What I Watched Today

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

Fear the Walking Dead

Grace asks where they are, and Mo says, on a boat. She asks, what happened? and Morgan says, she got bit. It’s going to be okay. June has a way of treating bites that stops the infection and the fever. They’re going to spend some time together; her, him, and Mo. Some guards in a boat behind then start shooting, and Dwight says he’s pushing the boat as fast as he can. Morgan gets June on the radio, and tells her that Grace has been bit, but they can’t amputate. He asks if her treatment might work, and she says, maybe. He says, they’ll take that, and she explains that the equipment they need is on a train car. He says, Grace is burning up, and asks, where the last place was June saw the train car? Shrike comes on the radio, and says, it’s not there. Why do they think she put it on wheels? To keep people like them from messing with it. She’ll tell them where the train car is, and even give them an escort. She’ll allow June to administer treatment. Morgan asks what she wants in return, and Shrike says she paid a little trip to King County. She saw how many walkers he killed single-handedly… except for the one that bit Grace. There’s a trainyard nearby with containers that have thousands of Carrion inside. She needs them all cleared. She doesn’t care if he gets help; she just wants it cleared. She was going to have the prefects do it, but why, when she has him? That’s how Grace gets a shot at living.

Grace wakes up on a moving truck, and asks where they’re going. Morgan says, they’re going to a shipyard, and then she’s being taken to meet June. Grace asks how he knows they’ll do what they say, but he says, they’re not clearing the shipyard until she’s with June. He radios Daniel, who says, they’re armed and ready, but need assurances they’re not walking into a trap. Shrike assures him the Carrion are real and she wants them dead. The contents of the containers are valuable to her. Morgan says, they’re going to clear. She just has to tell them where the train is. Shrike says, no guns; it has to be done by hand. There are supplies they need to rebuild the world in the containers; supplies and munitions. One stray bullet, and PADRE’s entire legacy goes up in smoke. He asks why she didn’t tell them that before, and she says she knew they had an army, but not an armory. Daniel says, Morgan already told her too much. It’s too dangerous now. He can’t ask his soldiers to do this. Morgan says, he can’t back out now, but Grace takes the walkie and tells Daniel, it’s okay. She doesn’t want anyone to die for her. Daniel says he’s sorry, and Morgan says, they can do it without them, but Grace says he has to be there for Mo; and Dwight and Sherry need to be there for Finch. Morgan says he had to watch Jenny die from a bite. He can’t do it again. She says, he can’t save her. It’s not like she had much time anyway. Mo asks what she’s talking about, and Grace says, before the bite, she was sick. It’s cancer. Mo asks if June can’t help, but she says, no. She’s been running away from it for a long time, and it’s finally catching up. She has months, maybe a year, left. Mo says, that’s a lot more than a day, and the truck stops. Morgan asks Shrike, what’s going on? and she says, if he’s not going to help, they have to make sure Grace doesn’t hurt Mo or Finch when she turns. Grace is dragged from the truck, and Morgan says he’ll do whatever Shrike wants. Grace says, don’t let Mo watch, but Mo surprises everyone by jumping one of the guards, pushing their gun out of the way. Dwight, Sherry, and Morgan knock out the rest of the guards, and Shrike asks if they copy. What’s their ETA? Mo says, Red Kite taught her well. She’s going to fight for every minute she can get with Grace. Shrike tells them, if it’s done, move on to Nightingale, Red Kite, and Starling, but Dwight says he’s afraid the guards won’t be able to comply with those orders. Shrike says, no one’s ever stolen a child from PADRE before, but Dwight says he thinks Finch and Mo are going to be the first of many. Morgan suggests they see if the map in the truck has the train location, but Grace says, they’ll never make it there in time. She hands him a paper and says she wants to spend the time she has left with him and Mo there. They look at the map, and Mo points out the train tracks, saying, it has to be further down the line. Morgan wants to know what the coordinates are that Grace gave him, and Dwight says, it’s a repeater station, like the one Grace serviced for PADRE, and Mo says, she’s sick; she doesn’t know what she’s saying. Mo just got them both back, and doesn’t want to lose them again. Morgan says, they’re going to get Grace to the train car, and tells Sherry to raise June. Tell her to do everything she can to meet them there. Shrike isn’t going to make this easy. Mo says, they’re fighting for someone they love, and they’re going to win.

Back on the boat, Grace hears Shrike on the radio, but Mo says, it’s not them being talked about. Morgan says, Dwight and Sherry are acting as decoys, and Grace says, the coordinates were inland. Where are they taking her? Mo says, to the train car, and Morgan says, June is going to try and meet them there. They’re going to try and give her more time. Grace says, trying is going to get both of them killed. He asks why she wanted to go to the repeater station, when they hear shots in the distance. Morgan asks Mo to get Dwight on the radio, and asks if Dwight is okay. Dwight, Sherry, and Finch run into an abandoned house, and Dwight says, they’re pinned. Sherry says, they can’t stay long; the guards can flank them. Dwight says, they know they’re following the wrong people, and tells Morgan that they may have company soon. Morgan says, if Shrike is listening, it’s him she wants. Let Dwight and Sherry take Finch and go. Sherry wonders if Shrike will listen, but Dwight says, not after what they’ve done. They sent prefects; she knows they won’t kill them. I wonder why, and Dwight says he’ll lay down suppressive fire. If they do what he taught them, they’ll fall back and regroup. Sherry takes off with Finch.

Morgan asks again why Grace wanted to go to the repeater station, and she says, it’s their future. Over the years, she’s been scavenging things for PADRE and collected other things too. Things to make a home. Things to make Mo feel safe. Morgan says he thought they agreed PADRE was the best thing for Mo, but Grace says, that doesn’t mean it’s what she wanted. She should have said something sooner. Maybe they would have changed their minds. She waited until it was too late, like always. She wanted a moment for Mo to see what it was like. Morgan says, they can still do that. June can stop the infection. A flare goes up, and Mo says, they know we’re here.

Dwight finds Sherry with Finch under a bridge, and Finch says he had to stop and catch his breath. Dwight asks if he got shot, but Sherry says, no. He’s burning up though. Finch says he can still keep going, but Dwight tells Sherry to call June. Sherry tells June that Finch is burning up, and June asks what the bite looks like. Dwight takes a look, and it’s not good. Finch asks if he’s going to be okay, and Sherry says, June will figure it out. June asks if the bite is red and inflamed, and Sherry says, it is. June asks about the skin around it; is it hot? Dwight says, yeah, and June says, the infection could be back, but she really needs to see them. She asks where they are, and Sherry says, Grace’s repeater station; it’s close by. Dwight says he’ll send the coordinates, and June asks if Morgan was listening. He says he was, and tells her to go to Finch. She says she’ll meet him at the train car, or walk him through it if she has to. Mo says, they can’t give up, but Grace says she can’t have them risking their lives for a treatment that doesn’t work. She wants to spend the time she has left with Mo and Morgan. Morgan asks if Mo remembers the place the walked through with Madison. If they block the entrances, they can stay there for as much time as they have. Mo says, they can’t give up, but Grace says, it’s not giving up; it’s accepting how things are. Another flare goes up, and Morgan says, Dwight was right. They’re getting close. He’ll lead them away and take the long way to the carnival. He’ll meet them both there. He gets out of the boat, and Grace thanks him for understanding. He promises he’ll see her soon, and kisses her hand. He tells Mo to look after her mother, and they row away.

Grace hears Morgan over the radio, saying, he’s where they said they’d meet, but they’re not here. He thinks he knows where they are, and he’ll find them. Mo tells Grace that he’ll understand when she’s better. Grace tells her to stop, but Mo says, they don’t have time. Every minute counts. We see Mo is pumping a handcar down the railroad tracks, and she says she doesn’t know why Grace and Morgan can’t see it, but she can. They’re going to save Grace’s life. Grace says, even if they get to the train car, it won’t work, but Mo says she’s going to show Grace that she’s wrong. Grace says, the prefects are going to take Mo back to PADRE, and Mo stops. She says, they found us, and Grace tells her to call her dad, but Mo says, he’ll make them go back. The tracks are blocked by a group of people, and Grace begs Mo to walkie Morgan.

Going into a little building, Sherry wonders why Grace wanted to come here, but Dwight says he doesn’t know. June is on her way. He carries Finch inside, and puts him on a bed. It looks like a somewhat normal house, and Sherry says, Grace must have been preparing for life after PADRE. She tells Finch to stay strong, and June arrives. June comes in with Daniel, and tells them that Madison is standing guard.

Dove tells Mo, stop right there, and Grace says, do what they say. Mo says, Dove wouldn’t hurt her, but Dove says, don’t be so sure. Mo asks if they know the truth about PADRE. There is no PADRE. He’s been dead a long time. And Shrike and Crane are full of sh*t. They’re doing all this all because they lost their dad. Dove says, PADRE isn’t a person. PADRE is an idea. The right one. Mo moves forward a bit, but Dove stops her and says, don’t make her do this. Grace tells Mo, no, and Mo says she knows how angry Dove was when she found out her mom was dead. She doesn’t think Dove wants her to feel that too. She moves forward, and Dove steps out of the way. Mo tells Grace that they’re going to save her.

Mo gets Grace to the train car, and flares explode in the distance. Mo says, they’re going to have more company; they’re drawing Carrion. She blocks the connecting door, and Grace asks how Mo knew the prefects wouldn’t hurt her, but Mo says she didn’t; she took a chance. She radios June to say they made it. She asks if June can help her, and June says she thinks so. Mo asks, what made Finch sick? and June says, it’s not the radiation; the infection’s back. She didn’t give him a high enough dose to kill it. She was afraid any more of the radiation would kill him, but thinks she has it now. And if Grace already has cancer… Mo says, they don’t have to worry about how much radiation she gets. June says, it might buy her the time she wants, and Mo asks how Finch is. June says, they’re working on it. Whatever Mo does, don’t let them destroy that equipment. Is she ready? Mo says, tell her exactly what to do.

June gives Mo instructions, and Mo gives Grace the radiation. treatment. She asks Grace if it worked, and Grace says she hopes so. Mo asks June how long it takes to work, and June says, it could take a while. If her temperature falls, that’s a good sign. If it goes up, they’ll deal with it. Dwight asks what that means for Finch, and June says, Grace had the infection longer than Finch did before she treated him. If this dose works for Grace, it might work for Finch too. Dwight asks what she means by might, and Mo asks for final instructions. June tells her to power down the machine and turn off the generator. She doesn’t want Mo exposed to more than she needs to be. Mo does as June told her, and zombies clamor outside. She says, they’re not going to be able to get out of here, and Grace says, her dad is on his way. Where are the prefects? Mo is sure there around somewhere. They’re going to try and stop dad from getting to them. Grace says, she was so brave back there when they tried to stop her, and Mo says, losing Grace seemed scarier. Grace says, when she was Mo’s age, she didn’t even have the courage to pick up the telephone, and Mo asks what a telephone is. Grace laughs weakly, saying, she forgets how different it is for kids like Mo now. That’s what she was trying to do at the repeater station. Show Mo how things were; how they could be. Mo says she can still do that, and Grace groans. Mo says, she’s getting hotter, and radios June. June asks her temperature, and Mo says, 106. What’s happening? June says she’s sorry. The radiation therapy didn’t get to her in time. Mo says she got there as fast as she could, but June says, it’s not her fault. Even if she’d gotten it immediately, it might not have worked; it hasn’t on anybody else. Mo says, tell her how much to give Grace, but June says, she won’t survive any more. Mo says, she won’t survive anyway. Tell her how much. Grace tells Mo that she did everything she could, and Mo says, how much? but June says she can’t help Mo any more. Enjoy the time she has. Morgan radios Mo as he runs, and says he’s on his way. Mo says she tried, and he says he heard it all. She says she’s sorry, but he says, she has nothing to be sorry about. She tells him, be careful. There are prefects in the woods. He says, if they’re smart, they’ll listen to him. he knows they can hear. Don’t you try to stop me. He yells it again, don’t you try and stop me! He asks to talk to Grace, and Grace says, it wasn’t mean to be. He says he should have listened to her before, but she says, it’s okay. She understands why he didn’t. He says he doesn’t think he’s going to make it before… She says she’s so sorry, and he says, if he can’t make it, Mo’s got to leave. Grace says, she can’t; there’s walkers outside. He says she knows what she has to do right? and she says she knows. She loves him. I love you so much, my darling. And nothing… nothing will ever change that. He says he loves her. He’s not ready to let her go. She says, neither is she, and he keeps moving. Grace says she doesn’t want to hurt Mo. She’s going to go before he comes. She asks Mo to pick up a scalpel, and says, if she can’t hold out, Mo has to promise she’ll do it before she comes back. Mo promises, and says, all Grace wanted to do was spend more time together, and she took that from her and dad, but Grace says, Mo gave them more time. Mo says, no. She wasted it. All the time they had left. Grace says she’s not talking about today. There was a time things were really bleak… We flash back, and she says, she and Mo’s father were thinking of ending things. They came so close to doing it. Does she know why they didn’t? We flash back to baby Mo interrupting their suicide attempt, and Grace says, they heard her crying. She gave them a reason to live. We see them with baby Mo, and Grace says she gave them more time than she knows. Mo cries, and Grace closes her eyes. She’s gone. Mo says, mom? and shakes her, but there’s no response. She stands there looking at the scalpel, and we hear the zombies outside. She says she’s sorry. She can’t do it. Grace opens her eyes and snarls. (Sad as it is, I can’t help thinking, cool.) She comes after Mo, who drops the scalpel. She gets Mo up against the wall, and tries to bite her. Mo pushes Grace into some equipment, and tries to move the cart from in front of the door, but Grace grabs her. She screams, and reaches for the scalpel, but it’s too far away. Morgan gets there just in time, and pokey sticks grace in the back of the head. He grabs Mo putting her face against him.

Morgan closes Grace’s eyes. Outside, Shrike says, they need to talk. Morgan tells Mo, it’s going to be all right, but she just stares straight ahead. He picks up his stick and says, it’s a promise. He goes outside, where Shrike stands with a group of prefects. She says, he’s a brave man. She thought they’d have to come in and get him. He wonders why no one killed him along the way, and she says, they know what Heron would have… He says, her name was Grace, and Shrike says, they dug this out of storage, showing him a battle ax. She asks if he remembers what he did with it seven years ago. It’s a shame he didn’t use the same skills today. He asks if she can’t leave them alone to bury Grace properly, but she says she’s sorry. She can’t. He can still make things right. He asks her again to leave them, and she says, he’s not going to hurt her prefects, but they don’t have the same hang up about him. He puts his pokey stick to her throat, and the prefects aim their pokey sticks. Shrike tells him to listen carefully. She could kill him right now. but she doesn’t want to. She knows the pain Wren is in. The whole reason for PADRE was to prevent anyone from feeling that kind of pain. She pushes his stick down, and says, she already lost one parent today. Don’t make her lose a second one. Mo comes out, and Morgan tells her to go back inside. She says, Shrike’s right. She doesn’t want to feel like this. He says, there’s nothing Shrike can do to make the feeling go away, and Mo asks why they need the containers in the shipyard. Shrike says, so they can build a new settlements all over the country, and make sure no one feels the way she’s feeling right now. Morgan says, you can’t run away from your feelings (and he ought to know), but Shrike says, she won’t be running from anything. She’ll be running toward a bright future. He says, what future? Shrike can’t even get to the containers. Mo says she can do it, if they help her. It’s what PADRE’s been training them to do for years. Morgan says, the walkers will kill her, but Mo says, not if they’re smart; not if they use their training. Who’s with her? Dove says, all right; let’s do it. Morgan says, don’t do this, as the guards hold him back. He says he can’t lose her, and Shrike says, there they have it. It’s not about what she wants; it’s about what you want. He says, she’s going to get his daughter killed, and she says she told him, she doesn’t want to kill him. He stops struggling, and she says, smart man. But not so fast. He uses his pokey stick for some swordplay, and knocks the guards down and out. He runs past Shrike, calling to Mo, but she trips him with the ax. She says she warned him, and the guards pop back up. Morgan says, she’s not going to kill him and she asks, why? He says, because he doesn’t die. Everybody else does, but he doesn’t. She says, maybe he’s right. Maybe he needs to think about why that keeps happening. The guards hustle him back to the train car, and she says, make sure he can’t get out. They put a chain on the door, and send up a flare. She  tosses down the ax, and they leave. We see Morgan through the window as zombies toddle toward the car.

Next time, Madison finds Morgan, who says, all he does is kill; Morgan goes to the shipyard; and Daniel and Shrike face off.

🤯 More Brains…

Join me tomorrow for soap and double the Deck. Until then, stay safe, stay unplugging once in a while, and stay knowing that accepting how things are is not necessarily giving up.