What I Watched Today
(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)
Fear the Walking Dead
Everyone is stunned about Nick. Al has videoed the aftermath. We see Luci make sure Nick doesn’t come back by stabbing him in the head, Alicia re-killing Ennis more viciously (somehow, he got rid of the deer head he was impaled on), and Victor covers Nick up. In the van, Victor tells Al, let’s get this over with. Al says it can wait until he’s buried, but Victor says that was the deal. She asks how he ended up there, and he tells her that’s a big question. She says sometimes those are easier to answer. Luci says they could have stopped this from happening.
It’s another one of those back-and-forth episodes. Luci watches a guy, who looks like Riff Raff from Rocky Horror, bring some supplies to the Vultures. Charlie laughs with Ennis. She explains to Al that they had to stretch rations with cattle feed. Victor says it’s an acquired taste.
At the stadium, Victor offers to garnish lunch with maple syrup, and Alicia tells him to save it for the pancakes. He says, for when things get better, and they will. Madison says it’s time to be creative. The need to find places their friends in the parking lot haven’t hit, like maybe a bowling alley.
Victor says it was their first misstep, going on runs that day.
Victor and Cole walk through a greenhouse. Cole says he went to A&M University, and knows which plants are safe to eat. He encourages Victor to tell him something about himself, and Victor says he didn’t go to A&M. They find something edible, and look for a cart. Cole asks how long Victor is going to act like he’s afraid of him. Victor says that’s not the case.
Al asks if he was afraid of Cole, and Victor says, of course not. He says they’re supposed to be talking about Nick, and Al says they’re talking about him.
Cole and Victor fight off zombies in the greenhouse. Cactus zombies. They have quills sticking out of them all over. One gets Cole down. Victor pikes it in the head and helps him up.
Nick takes Luci to a nearby library. His mother once brought him there, and he thinks it’s a sign. Luci says she went with him because Nick thought it would be good for her.
Inside the library, Nick whistles. It’s empty because zombies don’t read. He takes a poster down off the wall, and Luci asks why they’re here. Nick tells her that people need a reason to stick around, and not just food. She says there’s nothing left, but he thinks there has to be something. Luci says it’s about her, referring to Charlie. Nick says she thinks they’re looking out for her and they’re family. Luci says she thought Colonia was a good place to be, but it wasn’t. He helped her.
Al says, but he couldn’t help Charlie. Luci says, she killed Nick. What do you think?
John tells Morgan he used to be a police officer. He knew a guy who drank a bottle of rye every night. One night he survived a close call. A guy stole a garbage truck, and it ended up squashing his patrol car. He went a week without touching rye. John says it takes more than a week to change someone. He thinks Morgan will be on his way after Nick is buried. John is going to find Laura, and wants Morgan with him. He wants them to meet. Morgan just wants to see Nick buried, and he’ll be on his way. He’s better on his own.
Al says they can stop if it’s too much; Alicia’s brother died. Alicia says, yeah, he did.
Alicia and Naomi go to a small waterpark. Naomi sees a van she thinks they should take back, pointing out that it even has a tape deck. She looks for keys, but finds nothing. They head into the park, which looks like something from Abandoned, but with dead bodies all over. A zombie stumbles out, and Alicia stabs its head. Another follows, and Naomi takes care of that one. Naomi says whoever camped here moved to higher ground when the fence came down, showing Alicia a site on a platform at the top of the waterslide. The stairs are barricaded, but Alicia says they can get up there from the slide. They look at the zombies wandering around in the water.
Victor says he wanted to do the right thing in the car. Cole tells Victor that if he doesn’t like him, just tell him. Victor says he does like him. Cole asks why he won’t share information about himself then, and Victor says he doesn’t want Cole to know him. He’s done dumb things, and keeps this to remind him not to be that man. He hands Cole what we both agree looks like a piece of a rock. Victor says, it’s not.
Al asks if going on run brought them closer together, and Alicia says, of course it did. They were the only ones still breathing. She and Naomi wade through the pool, and the zombies. Naomi tries to get up the slide, but keeps slipping back down. Alicia gives her a boost, and tries to follow, but she slips and loses her knife. As they struggle to get up the slide, there’s a terrific crane shot showing the cluster of zombies, grappling at the bottom.
They carefully make their way up. It would really suck to get all that way and slide back down into a mess of zombies. They look at the stuff left behind, and Alicia thinks there’s still some ammo. A zombie toddles out, startling them. They struggle with it, and Naomi falls down to a bowl-like attachment on the slide. I’m guessing you could once slide through it, but now there’s a clog of zombies caked in slime in the opening. Naomi kicks at them, but one is particularly aggressive. Alicia slides down, having grabbed a pipe that was part of the slide. She knocks the zombie in the head, and it slides back down into the clog. I have to admit, I made noises out loud throughout this whole scene.
Al asks when she sharpened it. Alicia says that came later.
Back at the top, Alicia and Naomi go through the stuff. Naomi finds the keys to the van, but says nothing. There’s a trunk of medical supplies, and Naomi tells Alicia to take as much as she can. Naomi gives Alicia binoculars, and suggests she look for what hasn’t been picked over. Alicia thinks there’s a possibility, but when she turns around, Naomi is gone.
Al asks, what happened? Did she run? Victor says, they’re all running.
Victor and Cole go to a parking lot. Cole asks where the hell they are. Victor opens the hatchback of a car, and says, when the crops failed, he gathered things. Cole asks why Victor is showing him. Victor says there’s enough room for two. Cole tells him that people are hungry. Victor says the supplies would maybe feed them for a day; it wouldn’t make a difference. Cole says makes a difference between them making it for another day or not. Victor says so could this. Before, he did things where people got hurt or died. He learned self-preservation. He says famine is on the horizon, and he did it to ensure he survived. He wants Cole to know this is him. Cole shakes his head. He can’t do it. Victor says he didn’t think so. Cole says he’ll drive himself back.
Al asks if he left, and if Victor thinks it’s his fault. Alicia says, it’s not his fault. He wasn’t the only one who thought about leaving.
Naomi starts the car. It chugs to a stop because there’s no gas in it. I’m not even going to say it. Yes, I am. You’d think she’d have checked that first thing. She sure made a good guess those were the right car keys. Alicia is there, and says that’s the second time she ran out since they’ve met. Naomi doesn’t have to tell them anything, but she’s either with them, trying to keep it going, or not. Naomi says she can’t try to keep this going. Alicia tells her that she said the same thing once. She went off on her own; no one could talk her out of it, but wasn’t what she wanted it to be. Maybe she’ll realize that too. Alicia says she’ll go with her to get some gas.
Al asks if Luci thought about leaving. Luci says they all did.
Luci tells Nick that they have to go. He says there could be something there for her. He looks around in the back, and we hear zombie noises. A trail of books leads to a zombie who’s tied up, so it can’t escape. Nick puts it out of its misery, and sees that its wrists are slit. Luci sees a book of maps. Luci say she doesn’t want to end up like that. Nick tells her they know what’s wrong, and they’re going to try and fix it. She says what if they find a new place? Start over. He asks, where, and she hands him the book. She says the first place they open to.
Al asks Luci, what page did it open to? It’s the reason she’s sitting here, isn’t it? Luci says she should have never opened the book.
Madison looks through binoculars at the Vultures. Mel waves and holds up a radio. She gets on hers, and asks if he needs help. He asks if they have relish. She goes down to the parking lot, but I don’t see her bringing any relish. He says they’ve finished it, haven’t they? And the ketchup and mustard. Condiments are the first things to go, in trying to dress up things they don’t want to eat. The dressing up part is true even in real life. I remember putting Italian dressing on green beans and ketchup on mac and cheese at lunch in high school. Mel is cooking hotdogs. He asks where she’s sending people, and she says, why? So they can beat them there? She doesn’t think so. He says every time she sends someone out, they might not come back. Madison says they will; she knows her people.
Mel says before he lived on the bus, he lived like them, in a settlement; his family’s cattle ranch in hill country. It was a nice place to be, but then wildfires kicked up. Madison knows where he’s going. She says, he’s smart, and saw what was coming. He tried to warn everyone, but they wouldn’t listen. So he and his brother left before the fires hit. She says she’s sorry about the rest of his family. Mel says, people are stubborn creatures. He asks if she’d like a weenie, but she’s good. He says if she didn’t come out for food or company, what is she doing there? She says her offer still stands. If they want relish, they could scrounge some up from the concession stand. They can make a go of it, if they work together. He asks if she believes that. She does, and he says that’s why the place is going to fall. His offer also stands. She turns to leave, and he says she was wrong about his story. He told them that they could save the place, and they listened. He and Ennis were the only ones who made it out alive. They could hear them scream as they drove off. Madison walks away.
Al says that’s why it’s so important. They gave up on the stadium.
In the library, Luci flips open the book.
Victor sits in his car.
Naomi tells Alicia that she was a nurse. After a while, she could tell who would make it and who wouldn’t. She says the stadium won’t last. They have to think about where they’re going next. Alicia says she’ll talk to Madison.
Victor says Al thinks she knows what happened that day, but she’s wrong.
Cole drives up to the stadium, and Madison asks if Victor is okay. Victor drives in behind him. Al asks why he came back, and Victor says he got a reminder of what he stood to lose. He looks at the syrup. Al asks what people thought when they found out about his escape hatch. Madison sees all the supplies, and says it looks like they got a break. Victor tells Al that he didn’t tell them the truth. Al asks Luci what page it opened to.
Luci says they’re going north. Nick asks what if there’s another way of looking at this. They bring the book to Madison. Nick asks what if they went further to scavenge than they have before. Madison says they can’t go that far every time, but he says they only need to go once. He tells her they can get seeds and fertilizer. They can replant, and turn the place back into what it was. Madison says okay, because she’s coming from a place of yes this season.
A tear rolls down Luci’s face.
Alicia tells Madison they have to talk. Al asks if Alicia told her about Naomi.
Alicia knocks on Naomi’s car window as she’s starting to leave. She asks if they ever lived when Naomi thought they were going to die. Naomi tells Alicia to let her do the talking, and Alicia gets in, saying, nice wheels. At the stadium, Naomi says if they’re going to make it work, things will get worse before they get better. She’s going to set up an infirmary.
Alicia says instead of fighting to change everything, she should have told them to leave. Luci says they should have found somewhere else. Victor says he wanted to be a better person, that’s why he’s dead. Luci says they could have stopped it all. Al puts down the camera.
Al stops the van, and they get out. Victor says, this is it. They dig, and John asks, why here? Alicia asks what difference it makes to him, and he says he just wants to know. They continue to dig, and dig up a cache of guns. Al says it’s not about Nick. They’re going after the rest of them, even after what happened to Nick. Alicia says it’s what he would have wanted. Al says answers only matter if they’re true. Alicia says it was the truth, and Al says it was served between two slices of bullsh*t. She tells them good luck without her. Victor says they know where the Vultures are meeting up next, and Al says, they needed a ride. John says she’s been snookered. She asks if they’re really going to lug all this, and Alicia says unless she takes them. John says his seems to be the only story that doesn’t end with someone getting hurt or killed. Victor says if Al wants to know how it ends, come see for herself, and Al tells them to load up the van. Morgan asks Alicia if they’re still planning on burying her brother or are they leaving him on the side of the road? Alicia says they’ll bury him there. Morgan says, he liked growing things, right?
In a spot near a beautiful tree, Victor puts the last dirt on the grave. Luci kneels down and touches it. Morgan leaves a bluebonnet.
As they’re packing the truck, John asks where they got some of it. Alicia says it’s just stuff they’ve picked up along the way. He asks for a knapsack, saying it belonged to Laura.
At the stadium, Naomi asks Alicia for a second alone. She takes out a gun that matches John’s.
John takes out the gun. He says, her name was Naomi. She never told him her real name. He asks where she is, and Alicia says she didn’t make it out of the stadium. Things went wrong. He guesses that trip is off, and asks what happened. Alicia says, she’s dead, and he says that’s not true. She’s out there; she’s gotta be. Victor says, there’s the rub, his story did end up with someone getting hurt. Alicia says they did this. Come with them. John asks them to let him be. Al approaches him. She says she’ll find out what happened, and come back for him. Morgan tells them to go; he’ll stay behind. They drive off. Morgan tells John that he’s sorry. John says he was right. We’re always on our own.
Next time, John and Naomi’s story.
👌 I love the Morgan/John pairing. I have more feels for these characters than the ones on Walking Dead. They just seem more well-rounded. Although I probably enjoy Talking Dead most of all. It’s like the day after a convention (sci/fi, horror, Star Trek, whatever, take your pick), when you rehash everything and look over all the crap you bought.
🏯 I’m not really watching Into the Badlands, although it might be one of those things I consume in one bite On Demand someday. I did glance at it though, and it looks awesome. Like a Quentin Tarantino film, but more colorful. The fight scenes are unbelievable – chicks with swords! – and I’ll bet a lot of the actors go home bruised and sore.
🍷 I didn’t really take in too much of The Real Housewives of Potomac tonight, but there was a stand-out quote, brought to us by Candiace: I think I like her better drunk. I don’t know who she was referring to, but I thought of how well it could apply to anyone in the franchise saying it about anyone else in the franchise.
🐎 Was that Walking Dead’s Simon I saw on Westworld?
👻 Sadly, Ghost Wars has been canceled.
https://www.themarysue.com/syfy-cancels-ghost-wars-after-one-season/
😱 🎢 Imagine Zombies Clogging This Up…
Much worse than spiders. I’m talking to you, Stephen King.
What I Watched - TV With Theresa 