We’re back with the second episode of “Fear the Walking Dead,” but with about 2,000,000 fewer viewers. Yes, it seems America may agree with my sentiments that this spin-off show in unneeded since we know how it’s all going to end. So, incase you decided to tune out for episode two, here’s my TV Recap!
When we return the high school principal who looks like President Obama is checking the now abandoned halls of the high school, walkie talkie in hand and sirens blaring in the distance. At the same time, Alicia is presumably walking home as two skateboarders fly past her, but in actuality she is disobeying her mother’s orders and is stopping by Matt’s house to see why he’s been missing in action. The door is wide open and there are signs of struggle in the living room. Alicia continues to search the house, checking Matt’s bedroom last and stumbles upon something shocking!
Fear the Walking Dead, Episode 2 – “So Close, Yet So Far”
Meanwhile, Madison, Nick and Travis fly out of the flood tunnels after finishing off Cal the drug dealing zombie. They’re so busy fleeing the scene that they’re almost struck by another car, which I’m guessing will be a recurring theme throughout the series. Travis tries to call Chris, his son, but gets no answer. Nick is screwing around with the radio and mentions that none of the major stations are reporting on the illness and violence. They decide that heading to the desert to seek shelter is the best game plan due to the small population of humans there. Madison gets through to Alicia and tells her to start packing, but Alicia tells her mom that she’s at Matt’s house and he’s sick with a 103 degree fever.
When they arrive at Matt’s house, Madison and Travis are very apprehensive about Alicia being near Matt and make a few comments about how he could be sick with whatever’s infecting people. A little while later they discover a bite mark on Matt’s upper chest and decide that it’s time to go. Alicia doesn’t want to leave her high school boyfriend behind, but he’s a hero and tells her to go with her family and that he’ll keep in touch through text until his family gets home from Vegas. She reluctantly goes. When Alicia, Madison, Nick and Travis arrive home they see their neighbors across the street setting up for their daughter’s birthday party, seemingly in denial or totally oblivious as to what’s going on. They decide they’ll have to tell them later.
Travis leaves to go get his ex-wife, Liza, and Chris so they can come to the safety of the desert, too. Liza is not happy to see Travis because of the court ordered settlement agreement and it turns out Chris is in the city anyway. Chris is currently on a bus waiting to depart from its latest stop when passengers start freaking out because police officers just shot and killed “a nice homeless man who never hurt anybody.” They storm off the bus and a protest starts in the middle of the street with onlookers urging Chris to keep recording what’s happening as evidence of police brutality. Chris doesn’t want to go home because he’s “important to the cause,” so now Liza and Travis are forced to go into the city to drag him away.
Back at home, Nick is starting to go through serious withdraws and detox since he hasn’t had any drugs in his system for about two and a half days. The withdraws are so bad that Madison is forced to go looking for drugs that can ween him off the ones in his system or at least keep him on his feet until they reach the desert. The only place she can think of is the high school, since the nurse apparently has medical narcotic in her cabinets despite only being qualified to treat scrapes and strep throat. Madison breaks into the high school, takes the pills and is about to leave when she runs into Tobias…who really wants his fucking knife back. They travel the school together and Tobias gives Madison a very complicated equation of where looters will go first and for what, before showing her a stockpile of canned goods locked in a closet.
They’re starting to leave when they hear a walker’s groan over the loud speaker due to it hitting the button on a walkie talkie. They make a run for it, but end up running right into high school principal President Obama at the stairwell and he has turned into a walker. He attacks Madison and Tobias and, despite knowing it’s the zombie apocalypse, Tobias goes for a chest shot, which does nothing and Madison is forced to finish him off by smashing his head in with a fire extinguisher. Being the nice guidance counselor that she is, Madison offers to take Tobias with her to the desert, but he decides to stay and ride it out with his own mother at home. Back at home again, Alicia is about to sneak off to check on Matt, but Nick goes into a full seizure and Alicia is forced to stay to make sure he doesn’t choke on his own tongue and die…which would be “unfortunate.”
In the city, Liz and Travis find Chris in the crowd just as a police officer shoots a walker in the head. As far as the public knows, it was another instance of a cop killing an unarmed, non-violent person and it causes a major riot. Swat teams are called in to maintain the peace, but the whole thing blows up and it’s chaos everywhere. Chris, Liz and Travis seek shelter inside a barber shop with one of those pull down guard walls and they hide inside with the barber, his wife and daughter. Travis calls Madison to tell her that they’re all right, but it’s probably going to be a while before they can get home. He urges Madison to take the kids and go the desert and he’ll meet them there, but Madison basically says no fucking way. There’s more violence outside and it’s hard to tell if it’s rioters, police…or zombies.
Alicia is looking out the window at home when she hears screaming. The neighbor putting up birthday decorations hours before is being attacked by a walker. Alicia wants to go outside to help, but Madison won’t let her because it’s not safe. They both look on as the woman is eaten alive on the front lawn.
