What I Watched Today

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

Fear the Walking Dead

A Stalker pushes a cart down the road, and whistles. Another comes out of a nearby building. Stalker 1 says, look what I got. It’s clean. He checked it. Stalker 2, aka Eli, asks what it is, and the other says, they call it dragon fruit because of the thick and spiky skin. He thinks it looks like a strawberry pear. The fruit is shot out of his hand, and they see two people on horseback. Stalker 1 says, who is that? and the other says, they’re the Dark Horses. (For simplicities sake, it’s Dwight and Sherry, which isn’t revealed until the end of the scene, since they’re wearing masks.) Stalker 1 says, they don’t want any trouble, and Sherry says, then why are they stealing sh*t? Stalker 1 says, they’ve got to eat, and Dwight says, so do the guys that he stole it from. Stalker 1 says, all this for a piece of fruit? and Dwight says, it’s the principle. Sherry says, they’ve got a code, and Stalker 1 says, if he returns it, they’ll leave him alone? Sherry says, right again, and Stalker 1 says, screw their code. If you play with fire, you get burned. The Stalkers try to fight, but it’s a losing battle, and Stalker 1 takes off, but Dwight shoots him. Some zombies come out of the woods, no doubt drawn by the sound, and while the Dwight and Sherry deal with them, Eli takes off. Sherry takes off her mask, and so does Dwight. She asks if he’s okay, and he says he didn’t want to kill anybody, but she says, anyone who will kill over fruit deserves what they get, and the more people hear about what they do… He says, he knows, the fewer people they’ll have to go to. He calls their horses, and Sherry says, they stuck to the code. The kill was clean. He says he doesn’t know what he’d do without her, and they kiss. She says she hopes neither one of them has to find out again.

They go back to the cellar, Sherry shows the Larsons the fruit they were given for returning what was stolen to the owner, and Dwight gives Briga a Gameboy to pass the time. She hugs Dwight, and thanks him. Sherry says, she’s been listening to the radio all day, but there’s been nothing about Padre. Dwight tells her, keep listening, and they’ll keep looking, and eventually they’ll find it. Kim suggests Briga go play while they catch up with  Dwight and Sherry. Kevin tells them, there’s no easy way to say it, but they can’t wait anymore. Sherry asks, for what? and Kim says, this place is falling apart, and they’re running out of food. Kevin says Dwight and Sherry can use the cellar as long as they like, but they have other things to consider. They have to find someplace else. Dwight says they wouldn’t be there doing what they’re doing if the Larsons hadn’t opened their doors, but they’ve got to find Padre. Kim says they don’t even know what Padre is; it’s just rumors on the radio. Kevin asks how they know they’ll find it, and Dwight says, they keep hearing about it. If they keep doing what they’re doing, they’ll find it. It’s only a matter of time. Kim and Kevin can trust them. Kevin says he reckons they can wait a bit longer.

The credits reveal Lennie James (Morgan) directed the episode.

Back on their horses, Dwight says, is Sherry sure this is the spot? and she says, these are the coordinates. Dwight says he doesn’t know how long they can keep this up, looking for Padre. Promising something they can’t deliver on. Sherry says, it will be a new base for them to keep doing what they’re doing, a new place for Briga to grow up in. They just need to keep doing what they’re doing. Someone yells, over here; they need help. They were attacked. Sherry and Dwight run over to where there are two guys in protective gear, one slumped against a tree, and the other tending to him. Dwight asks, what happened? and the man in front steps aside, both of them drawing guns. Others come out, including Howard, who says, they’re the ones who call themselves the dark horses? Lose the mask. The readings are clear there, and if they’d wanted them dead, it would have been done already. Their reputation is the reason he was asked to find them. Sherry says, asked by who? and a hood is put over her head.

Victor sends a golf ball off the roof, and his assistant places another on the tee. Howard comes out with Sherry and Dwight, and says, the dark horses, per his request. Victor laughs, and says, so they’re the outlaws he’s heard so much about? What delicious irony. Howard asks how they know each other, and Victor says, they go way back. Sherry says, they would have come if he’d just asked, and Dwight asks, what the hell is this place, and what’s that sound? Victor says, ambiance… apologies. They’re particular about who they let into their sanctuary. Had he known it was them, he would have used gentler tactics. Dwight asks why brought them there, and he says he has a proposal. Sherry asks, what kind of proposal? and Victor says, right down to business, but don’t deny him the pleasure of showing them around. Dwight asks what business he’s talking about.

Inside, Victor says, people look at the dark horses as peace officers of modern frontier. Sherry asks how many people are there, and Victor says, two hundred, but they estimate they can hold two thousand. Dwight asks if they go out and find people, but Victor says, it’s a bit more complicated than that. June is there, and Wendall, and John’s father. Dwight asks if Morgan is there, and Victor says, they’ve crossed paths. Grace and Sarah too. Dwight asks if they’re there, and Victor says, not exactly. Dwight asks, why not? and Victor says, they’re particular about who they take in, which brings him to Mickey, one of their denizens. Dwight says, if he didn’t open the door to Morgan, Victor can shove it up his ass, and Victor says, Mickey was starving and delirious when they found her, and made an extraordinary recovery, but she’s fixated on finding her husband when his fate seemed obvious to everyone but her. Sherry says, so she went to look for him. Why does Victor care? Victor says he invests in his people in the tower, and can’t sit idly by while Mickey puts her life in danger for a place that doesn’t exist, a transmission she heard. Dwight asks what place, and how does he know it doesn’t exist? Victor says the only inhabitable place within miles is where they’re standing, and Dwight asks what he needs them for. Victor says, they know where Mickey is holed up, but anyone who goes there comes back bruised and tattered, if they come back at all. He thought the Dark Horses would have success where they failed. Sherry says, it sounds like she doesn’t want to come back, and he says, sometimes people don’t know what’s good for them. If they bring Mickey back, they can have residency there. Dwight says, they already have a place, and Victor asks how that’s working out. Dwight says, they’re getting by, and Victor says he’d think they want more than just getting by. Sherry says, calling the tower a sanctuary makes her think it’s anything but. They see the photos on the wall, and Victor says, it’s their way of keeping track of the dead. He begs them to help him save Micky from this fate. Sherry thanks him for the tour, but says, they have to pass. He asks, why? and she says, they have a code of honor. He asks what that entails, and she says, keeping people safe from a-holes like him. He laughs, and says, it’s a new world now; they know, they’ve been out there. To use their parlance, it’s a-holes like him who are keeping people safe. Should they change their mind or require his assistance, they know where to find him.

Howard brings Dwight and Sherry back to where they were, and removes their hoods. Dwight asks how he finds them. Howard says, the horses are theirs to keep. Consider it a down payment in hopes they reconsider. Sherry says, he didn’t answer the question, and Howard says, he won’t. It’s to keep the place safe. Don’t follow them. They leave, and Dwight says, they were supposed to keep Kevin and Kim safe, keep Briga safe, but they’re not safe. Victor’s tower would be a sure thing. Sherry says, they know nothing worth having is a sure thing, and he says, so what do they do? She says, help find Micky and her husband. They can all go Padre together.

Mickey puts together makeshift armor. A zombie sticks it’s arm through the window, and she asks if it wants to test it out. She stabs it in the throat, and hears someone human outside. Sherry asks if anyone is there, and Mickey says, go away. Tell Victor she’s not coming back. Dwight says he just wants to talk, and comes in, hands raised. She asks if he wants to put his gun down, and he puts it on the table. She holsters her knife, and twists Dwight’s arm behind his back. She asks how they knew where she was and what her name is, and he says, it’s not what she thinks. They’re not here to help Victor. Sherry comes in the back way, holding a gun, and says, they can help Mickey find her husband. Now how about letting go of hers?

Sherry, Dwight, and Mickey are having a beer, and Mickey asks what else Victor said. Sherry says, he told them that he’s worried about her, but Mickey says, she doesn’t think so. They only thing Victor is worrying about is how she got out. Victor and his men have their own way, but for the rest of them, the only way out is to walk through the dead. Why do they think Victor wants her brought back? Sherry says, so no one knows how she escaped, and Mickey says, she’s got it. Sherry says, Mickey made the suit, and Micky says, every night when the guards weren’t looking. Dwight asks if she’s sure they don’t know each other, and she says, no offense, but she wouldn’t forget a face like that. He says, Dearly Beloved. She’s the bride. He tells Sherry, Micky was amazing. What’s that special move she had? Sherry asks what he’s talking about, and he says, Micky and her husband were one of the best tag teams in wrestling. He was there when she won the belt in ’05. His dad took him when he was a kid. That’s her, right? Mickey says, people stopped recognizing her before the world went to sh*t, and Dwight says, one of her fans is still here. What happened? She says she stopped touring, and they opened a gym. When the bomb went off, Victor found her and took her in. She’s been trying to get back to the gym. Dwight asks what stopped her, and she says her suit couldn’t handle a herd of that size. Sherry says, they can help her, and Mickey asks, why? Dwight says, they’re a tag team themselves, and Mickey says, what kind? He says, the kind that protects people from people like Victor. Sherry says, they spent a lot of time crisscrossing the country, and they found each other, and Dwight says, if they did that, they can find Padre. Mickey asks if they know where it is, and he says, they’ve heard messages, and can work together to find it. Sherry says, they can make stops along the way for weapons and supplies, not to mention the people they can bring in when they find it. 

Mickey rides with them, and asks, how much further? Dwight says, they should be there before dark. Micky needs to show him that move she made. She says she can’t do it without her husband, and Sherry says she’ll be with him soon enough. They stop, and see smoke coming from the cellar door. Dwight and Sherry run down, and see Kim and Kevin are dead, shot through the head, and Briga is a zombie, leashed to the wall. Dwight takes her arm, and takes out a knife.

In the woods, they bury everyone. Micky says she’s so sorry, but they shouldn’t stay there long. Whoever did this might come back. Dwight leans on his shovel, and says, if you play with fire, you’ll get burned. They wanted to leave. Sherry says, it’s not their fault, but Dwight says, they stayed because they thought they’d be going to a better place. She says, they stayed to the code and helped people, but he says, maybe that’s not enough; maybe Victor is right. This is a new world, and maybe the sure thing isn’t Padre. He calls to Micky, and says, they tried to help, and they were doing the opposite. He doesn’t want that to happen to her. She says she doesn’t understand, and he says, odds are, they can’t find Padre, but Mickey says, they found each other. He says, they may not get so lucky again. He thinks Victor’s tower it the best place for her. She calls them chicken sh*ts, and Dwight says, the people they were trying save got killed. Victor will give her a second chance. She says, Victor will lock her up and throw away the key. There’s no way she’s going back. Don’t do this. Dwight says, she’s going to die, but she says she’s made it this far on her own. Sherry says, Mickey’s not doing this alone; she’s coming. She tells Dwight that it’s not right. They can’t hand over Mickey to Victor. She thought they agreed they have a code for a  reason. He’s saying it’s for Mickey, but she thinks it would really be for them. She tells him, the old bar; go back there. She’s going to help Micky get Cliff, then she’ll come back to him, and they’ll figure out what’s next. He calls after her, but she and Micky ride off .

Micky says, they’re almost there; Sherry can make it back to the bar before nightfall. Sherry says she’s not leaving until they find Cliff, and Micky says, she used to do the same thing when she had an argument with Cliff. Take walk, and let him cool down. She thinks she and Sherry are a lot alike. Sherry says she doesn’t know what got into him, thinking taking her back to Victor would be keeping her safe. Mickey says she doesn’t know why they didn’t take Victor’s deal, but Sherry says, they made a bargain with a guy like Victor before, and it nearly tore them apart. Mickey says, they got separated and found each other. Whatever this is, sounds like nothing. Sherry says, she’d given up before, and told Dwight to stop looking for her in a letter, but he found her. Mickey asks why she told him to stop, and Sherry says she didn’t want him getting killed doing it. Mickey tells her, Cliff said the same thing to her, and Sherry says she thought she and Cliff were meeting at the gym. Mickey says she just told them that so they’d be more inclined to help. He may or may not be there, but it was the last place she thought to look. Sherry says, Mickey can’t do what Cliff said. Maybe she and Dwight are alike. They come to a ramshackle building with a sign that says The Grapple Chapel, and Mickey says, this is their humble abode. There are zombies gathered outside, and Sherry stabs one that went rogue. She asks how long Mickey thinks her suit will hold up, and Mickey says, not as long as last time. Escaping the moat did a lot of damage. Sherry says she has an idea.

Dwight sees his horse, and says he’d thought he’d lost him. There’s the sound of a gun cocking, and Eli says, you did. Turn around, hands up, nothing stupid. Take his mask off or he’ll take off for him. He found Dwight, which means Dwight is his now, and Dwight knows what happens when someone tries to take back what’s his. Dwight says, the people in the cellar were good people, and Eli says, so was his friend, but that didn’t stop Dwight from killing him. At least he got something besides a horse. He holds up the Gameboy, and Dwight lunges at him, but Eli throws Dwight to the ground, saying, he told Dwight, nothing stupid. He’d rather not waste a bullet if he doesn’t have to. Dwight makes a kissy sound, and the horse kicks Eli, who goes flying. I literally LOL. Eli is hurt, and can’t get up. Polaroids have fallen out of his gear, and Dwight looks through them. Seeing a picture of Kevin, he says, Victor put Eli up to it, didn’t he? and Eli says, he doesn’t know his name. Dwight kicks him, and asks what Victor offered him. he says, a place in his settlement if he took those people out. He got what he wanted, and got to screw Dwight over. Zombies are headed their way, and Dwight takes Eli’s gun. The zombies descend on him, and he says he thought Dwight had a code. Dwight rides off.  

Sherry covers Micky in zombie guts, and Micky asks if she’s sure it will work. Sherry says, it has in the past. She’ll get used to the smell. If anything goes wrong, she’s got Micky’s back. Micky asks how Sherry is going to get inside, but Sherry says, they’ll worry about her first. Micky thanks her, and puts on a helmet. She walks through the crowd to the door, but it’s chained from the other side. She starts to walk back, and a zombie tries to bite her. She falls, and Sherry shoots the one closest to Micky and says, over here a-holes. Micky starts stabbing at them, but ends up with one on each arm, biting at her pseudo armor. Sherry shoots the glass in the door, and tells her, go, but Micky says she’s not going without Sherry. Sherry runs through the zombies, stabbing them. She gets to the door, shoots one of zombies that has Micky, and runs out of bullets. Micky gets to the door, and says she’s out too. Sherry says, now what? and Mickey says, they made it. Now they have to figure out how to keep them out.

They block the door by bracing themselves against punching bags, but arms are still getting through. They talk about where Cliff might have gone, and Micky says, maybe he found Padre. Sherry tells Micky that they’ll find him, and Sherry wonders if they get to the boxing ring, can they pick them off one by one. Sherry runs to the ring, and gets up on it. Micky starts to follow, but when she gets to the ring, she finds her husband, who is now a zombie. Micky goes to him, taking his head in her hands, and he snaps at her. Sherry reaches down, and stabs him in the head, telling Micky, keep moving. She pulls Micky up into the ring, and hugs her. Micky cries, and says, it’s over. Sherry tells her, Cliff said if they split up, he’d want her to keep going, and Micky says, for what? Sherry says, she’ll find something. It might not be what she sought, but something. The ring suddenly collapses, making them even with the floor. Sherry says she’s calling Victor. Maybe he’s right. The world different now, and this is how it has to be. Dwight stands at the door, and asks who she’s calling. She says, Victor, and he says, don’t do it. He hired Eli to kill Kim and Keven. Sherry asks, why? and he says, maybe to make them see that his way is the only way, but it’s not. He’d rather die fighting with her, than live fighting for Victor. He tosses them guns, and the three of them shoot zombies. As the crowd thins, Sherry goes down to the floor, and she and Dwight stab them. Micky shows Dwight her wrestling skills using a zombie, and cool Reggae music plays. There’s one left, and Dwight calls to Micky. She gets above the zombie, and jumps down with the knife pointing down, and spearing it in the head, obviously pleased with herself.

Sherry walks over to sit on the bleachers with Micky, stabbing a leftover zombie on her way there. She tells Micky that she’s so sorry, and Dwight joins them. He says he cleaned Cliff up as best as he could, if she wants to say a final goodbye. He also found this. He hands her a note in an envelope, and she reads: Micky, if you’re reading this, it means I didn’t make it. He looked everywhere, and hoped she’d find him. There are maps in the desk that can help her know where not to look. Don’t give up, baby. Keep going. Find it. And don’t stay sad for too long. Find someone else to stand in her corner like he did. Don’t do it alone. Til death do us part. She says she waited too long to get started. She’s got to find Padre for him. Dwight says, they will. And she has him and Sherry standing in her corner. Micky goes out to say her goodbye, and Sherry says she’s sorry for ditching him. He says he’s sorry for being a d*ck, and she says she gets why he wanted to take Victor’s offer; it would have been happier for them. He says, it’s not about that, and she asks what it is about. He says he doesn’t know if it’s because he was thinking about his dad, or what happened to Britta; maybe both. He realized something he’s been thinking about a long time. He wants them to have a family. She asks why he didn’t tell her, and he says, he didn’t know it was what wanted. The life they’re living is good for them, but he didn’t see room for a family. Looking at the Larsons, he thought the only way to do it would be to go with Victor. She says if they did, they couldn’t face each other, but there’s room. Look at Mickey. You don’t have to wait until everything is perfect. They’ll just let life happen. She kisses him, and on Sherry’s radio, a voice says, he heard they’re the Dark Horses, and Sherry says, they heard right.

Mickey, Dwight, and Sherry ride down the road, and Mickey asks how this works. Sherry says, they find a-holes, and Dwight says, and give them hell. Mickey says she can do that, and he says he knows she can. They see a man in protective gear, who says, so you’re the Dark Horses? They get down, guns drawn, and Dwight asks if he thinks he’s the first person to ambush them. The guy says, it’s not an ambush. Other men come out, dressed the same, and the guy says, it’s an invitation to work together. Word is, they know how retrieve people and things. Dwight asks what they want found, and the guy says, not what, where. They want to find Padre, and the Dark Horses are going to help them.

Next time, Al tells Morgan, the reclamation team has one mission: to destroy evidence that they were there, meaning them; and Morgan says, they have company.

The Walking Dead: The World Beyond

Lyla flashed back to telling her assistant they’d check the test subject’s bloodwork for abnormalities. I thought the test subject was Percy, and it’s not, but it’s weird how eerily alike they look. Lyla told the assistant they’d start at dawn; she was having dinner with Leo and his family. She remembered the dinner with Leo, Iris, and Hope, and the power going out. At dawn, the test subject asked the assistant if she had family. He did too, and maybe they were dead already, but this plan was bullsh*t. Maybe what he did was bullsh*t, and it’s all he’d ever be, but they spilled blood and lies. The assistant spoke into a recorder, giving test subject 8481’s vitals, and said she was standing by to proceed with exposure. Iris and Hope watched as Leo concocted something, and he told them that this was how they killed that many people. The gas bonded to the lung tissue, and allowed the victim to choke until they drowned from inside out. Hope said they couldn’t get away with this, but Iris said they already had unless they stopped them. Hope said the liquid should be colorless, and Leo said they did something to it. At the secret lab, Lyla’s test subject died, and she repeated to herself, this is how we have tomorrow. A guard came in, and said he was afraid they had a problem.

Jadis came in to question Silas, and commented on his big feet. She asks if they told him why they took his boots, and he said, so he wouldn’t run. She said she bet he could; he could skip through a rockpile with those feet. She introduced herself, and said he wasn’t where he was supposed to be. He said he was lost, and she asked if he liked where he was. He said he did, but it was kind of like living in a junkyard, and she told him, he said that like it was a bad thing, which was funny, considering where she came from. He said, it wasn’t bad, just different. She said he was different, and so was she. What was he doing there without clearance? He told her again that he was lost, and didn’t want to ask directions. She said if he had, he’d still be in there. Dennis came in, and said Jadis was sh*tting him, but she said, I sh*t you not. He said it had been a long time, and she said she heard he made soldiers. Did he think he could make Silas one? Silas said he was lost, and trying to decide if he should ask directions. Did Dennis believe it? He told Silas, come on, and Jadis asked him again. He said, maybe, and she told Silas that she had a feeling. Make her regret it, and he’d regret it more. So would Dennis. He was being given another chance. Don’t get lost again.

Hope just got done hiding the vial in a stereo speaker, when Mason found her. He said he heard about her sister, and her yeast theory had sparked something. That was huge. She asked if he wanted to hang later. Leo looked at a book containing information on chemical warfare, when Lyla came by. She said they didn’t have a lot of time. They were coming to take Leo in for questioning. She knew he took a vial from her lab, and brought her in. The vault where the vials were stored had security sensors, and they knew when one was missing. She said she’d told them she’d misplaced it, and if he gave it back, he and his daughters wouldn’t be in danger. She left, and a guard pounded on the door. He had a team with him, and said Leo needed to come with them.

Iris asked Percy if he was okay, and he said it still hurt, but it was better when she was there. She looked out the window to see Leo being taken for questioning. Felix came out, and said he was Leo’s security detail, and nobody was taking Leo anywhere without him. The head guard said, have it his way. Iris came outside, and Felix told her that he had her dad; find her sister. Percy told her to find Hope, and he’d find Huck. Iris found Hope with Lyla, who wanted to make them an offer. She knew they had no reason to trust her, but she’d show them what she was doing. They needed to give vial, and had to decide now. Their father’s life depended on it.

Huck asked Jadis what was going on, and Jadis said she’d sent an agent to get Huck because sh*t was going down. There had been a security breach regarding sensitive research material. Huck might help her see things she missed. Something valuable was missing, and they needed to know if someone took it. They needed it back, and she needed to know if Huck could help her with that. She took Huck the room where Leo was being held.

Lyla brought Iris and Hope to her super-secret lab, and said the stolen vial’s contents had been developed there. No one was supposed to know about it, including their dad. Hope told her, they never said they took it, and Iris asked what happened there. Lyla said they studied regeneration, but she needed to observe what happened when the subject was dying. Iris said, they killed people for research? but Lyla said most of the subjects were found bitten in the wild, and would have died in vain, instead of passing on a gift to science and tomorrow. Hope said Lyla told them most of the subjects were from the outside, and Lyla showed them a webcam of a fresh zombie chasing a rat. Lyla said, eventually the rat would get tired, but the dead won’t, not ever. They were perpetually in motion, and none of them would be safe as long as that existed in the world. Hope asked how this tied into Omaha, and Lyla said they were investigating delaying the time between death and reanimation. She’d been told about secret military operation where tens of thousands of people were to die, but it was critical to their survival. It gave them their chance to test their theories out in the field. Dr. Abbot had threatened to tell people outside the walls what the military was doing. Iris asked, why so many people? and Lyla said she’d asked that, but was told not to ask again. Hope said Lyla was putting her own safety first, but Lyla said she could have ended up dead for something she couldn’t stop, instead of turning it into something that will save humanity. Hope asked if it was to find answers, and Lyla said, it was about data. Telling the truth about the vial would save their father. She told them that she’d misplaced it. Showing them she has it will take the suspicion off of Leo, and save him. Iris said Lyla wanted to save herself by pretending she cared about Leo. Lyla said she did care about him, and it could keep the both of them alive; maybe all of them. Hope told her it was in the stereo speaker, and Lyla told them to wait there for a few minutes after she left. They shouldn’t take the risk of being seen together more than they had already. When she left, Hope told Iris that she had no choice, and Iris asked if she actually trusted Lyla. Hope said, of course not, but they came there to keep their dad safe. The zombie was now eating the rat, and looked at the camera.

Dennis told Silas that he was on guard duty; they had a supply drop coming in. Silas said he wasn’t lost, and Dennis said he knew that. Silas was trying to find his friends again. Silas wondered why Dennis had backed him up, and Dennis said he didn’t know what would happen to Silas if he didn’t. Silas asked what if the CRM wasn’t what Dennis thought, and Dennis wondered why Silas would ask that. He said Silas was a good kid, and he didn’t want to see him screw up. Silas said he thought Dennis was one of the good soldiers, and Dennis said Silas could be too, but he had some sh*t to get rid of.

Jadis said Leo had violated a bunch of rules, and Leo said he wanted Felix with him. That was a hard no, and Jadis asked where he was last night. Huck said he had a relationship with Lyla, and asked if he was with her. He said he’d invited Lyla to meet Hope and Iris, and Felix was with Huck on security patrol. Lyla got caught up at work, and showed up an hour late. Hope told Iris that she thought Lyla really cared about Leo, and Iris said, an entire city was dead because Lyla let it happen. Hope shouldn’t have made the decision without her. Hope said like Iris did when their mom died? They saw soldiers outside the door on the security camera. Huck said, after ten years of being a single father, why did Leo choose Lyla? He said she was special. She was kind and smart, and laughed at his jokes. He could tell her stories about his family, and she absorbed the details like she was there; like she wanted to be part of the family, so he wanted her to be. Huck said it sounded like he loved her, and he said, maybe he did. Afterward, Jadis asked Huck if it sounded like Leo had fallen out of love with Lyla, and Huck said she thought he used to love Lyla, but not anymore. Jadis asked why they would share the lie, and Huck said Lyla still cared about Leo and was covering for him. Jadis told the head guard to find Lyla. They’d found their conspirators. Down in the lab, Hope told Iris to run.

Hope and Iris hid where the test subjects were, and dodged the guards, who were looking around. Jadis told Huck that Leo claimed he wasn’t working with Lyla, but Huck helped her see it. Iris and Hope continued to sneak around and evade the guards, getting a little too close for comfort to the test subjects. Jadis told Huck that Lyla had suspected Leo took the vial, and went straight to Elizabeth. She radioed the guards that the suspects had been located, and the guards left the lab. Lyla was brought in, and she told Jadis that she’d found the missing vial. Jadis asked, where? and Lyla said, to be honest, Leo had stolen it with his daughters’ help. They’d been suspicious that she was involved in classified experiments, and took it from her freezer. She told Leo that she was sorry, but no more lies or deceit. She thought she could manage it to everyone’s benefit, but they can’t hurt Leo; he was too valuable, and she needed his help with Project Lotus. She explained to Leo that she used live test subjects, and through their deaths was able to further her research on their animation. Now he knew the truth, and they should let him go. Jadis asked, why? and Lyla said she thought she was on the verge of a breakthrough. They’d been able to delay reanimation for eight hours. It could be a step forward if she had Leo’s help, and he could openly pass on his knowledge to Hope. Think of the progress they could make. Jadis said she believed Lyla, and Lyla said, if Leo walked away, could he refocus his efforts on their priority? Leo said they had a deal, and Lyla asked if he could move past this. It was life versus death, but it didn’t mean some wouldn’t die along the way. Jadis brought Huck along to visit Lyla’s lab, and wondered if Huck’s mom knew about it. The test subject was officially zombiefied, and Jadis said Lyla hadn’t broken eight hours, and Leo wasn’t going to be helping her. It was Jadis’s job to eliminate security threats, and Lyla had already handed the baton to her successor. Leo was easy to control when his family was threatened. Jadis cut the test subjects restraint straps, and she and Huck left Lyla in the room. Jadis said, the rat eventually gets tired, but the dead won’t, She couldn’t have put it better herself. Lyla banged on the window, and after a half-hearted attempt at evading him, he grabbed her, and bit her neck. Blood spattered all over the window, and I thought, if she’d been smart, she would have looked to see if there was anything she could use for a weapon. As I always say, being a New Yorker is always knowing where the nearest weapon is. Jadis told Huck, another tragic accident; these things happen. If Huck’s mother doubted her allegiance, she could now verify it. They’d used her to being in Leo, and it was a productive day. Huck asked if the Campus Colony and Omaha were part of a tactical op, and Jadis said what they were doing would confirm the future for years to come.

Huck went back to her room to find Percy sitting there with a big knife. He said Iris thought she was going to help her dad, not be the one to interrogate him. She reached for her gun, but he was faster, and she said if he was to kill her, do it. She deserved it. That was the  pistol she shot him and his uncle with. Or don’t shoot her, since it would be doing her a favor, but either way he wasn’t leaving the building. Leo, Hope, Iris, and Felix gathered in Leo’s room. Iris said Percy had gone to talk to Huck, and she hadn’t seen him since. What the CRM was doing was too big to stop. Percy returned, looking upset, and Huck went to see Dennis. Percy told the group that the CRM was going to light up Portland, and Huck explained to Dennis how they wiped out Omaha and the Campus Colony. They planned to kill 87,000 people, and there was no way to warn them without getting intercepted. They weren’t going to know what hit them. Iris suggested destroying the gas, and Hope said they’d have to destroy the whole place, with them in it. They needed to get the scientists out, along with their research. She wondered how they could do it. Huck told Dennis she wasn’t sure how they’d work it exactly. Iris said, someone might talk, and scientists weren’t fighters. Alone with Iris, Percy told her that he’d wanted to kill Huck, but didn’t because of her. He wanted to see her again. They got busy.

Hope had a beer with Mason, who said, sometimes it felt normal there, and sometimes like a prison. His dad was probably disappointed that he wasn’t in the military. His dad was Major General Beale. Silas saw Huck kiss Dennis, and no doubt got the wrong impression. Huck turned around to see him standing there with his zombie pokey stick in his hand.

Next time, Leo says they need to save themselves, Iris says they’ll do what they have to in order to make sure they win, and Jadis orders a facility lockdown.

😴 Please Send Sleep Immediately…

It’s time to put this baby (and me) to bed, so Dead news tomorrow, along with soap and what’s on Deck. Until then, stay safe, stay spicing your life with variety, and stay just letting life happen.You don’t have to wait until everything is perfect.