All good things must come to an end.
[Brother’s Keeper]
We start the episode off with the aftermath of Troy’s banishment. Seems like isolation does wonders, because Troy’s definitely gone off the deep end. For awhile, he seems ok. He writes in his journal, scavenges for food, and writes some more… Then, one day, he aims his gun in the air, pulls the trigger, and waits (with a smile on his face).
An unexpected visit from Troy back at the ranch (in the middle of the night) rattles a few bones, including Nick’s and Jake’s. Jake’s brilliant plan was to go find him and have some kind of “final showdown between brothers”. The aftermath of their showdown definitely isn’t pretty, because Jake ends up getting a good chunk of his arm bitten out. Nick (Frank Dillane), trying to act fast before the infection spreads throughout the body, cuts off his arm. Jake (Sam Underwood) ends up dying though, either from the blood loss or the shock. Guess the Hershel-esque treatment didn’t work this time.
Back at the ranch, all hell has broken loose. The rounds that Troy (Daniel Sharman) fired attracted a humungous hoard of the undead. Rivalries between both groups suddenly don’t seem that important anymore. They try to line up RV’s to keep out the dead. It buys the habitants of the ranch a bit of time, but their efforts prove to be useless as the undead are still able to breach the enclosure. With nowhere to go, what’s left of the remaining survivors pile into the underground pantry.
“There’s no ranch to go back to.”
Oh, Troy…. What have you done?
Can we talk about that RV scene though? Just that wide-shot of that MASSIVE herd got my heart pounding. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at how they created that:
[This Land Is Your Land]
Those who survived the hoard now faced a larger issue: carbon dioxide poisoning. With the air vents and oxygen supply not working, time was running out.
Crazy Dog’s brilliant idea? Less people means more oxygen. Give morphine to the ones who’ve been bit. Once they’re out, they’ll be “taken care of”. Though a very shocking suggestion, Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey) unwillingly agrees to it.
A very nice woman (Christine), whom Alicia befriends, gives her a pep talk when Alicia starts to break down. I like to believe that they kept each other sane while they were trapped in that pantry.
“Even when you’re hopeless, hope is all you have.”
Ofelia (Mercedes Mason) and Crazy Dog (Justin Rain), who previously crawled into the air vents to try to clear the blockage, are successful and able to get the air vents going again. However, oxygen may have come too late. Everyone’s turned, leaving Alicia to fend for herself and Christine. Thankfully, Madison (Kim Dickens) and company show up in time to help clear up the rest of the crowd.
In the aftermath, Madison decides to return to the dam, but Alicia wants to go her own way. Alicia recalls of a small ranch that Jake had talked about previously, and decides to head there herself. Nick and Troy, who lie about Troy's role in the events, choose to follow Alicia to keep her safe.
Honestly, Troy’s an interesting character. I know I should hate him for causing the deaths of almost everyone in the Ranch, but I really want to know more about his backstory. Why is he the way he is? What happened when he was a kid?
On another note, Ofelia is on her way to see her father again! It’ll definitely be an interesting reunion, as both father and daughter have been through hell and crawled their way back to the living.
What did you think of "Brother's Keeper" and "The Land Is Your Land"? Let us know below, and be sure to check out next week's episode "El Matadero"!
Fear The Walking Dead airs Sunday at 9pm on AMC.
