‘Fear the Walking Dead’ Continues Coasting with ‘Ouroboros’

Fear the Walking Dead – AMC

On the island, the group goes through the strewn luggage from the airplane to find anything of value. Daniel suggest they all stay close, so naturally Chris sneaks off on his own because there’s no way that could end badly. He’s basically the Season 2 Carl Grimes of Fear the Walking Dead. Anyway, he finds a dying man in the wreckage of the airplane, and ends up beating the guy to death with no other way to help him.

Daniel looks through medicine bottles, hoping to find something for his daughter, Ofelia. That was when I was reminded that Ofelia was still on the show— she’s there every week, but I never seem to remember her. Failing to find what he was looking for, the biggest expert on the subject, Nick, came in for the save to find something useful. He ends up discovering a large amount of powerful narcotics, but it remains to be seen as to whether he’ll keep them for himself.

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Before reuniting with the others on the island, Nick comes across a partially-buried walker that’s being eaten alive by crabs. I’ve got to say, it’s one of the most disturbing moments of the whole franchise and not really something I want to see again. Falling victim to horror cliches, Nick falls in the hole, fighting off the crab-zombie as well as another roamer that fell into the pit.

Searching for

Carl

Chris, Daniel comes across Alex from Flight 462 who pressures him to run. The reason becomes apparent when the rest of the passengers show up from the other side of a hill— all as walkers. The mini-horde ends up surrounding the group, pointing to imminent death, when Nick— covered in zombie blood camouflage, ala Michonne— appears and helps the others fight their way through back to the lifeboat. Alex reveals that Jake is still alive in their raft, and they all return to the ship.

Back at the boat, Strand proves himself to be a real piece of shit by denying Alex and Jake entry. Alicia seems to be the only one truly fighting for them to stay, while Travis and Madison basically kowtow to Strand’s orders. This deadlock results in a deal that sees Alex and Jake remaining in their raft, being towed behind the yacht with a long rope, preventing their access to the vessel itself.

If I didn’t hate Strand a few minutes before, I definitely did at the end of the episode when he ran down with a knife and hacked the rope, right in front of Madison. With Alex being the brightest spot of the episode and the best addition to the series, it was almost like he was throwing away the greatest thing the show had so far. Seeing the look on her face as their raft drifted back out to sea was the saddest moment of the whole show so far.

The worst part about it? Madison’s reaction. I can’t believe that lady just sat there and watched the process of Strand coming down with that blade, cutting the rope, and walking away. And this was right after she acted like she wasn’t going to put up with Strand’s horrible behavior anymore. We see how long that lasted.

Basically, by the end of the episode, it felt like Fear the Walking Dead coasted along at the same pace as before. It has sped up since the start of the series, and the positive new qualities mixed with some of the show’s recurring flaws made the episode feel good, but not great. Cutting Alex and Jake loose was an unexpected and dramatic ending, but the show’s best shot at keeping me as a fan is for Alex to somehow become a part of the main cast.

Seriously, she’s awesome, and she’s exactly the kind of character the show desperately needs.

Next: Why Are Fans Abandoning 'Fear the Walking Dead'?

The slow burn is making me more invested in the story though, and it also marked the first time I started caring about Alicia— the only person not comfortable with letting Alex and Jake drift away to die. Progress is being made, and even if the episode wasn’t a 10 out of 10, I can say that the show is now going in the right direction.