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TV Recap: “Fear the Walking Dead,” Episode 6

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Fear the Walking Dead, Episode 6 – “The Good Man”

Aahh, if only the other five episodes of this season were as good as this one. BEWARE! SPOILERS AHEAD!

When we return, we’re treated to an overhead shot of parts of California. Despite what the soldiers have told the safe-zone survivors, the state has been absolutely decimated. Cities are dark, there are massive fires and no one is moving on the streets. Inside the house, Travis and Madison are feverishly packing up supplies after learning about “Project Cobalt,” the military’s plan to humanely execute the survivors and move on to a safer location. Alicia and Chris, no longer intoxicated, return home and Madison tells them to pack. Now. Alicia questions her mother because the military told them that they were winning against the infected, but Travis corrects her saying that they’re retreating instead. Madison decides to go with Plan A, the original plan, for the family to head east to the desert. Chris wonders about their captured family members and Travis assures him that they’re going to get Griselda, Liza and Nick before departing from California. One of the last things to be loaded in the caravan is Andrew. Madison is nervous about moving him, with Travis suspecting she’s ashamed of the torture she knew about with Daniel, but Daniel wants Travis killed in the first place. Andrew says they need him because, yes, they know where the medical facility is, but they don’t know their way around inside to find their family members quickly enough. So, they decide to take him, and then they’ll kill him when it’s over.

Our favorite survivors are just about to leave when Madison sees people walking dogs, families inside having dinner. She begins to feel remorse about not telling them about the threat of being executed in a few hours, but Ofelia says, “They did nothing when they came for us.” The caravan makes it to the edge of the safe-zone and discovers that the gates have been abandoned. Somehow Daniel is magically able to work the controls and they depart into the darkness. Their destination, the government medical facility, is currently walker free – Dr. Exner confirms this by saying they have 20 patients who are all infection free. The government is getting ready to transport them out of there, so Dr. Exner tells the other nurses to start packing up supplies and getting patients ready because they’re going mobile. Liza asks if they’re going back for Chris and her family, with Dr. Exner asking her who she considers family – bond or blood? Meanwhile, Daniel is a lone wolf and approaches the front gate to the government facility with only a flashlight. Two guards in a tower warn him not to come any closer or they’ll shoot. Daniel tells them to save their bullets and keeps walking…revealing the 2,000 walkers from the stadium have been turned loose and followed him to the facility. In the commotion, Alicia, Chris, Daniel, Madison, Ofelia and Travis are able to sneak in through underground parking.

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Once they’re parked, it is revealed that Travis let Andrew go because he didn’t want to kill a human being, and that Andrew still told him how to navigate through the facility. The adults decide to leave Alicia and Chris with the cars, although they’re warned to get the Hell out of there and leave them behind if it gets bad. Inside the facility, Nick is starting to get cabin fever from being locked in the cages with other quarantined people. Knock-Off Tyrese tells him to stay calm and picture the drugs he’ll get to do when they escape… which happens to be that moment since the sirens go off and all the quarantined people see soldiers rushing by followed by a lot of gunshots. Knock-Off Tyrese and Nick escape with the key he stole from a soldier and walk through the cages as people beg to be let out. Nick wants to help them, but Knock-Off Tyrese says they don’t have time. Dr. Exner sees the military transport helicopters outside the facility and knows they are not going to land since the area has now been compromised. She tells the nurses to abandon ship and leave. Liza still wants to stay and help, even when everyone else has already fled, but Dr. Exner tells her to run. Now. When she’s alone, Dr. Exner begins turning off machines that would help keep the patients alive.

Back at the underground parking deck, Chris is starting to get nervous that everything has already gone wrong. Alicia tries to calm him down, but they end up hiding in the cars when they hear footsteps behind them. Fearing it’s a group of stray walkers, they hide, only to be discovered by soldiers. The soldiers smash the windows and pull them from the car and tell them not to panic because they only want the keys so they can get out of the chaos immediately. Alicia hands over the keys to avoid a confrontation, but then the soldiers start touching her and insinuating rapey things, so Nick steps in to defend her and gets pistol whipped until he passes out. Outside, it’s full on military vs. walkers..and the military is losing. The soldiers are too scared to get close to the gate, which means half of their shots are missing or bouncing off the fence and the walkers are amassing against the barriers too quickly. After toppling the guard tower and squeezing through a hole in the fence, the walkers are able to penetrate the facility and all the soldiers and nurses go running for cover. Liza runs out in the middle of the madness and sees a soldier get bit. He then promptly runs into a helicopter blade in an act of suicide. This freaks Liza out and she runs back inside to seek cover as well.

Knock-Off Tyrese and Nick are trying to find their way out of the facility as well and happen upon a lobby where a walker is munching on a fallen soldier. Knock-Off Tyrese is able to steal a gun from the soldier’s corpse just as a small group of walkers break into the lobby. Meanwhile, Daniel, Madison, Ofelia and Travis happen upon the quarantine cages and Madison starts asking if anyone has seen Nick. A woman points them in the right direction and the group works to free three cages of people before leaving because of lack of time. Knock-Off Tyrese and Nick continue through an abandoned hallway and make it to a door, one that will not open without a key card. They’re trapped: locked door on one side and a whole bunch of walkers on the other. Knock-Off Tyrese starts shooting at the walkers, but it’s not making a dent in them. Our survivors hear the shooting and come running, although they’re on the opposite side of the door. Their weapons are lousy and they are unable to break through the reinforced door. Nick comes to accept that he’s about to die and gets Madison’s attention enough to say, “Mom. Go.” Suddenly, Liza shows up with her key card and opens the door just as Knock-Off Tyrese and Nick are about to get munched on. The group, however, is unable to close the door and now they must flee from the small herd of walkers.

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They make it to the medical facilities kitchen, but some of the walkers catch up. There’s a huge scuffle and our survivors are having a hard time handling it without sharp weapons or adequate guns. They’re able to smash the shit out the walkers though, with Madison almost getting bit and being saved  by Nick. The group is formerly introduce to Knock-Off Tyrese, real name Mr. Strand, and Liza tells Daniel and Ofelia that Griselda didn’t make it through the surgery. Ofelia says she wants to see her mother’s body – now is not the time! – but Liza tells her there’s nothing left to see. Next, they end up in the surgical wing of the facility and Dr. Exner is still there, having executed all the patients so they didn’t die a slow death at the hands and teeth of walkers. Madison starts raiding the place of supplies and medication. Liza wants Dr. Exner to come with them because there’s still more people she can help, but Dr. Exner has completely shut down mentally and emotionally and says there’s no where left to go…but not before telling them a safe way out of the facility. Madison has to drag Liza away, saying that Dr. Exner is lost. Madison tells Mr. Strand that they’re going east, but he wants them to go west instead since he has a house, supplies and someone named Abigail waiting. When they finally exit the building, they’re treated to a very Holocaust-y site…mounds and mounds of human ashes and remains. The military was burning dead bodies in hopes of stopping the spread of infection. When Ofelia realizes that some of the ashes is undoubtedly her mother, she collapses into hysterics.

Daniel, Liza, Madison, Nick, Ofelia, Mr. Strand and Travis make it back to the underground parking deck and find that Alicia and Chris are missing along with the SUV. After calling them, it turns out that the kids were just hiding in a stairwell. The calling also alerts Andrew that Daniel is nearby and Andrew is out for revenge after being tortured for so long. Ofelia tries to calm him down and Andrew gets an idea to really put the hurt on Daniel. Andrew, instead, shoots Ofelia in the chest before being dive tackled to the floor by Travis… who then proceeds to beat him to a bloody pulp and leave him for the walkers. Our survivors take off in the caravan and we get to see California in the day again… this time with walkers scattered about. Mr. Strand brings up Abigail again before discussing which routes to take to best avoid walkers with Madison. Mr. Strand deduces that he and the blonde are going to get along swimmingly. They end up driving the flood tunnels used in episode one drug dealer Calvin and Nick and you get a shot that is very reminiscent to Glenn’s Mustang cruise in season one of “The Walking Dead.” Finally, they reach safety in Mr. Strand’s beach-side mansion.

It is revealed that Ofelia survived the gun shot wound. Nick has a realization that may move him enough to quit doing drugs for good. Mr. Strand reveals that Abigail is actually his huge yacht. Guess where they’re going in season two, huh? Chris gets a real reunion with his mother, who tells him how much she loves him before disappearing out the back door. Madison finds this strange and follows Liza out to the beach to get answers. Liza lifts up her shirt and reveals a walker wound on her back, one she didn’t notice until they were safe in the cars. Madison says they can treat her, but Liza tells her that the infection is incurable. Liza wants to commit suicide yet she doesn’t have the guts and asks Madison to do it, reminding her of the conversation they had near the garage in episode three where Madison asked Liza to kill her if she got bit, reminding her that it would break Travis if he had to shoot either of them. Travis, somehow, wanders up to them on the beach and wants to know what’s going on when he sees the gun. He tells Liza that Madison took all the medicine from the facility, but Liza tells him that the drugs don’t work. If you get bit, you will die and you will come back as a walker. Liza makes Travis promise to protect Chris before sitting down for what’s about to come. Liza and Travis cry for a moment before Travis grants her final wish and shoots her in the head. He collapses into the surf, crying, and is comforted by Madison.

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Michael DeFellipo

(Senior Editor)

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