Charles Bukowski sheds some light on Fear the Walking Deads post-apocalyptic world.
ThisFear the Walking Deadreview contains spoilers.
Theirs is the least effective pairing, if only because Strand is just so unlikable.
I thought Nick and Alicia were great in their respective storylines.
Each is grappling with their own demon.
But more on them in a bit.
Not only do they find the ranchs missing search team, they come upon Phil, the team leader.
Hes perched on a chair, spouting gibberish as a crow gnaws on his exposed grey matter.
This bit disturbed me in a way that nothing else ever has in theWalking Deaduniverse.
Credit must be given toFear the Walking Deadfor putting things like this on screen.
But it also speaks to the bad blood that exists between the ranch and Walkers people.
They both had to lose almost everything before they could rebuild themselves.
And now, they must also rebuild a broken world.
Nicks worldview is hopeful, if not a bit naive.
In other words, protect your own.
Luci should go because shes brown?
Nick asks Jeremiah, finally addressing the elephant thats been in the room since the season started.
Jeremiah sidesteps the question, but I do believe race is an important factor in the Otto familys dynamic.
Is it any coincidence that Luciana is the darkest person in the entire ranch?
And is it any surprise that she finally ups and leaves?
Shes a strong character in theTWDsense.
Youd want her to have your back in the apocalypse, certainly.
But her own dark thoughts are now working against her, inoculating her against optimism.
Alicia doesnt see the point in reading poetry anymore.
Which then brings us back to Alicias question: Whats the point?
Jake understands we can never abandon the very cultural artifacts that bring with them light and hope.
He is not his fathers son in this regard.
Like Nick, he doesnt see the beauty in an armed existence.
He knows theres more to life than meting out death and destruction.
Some closing thoughts:
The opening scene is what really elevated this episode for me.
We saw the old couple, Russell and Martha, dancing on their porch in an earlier episode.
The world might have ended, but they still had each other.
Its not a zombie bite that takes out Martha, but old age.
Russell knows shes not a danger to him because her teeth are sitting on the bedside table.
So he dances with his wife one last time before taking both of them out with a single bullet.
As for Bukowski, theres one poem fromBurning in Waterthat is particularly relevant to this episode.
Rating:
4 out of 5
