“We All Fall Down”
Flashing Lights
Children play on a beach as a couple of washed up walkers get caught nearby on the fence. Back on The Abigail Madison berates Nick for his heroics in the capsized boat. Strand worries about the boat chasing them nearby, leading Travis to suggest they head to a wildlife refuge to gather supplies and escape their assailants.
That night they see a house on Catrina Island flash a light twice to them and decided to dock and investigate. Travis yells that they need information when a boy, Harry, runs outside. His father beckons him to get back inside and Travis and the father, George Gary meet. Travis reassures him he has nothing to fear from them. George reveals the government’s napalm initiative on major cities in half the country. Melissa grills Madison on her past job. We also meet Melissa’s son Seth, who seems over-protective of his mother.
Child’s Play
Alicia explains the meaning of Ring a Ring o’ Roses to George’s daughter Willa. His younger son shows Nick his collection of action figure dolls that represent his family, each marked with a red dot on the forehead to indicate the way the sick have to die. Back on The Abigail Daniel interrogates Strand on his plans with his group. Strand reassures him they’ll be fine.
George explains to Travis that the outbreak is a result of nature so he plans to keep his family on the island for good. Madison theorizes that Melissa turned on the light that drew their boat to use them to escape the island. On the boat Nick tells Alicia, “Something’s off here.”
Through The Wire
The next day Chris follows Seth on his ‘chores,’ which involves killing walkers stuck by their fence. He explains gunfire draws them in and has Chris try his hand at killing them. After seeing Chris take out a few walkers Travis confronts George about his uneasiness with it all. George tours him around the fence and explains he has to choose, “Surrender or survival, acceptance or denial.”
Alicia explores an abandoned beach souvenir shop while Nick discovers pills hidden in a hollow globe. Melissa admits to Madison she signaled them to give her kids hope because she suffers from MS and can’t leave with them…but her kids could. Madison debates the issue with Travis, who argues they’re safe enough on the island. Meanwhile, Daniel breaks into Strand’s safe and discovers an automatic weapon and maps. Strand calls someone from the shore and tells them he’ll “be there” at sundown.
Dead Weight
Nick informs Travis and Madison he might have found suicide pills that George would use to off his family. Back at George’s house Melissa hands over her kids’ luggage to Travis and Madison as George walks in. He figures out their plan as Harry informs Melissa something’s wrong with Willa. The parents rush upstairs to discover she had taken one of the pills. Willa awakens as a walker and bites Melissa’s throat out.
George decides to stay while Travis and the others rush back to The Abigail with Harry in tow. Strand objects to the new addition and demands they return him. “Children are the definition of dead weight,” he explains. Seth enters The Abigail and takes Harry with him. He tells Madison, “You caused this” and exits the boat. An infected Melissa approaches them on the dock and Seth is forced to shoot her while Harry waves goodbye to The Abigail.
This was the best episode of the series so far. There was so much emotion at the end of the episode toward characters that we just met. The interactions between the survivors and the new characters this episode were so well done and gave a lot of depth to them all. Also I’m really excited about Strands whole Mexico thing, I really hope it goes through because ever since Fear was said to be set in LA I was hoping that they would eventually go down south to Latin America. Super excited to see where the series brings these characters!
Although I must say I was really hoping to see the radio storyline from last episode play out and was a bit let down as it seemed like that confrontation would come sooner rather than later, but we will (I’m assuming) haven’t seen [heard] the last of the radio guy
Was relieved that the kid was left behind.
Me too
Liked to see the infected rising up on the island shore. If there would’ve been maybe 1 or 2 more, that would’ve been perfect!
I love this episode. A great psychological thriller with A little bit of zombie. Dark and twisted wedge of flowers and sunshine!
I loved this episode. A great psychological thriller with a little Willa of zombie. Dark and twisted with flowers & sunshine
Wave goodbye to the nice people reminded me of look at the flowers!
I’m really enjoying the pacing of this season. This second episode was incredibly enjoyable from the perspective of character studies. We got to see a bit more depth to each of the characters and where their head space is. Action took a backseat to bring the audience up to speed with the emotional consequences of their journey. The scenes between Madison and Melissa were particularly fantastic because there were a lot of undertones to their dialogue that kind of took you into their thoughts. The plot with Strand thickens! The Daniel/Ofelia scene was another bright spot to me because it’s beginning to setup where the Salazar family is heading in terms of development and it’s very exciting! A very solid second episode and can’t wait for the next! xx
I loved tonight’s episode. From the beginning, Strand agreeing to let the other survivors wander off the boat a bit, without putting up a much bigger fight, had me curious. After seeing him talk to someone on the boat while everyone’s doing something else, makes me think he did that just to make sure his ‘friend’ is either okay or to ensure his main plan is still in check and he’s not wasting his time (or both). Besides Strand, having a child die already so early on in this season, drew me back to a dark place & reminded me of The Walking Dead. Nick feels for the children just like Carol felt for the kids in TWD. Having this conflict of whether or not these people could actually live on this land and just survive there or leave and just stay on the run, was interesting. But after watching this episode, I feel like I can say that, no where is ever forever safe. All in all, great episode, loving how the story telling is going (love the slow burn!) & anxious to see what else is in store for our characters.
It felt new
“best comment” ?? man now i’m all stressed out, well the kids shoulda lived bc they were hella cute, everyone got me thinking they shady bc of daniel and strand, nick is so sweet with everyone he’s like a giant puppy, & alicia is my sassy bae, i’m just glad no one let her near a radio this episode … this future jack person can drown, it’s in his destiny
stop the climate crises – checked
end the zombie apocalypse – still to go
I cried. It’s difficult to cry over this kind of tv shows. I understand the coldness they tend to develop all the storylines with. Fear The Walking Dead is completely different. Tonight’s episode made me realise the beauty of all this drama and -a little bit- less action. This is about people trying to survive, fighting not only against the infected but also their own deamons, the ones they carry within since before the world started to fall apart. These are real people struggling in an oppressive world where feelings are weakness, where feelings define when and how you die. We saw Alicia today drawing on that paper her last happy memory with Matt. Ofelia and Daniel talking about how this world had turned into a dark, dangerous place. They are all fighting against the idea of a world trying to dehumanize them, and feelings are the only thing that keeps them from falling into the abyss.
I loved how the writers made this episode (in my opinion) seem like a 40 minute metaphor of our very own world, where there is war, there is death, and we keep going, and nature doesn’t cease to exist in spite of it. Nature is the beginning and the end of it all and the becoming of this world is something out of our reach. That family, they understood this and let it win, which I found heartbreaking. It was all meticulously planned, and I don’t think that, during the apocalypse, making plans gets you far. But was it a plan, really? I would call it lack of hope, unlike our main characters, they did surrender, even when there was still a chance, and that chance was right in front of them.
Daniel said to Ofelia something like “this is not the world we wanted you to know” and I think, that is one of the most relatable things I’ve heard so far. These are us. Normal people. Reduced to mere survivors. This very own world has many concerns as well and even though a zombie apocalypse isn’t one of them, global warming, wars, hunger, are our own apocalypse, and even if we come from different cultures, speak different languages, believe in different things, we should take the stand and fight before we become the survivors. This was the message I got, tjis is what I take from tonight’s episode. I think this was the most inspiring, heartbreaking, real, episode so far. Loved it.
Okay, I think this episode calls for a lyrical breakdown, because, the significance between “Ring Around the Rosey” and how it played down throughout the episode was just awesome to me (shoutout to the writers).
Ring Around the Rosey (after getting bit and the pathogen enters one’s blood stream, it quickly takes over as symptoms begin to show (fever, bloodshot eyes, etc.)
A pocket full of posies (Alicia realizes that there is most likely no cure to the virus. Then, that conversation is followed by Harry explaining to Nick that the pills are the only way George believes his family can stay together). #LookAtTheSeaShells #LookAtThePills
Ashes, Ashes (George explains how he and Seth “take care of the bodies” at the shore once a week, most likely by burning them (which prevents contamination, etc).
We all fall down (Willa and Melissa die, and reanimation soon follows)
Wow.
Again, shoutout to the writers for a great episode that really played with my mind in a way that the show hasn’t before. Maddy is the clear Rick of the group, though she does seem to have her own demons, past or present, that differentiate her from him in that sense. What I love most about her is how aware she is of people. For the most part, she can read each and every person she meets like a book, minus Strand (he’s unreadable). Her conversation with Melissa was just great. The resting bitch face she gave to Melissa and Seth was hilarious. She definitely knew something was up, and her asking for more wine added a subtle humor to her that I never knew I needed until now! In conclusion: IF MADDY DIES, WE RIOT. As of now, I’m Team Daniel as far as the curiosity with Strand goes. I definitely don’t trust Strand and I’m really hoping he isn’t some sort of sociopathic maniac who will end up getting someone like the Goddess, Maddy killed. But, I am curious as to what awaits in Baja, which is why I’m having such an internal affair with this episode! It was just awesome! It built up so much for what’s to come this season, and we’re only on the 2nd episode out of 15! This episode really stood out to me and really held true to what Kirkman and Gale Anne Hurd have been saying about FTWD as a whole; the show won’t be a carbon copy TWD.
Lastly… saw this meme. Had to post it.
So it turns out those weren’t actually skittles…
That was a great episode, when I seen the walkers coming up to the kids in the beginning, before they showed that they were safe because of the fence I was thinking, dang, The Walking Dead/ Fear The Walking Dead producers really hate kids lol. They killed, Sophia, Lizzie, and Mika now these kids? Then they kill the little girl… Kirkman hates kids lol just kidding
Not really It All Leads to the authenticity of a time where children are an albatross and their burgeoning means can get you killed I think Kirkland knows this and appreciates the fact that any child can be a detriment to our society
ABSOLUTELY Amazing Episode! personal favorite! And.. Sorta hoping Carol says “look at the pocket full of poseys”…
Why does “commitment” always sound so frighteningly bad when spoken by a cultist? Even in this horrific apocalypse, George’s plan to keep the family together through a death pact is .. just wrong.
Probably up there with one of my favorite episodes of the series so far. I was shocked to see something so morbid so early on in the apocalypse. I am curious though as to why Nick & Co. just assumed that they were going to take the suicide pills right away rather than wait until they’re overrun or something, considering they had a pretty decent set up there. When the kid first talked about the power pills, I thought that his parents had just been giving them placebo pills to make them less frightened of the situation lol. The one thing that I am sorta sad about is the lack of follow-up with the radio situation. They were docked there for a minimum day and a half. You’d think that would give whoever ample opportunity to find them and attack them if that is what they were planning on doing.
“Put him back where you found him.” I love how Strand doesn’t give a fuck. You could tell right away there was something off about the family despite how nice they were. I mean, that kid’s toy collection representing all the people his dead apparently shot in the head (including his uncle) was quite creepy. This episode definitely picked things up from the last episode. Things are really snowballing as we begin to get a taste of what the zombie apocalypse is doing to people’s morals and psyches. We’re in that area where things have begun to collapse, but humanity has still kept a good foothold. I mean, cell phones are still good, so the tide hasn’t turned quite yet.
By the way, what was with the kids collecting the seashells and leaving them at the fence, like an offering? It’s kind of odd, but it’s never addressed.
One of my top ten favorite episodes of all of walking dead. Got more info about what’s going on than many seasons of twd combined. Watching a parent have to make those choices was rough, but it did turn out the mother was right.
I agree with the group, I thought this was the best episodes so far. It was nice to see some new and disposable characters introduced. Salazar and Strand are by far the most interesting characters to me. I hope the show continues to grow out of it’s “Gilligan’s Island” theme.
I’m never going to the sea
I wonder if Strand was pulling a crazy Rick and talking to his dead wife on that phone. ☎ I am impressed with Nick’s intelligence, now he just needs to stay clean and be the smart one on the show!
I truly loved this episode. It showed Nick’s humanity. He is more than a junkie. There is hope for him and that’s awesome.
My favorite character still Daniel. He is a true OG. His character is complex but at the same time has one sole motivation, keeping his daughter alive. I honestly can’t wait for the Daniel v. Strand showdown.
Talking about Strand, how was his phone working? Thought most cities were down. Are cellphone towers and network systems self reliant?
Anyways, I’m glad to see the direction the show is taking. It’s going to be an interesting season.
I don’t think having the kids go with the group would have kept them safe. We still don’t know what agenda that Strand is up too and what the group is going to run into. Lee Diamond Phillips on Talking Dead brought up some interesting thoughts. Why was Strand in confinement with Nick when he didn’t look sick? Also why was Strand so prepared for this with the security house and yacht? My thoughts also. I really can’t wait to see a back story on Strand and I hope they will do one.
This episode has been my favorite episode so far throughout the series. The story line is steadily picking up the pace in action, and the character development is phenomenal. I love how they are fortifying themselves in, even with the terrible dangers surrounding them, although we learn that the family ended up dying in the end, could there still be hope for the remaining brothers? I really hope FTWD will bring back the remaining brothers from the family in later episodes, as they had a great story line. Also, I love how Strand is acting “fishy” towards the group, and I’m curious as to what his plans are in Mexico. And is Abigail really Strand’s boat? So much is happening in this season so far, that I’m truly excited to see whats in store for the gang.
The walkers in these past couple of episodes have gotten more gruesome just in the past season. I like how Fear The Walking Dead is showing the transition as walkers from the beginning of the outbreak, as we didn’t see that in The Walking Dead. With the subject of walkers- it scared me a little bit in the opening scene when the kids were collecting seashells by the shore, and walkers were approaching them. It made me not only judge the parents of them, but also made a scene of foreshadowing for the kids, as the little girl turned later in the episode. “Can walkers climb?” really stuck out to me, as walkers in The Walking Dead would climb and even hit rocks to break into stores, fortresses, etc., and it makes me curious if we are going to see more of that happening in later episodes…?
This episode contained a lot of action, which has gotten me excited for episodes to come. Great work! #FTWDfamily
I love finding all of the parallels to The Walking Dead, and this episode of Fear did not disappoint! First there were the children playing by the fence and speaking of flowers. They left a make believe food tray for the infected. This scene made me think of Lizzie and Mika, but especially Lizzie and how she believed the walkers were still human. Then there was the scene with Nick and Alicia conversing about nouse polution and how they missed the noise of planes. The good thing about not having all of the spacial corruption is you can see all of the stars! Both of these parts resembled Carl telling Carol he missed planes too, or being on one, and Carl holding Judith showing her the North Star. Then of course Seth and Chris killing the infected through the fence smacked of the gang at the prison. I hope I didn’t miss anything after watching it twice! Maybe I’ll have to force myself to watch it again.
Decided to post something after watching the episode 3 times; and each time I was just as excited the whole way through. I really appreciated the subtlety of this script, which I believe was written by Kate Barnow. From the opening scene with Harry and Willa, I knew this episode would end in tragedy. Also, that scene creepily reminded me of Lizzie, yet George and Melissa’s kids seemed to be much more knowledgable on the actual threat that the infected pose on them, hence Harry’s conversation with Nick in his bedroom. I’ve read many bigoted reviewers complain about how the show feeds off of its family drama, but I have to say, for myself personally, I’m loving it. The constant affairs we see Maddy struggle to withhold her humanity is just fascinating, and after leaving the stranded survivors in the life boat astray, she already couldn’t allow herself to put up with Strand’s antics any longer (which also gives me hope for a possible confrontation between the two later on). Although Melissa was not physically abused by George, his ultimate way of staying together with his family, by taking “the pills”, was emotional abuse in itself, which in a way reminded me of Carol. Carol would have not stood for this, even in the mental state Ed left her in back in season 1. I truly admired Maddy’s courage to take in 2 stranger, despite not ever really knowing if she can guarantee their safety. This also reminded me of the comics when Carol asked Lori if she would ever take care of Sophia if anything were ever to happen to her, and she responded, just like Maddy did, “I would take care of them as if they were my own”. I’m sure these parallels are not intended but catching onto them myself is what makes watching a companion show like this, set far beyond TWD’s current time period, so interesting to me, and I can’t wait for what’s to come following this episode with Maddy. What I’m really hoping for is that we never see George, or Seth ever again! I can see them turning batshit crazy and end up returning as pirates in an episode to come, taking hostage someone from the boat crew! George explained to Travis that he was glad to have him as a friend despite not seeing anyone for a while, but I don’t know… that rubbed me the wrong way. He seemed like an okay guy, but he was clearly off to me. Something to possibly look out for in the future? Maybe. Possibly. Hopefully not. Seeing characters like Ofelia truly come to terms with the world she’s now living in also gave me so much hope for her! I have so much optimism for these characters. Almost all of them truly understand the threat the infected pose to them and that this is most likely the new normal for them. I’m also really hoping Mercedes can get that signature weapon she’s been asking for *wink wink* Kirkman. Her character, from the get go, seemed like she was prepared for this kind of world. I’m hoping for some sort of backstory on her, as well as Maddy, because there is clearly something there that allows for her to be so adaptable to this environment. For example, in Season 1, when she was easily able to manipulate Andrew despite being brought up by a seemingly Catholic family (Ode to the Greene’s?). She’s rebellious, and I love that! Another part of the episode that really got to me was Alicia realizing, “oh shit, we’re in this for the long haul”, when explaining the backstory behind “Ring Around the Rosey”. From the death of Matt, to immediately being rushed into quarantine by the military, I’d have to say that the apocalypse has definitely had the most toll on her. I find it super interesting how she is able to hold in her emotions, though. She is another character I’d love to learn about. Maybe this has something to do with her biological father… hm… As for Strand, I don’t trust the guy! I love him, but damn, do I not trust him. I don’t see what bad could possibly come from their trip to Baja considering the apocalypse had just started, but come on, why does he have to play these people like this? He is the definition of sketchy and I’m very nervous as to what’s to come, considering that Daniel now knows his true intentions. Also, with Chris’s added aggressions I’m nervous to see what he will do next to protect the ones he loves. Hopefully he can get back down to earth soon and realize that, yeah, my mom might be dead, but this is the new world order, and certain things have to be done to protect the ones you love. Also, that fence scene gave me an even bigger tease of TWD Seasons 3 and 4! Ah, the good ol’ days of the prison. Now, as for Nick, there’s not much to say about him. His relationship with Willa and Harry made me love him even more, which I didn’t think was possible, and I’m glad that he stepped up to the plate and told Travis and Maddy about the pills instead of continuing to search for more pills to pop. He’s great, but, I can see him being expendable to the group because of how reliable he is in that sense. Hoping for the best! Lastly, PLEASE, OH PLEASE TRAVIS STOP BEING SO NICE. I understand that this is the beginning of the apocalypse but bringing your entire family to a house of strangers… AT NIGHT? REALLY? He makes me very nervous, yet I do admire his optimism despite literally living in the slow burn of the apocalypse. Overall, I’m glad each character has their own niche that truly separates themselves from each other, as well as the characters we have grown to love in TWD. The show doesn’t have a clear cut leader yet, and I love that! Each character is growing into their own leadership roles, which I feel like TWD is just beginning to show with characters like Maggie and the Hilltop, as well as what’s to come later on (comic spoilers). Really enjoyed the pacing of this episode as well as the miniature conflict we got to see the group face that will hopefully be a lesson learned for the group in their future encounters with fellow survivors (and infected). Can’t wait for next week’s episode, I need it now!!!!!
I think Nick is heading towards a leadership role. With him being clean, he is starting to see the big picture as to what is happening. In the beginning all he wanted to do was get a quick fix, but now he seems more alert to his surroundings. He seemed to have bonded with the two kids, and I think he will now be the strong one to help protect his family.
I like where this season is going, your taking you’re time on telling the story and letting it unfold on it’s own even with the character development. I also like the fact that your answering many of the questions i had from TWD ie; can walkers swim or just walk on the bottem of the water nope they float lol. I wanted to say ty to the devos and writers for making such a couple of great series keep up the wonderful work!
FTWD is literally better than TWD. Probably cause it doesn’t have as many comic fans to continuously disappoint.