood. She says they could run away; there aren’t enough Rangers to stop them. A lot of the Rangers are dead, and John has been missing for a week. Now is the time to do it. Victor says, people are at their most dangerous when they feel threatened, and calls Dakota a font of sisterly love. She says he doesn’t know the half of it. A Ranger says, hold up, and they slow to a halt. Victor tells Dakota, wait here, and gets out. Terry’s horse comes back without Terry.

Victor and Ranger Samuels ride forward, and Victor says, Terry was scouting ahead. He tries to get Terry on the radio, but there’s no answer. He thinks they should check to see if there’s a horde in front of them, and he and Samuels ride on. They come to a downed tree, and Victor said they’d need to get men with saws out there. He tries Terry again, but still gets nothing. A team of riderless horses gallops by. Samuels and Victor follow them. When they get back to where the convoy was, they find everyone dead, lining the road on both sides. The dead begin to rise, and Victor and Samuels shoot them. Samuels asks if Victor thinks it’s the same a-holes who attacked Tank Town. He says, there’s only one person who matters, and she’s gone. Victor gets down, and looks through the people, but Dakota isn’t there.

Alicia looks at a map in a ranger station in the woods. Charlie is out on the balcony, looking through binoculars, when Victor’s voice comes over the radio. Charlie looks in at Alicia. Victor says, it’s an emergency; he needs her. He sees walker activity. Charlie says, he’s been trying all day. Maybe Alicia should see what it’s about. Alicia says, they’ve been there six weeks. What has Victor done for them? Nothing. So that’s what they’re doing for him. Victor says he needs to talk to Alicia. She’s the only one who can help. She finally picks up the radio, and says, what does he want? Talk.  

Alicia and Charlie meet with Victor and Samuels. He asks if he can trust Alicia; lives depend on her agreeing to help them. Samuels takes the horses, and Victor says their convoy was attacked. Alicia asks if he knows who, and he says he thinks it’s the same people who attacked Tank Town. She asks, what happened there? and he says, it’s gone. Luci and Wes are okay though. Alicia asks what they were doing out there, and he says he was taking Dakota to a safe house. She asks where Dakota is, and he says he thinks she fled on foot. He’s screwed if Ginny finds out he lost her sister. She knows they were delayed, and it should be a half a day before heads start rolling. Alicia asks, what makes him think she’ll have a better chance of finding Dakota? and he says Dakota looks up to her and trusts her. If she helps him, he’ll deliver Dakota to the place she’s meant to be situated, then finally do the damage they talked about. He promises. She asks if he means that, and he says that’s what it’s all been for. He tells Alicia, when she finds Dakota, click three times, and she says she knows the drill. She tells Charlie, come on, and Victor thanks her.

Alicia and Charlie walk through the woods. Charlie asks why Alicia is helping Victor, but Alicia says she’s not. It’s not about Victor, it’s about the Rangers who brought her back when she ran. They need someone to deal with the Rangers. Whoever attacked the convoy and Tank Town, can do the damage they need. Charlie wonders if Alicia is going to ask them for help, and Alicia says she wants to see who they are; know who they are. Charlie asks if she thinks Dakota can tell  them, when a couple of zombies toddle out of the trees. Dakota and Alicia stab them in the head, but Alicia spaces out as a third comes toward her. The zombie knocks her down, but Charlie stabs it in the head. The zombie looks like it’s been modified, and Alicia says, someone did that. Charlie says, whoever did that is crazy. They see an old hunting lodge, and Alicia says if she was kidnapping someone, she’d go there. She tells Charlie to be the look-out. She’ll go in and check. They have no other choice. They need to find Dakota. She goes to the lodge while Charlie waits.

Alicia smashes a window with her pokey weapon, and goes inside. She looks around with a flashlight. She sees a taxidermied bird, and keeps walking hears music, sees more taxidermy. (Useless trivia: The song playing is Tonight You Belong to Me. Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters sang it in The Jerk.) She goes upstairs, following the sound of the music. She hears sounds of the dead from below looks down, seeing a guy experimenting on a zombie strapped to a table she backs away. She looks again, but doesn’t see him. He comes up behind her, and says, don’t worry, it won’t hurt much. He sticks her with a syringe.

Alicia opens her eyes sees a counter with things like eyeballs in a jar sitting on it. Her hands are tied, and she’s strapped down.  She struggles up, and she’s able to cut the duct tape on her wrists, sawing it against a pair of antlers. She hears someone at the door, and looks around for a weapon. She breaks one of the antlers off, and stands to the side of the door. It’s Dakota, who says, no one saw her. Alicia says they have to get out now, and the guy who was working on the zombie says, what’s the rush? Alicia tells him, don’t come any closer, but he says he thinks it was a misunderstanding. Dakota says the convoy she was with got attacked, and Ed thought maybe it was her. Ed says he found Dakota while he was hunting, and she seemed shaken from what happened with Ginny and her community. Alicia says she’s not talking until he tells her what he was doing with the walker. He says he was working on something to scare people; keep them from getting close. Dakota tells Alicia, he’s okay, and Ed says he doesn’t suppose any of them are chess players.

Ed puts on some music, and plays chess with Dakota. I wonder where Charlie is. Ed says Dakota reminds him of his daughter. They used to come there every summer to get out of the city. The last summer they came, it rained the entire time. They stayed in the game room, which wasn’t the worst way to pass the time, especially after the world went south. There’s something comforting about at least one thing not having changed. It’s nice to play with someone again. Dakota asks, what happened to his family? and he says, the same thing that happened with most people’s families. Dakota says, Ginny killed her parents, and Alicia says they should get going. Ed says they’re not going anywhere. Whoever attacked the convoy is still out there. This is the safest place there is. Alicia says she’s cold, and asks if Ed will start a fire. He says he will, but in the meantime, he has blankets. He tells her where they are, and Alicia takes a lantern to go looking for more than blankets. She finds Charlie, and asks how she got in there. Charlie says when Alicia didn’t come out, she snuck in, but now the doors are all locked, and the windows are shut. Alicia says, there’s got to be a way out, and Charlie says, not without making noise. Alicia tells Charlie to stay hidden, and opens a closet, looking at tools. Dakota joins her, and asks, what’s going on? Alicia says, the whole place is locked; they can’t leave. Dakota says she doesn’t want to leave. By now, Ed is there too, and says he’s trying to keep them safe. Alicia says, if that’s what he really wants, he has to let them go. Dakota is Ginny’s sister, and Ginny is going to come looking for her. Letting her go is the only way. Ed says they can leave at dawn. They’ll have a better chance when it’s light. He leaves, and Charlie asks why Alicia told him about Dakota. Alicia says she’s keeping Dakota alive. He’s not who they think he is. The walker he was working on was a Ranger. Charlie wonders why he was doing that, and Alicia says she doesn’t know, but if they stay, they’ll end up like that. Dakota says, when they were attacked, she thought she could finally get away from her sister, and thought this was the place to do it. She can’t go back. Alicia asks if Ginny really killed their parents, and Dakota just looks at her. Alicia asks, why? but Dakota says she doesn’t know. Alicia says they’ll leave first thing in the morning. Get some sleep.

Alicia finds a radio, and shuts the door. She fiddles with the dials, and asks if Ginny copies.

Ginny picks up, and asks what Alicia is doing on that channel. Alicia says she’s with Dakota. The convoy was hit; the Rangers are dead. Ginny says, and Victor? but Alicia tells Ginny, Victor wouldn’t tell her what happened until she found Dakota. Ginny says, smart man, and Alicia says, she found Dakota, not him. Let her and Charlie go, no questions asked. They get a fresh start, and Ginny doesn’t look for them – ever. Ginny asks where they’re going to go, and Alicia says she knows a place. Do they have a deal? Ginny says they do.

Charlie watches Alicia sleep, while outside, the zombies gather. Ed watches from the balcony, and Charlie asks what he’s doing. He says bringing back all of his creations. Alicia wakes up, and seeing all of the zombies outside, asks, what the hell is this? Ed says, they won’t leave until he tells them to. It wasn’t safe; he’s making it safe. He’s not letting it happen again. Alicia says, what? Ed comes downstairs, and says, his father did taxidermy. He couldn’t understand how his father could do that to an animal who was vibrant and alive; freeze them in time. His dad said he was preserving them in their most perfect state forever. It’s the same reason he came up there. He wanted to be able to hold onto things as they were, what the place was to them. They had food for years, and they were happy there. The trouble was, things inside were preserved, but not out there. When he was on a supply run, the Rangers got there, and took over. Emily and her mom tried to protect the place. Ginny killed his family too. He should have done more. He could have done more. He bangs on the door, and the zombies clamor. He says he started making them. He wanted them to be scary (like regular zombies aren’t scary enough). Alicia says, to keep people away, and he says, yes. The kind of people who would hurt them, and her. He can keep them safe. He takes out a gun, and says, let’s go upstairs.

Loud music plays, and the zombies gather outside. Dakota tells Alicia that she should have kept going. She was just looking for a way not to feel trapped. She knows it sounds stupid, but Alicia says, it doesn’t. The door opens, and Charlie comes in. She says, he’s asleep and she got his keys. Alicia says, he’s going to wake up, but Charlie says, not anytime soon. Alicia says, they’ll lower the music, and wait until the zombies clear out, then go. Dakota says she knows a place where Ginny can’t find them. The music stops, and the zombies start to wander off. Alicia says, it’s working. Ed appears, and says, you have to hit a vein to make it last. He holds a gun on them, and Alicia asks why he’s doing this. He says he’s just trying to keep them safe, but she says he can’t keep them there. He makes her put her weapon down, and she says he’s going to get them killed. Dakota is coming with them. Ed tells her, no, she’s not, and Alicia asks if he’s doing this for Dakota, or for himself. He says Alicia is one of Ginny’s people, but Charlie says she’s not. He asks how come his radio was set to Ginny’s channel? Alicia rushes him, and he ends up impaled on one of the many pairs of antlers lying around. Poetic justice, I’d say. Dakota tells him that he’s going to be okay. The zombies outside get energetic again, and Charlie says the zombies heard them.

Alicia pulls out the antler, and Ed cries out. The zombies push at the door, and Charlie says, it’s not going to hold. He tells them to go out the side door. He’ll buy them time. Leave now. He’s resigned to be with his family. Alicia tells him not to do this, but he says the first one he was working on got loose, and it was his fault. Alicia says he did it because of his family, but he says again, it was his fault. He created them, but couldn’t control them. He tells her to go, as the zombies start to break through the door. She leaves, and the zombies start to pour in. Dakota watches from the balcony, and Alicia joins her. Ed opens his arms, as if embracing his fate, and the zombies take him down. Upstairs, the three girls break open the door. They see the zombies leaving the house, and Dakota wonders where they’re going.

Alicia runs downstairs, and sees a zombie with antlers approaching. Morgan comes through, slicing and dicing, and Alicia begins to help. Dakota and Charlie watch from above. When they’re finished, Alicia and Morgan hug. She asks how he’s there, and he says he heard the music. She says, no; how is he alive? Charlie and Dakota join them, and Charlie says they heard what he said on the walkie and a gunshot. Morgan says he had help, and Alicia asks, from who? He says he’s been trying to figure that out.

Ed is buried, and Dakota says he was just trying to keep her safe. Alicia says, he did. Morgan says they should get going, and Dakota asks why he’s wearing Emile’s clothes. He says Emile tried to hunt him down, but it didn’t go his way. Alicia asks who Emile is, and Dakota says, a bounty hunter Ginny sends after people who run. Morgan says, he won’t be going after people anymore. They need to leave before Ginny finds this place. Alicia asks where they’re going, and Morgan says, it’s a spot he’s been building up. Al and Dwight are there already. Pretty soon it will be all of them. They should go.

Alicia sits on a porch swing, and Charlie asks if she’s okay. Alicia says, yeah, and Charlie says what happened to Ed isn’t her fault. Alicia is silent for a moment, and says, he was right. She did make a call to Ginny’s radio. Charlie asks where she was taking them, and Alicia says, the stadium. It’s not as far as Charlie thinks. She just couldn’t figure out how to shake the Rangers. Charlie says, the stadium is overwhelmed. Is that why Alicia was training her to kill walkers back at the watchtower? Alicia says she was trying to do what Ed was, bring back something that was gone. Charlie says, she’s not turning Dakota over? but Alicia says she doesn’t know. Ginny is expecting her to deliver her sister. Charlie says she can’t do that to Dakota.

Inside, Morgan packs whatever supplies he can find. Alicia asks where the place is, but he says it’s easier to show her. She says they’re bringing Dakota, right? Morgan puts his hand on his chest, and she asks if he’s okay. He says they’ll talk about that, but now, how to get everyone back. Alicia says Ginny has people who are important to them, and they have someone important to her. Morgan says, that’s what they’re up against; doing things they never would have done before. Alicia says, it was him. He attacked the convoy. Morgan says he gave them a choice, and they chose Virginia. She says he killed all of them? and he says, there was no other way. They’ve got to get the ones they haven’t lost back. She asks if he blew up Tank Town, but he says it wasn’t him. She asks if he knows who it was, but he doesn’t say anything. Alicia says she gets what he’s doing. She was going to trade Dakota in for herself and Charlie. After seeing what Ed did, creating things that destroyed the people he cared about… They don’t have to do that. Morgan says, it’s the only way to get everyone out. Charlie and Dakota join them, and Charlie asks, what’s going on? Dakota asks why they’re fighting, and Alicia tells them, let’s go. They’re taking Dakota to the place Morgan talked about, but they’re not going there. Morgan says, it doesn’t have to go this way, but Alicia says they can’t do it his way. He begs them not to go. He can’t watch them walk out; he can’t let that happen. Everything they’ve done, they did to get all of them back together. It doesn’t work if it’s not all of them. He’ll do whatever takes to get them all there, and Dakota is welcome. They all are. Alicia says, okay. Alicia, Charlie, and Dakota head out, and Morgan nods, saying, okay.

Outside, Victor picks up a necklace, and radios that he’s checking on the house. Alicia comes out, and he asks, what happened? He saw the smoke, and knew he could count on her. He sees Dakota, and says he’s glad she’s all right. He’s taking her back. Alicia says, Dakota isn’t going there, and Victor asks, why? Morgan comes out, and says, they’re coming with him. It’s good to see him. Victor looks stunned, and asks if Ginny knows Morgan is alive. Morgan says, she does, and he’s guessing she doesn’t want him to be. He found a place that’s safe, where she won’t find them. He’s getting the others; Victor should come join them. Victor says they’ll be targets for the rest of their lives. Ginny is on her way there, and he’s taking Dakota. He draws his gun, and Morgan draws his whatever that new weapon is. Victor asks if he really wants to do this, and Alicia draws her pokey weapon, asking, does he?  Morgan says they’ll do what they have to, and Alicia and Victor’s eyes meet. Victor ponders a moment, and says he won’t be there to protect them. He tells Alicia, this is going to dismantle everything they’ve been working for. He gives her the necklace, and we see it’s a St. Christopher’s medal. She says she’s just doing what he asked her to do. She tells the others, let’s go, and they leave.

Victor gets back to Lawton, and Ginny asks where Dakota is; is she safe? Victor says, yes, and she asks if he and Alicia are in cahoots. They made a deal for him to bring Dakota back. He says she’s with Morgan, and Ginny grabs Victor, getting in his face, asking, which side is he on? He says, hers, and she touches his badge. She says, okay; come with her. She knocks on a door, and they go through it into an alleyway. She says she told him the day would come when she’d call him for the big show. Today is that day. She moves aside some shelves to reveal a secret door. She goes inside, and he follows. Grace is there, and Ginny tells her, get up. Victor suggests Grace do what Ginny says. Victor asks where they’re going, and who does Ginny want next? Ginny says, all of them. She wants every single person they took from that damn gulch.

Next time: Death, destruction, and decay; it’s inevitable, but from this death comes life. Someone has been looking for someone like Alicia for a long time.

The Walking Dead: World Beyond

Silas was tied up outside, taking deep breaths, while the others discussed what to do about him. Iris insisted that Tony and Percy must have had enemies out for revenge, but Huck said there was no evidence. Silas was passed out at the scene, covered in blood. Hope said she didn’t want to believe it, but she’s heard the stories. Elton said Silas was their friend, and had earned their trust. There had to be an explanation. Iris said they never found Percy’s body; what if he was alive? Felix said they followed a blood trail to the river, and he was most likely dead. Elton wondered why Silas would attack those who tried to help him. Huck said she thought she knew when she saw this at camp, and pulled a copy of the Tiger poem and Iris’s drawings out of Silas’s bag. Iris said those were hers.   

This week, we got more of Silas’s backstory, seeing how abusive his father was; screaming at him. throwing things at him, slamming him up against the wall, and trying to choke him. Finally having enough, Silas cracked his father over the head with a picture frame, and punched the crap out of him. His father seemed to be dead, when there was a knock at the door.

Hope thought it was messed up. Iris had thrown the drawings away. She said Silas liked Iris, and was different with her. Maybe he’d seen that she liked Percy. Elton said all they had was what they carried on their backs, and Silas thought it was important, but Hope thought he had no right to take them. Huck told Felix that they should take Silas back for a trial, but Felix was hesitant. The girls weren’t going to turn back, and Huck wondered if they should leave them behind. Elton disagreed with Silas’s hypothesis, since the only time he’d seen Silas be violent was in self-defense or defending someone else. He didn’t think Silas would hurt anyone without just cause, but Silas said he didn’t remember.

Silas remembered his dad ripping his headphones off at the dinner table. In his flashback within a flashback, the knocking on the door continued. Silas finally opened the door to a woman who wanted to see his mother. She said she didn’t want to alert the authorities, but she knew people who could make sure Silas and his mother were safe. Silas asked her to leave, but when he went back to where his father had been, his father was gone.

Elton told Silas, if he couldn’t believe in himself, he’d do it for him. He was going to find proof Silas wasn’t involved. If he didn’t, Silas was going to be left behind. Huck and Hope dug a grave for Tony.

Felix checked on Silas, and Silas asked, what if it wasn’t him? He couldn’t remember, and his dad was the same way. Felix asked if Silas had killed his dad in self-defense, and if he could trust Silas not to put anyone in danger. Silas said he didn’t want to be like his dad.

Silas flashed back to looking around for his dad. When he saw the picture in the now-broken frame, he remembered the good times they’d had. Silas kept looking, and called to his dad. He followed the blood trail to the bedroom, and remembered his mom covering her bruises with makeup when he saw a bloody towel. He heard noises upstairs, and went up.

Huck told Hope that she had to keep asking herself how to serve the greater good, and Hope said she had the wrong sister. Huck said it wasn’t always about right and wrong, but about doing your best for everyone, even if it was going to hurt. Every choice Hope made had to be about getting her and Iris to their dad, and getting where they needed to go. Iris told Hope, none of it made sense. Even with everything that happened, she had the feeling that Silas didn’t do it; he wasn’t capable of it. One mistake didn’t make you a bad person. Hope said they were so close, they couldn’t let anyone stand in the way of getting to their father. Iris said maybe Silas thought he was protecting her, but Hope said that would make it worse.

Felix found Elton by the river, and told Hope to keep an eye on him. Elton said he’d been following Percy’s trail, looking for evidence that would exonerate Silas. The only fact he knew was that he hadn’t had a family in a long time, and now he did. Hope asked if that meant he’d let Silas get away with murder, but Elton said, you don’t get away with it; it’s something you have to live with. Hope said they had to do whatever was for the greater good, and Elton said he thought that meant staying together.

In his mind, Silas went up an excruciatingly long staircase until he finally found his father. He said he just wanted his dad to stop, but it was too late; dad was zombiefied. He attacked Silas, who was pretty stunned, and pushed him away a couple dozen times. Silas locked himself in a room, and was like, wtf? He tried to get out a window, but there were bars on it, and then I was like, wtf? Going back further in time, Silas remembered his father telling him to lie down on the floor, and putting a speaker blaring loud music next to his head. He told Silas to close his eyes, and said, that’s what a concert sounded like before it all turned to sh*t. He turned it up louder, got on the floor with Silas, babbling about 1988 and how this was what music should be like. You needed to feel it with your entire body. This bummed me out, since obviously there had been better times in Silas’s household. While his zombie father scratched at the door, Silas put on his headphones, and turned the music up louder, until zombie dad finally wandered off.

Here’s where it got kind of scary. While Silas was reminiscing within reminiscing, a zombie came by. It was outside he fence but started banging itself against the seam, which started to give way. In Silas’s head, the tape ran out, and he listened at the door. He heard his mom come home, and then scream. He ran downstairs. In the present, the zombie got through, and moved closer to Silas, while in the past, Silas fought with his zombie dad, finally smashing his head on the floor, and finishing him off. His mother quietly freaked out. Silas got as far away as possible from the zombie, but then seemed to accept his fate and looked up at the stars. He opened his eyes to Hope saying, what the hell? She asked why he didn’t yell, and he asked why she saved him. She said enough people had died, and fixed the fence.

Iris went to Silas, and asked why he kept the drawings. He said they were too beautiful to throw away, and she said if he told her that he didn’t kill anyone, she’d believe him. He didn’t say anything, and she started to leave, but he told her to wait. He showed her that he’d gotten himself free, and said he wished he could tell her what she needed to hear. He just remembered being angry, and it had happened before. He thanked her for believing in him, and wanting him to be a hero. He killed his dad, Percy, and Tony; he was a killer. He didn’t want to cause any more problems, and while he was sorry she met him, he was glad he met her. He said he’d never forget her. Iris went back to the others, and I felt mega dissatisfied.

Iris told the group that Silas was gone. Huck wondered if Silas would come back for them, but Felix said, no. Silas wanted a fresh start. Maybe he would finally get one. Elton told Hope that he’d come to a difficult decision. He was going to join Silas. Silas’s odds of survival would be better, and if Elton didn’t do this, Silas would spend the rest of his life thinking no one believed in him. Silas would be believing a lie, and he couldn’t let that happen. Hope asked, what about family? and Elton said Silas was family too. He told her, everything happens the way it’s supposed to, and he was supposed to find Silas, and his mother and sister. Hope said, what if they weren’t out there? She admitted she’d lied to him, thinking she was protecting him from the truth, but she’d only made it worse. She couldn’t let him look for someone who wasn’t there. She gave him the necklace she’d taken from his mother, saying, he forgave Silas. Maybe he’d forgive her one day. She told him about shooting his mother, and no surprise, it didn’t make him want to stay. He put on the necklace, and headed out to find Silas.   

Silas trekked on, wearing his headphones, which was probably a bad idea. Then he whacked a zombie in the head with a 2×4, which was a good idea. Before moving on, he left his headphones, which was the best idea, although just carrying them would have been sufficient.   

Flashing back to a few days earlier, Elizabeth, who I all but forgot about, told her guard to bring someone in; her daughter was late, but she made it. She was risking everything because there’s no easy way. The guard brought Huck in, who said she could only get away for 48-hours. Elizabeth asked about their asset, and Huck said, safe. Elizabeth said, and her? and Huck said she was fine. Elizabeth told her to clean-up, and she’d be debriefed. But first, here was her dad’s watch. 

Next time, a two-episode season finale. No surprise, lots of zombies, and Elton finds Silas.

🚝 Because I Can’t Wait…

Snowpiercer is coming! Snowpiercer is coming! Not only does season two begin January 25^th, season three has already been ordered. 2021 is really not that far away, and it’s got to be a better year, right? Right?

https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/snowpiercer-season-2-release-date-trailer-cast-plot-nycc

➖ Dashing Off…

See you on Deck tomorrow, and hoping you continue to stay safe, stay tough, and stay doing your best for everyone.