Welcome to the Legion!

FTWD-Daniel-Blood

To be honest, this week’s Fear the Walking Dead had a lot of expectations riding on it. With the rising quality of Season Two overall, the question became: can “Blood in the Streets” elevate Fear the Walking Dead to the same level of prestige as the original or will this finally be the episode where everything goes off the rails? I can say, unequivocally that “Blood in the Streets” is not only an amazing hour of television but perhaps one of the best hours ever produced for either show. Not only did “Blood in the Streets” build on a really stupid decision made early on in Season Two but it also filled in the backstory to a fan favorite character.

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

One of the key elements that made the first season of Fear the Walking Dead so uneven was the lack of unifying enemies. You’d think that with an entire city full of zombies, this wouldn’t be a problem but alas, it was. Even though this enemy was created on the back of a stupid decision by Alicia, it created a crisis that finally brought the L.A. Survivors together, and the show is far better for it.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the exploration of the familial unit and how it survives in a zombie apocalypse, but one could argue that both Walking Dead TV shows deal with this issue. As a result, Fear the Walking Dead needed something to cut the existential angst we’ve been toying with since the first episode. We needed an element to bring the survivors together in order to create a new cohesive paradigm and let’s be fair: the zombies weren’t cutting it. It’s true that last week’s beachfront assault was a refreshing change of pace, but “Blood in the Streets” has really cemented these new bonds.

During the episode, the Abigail was boarded by a small group of 20 something’s that used a fake emergency to get the Survivors to let their guard down. Led by the enigmatic Connor (Mark Kelly), the Pirates have taken to murdering people they find on open water. Mix in a dash of “survival of the fittest” and you have Strand’s worst nightmare, someone who wants to take the Abigail. Along with Connor was Jack, the voice on the other side of Alicia’s radio romance during the season premiere and Reed, a sociopath who’s adapted to the end of the world with an ease that’s fairly disturbing.

As Connor’s Pirates try to take over the ship, the L.A. Survivors are actively working against them. Between Madison’s mind games, Alicia’s seductions and Daniel’s cool patience, each member of the group tries their best to gain an advantage of their would be robbers. It marked the first time, that every single member of the main cast felt like people to root for and when they broke free and took back the boat, I actually cheered. I mean people, I even clapped for Chris’ moment of murderous rage, and you know how I feel about that guy.

FTWD-Chris-GunHead

When you tally all of this together you have an amazing episode that just brimmed with action and tension that made “Blood in the Streets” an amazing hour of TV. But that’s not even the best part. We finally got a chance to explore where Strand came from. At the top of the hour, Strand tries to abandon ship in order to go get help, when his life raft is shot, leaving him to freeze in the water. During his hypothermic daze we were treated to flashbacks that explained Strand’s motivations, wealth, yacht and plans for Mexico. It also rounded out a character who had started to become far two dimensional jerk that needed a swift kick in the pants.

During the flashbacks we find that Strand is not a full blown criminal, but is rather a cut throat opportunist, willing to make a fortune off the misery of others. During the floods of Hurricane Katrine, it’s revealed Strand lost all of his investments but was looking for a way to get back to the top. Enter Thomas Abigail (Dougray Scott), a wealthy real estate mogul that knows the value of a man and also happens to be whom the Abigail is named after. Their interplay over the hour revealed a Strand that is ruthless but also has a sense of honor. He can be a jerk but also have deep feelings for those he cares about. When you pair that with a very blunt conversation between Travis and Madison about getting rid of Strand and you have a fleshed out character who earns his redemption as Madison reaches into the frigid depths of the ocean and pulls him to safety.

FTWD-Strand-Water

 

In the end, “Blood in the Streets” not only created a sympathetic character in Strand, something sorely needed, but it also established an enemy that has brought the Survivors together. With Travis and Alicia kidnapped by Connor, the stakes have gone through the roof and we’ve yet to see what waits on the other side of the border. No matter how it shakes out, Fear the Walking Dead has found it’s sea legs and it’s jumped to the top of my “must watch” list.

The Learning Curve

If this is your first time reading my write-ups of Fear The Walking Dead, let me introduce you to The Learning Curve. This is a summation of each character as they learn how to navigate in the zombie apocalypse. Each week I’ll rate the cast’s chances of survival based on their actions up until this point.

Madison_sm

Madison Clark: 9 of 10. Oh man, did Madison have a huge comeback this week or what?  After a couple of quiet outings, I was concerned that Madison was going to continue to slip down the rankings, but she pulled a complete 180. Her ruthless conversation about what to do with Strand was an absolute necessity. Weighing out the pros and the cons was pitch perfect and their decision to stay united felt correct. Then we have Madison’s subtle mind games with the pregnant pirate. Her slow earworm suggestions kept the pirate’s attention away from Travis and Daniel who had the mother of all “eye-conversations”. It was a wonderful piece of tactics that paid off in dividends as the L.A Survivors took back the Abigail.

Nick_sm

Nick Clark: 9 of 10. Nick joins his mom in the 9 circle this week. Nick’s opening sequence as he washed ashore and lured a zombie to it’s doom was absolutely amazing. His fearlessness continues to grow on the show and while he stays clean, Nick is an absolute necessity for this group to stay alive. The use of the “guts trick” was inspired and Nick was so committed to the bit that he even adopted the zombie shamble at the first sign of the undead in his sight line. The result was a wonderful depiction of a man who’s had to learn how to survive on nothing but his wits. So long as he stays off the smack, I see nothing but clear skies for this recovering addict.

Alicia_sm

Alicia Clark: 6 of 10. Alicia doesn’t move up in this week’s rankings because her stupid decision from the premiere came back to bite her. That said, Alicia has learned a lot since the radio conversation. She immediately knew the Pirates were aware of the Abigail because of her and that it was her problem to fix. Manipulating Josh to intercede on her families behalf was a solid choice as she used her sexuality as a weapon against the Pirates. It was cold, calculating and previews the kind of devious mind Alicia may develop as the show progresses. She may seem like a quiet, nice girl, but underneath is a master tactician developing. Watch out people, she’s gonna rise higher if she keeps it up.

Travis_sm

Travis Manawa: 8 of 10. Ok so Travis got a bit of a bum deal this week. He honestly should have jumped up a point after hot-wiring the Abigail, but then the guy got kidnapped! While I’m sure Connor wants Travis because of his technical knowhow I still have to acknowledge that the guy got kidnapped. Despite this, I have to give Travis a huge bravo for coordinating a weapon drop off with Daniel with nothing more than a few gestures and eye language. He may be in an enemy camp right now but Travis may be one of the most important people in the Zombie Apocalypse: he can keep things running and that’s worth more than everything else combined.

Chris_sm

Chris Manawa: 6 of 10. Wow, Chris jumps up another point. For three weeks in a row, Chris has slowly proven his worth to the team. He learned how to kill zombies, he’s had to experience a mercy kill first hand and he’s learned probably the harshest lesson to date: if you have to ask if you should kill someone, you already made a mistake. While it’s true that Connor’s Pirates could have turned out to be real innocents in need, the lesson applies. Chris understood that he made a mistake and when the fight to take back the Abigail broke out, Chris was face to face with Reed as the young pirate was empaled on a makeshift weapon. It was harsh and cold and richly deserved. If anyone is getting some serious character growth week in and week out, it’s Chris.

Daniel_sm

Daniel Salazar: 10 of 10. We have a 10 out of 10 people! Back in Season One, I kept Daniel and Madison at the very top of the list, and they’ve basically stayed there ever since. That said, Daniel has had to compete with a growing group of survivors that could take care of themselves and to their credit this week was no different. What was very different this week was Daniel’s calm, cool, collected demeanor as he coordinated an escape with Madison and Travis. We know Daniel is the heavy of this group but he’s not above sharing the responsibility and he’s certainly open to help. Considering the small amount of screen time he had this week, Daniel made a huge impact that cannot be understated.

Ofelia_sm

Ofelia Salazar: 7 of 10. Oh my gosh, Ofelia finally had some legitimate screen time. Her first real quiet moment of the season, Ofelia began to form a bond with Chris. While she is still a number of years his senior, you can sense a connection between the two I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s romantic. In fact at this point it just seems to be two people that have found some value in one another’s company. Despite this, I think a pairing between Chris and Ofelia could make sense if they keep working together and find more in common. In any event, Ofelia was just like her father and waited until the exact moment to strike and man was it worth it. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Ofelia may be the most dangerous person on that boat, and even she may not realize it yet.

Strand_FTWD

Victor Strand: 7 of 10: If anyone got a huge bump in this week’s poll, it was definitely Strand. After an abysmal outing the last few weeks, Strand turned it around. While there will almost certainly be repercussions for Daniel stealing Strand’s ammunition, it was refreshing to see the man with all the answers become more vulnerable. Tie that with an absolutely engaging backstory and you have a week that really turned Strand from a great caricature into a fully realized character. The fact that Madison realized how important he was to the group and her willingness to fish him out of the water just made the episode all the better and obviously increased his chances of survival.

Charlie_sm

Charlie: 2 of 10: Oh man, if anyone got screwed this week, it was Charlie. We didn’t even see the survivor of the ill fated 462 crash this week. From what I understand Charlie will find her way back into the L.A. Survivors lives, but for the moment she’s adrift on the ocean with a boy who’d eventually going to become a zombie. It’s not looking too good for Charlie, not at all.

 

About author View all posts Author website

Shaun Rosado

Shaun Rosado is creator and host of a weekly geek podcast called "Shauncastic!," where he and a rotating cast discuss everything geeky, nerdy and pop culture-y as well as the creator of "Meet At The Tavern," a blog dedicated to RPGs. He is also a frequent Twittering fool (@Pneumaz). He is married, has a dog, is a massive fan of The Flash and owns a spaceship. One of these is not true.