What I Watched Today

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

Disclaimer… or something. To do this amazing but very, very long finale justice in editing, I give you Part 1 right now and will post Part 2 tomorrow. Or later today. Or… I’m tired.

Fear the Walking Dead

Part 1 – Fighting Like You

Mississippi Queen plays, and we see a fire being set and bright lights coming on. The zombie horde is led out of the woods by Troy and company. He radios Russell who says, they’re in formation. He’ll see Troy at the rendezvous. Tracy asks how they’ll get to PADRE, since it’s an island. They can’t walk the zombies in. Troy asks, who said they were walking? Russell came through with the perfect way to get them there. They’ll finally have a home. Tracy says, her mom pulled loose, and zombie Serena scrabbles at the back window of the truck. Troy says, she won’t hurt them. She’s going to be the one to make Madison pay for everything she’s done. He asks Tracy, what’s wrong? and Tracy asks why her mom has to kill Madison. Troy says, Alicia’s mother put the thinking into people’s heads that got them killed, and they can’t let that happen to anyone else. Tracy says, Victor told her the St. Christpher medal belonged to Alicia, but Troy asks if she knows how many St. Christopher medals are out there. He was mistaken. Her mother gave it to him when she died and made him promise to give it to her and keep her safe. That’s what he’s been doing ever since. Tracy yells, look out! and the truck flips over an embankment.  

Tracy tells Troy, wake up, and he opens his eyes. She says, he’s been out for hours, and he asks, what happened? She says, they went over an embankment. She thinks he ran over a trap. Troy has been impaled with a tree branch, which is sticking out of his upper chest, and he says he’s pinned to the seat. He asks, where’s the gun? and she says, he lost it when they crashed. She can’t find it. He says, they have to catch up with Russell, and tries pulling the branch out, but he can’t. He says, Tracy has to go meet Russell. He’ll give her the coordinates. But she says she’s not leaving him. He says she has to. It’s everything they’ve fought for. If she doesn’t make it to PADRE, everything they’ve done won’t mean anything. Tracy says she’s going to find help. She doesn’t want to live there if she’s not with him. She gives him the medal to keep him safe like, and says she’ll come back for him. Then they’ll make PADRE their home together. She runs off, zigzagging through the zombies headed for the truck.  

A zombie is squashed by the MRAP tank, and Madison gets out. Victor radios, as Madison realizes the zombie horde is gone. He asks where she is, and she says she can’t help him. Enough people died because of her and she can’t put the rest at risk. He says, it’s just him and his newly found friends. She says she has the tank, ammo, and guns, and doesn’t need help. Unlike him, she has no one to disappoint. He should build PADRE into what Alicia wanted. Victor says, she thinks it’s one thing, then can’t stop. He learned the hard way at the Tower. There was always one more thing he had to do to keep it safe. Before he knew it, he was the thing people needed protection from. There’s another way. Madison opens the back door to the tank, and sees Tracy. She asks what Tracy is doing here. Where’s Troy? Tracy says, he’s hurt, and Madison says, bullsh*t, but Tracy says, he crashed the truck. Madison asks, why Russell didn’t help, and Tracy says, he couldn’t. He’s leading the rest of the herd. Madison asks, where? but Tracy says she doesn’t know. Madison asks, who does know? and Tracy says, her dad is going to die if she doesn’t help him. Madison asks why she’s here, and Tracy says she thought she could use the radio. Madison asks where the truck is, and Tracy hesitates, but Madison says, Tracy can’t use her radio and she’s running out of options. Tracy says, it’s down an embankment, about a mile east of here. Madison sits her down, and zip ties her wrist to the tank. She radios Victor and says, change of plans. She’s leaving the MRAP. Victor asks, where she’s going, and she says, to kill Troy. Tracy says, no! What happened to, no one’s gone until they’re gone? She told Victor to build what Alicia wanted. If Madison gave Victor a second chance, why not her dad? Madison says, he doesn’t deserve one, and Tracy says, that’s not what Alicia believed. Help her dad the way Alicia helped her. She gestures toward Alicia’s mechanical arm, displayed in the tank, and Madison leaves.  

Russell radios Troy and says he’s picking up stragglers. How is Troy in the same place? Troy says, by the looks of it, he’s not going anywhere. Promise him something. Russell says, anything, and Troy tells him whatever happens, find Tracy and make sure she gets there. Russell promises she’ll finally have a home. The zombies coming closer to Troy are whacked in the head, as Russel says, they’ll take the island. Madison says, no, they won’t, and neither will Troy. He pulls the branch out of the seat, but not his chest, and he launches himself at Madison. They tumble down, and he pushes her toward zombie Serena. Madison twists the stick, pulls it out, and shoves it in zombie Serena’s head. Troy says, she had no right. Madison picks up the hammer, and says she’ll bury him next to her, and he says, she thinks killing him will help build the island. She says, he killed her daughter. She has to do what she has to, to make sure Alicia’s memory didn’t die with her. People like them are no longer in this world, but Troy says, she can’t kill him. She wants to stop the herd, and he’s the only person who knows where they’re going. She says, her people will figure it out, but he says, not in time. She needs to do something for him. He needs to see his daughter. He needs to tell her something. Madison brings out the radio, and says, tell her now, but he says he needs to see her. She says, nice try, a-hole, and he says, let him bury his wife. Bring him to his daughter, and he’ll take her to Russell. She asks what he has to tell Tracy that’s so important, and he says, it just is. She asks how she knows he’ll hold up his end of the deal, and he says, she doesn’t. Just like he doesn’t know she won’t kill him. She says, okay. She takes him to Tracy, who asks, what happened to him? He says he was doing what it takes to protect PADRE and get to see his daughter one more time. Madison radios Victor and says she’s coming back. She’s bringing Troy and he’s going to lead them to the herd. And she’s bringing Tracy. She tells Troy, hold still, and pulls out the stick. He falls over.

Tracy watches one of Alicia’s video tapes, when Victor opens the tank. He asks what she’s doing here, and she says, waiting for her father. He agreed to tell them where the herd is heading. Victor says, whether he’s lying or not remains to be seen. Why would her father help when PADRE is everything to him? Why would he give it up? He supposes they’ll find out. Tracy says, he’s going to kill Madison when he gets what he wants. She thinks he doesn’t deserve a second chance. One of the Alicia clones asks, how many tapes has Tracy seen? If she watches more, she’ll see that Madison gave a lot of people second chances, whether they deserved them or not. Tracy says, like who? and Victor tells her that Madison never gave up on him, but Tracy says, Madison’s not her anymore. Madison radios Victor and says, they’ll be there shortly. Troy buries Serena, and she tells him, it must be nice to bury the person you love. He says, Alicia can rot on her feet forever, and she asks if he wants her to put the branch back in. Keep talking. He says, his wife is dead because of her, and she asks, why? Troy says, it’s not important, and Madison says, it was important enough for him to kill her daughter over it, and he says, Serena was pregnant, and they were still looking for a place live since Mexico. She got bit. Madison says, and that’s Alicia’s fault? but Troy says, nope. Alicia’s the one who saved her. Madison asks, how? and he says he put out an SOS on the radio. Alicia was the last person he thought would respond, but she did. Madison says, she helped him? and he says, that surprises her, especially after how they parted ways in Brokejaw. Serena was bitten on the arm like Alicia, so she knew where to cut and how to do it… Then, when Serena was out of the woods, Alicia got back in the MRAP and left to help more people. Madison says she’s having a hard time seeing how this led to him killing Alicia, and he says, Serena changed after that; Alicia changed her. She wanted to be just like Alicia. Madison asks if she was, and he says, yeah. She tried to help as many as she could. One day, they got a call, and SOS on the radio. A guy said he needed help, and when Serena showed up, he shot her and robbed her. He took everything she owned and left her for dead. When Troy went looking for her, he found her holed up in a strip mall, but it was too late to save her; she’d lost too much blood. He held while she died. He listened to her weep about how she’d never watch their daughter grow up. She allowed herself to get wrapped up in Alicia’s bullsh*t, and she made him promise to never let Tracy hurt the way she did. So he never let his daughter believe the same bullsh*t Alicia put in Serena’s head. Madison says, that’s why he killed Alicia? and he says, yep. He made a promise. An errant zombie tumbles down the hill toward them and Troy shoves Madison, who gets tangled with it. He runs, but trips on a wire and falls into a trap. Madison extracts herself and goes over to the pit. She says, today is not his day, and Crane comes up behind her. He says, it’s not hers either, and hits her in the back of the head.

Madison wakes up on a barge, tied to Troy. Crane says, welcome back. Does she like his new digs? It doesn’t measure up to what they have in PADRE, but it was handy to get supplies to the cargo ship when he ran out of gas. Troy asks, who the hell is he and what does he know about PADRE? Crane says, he is PADRE. Or he was. Him and his sister. Lark got his sister killed. Madison says, she got herself killed, and Crane says, and Blue Jay spared him. Madison asks what he wants, and he says he’s looking for a way to get paid back. Today he found it. He heard them on the radio, and he’s prepared to give Troy what he wants. Troy asks, what’s the catch? and Crane says, he can start by telling his friend to call off the dogs, and Troy laughs. He asks why he’d do that, and Crane says, he’ll let Troy and his daughter live in PADRE. Madison says, he’s lying, but Crane says, Troy has more of a chance with him than Madison. Do they have a deal? He holds out the radio, and Madison yells to Victor that they’re on a barge near the docks, but Crane knocks her in the face. She says she should have killed him when she had the chance, and Crane says, this is what happens when you show mercy. She says she was trying to save his people from him and his sister, and Crane says, change of plans. Troy is going to tell his friends to call off their army in person and take him to the herd. If either one of them tries anything, he’ll kill them both. He tells his men to get the truck ready.

They drive, and Victor comes on the radio, saying, they’re at the barge… Crane turns off the radio and asks, what changed? Madison risked her life to reunite Wren and Nightingale. Now she’s using a father against his daughter. What happened to, family is worth fighting for? She says, it still is. She’s just fighting his way. Zombie blood hits the windshield, and Daniel, Luci, et al come out. Crane tries to overpower them, but zombies start coming. Luci calls to Madison, who shoots at Crane’s guys, and a couple of zombies get Crane down.

Luciana leads them into a nearby building, and Madison tries to radio Victor, but Troy says, he can’t hear. They have to get to higher ground. Daniel says, he’s not going anywhere, and Luciana says, they’re here for a reason. To do to him what he did to them at her truck stop. Daniel says, and Ofelia and Charlie and anyone else he hurt. Madison says, he can’t be the only one who knows where the herd is, and Luciana says, they can find it without Troy. Madison says she needs to find the MRAP and meet Victor on the road. Daniel is about to cut the bond tying Troy to Madison, but Madison stops him. She says, they can’t have him getting away when this is over. She has to make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone else. Daniel says, if she doesn’t, he will, and he and Luciana leave.

Troy and Madison walk, and Troy tells Madison that Crane isn’t going to take the herd. He sent Crane in the wrong direction. Madison asks, why? and he says he’s dealing with her, not them. Madison says, she’d kill him just as quick, but he says he doesn’t think so. He knows her, or maybe he knows what it is to believe in something so hard, you can’t let it go. They get to a footbridge that’s basically rope and boards, hanging over a lagoon where zombies are lurking. Troy wants to cross, but Madison says, something is pulling them down, probably quicksand. If the bridge breaks, they’re both dead. A shot fires, and Crane says he found them. They run to the bridge, which looks pretty shaky, and they start to go across. It breaks, and the zombies look up, ready for an easy lunch. Crane takes the trusty ax he just happens to have, and cuts one of the ropes. Madison and Troy fall in.

Crane tells Madison that he thought she needed to be paid back after what she did to his sister. It’s what she deserves. Troy asks what he’s talking about, and Crane says, she let Shrike get bit over and over. Her and Nightingale let it happen. Troy says he wants to get his daughter, and Crane says, that’s why the right people need to protect them from themselves, and especially from the kids. Why does Madison think they saved her at the stadium? They heard her on the radio; no one is gone til they’re gone. They found her in the water truck, gasping for air, surrounded by zombies. They didn’t hesitate to pull er out. If she was willing to die for them, they knew they could get her to do just about anything. She thought her beliefs would save her kids, but in the end, it’s what got them killed. Madison yells, come on! to the zombies toddling around in the woods, and Crane’s so busy being full of himself, they get him down and he’s out. Troy says he’s sorry, but Madison says, that’s not going to get them out. Troy says, they’re not that different, but she says she’s nothing like him. He says, the northwest corner is where he was leading them, to the swamp. He was hoping the current would sweep them to the island. She asks why he’s telling her this. Maybe she doesn’t deserve a second chance. Troy says, she does, but not if they’re not found in time. He didn’t want it to end like this. Madison says, the truth is, PADRE is better off without people like them, and they duck underwater.

Victor tells Madison, stay with them, and she coughs up water. She says, they found them and saved her, but he says, Daniel and Luciana found them. Luciana says, they’re not the ones who saved her. Tracy did. Troy says she grabbed a root and pulled them out. They used Crane’s ax to snap the cuffs. Troy says he wasn’t telling Madison the truth about what Serena said, that she regretted following Alicia. After Alicia helped Serena, Alicia gave Serena the medal and said it would bring them luck. Tracy says, he told her… He says, he knows: he lied. Serena made him promise to let Alicia believe she was alive, so she’d always know what she was fighting for. He broke that promise. Daniel says, he’s a liar, and Luciana asks why they should believe him. Troy says, he knew what it was to believe hard in something and not want to let it go. He saw it in Serena’s eyes. She never let go. She believed in it even though it got her killed. When she was going under, something in her eyes, the look of someone dying believing in nothing. He couldn’t let that happen, not for Tracy’s sake. He didn’t do what Serena asked and keep it alive. Maybe he could if he was given a second chance. Madison gets up and says, like Troy did for Alicia? He said he’d take them to the herd. It’s time for him to hold up his end of the deal.

The song Hair of the Dog plays, and Russell radios Troy. He says he’s here. He caught up to the herd. Troy should see it. Troy says he does, and Russell might want to get down. The MRAP barrels in, and the machine guns open up on the zombies. Russell says, it’s going to take more than that, and Madison says, they know. A truck caravan pulls by, with Dove in the last truck bed. The caravan leads the herd away, and big baby Russel whines, nooo.  

Madison takes some oxygen, and Victor asks how she is. June says she has fluid in her lungs, and they need to get back to the island. Dwight says, they broke up the herd, and June says, they have to get back to PADRE. Victor thinks they should give Troy the benefit of the doubt, but Luciana asks how they can trust him. Victor asks, what about second chances? He and Daniel are just as guilty for what they’ve done. Daniel asks if willing risk that. Troy tells Tracy that it worked. It kept him safe. He gives her back the medal. He did what he said and found them a home and kept her safe. He’s sorry he lied for so long. Madison says, they have to get ready to head out and help the others and tells Tracy that she wants to talk to her dad. Tracy goes to help, and Madison says she’s been thinking about Alicia and how she gave Troy a second chance despite everything. She shows him Alicia’s mechanical arm and says, it’s all she has left. Troy says, it doesn’t have to be. He’ll do everything in his power to make sure he’s worthy of a second to everyone on the island. Things have changed. She has to believe him. She says, that’s just it. She doesn’t. She stabs him with the arm, and Tracy yells, no! and runs off. Victor wonders about second chances, and Madison says, Troy was right. That’s what got Alicia killed. If she hadn’t done this, she’d be putting them at risk. It’s how they survive. As he’s dying, Troy tells Madison to fight for Tracy. She’s not his daughter. Serena died before the baby was born. Madison asks who her mother is, and he says, Alicia. He took her child to make up for what he lost. Madison yells, no! and Troy dies. She asks where Tracy has gone, and everyone looks confused or lost or both.

🐊 See You Later, Alligator…

Since this thing got away from me, come back again for Part 2. Until then, stay safe, stay remembering family is worth fighting for, and stay believing no one is gone until they’re gone.