The “catastrophe of epic proportions” (one not involving football) continued on Fear the Walking Dead episode 2.
In light of the strange events happening around the city — including their failed attempts at murdering Nick’s drug dealer — Madison and Travis hatch a plan to take their families to the desert. Unfortunately, a few problems hold them up from doing so.
First they need to take care of Alicia’s boyfriend Matt, who’s fallen ill. The bad news: He has a nasty rash on his chest causing his sickness. The good news: He’s aware that no one should be around him. “Go, go,” he urges his girlfriend as her family looks on. This must’ve been a very tough situation for Alicia, who can’t help but watch her boyfriend fall apart. Although she resists leaving him, we’re still surprised she walks away from him this easily.
Notably, we don’t recall Matt getting attacked by a walker or talking about one, so he must’ve received the infection another way. Hmmm.
The family leaves Matt’s house and heads home. Upon pulling into the driveway, they’re invited to a birthday party across the street. The neighbors note how no one is turning up because of the illness going around town, so the family should totally come over. “Sure, sounds great!” Travis lies through his teeth.
While Travis leaves again to round up his side of the family for the desert plan, Nick begins suffering drug withdrawals. Not only does his condition present a health issue, but his withdrawals won’t be easy to deal with when they get out to the desert. With his doctor not answering her phone, Mama Madison decides to go to her school’s Room of Confiscated Drugs to help relieve Nick’s body.
After grabbing some meds, she bumps into Tobias, who’s returned to school to grab food supplies. It’s a good thing they found one another because Principal Artie has turned… and he’s ready to attack. Tobias stabs him with a knife a few times, but it doesn’t kill him, so Madison has to rip a fire extinguisher off the wall and whack him in the head a few times to get him to stop. In this scene, Madison may realize that these walkers can only die if they’re attacked on the head.
Madison seems a little too comfortable killing her own boss, doesn’t she? But we suppose that’s what you have to do when it comes to protecting your own students — especially the kids who’ve seen this apocalypse coming.
A sense of purpose at the worse possible time
Travis’ plan to head out to the desert is stopped in its tracks by his son Chris, who got himself caught up in a civil rights movement. Some jerk cops shot a homeless man “like 20 times” according to one citizen, and now the people are protesting. The residents have become restless over the innocent murder, and Chris, armed with a camera and access to YouTube’s uploading features, is feeling important for the first time in a while. As we saw hints of earlier, Chris has been a victim of bullying.
Chris refuses to leave the scene — “Come on, Mom and Dad, I’m being a hero!” he essentially tells them over the phone — so Liza and Travis make their way over to the protest where mayhem has continued to escalate. Police are moving in with riot gear because the crowd has grown too hectic, and they shoot a second person who’s become a zombie. Naturally, all hell breaks loose.
Chris, Liza, and Travis take shelter in a barber shop where they meet Daniel Salazar, a recurring character played by Rubén Blades. We expect to see this group stay together for the rest of season 1.
Madison gets in touch with Travis via phone and insists she’s not going to the desert until he makes it back. He doesn’t return that night, so they’re stuck in Los Angeles for another day… or possibly much longer.
As night falls, the family party across the street from Madison has been ruined by a dad-turned-walker attacking his own family. Sad times in Los Angeles.
What did you think of ‘Fear the Walking Dead’ 1×02?
We continue to be impressed by this new series. What’s great about Fear the Walking Dead is that there’s a real sense of urgency. The family is now separated, there are quickly dwindling hopes to head out to the desert, and the people are all going crazy.
Tobias continues to be one of the more interesting characters on the show because he’s been correct about this outbreak the whole time. “This doesn’t end,” he warns Madison at one point. He’s so right.
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