Last week on Fear the Walking Dead, there were a few surprises. First off, the hero of the story, Travis, met his untimely demise. As stated last week, it’s a pretty ballsy move on the producers end as it’s parent show would never even dream of killing off Rick Grimes (although Walking Dead creator says that one day he probably will in the comics). In one episode, the show flipped the script, changing the hero of the show (Travis) to the heroine of the show (Madison). The core group has been through hell ever since the zombie apocalypse started, and their current situation is no different.
The episode begins in a strange fashion. You almost forgot it wasn’t Fear the Walking Dead as the episode begins with an infomercial that bizarrely works with how the show functions. The infomercial was for Jeremiah’s and his “Teotwawki” phase. Jeremiah, the leader of the Broke Jaw Ranch is a survivalist who has been preparing/selling the end of the world for quite some time. Distrustful of the government and a little xenophobic, Jeremiah sells an ideal lifestyle for those who truly want to get off the grid. He was probably laughed out of town back in the old days, but now his way of life is proving to be the best course of action and he has amassed a large group of followers as a result.
Madison knows that he and those at Broke Jaw may be on the crazy side, but what choice do they have? They have been in survival mode ever since they left the confines of their home (and they had to do that because of an occupation of their own government. She sees Broke Jaw as a means for survival, and she’s going to try to make it work the best way she can, despite her children’s misgivings. At a funeral for Charlene (the helicopter pilot from the season premiere), she offers her condolences as well as her appreciation for them letting her family stay at their compound. Alicia and Nick are not completely on board with staying there. They have seen what Jeremiah’s son Troy was capable, having needlessly slaughtered countless people in the name of “science.” Let’s face it, Troy is a serial killer, and the zombie apocalypse just gives him an excuse to act out his terrible impulses. Jeremiah and his other son Jake know about Troy’s dark side and they do their best to keep that secret hidden from the rest of the people at the compound. After showing up at Madison’s quarters and offering a thinly veiled threat to her family, Madison has a chat with Jeremiah and Jake with the request of protection from Troy and the other members of the community who are simply distrustful of her family at this point. Jeremiah doesn’t say yet, but he doesn’t say now either.
Each of the Clark children are fitting in with the group in their own different ways. Alicia attends a “bible study” with the other kids her age at the compound. At first, she has no interest in fitting in. she even says they are Jewish, but eventually, tags along with them to this mysterious outing. Turns out, they are not bible thumpers, but just your everyday run of the mill teenagers. Instead of praising God in their secret meetings, they are drinking moonshine, smoking weed, and talking to a decapitated zombie head while inebriated. This is right up Alicia’s alley and she quickly fits in. The kids are eager to talk with her as they have been behind closed doors and don’t know much of the outside world. Alicia reveals to them the hardships outside their community, and the fact that not only has she killed a person, she also has no feeling about it. Nick is lured by Troy to go on a hunting party to search for hogs. Nick is rightfully distrustful of Troy and ambushed him when they are alone. Troy, is not afraid of dying and even tells Nick to shoot him when Nick has a gun to his face. He just tells him to record how long it takes for him to turn. Of course, Nick spares him, but not before grabbing his “medical journal” and ripping out pages while gleefully laughing. Troy fights him off and also is laughing. Troy even makes a comment that the two of them will become friends. They are both damaged individuals who also will do whatever it takes for survival. They both realize that they aren’t that dissimilar from each other.
Elsewhere, Strand is driving in his new car. Strand being Strand, he already has a new person in a new community to find and cozy up with. A former associate of his named Dante has control over a water dam in Mexico and he seeks asylum. After a quick drink, Dante betrays him and is ready to throw him off the ledge to where zombies are eagerly waiting for their next meal. Strand in full panic mode offers his service instead of being zombie food. While Dante lets him live, there’s clearly bad blood between the two from their past lives and he locks Strand in a cell. While in the cell, Strand receives some water from an unknown helper. Turns out the person who helped him is Daniel Salazar. Salazar was thought to have died in a fire, but was never did see a body, so he’s alive and kicking. Salazar reminds Strand that he still is his guardian angel. 
