What I Watched Today

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

Fear the Walking Dead

There’s a mishmash of images in Morgan’s head; chaos, bloodshed, Grace and Mo. Madison snaps him out of it, and tells him that she heard about Grace and came to see if he was okay. When she got here, he was killing them. There are fallen dead all around him, and he says he doesn’t remember killing them. She says he attacked her too, but he doesn’t remember, and he tells her that Mo is at the shipyard. He’s got to stop her. He screams for his ax like Joan Crawford/Faye Dunaway in Mommie Dearest. He’s graffitied the train car, and says she needs to get away from him. In losing Grace like he lost Jenny, he’s afraid of losing Mo too. He thought he was past seeing red. When he does, all he does is kill; until he’s cleared. Walkers and people; it doesn’t make a difference. It’s a cycle and it’s starting again. He swung his ax at her, and doesn’t remember. Who knows what else he might do? She says she’s not leaving him. She’d lost herself when they met, and he helped her back. Whatever happens now, she’s with him. She’ll make sure he doesn’t lose himself. He says he has to come back and bury Grace right. He can’t lose Mo. He doesn’t think he’ll survive it. She says, then let’s not lose her. She leaves, and he looks at his bloody hands.

They go to the shipyard, and there are dead zombies all over the place. Some are still up and moving though, and Morgan does his clearing thing, seeing red. Madison calls to him, and says she tried to stop him; they helped. He sees Daniel is there, along with the rest of the army. He asks if he hurt her, but she says she managed to stay out of the way. Only the prefects were here, and they got out. As they trudge through the water, Daniel tells Morgan that June is monitoring PADRE from the repeater station. The dead overwhelmed the prefects and pushed them back to the water. Mo led them out. The island’s been evacuated. Morgan radios Mo, and says, a friend once told him, you can hide, but you can’t run. The only thing that will ease the hurt is the people she has left; the same thing she’s running from. He starts to see red again and tells Madison about the settlements PADRE wants to build. He’s afraid if Mo goes with them, he’ll never see her again. Madison says she’ll go after Mo. Mo ended up at PADRE because of her; let her make it right. June radios Daniel, and says, it sounds like the prefects are surrounded by walkers on a couple sides. They’re going to a houseboat. Morgan is worried about it sinking, but Madison tells him that they’ll get to it before it sinks. Morgan says, it’s overgrown. She’ll never find it. Daniel says, then he’ll have to be the tour guide. He gives her his ax.

Crane and Shrike land on shore. Crane tells Shrike that he got rid of any trace of their files, but he couldn’t find the coordinates. Shrike says, they must be somewhere they haven’t looked. Brilliant deduction, Sherlock.

Mo sees the houseboat, and a flare goes up. She radios PADRE One, and Shrike tells her to double back. They’re not on the houseboat. PADRE is moving ahead with the expansion, but they need the coordinates to launch it; that’s what it’s always been about. Mo wonders why they can’t decide on their own coordinates, but Shrike says, these were developed to provide the perfect conditions for community. The coordinates are hidden in a pair of binoculars on a Carrion named Krennick. Kill as many as they can until they find him. Morgan radios Mo, saying, don’t listen. Get to the houseboat. Keep herself safe until he gets there. Shrike will get her killed. Shrike says, no, Morgan will get her killed, but Morgan says he’s not going to lose his kid. Mo says, he already has. Don’t make it harder than it already is. Daniel says, they can do this, and Madison says, they’ll have to fight their way toward Mo. Morgan sees red, along with the images of death and angst in his head, and tries to get his ax. He sees himself fighting Madison, but the next thing he knows, he’s in quicksand along with his ax. Mo tells the prefects that they’re going to split up to cover more ground, and Morgan radios her. He says, what she saw at the house on the walls is happening again. He doesn’t know what he’s done or might do. Promise him to forget what he told her. If she sees him, run from him.

Dwight loads a gun, while Sherry nurses Finch. June comes in and asks where Dwight is going. He says, Shrike’s going to the swamp, and he’s making sure she doesn’t come out. He’s going to stop Shrike from doing to the kids what she did to his. June asks him to let her do it. She wasn’t there for her daughter and should have been. Finch needs him. So does Sherry. Let her do this. He gives her the gun and goes to Finch and Sherry.

Morgan is in the swamp, seeing red. Mo stabs him in the collarbone, and says, he thought she was Carrion. She’s sorry, but she had to stop him. Madison radios, and Morgan says, she needs to help Mo at the houseboat. Gasping for oxygen, Madison says she’ll try, but she doesn’t know if she can find it without him. Morgan tells Mo, turn around and walk away.

He wakes up in the sinking houseboat, one arm chained to a railing. Mo says, he passed out, and it was the only place she could bring him. It’s the safest one. Zombies are starting to get uncomfortably close, and he tells her, cut him loose, and he’ll kill the zombies. She needs to get as far away from him as she can. She says, why couldn’t he just let her go? Now they’re trapped like before, because of him. She was trying to run away. He asks why she didn’t, and she says she didn’t want to watch him die like Grace, but now there’s no way out. He tells her that they’re breaking the cycle, as zombies break through the hull of the boat. He sends up a flare with one hand, and Madison sees it. She radios that she’s on her way, but Shrike pops out of the woods, and says, no, she’s not. Madison says she needs to get to the houseboat, and Shrike says, so is she. She should have just killed Madison. Shrike is about to shoot Madison, but Daniel shoots a warning shot at her first. He says, the next one will be in her head. His army comes out, and he says, meet the parents of the children she stole. She says, rescued, but he assures her that they don’t see it that way. Dove says, they’re stuck trying to live a life that’s been dead a long time, and Daniel tells Madison to get in the boat. He’s going to try to get through to them. Madison takes off, and there’s a gun battle as Madison paddles away.

Zombies are closer to the boat, and Morgan asks for his ax, but it’s still a hard no. Mo stabs the zombies in the head, and says she’d rather fight them than him. He tries to get loose, and begins to see red as more zombies break through. He radios Madison, who says she’s coming as fast as she can, but she’s not sure it will be enough. He says, it has to be. Mo needs her. Madison says, and she needs oxygen. He wouldn’t let her save Mo before. He says, she still can. He gives Mo a scuba tank, and tells her that she’s going to swim right under. She refuses to leave him, but he says he’ll find a way out. He’s not going to make the same mistake he made 7 years ago. They were surrounded by walkers, and the boat was sinking. Mo was just a baby, and he thought it was all over. He saw red, and when he came to, his hands were covered in blood, and he was standing over her. He called PADRE to get her because he didn’t trust himself to care for her. Swim until she’s clear of this place. Mo takes the tank, and dives, and Morgan radios Madison. He says, Mo is going to be okay. She says, what about him? but he says, just find her. Make sure she doesn’t get on the ship. Shrike gets on the radio and says, if she finds the coordinates, he’ll never see Mo again, but he says he doesn’t think so. The walker they’re looking for with the binoculars is in front of him. He’s going to bury the coordinates at the bottom of the swamp, where they’ll never find them or him. He reaches for a rifle nearby, and sees red, along with images of Mo in distress. We jump to Madison fishing him out of the water. She tells him, the houseboat went under, and she had to pull him out. He asks, where’s Mo? He has to stop her. Madison says, he’s going to get himself killed, but he says he can’t lose her. Madison says, when PADRE first got its hooks in her, it was with her kids, and her kids were the only thing that kept her going. Even when Alicia thought she was dead, Alicia kept Madison with her. Shrike comes flying out, asking, where is he? She’s freaking out for the first time, and losing control, and Morgan says, he went down with the ship. Then, of all the zombies in all the towns, Shrike’s dad comes through the water. Shrike falls to her knees and cries, remembering him. He comes out of the water, clutching at her, and tears her neck out with his teeth. Madison kicks him off of Shrike, and brings down the ax. She tells Shrike that she’s sorry, and takes the binoculars, as we all would. She takes out the coordinates, and Shrike says, dad, I’m sorry. Madison says, he was always with her.

Crane has Daniel and the others on their knees, and tells the prefects, guns up. He shoves Daniel, saying, don’t look at him. Mo runs joins them, and asks, what’s going on? Dove says, the army is stopping them from finding Carrion, but didn’t have what it takes, and Crane says, you know what comes next. This is what they’re trained for – shoot them. That doesn’t happen, and Dove says, they’ve been given an order – fire. Daniel says, they won’t do it. Making a child kill for the first time is harder than you think. Dove says, he’s wrong. They heard Crane; pull the trigger. Daniel says, don’t listen to them. When he was young, he was in the same position. He wishes someone had stopped him. It will haunt them for the rest of their lives. Dove says, enough. This ends now. Guns up. Pull the trigger. Nope. Crane says, pull the trigger now, and he and Dove hassle Hawk, but he won’t shoot. Morgan runs up, and says, hold your fire. Mo asks why he’s here, and Dove tells her not to speak to him. He tried to kill her. Morgan says he’s not here to hurt anyone, and Madison says, they’ve got the coordinates, holding them up. Crane asks what they want for them, and she says, nothing. Morgan says, they’re going to give the coordinates to them, and Crane says, it’s a trick. Morgan says, it’s not a trick, and Daniel starts to protest, but Morgan says, if that’s what it takes to end all this, let them have it. He’s letting Mo go. If she thinks this is what she needs, he won’t stand in her way. Mo says, he told her that he didn’t want to lose her, and he says he doesn’t. Dove says, he’s just messing with their heads, and Morgan says, it started when he lost his wife and son; he lost himself. When Dove’s mom died, it started again, but he thinks he can break free of the cycle. Madison led him to it. She said, you never lose the people who matter. Crane says, enough, and Madison says, his sister couldn’t kill them. She saw their father, and remembered what he wanted PADRE to be; what he died for. Morgan says, part of him was still alive; Crane’s sister saw it. They’re a part of the people they love. Go to the ship and see where it leads them, but remember the people they’ve left behind who will remember them. They might not know today or tomorrow how important it is, but the day will come.

Mo puts her hand on Crane’s arm, and he lowers his gun. She tells Morgan that she wants to be with him, and they hug. Everyone is like, aww, except for Crane, who cowers like the big baby he is.

Shrike wakes up on an operating table, June watching as Shrike sees a snapping zombie head above her. Shrike cries out, but June says, no one is going to hear her. Morgan and Madison told her where Shrike was, and she brought Shrike here. Shrike says, there’s still time. Give her a dose of radiation. Please. June radios Dwight and Sherry, asking what to do, but Finch stops Dwight from answering for a moment. He says, don’t make her feel this, and Dwight tells June, make it quick and painless, and June tells Shrike, it’s less than she deserves. June stabs the head, when Crane walks in. She points her gun at him, but he says he just wants to see Shrike. June says, either he does it or she will. He blubbers and shows her that he’s unarmed. June tells him, bury her deep, and find another place to live. She leaves, and Crane and Shrike cry, but I have little sympathy.

At the shore, Morgan thanks Madison for helping him find his daughter and himself. But there is something else. Whatever comes next for her and the kids, they don’t need him to get it done. He’s been thinking about the people he ran away from when he arrived. He has to find them; see if they’re still there. Right his mistake, and make sure they’re okay. He wouldn’t do this if he didn’t believe the rest were safe with her. She says she thinks they only see her as a woman who took their kids away, but Morgan says, she’ll give them good reason not to. Mo says, Madison gave her a reason, and hands Madison her old jacket back. She thanks Madison, and hugs her. Morgan hugs Madison and says, they’ll always be with her. Mo and Morgan get in the boat, Mo leaving her prefect mask behind, and they row away.

Sherry and Dwight bury Finch, marking his grave with a wooden name plaque. Dwight asks if PADRE didn’t give him the name, but Sherry says, he made it his own and no one can take it away from him. She asks what they’re supposed to do now, and Dwight says he thinks it’s got to be the end of them. No matter where they go, or what they do, it stays the same. Sherry says, it never stops, and he says, it just seems to get worse. Maybe it’s not because of a-holes like Negan and Shrike. Maybe they’re not meant to be together. Sherry tears up and asks where he’s going. He says, back home. He thinks he can start over. She says she doesn’t want to hurt him, and he says he doesn’t want to hurt her either, but it seems to be what they do to each other. Sherry says, then let’s put an end to it, and he says he’s sorry. They hug. Pfft! Why is Dwight doing this?

Dove asks Madison if they’re getting on the ship, and Madison tells the group that there are files on the island that tell them where they came from and who their parents are. Some of them could still be out there. They’ll find them and bring them here. They’ll make PADRE what it was meant to be in the first place.

Morgan buries Grace in a large makeshift graveyard. Mo comes along in normal clothes, having ditched her uniform. He hugs her and gives her a not-pokey stick to practice with. She goes to wait for him, and Morgan goes to the grave of E. Eastman. He says, as much as his weapon has changed since Eastman gave it to him, he supposes he has too. Eastman made that all possible with everything he gave to Morgan and taught him. Morgan has realized all life is precious, but it’s not about killing or not killing. It’s about what you do with the time that you have and the people you have. Morgan needs him to look after Grace. Mo practices in the background, and Morgan tells her, every swing has a reason. Either strike or block. He asks her to show him, and she makes some moves. He says, they need to get going, and she asks, where? He says, remember the friend he mentioned; the one who told him not to run? He thought they’d look for him. Mo asks if he thinks they’ll find him, and Morgan says, it wouldn’t be the first time they found their way back to each other. He gets on the walkie, and says, this message is for Rick Grimes from Morgan Jones. He’s going to look for Rick, whether he’s at Alexandria or not. He’ll leave this message every day at dawn and leave the walkie on for a few minutes. Who knows? Maybe Rick will even be listening. He looks at Grace’s name plaque, kisses his palm, and places it on the ground where she’s buried, thinking of everyone he’s lost. He picks up his ax, and says, let’s go. They start to walk, and they both turn for a second, like they heard something, then keep walking.

A message comes over the radio. This is Madison Clark. If you can hear this message, you are in a territory PADRE has patrolled. PADRE has fallen. They are no longer a threat to you or your children. She gives some coordinates to come find any children, and someone listening writes them down. Madison says, if they can’t get there, send an SOS to this channel, and they’ll find them. They’ll do their best to reunite them with their children and make up for the damage PADRE did. The listener packs a bag with a bunch of weird weapons, including a mechanical hand.  

The final season returns this fall.

🗽 Dead Spoilers…

While the first episode was more of a set-up than anything else, I don’t think this show is going to disappoint. I’m thrilled that we’re finally getting out of Georgia, but even better, NYC is a phenomenal backdrop for zombies. Okay, maybe I’m a little biased, having spent a good portion of my life there, but it’s definitely fun new territory. I didn’t recap, since this week I dealt a laptop death, a dog stepping on a bee, and pulling a hamstring during a workout. I was like, isn’t Vanderpump Rules and that incessant ad with the woman singing about her A1C enough? Anyway, I just wanted to enjoy it, but I did jot down some highlights. If you haven’t watched it yet, don’t read them.

Maggie is looking for her son, and while she still holds a grudge against Negan, she needs his help to find Herschel. She hunts Negan down, then they follow a lead she has to NYC. They travel through New Babylon, a capital city where marshals keep order. One in particular, Perlie Armstrong, is out to get Negan. Zombies are called chompers in this one, and among the many new dangers the city holds, they get bombarded by zombies falling from rooftops. On the plus side, a little ice cream type truck tours the streets, playing crooner tunes, and luring zombies. Like gossip columnist Cindy Adams always says, only in New York, kids. Only in New York. Herschel, now a young man, is being held captive by The Croat who reminds me a little of Teddy. He wants information, but Herschel isn’t giving it, and it looks like he’s the type to show no mercy.  

🗯 Best quote, from The Croat, talking about the city after the zombie apocalypse: The irony is that in death, the city is so much more alive than it ever was. Because the struggle, it galvanizes you. Shows you the strength you had inside all along.

Oh yeah, and there’s cockroaches.

⚰️ Dead Tired…

Come on back on Monday really Tuesday for soap and what’s on Deck. It looks like another double episode, but I have no clue why this is a thing now. Until then, stay safe, stay having a Happy Father’s Day, even if you just father a plant, and stay remembering it’s about what you do with the time that you have and the people you have.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfrIqRoPWo8