Happy Tuesday TV fans! After watching AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead season 4 episode 2, I learned that a baseball stadium can actually serve as the perfect place for survival in the zombie apocalypse. After all, you have a field for crops, a PA system to warn you of oncoming attacks, and showers. Did I mention showers? I have to admit that out of all the places we have seen the characters from The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead hold up in; this settlement really seems the most promising. Time will tell if it will last, however. Please note spoilers are ahead if you have not gotten a chance to watch the latest episode yet. In last night’s episode, “Another Day in the Diamond,” we learn that Madison and the gang found the baseball stadium and decided to turn it into a settlement after everything they went through. While we are still missing a chunk of time and don’t know exactly all of the details that led to this, we do get some flashes, reminding us that these characters have survived quite a lot and are still standing. Meanwhile, Madison risks her life to save a stranger, a child is not who she says she is, and we meet the people responsible for the numbered flags, who seem to be the new big bad in town. My top 5 moments from Fear the Walking Dead season 4 episode 2 are:
5
Nick tries not to let his fear get the best of him.
Nick has always been one of the strongest and most resourceful characters on the show. When the going got rough, he would head off on his own and face unthinkable threats. He learned to adapt to his surroundings and make hard choices, but he always radiated an inner strength. At the end of season 3, Nick made a difficult choice and attempted to sacrifice himself on the bridge and blow it up to protect his family. Throughout the episode, Nick had several flashes back to this event and it clearly traumatized him into a stagnant fear. Nick never leaves the baseball stadium and has anxiety when he tries to head off into the parking lot. Although Nick is clearly making an effort to get over what happened, his inner demons won’t go away just yet.
4
“No one’s gone until they’re gone.”
Madison has fully embraced her role as leader and is trying to help everyone in her settlement. She has really connected with a young girl named Charlie and desperately wants to help her find her family. When they go out looking for answers, Madison crosses paths with a survivor named Naomi who is played by Jenna Elfman. Naomi pulls a gun on Madison, but is quickly surrounded by Alicia, Luciana, and Victor. She tries to escape but falls into some sort of oil tank. She is surrounded by walkers and it seems like she is out of luck, but Madison risks her life to jump in and help her. We know that Madison is never afraid to get dirty and proves to be an unstoppable force, even covered in oil and gunk. Madison brings Naomi back to their settlement and we learn that she used to be a nurse which will certainly come in handy. Madison has a genuine conversation with Naomi and reveals that she almost lost her family because of the decisions she made before. Madison is always moving and doing something, as if she’s almost afraid to be alone with her thoughts and memories, worrying that they could break her down. Like Nick, Madison has been traumatized on some level, but decides to keep busy and help others to numb the pain.
3
Charlie is not who she says she is.
Throughout the episode, I found it interesting that there seemed to be a lot of focus on this little girl, but the Clark family has clearly taken her in under their wing. Nick even asks Luciana to find her another book so that she has something to pass the time with and Madison attempts to build her a bedroom. Even though Madison and the others have been betrayed before, they open their settlement and heart to Charlie, trusting in the innocence of a child. We later learn that Charlie is part of the “Vultures” group which has come to take over the settlement from Madison. Charlie has been providing them with intel and they even know who Nick is and about the turnips going bad. While Charlie remains quiet when she joins her “family,” it’s clear that no one saw this coming.
2
Meet Mel.
In episodes 1 and 2, we see numbered flags along the way. Mel and his group drive up to the stadium and demonstrate how they handle walkers. While Mel does not seem like a forceful threat, he does want something and is willing to wait patiently to get it. He tells Madison that he wants them to listen. He proposes that they give them their stuff and live or that they can wait for them to die and take it anyway. While we don’t know much about Mel just yet, he seems very calm and rational. He pulls up a chair in the parking lot and seems to think he’s right about everything. The threat is a real one however; and Madison must decide carefully what to do next.
1
“We’re not going anywhere.”
After listening to Mel, Madison confidently stands up to him and lets him know that they worked hard to build up their settlement and they are not going to just hand it over to him. Mel tells her that they will be tested, but Madison is a very capable and strong leader. We know that she will do anything to protect her own, but is she ready for a new threat? At the end of the episode, we finally catch up to present day and the end of episode 1. Alicia initially thinks that Morgan, Al, and John are working with the Vultures, which is why they hold them at gun point. After they clear up this misunderstanding, Alicia demands that they show them where they found the “51” flag. While we don’t know how much time has passed between then and now, we know that the Vultures have got everyone on edge. Stay tuned!
I hope you enjoyed the list and feel free to post your own theories and thoughts on Fear the Walking Dead in the comments section below. Happy viewing!
Best,
Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl
@TV_Fanatic_Girl