‘Fear The Walking Dead’ There’s a Conflict Brewing on the Boat
Last week, the group discovered that the seas aren’t much safer than the land they escaped, and this week they discovered that LA isn’t the
only area that has been infected. They also learned that looks can be deceiving. In an attempt to hide the Abigail, our group encounters a family that seems pretty well off. Daniel and Ofelia stay on the boat to keep an eye on Strand.
Showrunner Dave Erickson has provided some intel on this episode.
So does Daniel trust Strand?
“… I think Daniel’s big concern is if we all get off the boat and leave Strand, Strand just might start her [Abigail] up again and leave us here. So he stays with an intention of trying to size him up and trying to get a better sense of what his plan is. And he pushes him a little bit in the episode. He asks him overtly, “Who are you going to leave behind?” And I think it’s an interesting dynamic between Strand and Salazar because they’re both survivors. I think they can see that in each other and Daniel’s not afraid to challenge him on it, which is fun.” Erickson.
Can we trust Strand?
“We’re starting to get a clearer picture of what Strand’s plan is. It’s a big piece of information that Daniel discovers when Strand finally gets off the boat, that he does have a destination and that destination is not San Diego. That destination is some place in Mexico. So we now, as an audience, have a better idea and Daniel has a better idea of what Strand’s intentions are. We don’t know why Mexico. We don’t know who’s in Mexico, but we know, for now, that he has a destination there.” – Erickson.
And this family… What was their deal?
“In looking at different approaches to the apocalypse, I think we’re accustomed to seeing folks who either fortify and they decide they’re going to survive no matter what, or people on the run going from point to point trying to find some sanctuary. And the irony here is you’ve got a family who has a pretty good setup, and they’ve got water, and they’ve got supplies, and they have food.” – Erickson.
George seems a lot like Hershel from TWD in that he is very connected to his land and does not want to leave. However he seems to accept that they will die and isn’t going to fight that. Melissa understands this philosophy but doesn’t want her kids to live like this.
“He [George] sees it as a natural course. He’s sees it as part of nature, and I think that kind of challenges and blows Travis’ mind a little bit, because for Travis the idea is, I’m never going stop. I’ll do whatever I can to protect my family, to protect my son. And I think it blows his mind a little bit to be confronted with this different philosophy… Her [Melissa]intention is never to leave, but really for her youngest. She looks at her eldest, Seth, who is very much a devotee of his father’s philosophy, and she knows he’s never going to leave, and so makes this
effort to save her two youngest.” – Erickson.
And is Nick still an addict? We saw him go through the medicine cabinet, so what gives?
“I think we see him going through the withdrawal when he first meets Strand, and what we’ve tried to do is buy ourselves a little bit of time. So he’s definitely not healthy yet, but he’s had his moment of clarity. His realization at the end of last season was this idea that I’ve been
living my own apocalypse for years now and the world’s finally caught up with me, and I think he’s fascinated by that…What we’re going to see with Nick over the course of the season is a guy who develops this fascination, this fixation, and this comfort level with the world of the
apocalypse and with the dead, and it’ll speak to what Strand saw in him, because I think what Strand recognized was Nick has always been
somebody who could survive on the fringes. He was homeless for stretches of time. He knows how to survive already, and that was
the currency. I think that’s what Strand recognized and that’s what Strand thought could be of value to him, but he’s got to find a new place to channel his addictive personality as the next several episodes play out.” – Erickson.
So what was he looking for in the medicine cabinet?
“Having heard about the power pills and having seen the way this family operates, I think he’s concerned. And I think one of the interesting
things about Nick is that he’s one that does not have an agenda. You know, he’s very pure in his intentions, and I mean whether that’s his old intention for his fix, for heroin, or now his devotion to people, and I think he looks at these two little kids and he worries. He wants to know what the power pills are… So it’s really more about trying to track down and figure out this mystery of the family.” – Erickson.
So what can we expect for next week?
“We’re going to have a confrontation, because this information that Daniel has procured, the map that he has found, and his realization that Mexico is in their future is going to be information that he can’t keep to himself. And the question of where we’re going and why we’re going there is going to become far more important, and you’ll see some head-butting between Madison and Strand.” – Erickson.
When Beth “grows up” she wants to see her creations appear on the screen and stage. In her free time, Beth blogs about her love of craft beer and writes screenplays. She received her bachelors in journalism from Youngstown State and received her masters in communication from The University of Akron. She is honored to be a part of the FanFest family.
