Fear the Walking Dead reminds us there’s no “destroy” without “Troy.”
Our review of “Brother’s Keeper” is live!
ThisFear the Walking Deadreview contains spoilers.
Thats especially true of this episode, in which Nick is indirectly responsible for killing Jake.
Had he let the Otto brothers sort things out, theres a good chance Jake might have survived.
By now its obvious theWalking Deaduniverse tends to equate morality with weakness.
Travis was a perfect example of this.
And weve seen this play out plenty of times onTWD(Dale and Tyreese immediately spring to mind).
Aside from a few exceptions on either show, the meek shall not inherit the earth.
But at least Jake had a chance to call out Alicias manipulations before he bowed out.
And who could blame him?
Alicias talk of we and us falls flat without any genuine emotion to back it up.
Alycia Debnam-Carey is strong in this scene as she vacillates between indignation, anger, and defensiveness.
Theres a bit of fearfulness in her eyes, too.
She needs the ranch more than it needs her.
Alicia was far from sympathetic this week, but she doesnt need to be, either.
Nick was my guy last season, someone to root for.
Shes been through a lot, and its really starting to show.
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Which is why I really feltAliciashould have bowed out in this episode, too.
But more on that in a bit.
The color of ones skin should not be a prerequisite for protection against the undead.
So the idea that Nick somehow owes Troy a debt for killing Jeremiah is a bit of a stretch.
Plus, such story machinations only wind up normalizing a dangerous person.
Over the course of three seasons we watched the Manawa clan slowly die out.
Now, were seeing the culling of the Otto bloodline.
(Unless Alicia is pregnant, and I dont thinkFears writers will go down this road.)
But how much more poetic would it have been for undead Jake to finally kill Troy?
Which brings us back to Aliciaand the encroaching horde of zombies.
This is definitely the biggest horde weve seen onFearso far.
Theres very little the ranchers can do except circle the wagons and stand their ground.
The RVs are ultimately ineffective against the hundreds of corpses shoving their way into the ranch.
Coop goes out like a hero, defending friend and foe alike.
Justin Rains Crazy Dog is likewise heroic, defending the living against the dead.
(And, seriously, why was retreating to the pantrynotPlan A in the first place?)
So to lose several charactersespeciallyAliciawould have been a daring choice forFearto make.
This is a hard-won moment, both for the living and forFearitself.
More of this, like.
If it aint broke, why fix it, Nick?
My alternate title for tonights episode: The Silence of the Rabbits.
Rating:
4 out of 5
