In the Fear the Walking Dead recap, the survivors on the Abigail are taken hostage while we find out exactly who Strand is looking for….
By Damon Martin — Editor/Lead Writer
One of the things that’s so utterly fascinating yet frustration about Fear the Walking Dead is the naivety of the characters on the show.
If you think back to the first couple of seasons of The Walking Dead, Rick Grimes and the other survivors had to learn through painful trial and error how to really make it in this new world where trust becomes a four letter word and it’s used sparingly because it means almost nothing these days.
For the people in Fear the Walking Dead, they are still trying to react like the world hasn’t ended and if somebody needs a helping hand, you should extend one in return.
So throughout the first season we saw these people form a bond with their fellow survivors in the oncoming zombie apocalypse and that’s how they were able to make it out of a burning Los Angeles and eventually get on board the Abigail in the middle of the Pacific ocean. But now weeks later, Travis, Madison and almost everyone else on board are still behaving like it’s time to save everybody.
Just like the raft with two survivors from a plane crash a week ago — instinctively Travis wanted to help them. But as a matter of safety and survival, Strand cut them loose as dangerous dead weight. So when the Abigail gets boarded this week by the same group of pirates who duped Alicia in the debut episode, no one should really be surprised it happened.
Until Travis, Madison and the others realize that you need to shoot first and ask questions later, this won’t be the last time someone takes advantage of them in the zombie apocalypse and the truth of the matter is this new world is like playing Russian roulette with five bullets in the chamber.
You only get one miss before it’s all over.
With that said, let’s recap the latest episode of Fear the Walking Dead titled “Blood in the Streets”….
I Am the Captain Now
The episode begins with Nick coming ashore on a beach where he’s digging through a slew of tents set up with a gigantic sign near by that says ‘Save Us’. Nick eventually kills a walker and covers himself in blood — obviously figuring out from last week how well that trick actually works — and starts walking towards the town. Nick’s trip inland is made clear a little later in the show.
Meanwhile back on board, Travis is questioning Strand’s decision to cut loose those two survivors a week ago after he tried to help them. Outside, Chris is chatting with Ofelia when they spot a lifeboat that has landed on the yacht with three people inside screaming for help.
Chris contemplates shooting them and asks over and over again if he should but he never makes a decision and the people come on board. Madison quickly reacts to help the pregnant girl while the other two guys wait at the back of the boat with the remaining survivors.
Alicia emerges from downstairs and she can’t help but notice that one of the voices from outside sounds very familiar. She walks outside and says ‘Jack’ and it all rings clear — these are the people she communicated with just after coming on board the Abigail and they’ve finally caught up with them.
Quickly the two men brandish weapons while the pregnant girl slams Madison’s head into a mirror and takes her captive. Strand attempts to grab his machine gun, but Daniel took the clip out of the gun and he’s got nothing to shoot with. So Strand jumps in his spare lifeboat and tries to row ashore while the rest of the survivors are taken captive inside.
Jack and his other friend spot Strand trying to get away so they shoot at his boat, which then begins to sink in the water. He’s either dead or on his way to hypothermia so they leave him in the water. Meanwhile, the pirates gather everybody on board while waiting for their leader Connor to arrive to assess what they’ve captured.
Unfortunately with Strand gone, there’s no way to start the boat so as a way to save Chris’ life, Travis volunteers to hotwire it so they can still use the Abigail as a means of transportation. Now everyone has been bound and it’s looking like no way out for the survivors.
The Real Abigail
This episode also gives us a flashback of how Victor Strand came in possession of the Abigail and where he’s going in Mexico.
It seems years ago just after Hurricane Katrina, Strand met a man named Thomas Abigail in a bar at an airport. Strand was miserable because he was in real estate and everything he owned was in New Orleans and it was currently underwater. Strand was ruined and going bankrupt. Thomas on the other hand was buying up land because the rates were so low right now, he knew he could eventually turn a profit.
The two of them share some drinks and later that night, Strand takes Thomas back to his room where he passes out. Strand ends up taking his credit cards and making a quick getaway, thinking this could be a way to jump start his business after catastrophe struck.
At some point in the future, Thomas and his hired thug Luis show up on Strand’s doorstep asking about the $36,000 in debt he used from those credit cards that were stolen. Rather than demand the money back, Strand reveals that he invested it in land deals and he had every intention of paying Thomas back. Thomas ultimately decides to have a drink with Strand again rather than beat the money out of him.
Fast forward again and we discover that Strand and Thomas are in a relationship together, they’ve bonded over the years and have formed a powerful alliance dealing in real estate. Just as the zombie outbreak started, Strand left Thomas in Mexico to go back to Los Angeles to finish a deal and that’s where he got the house and the boat.
The house belonged to Thomas and Strand. The boat was the Abigail — which is Thomas’ family name.
Now we know who Strand was so desperate to get to in Mexico!
Turn About’s Fair Play
On shore, Nick finally arrives at the location he’s been hunting for based on a piece of paper given to him by Strand before he left the boat. It turns out, Luis has been hiding in a development that was being put together by Thomas and Strand before the world went to hell. That’s who Strand has been talking to on the satellite phone and now Luis is going to help them get across the border into Mexico. Of course, Luis says that Strand failed to tell him that there were now several people going across the border instead of just two of them, but he always did have a big heart.
Meanwhile on the boat, Daniel tries to wiggle free while Travis stalls in an attempt to rig the boat to start without a key. Travis is able to slip a crowbar into a couch cushion near Daniel just in case he can escape. Alicia talks her way into freedom by telling ‘Jack’ that she will gladly be with him so long as her family is safe.
Finally, Connor and his men arrive on board after Travis gets the boat started. He decides to take Travis and Alicia with him while his other goons stay behind on the Abigail.
Just then, Nick and Luis approach the boat but see armed gunmen on board so they decide to take action. Actually, Luis takes action with a sniper rifle as he takes out two of the people on board before Daniel springs into action and stabs the third man left behind. The mutineers have been overrun but they have bigger problems to deal with now.
Travis and Alicia have been taken on another boat to parts unknown.
Madison is able to take one of the lifeboats out into the water where she finds Strand still alive, but barely clinging to life after sitting in the freezing cold for several hours. Now Strand has found Luis and has safe passage back to Mexico where he can be reunited with Thomas, but Travis and Alicia are gone.
Will Strand lead an expedition to find his kidnapped “friends” or is he ready to abandon everybody and leave with Luis to get back to Mexico now rather than later?
Tune into Fear the Walking Dead next Sunday night at 9pm ET on AMC to find out!
