Last week in the ballroom where Madison and Strand were stupidly making far too much noise, we saw what appeared to be the remains of a wedding. This week, Fear the Walking Dead decided to give us the backstory of the wedding. Elena watches as the wedding festivities are underway. The bride and groom prepare for their first dance while in the corner, the father and mother of the bride argue about leaving the wedding early. The father leaves to be with his daughter and the mother decides to discuss the illness which is spreading like wildfire with Elena. Elena however is unconcerned, confidant that the hotel is well secured. Elena's confidence is not enough to calm the mother of the bride who is concerned that the U.S. is closing its border.
On the dance floor the father of the bride collapses. People familiar with this universe know exactly what is going to happen. Predictably, as the daughter bends over her father's corpse, he turns and makes a snack of her face. The room turns into pandemonium and Elena responds by locking everyone in the ballroom. So yeah, I guess that means that the hotel remains secure.
In present day Fear the Walking Dead turns to the Travis and Chris road trip. Travis is struggling to walk but he keeps moving ahead. Things still aren't great between father and son but who can blame Travis given that Chris has gone full on creeper. They come across a car and a taco place across the street. Travis starts to hotwire the car, attempting to teach Chris how but Chris is more interested in checking out the taco place for supplies. Chris has to cajole his father and promises to return if he gets into any trouble. Chris heads into the restaurant and sees some water and canned goods but he hears noise coming from the back. Chris starts loading up his bag and a guy comes out from the back and he is attacked by a walker. Chris takes out the walker thus saving the guy but then he hustles back to his father and the car. Chris doesn't waste anytime in encouraging his father to take off, fully aware that he stole from whoever was in the back of the taco place.
Father and son are on the road and Travis's foot isn't getting any better and that is what finally induces him to let Chris drive. In a moment of normalcy, Chris fiddles with the radio but of course picks up nothing. They talk about the future and while Travis retains hope that someday they will be able to return home, for now the plan is to find somewhere secure to hold up. Travis gives Chris driving instructions and for a moment it's as though the apocalypse hasn't happened.
The car runs out of gas and so Chris and Travis decide to make camp for the night. Chris suggests that they make their way to the border so that they can have access to water but Travis is quick to nix this plan believing that water will draw in people. They don't get to enjoy their campfire for long because the guys Chris stole the food from show up. Chris fesses up as to what he did and hands his father a crowbar but Travis refuses it. Travis and Chris hide briefly but it's not long before Travis announces their position. Yeah, Chris may not be right but Travis is still far too trusting. At any rate, introductions are made and after a lot of mistrustful looks, they all agree to camp together for the night.
Back at the hotel, things aren't looking for Alicia. Alicia heads into the hallway and quickly finds herself surrounded by walkers. With no few choices left, Alicia forces the elevator door open only to find that the elevator is a few feet down. With time running out, Alicia leaps into the shaft and grabs a hold of the chords. It's a great move. Hand over fist, Alicia pulls herself up only to see flashlight above her. Yes, Elena has managed to survive. Elena helps Alicia out of the shaft and then puts an axe to her throat demanding to know where some mysterious he is.
Back with Travis and Chris, emotions have started to thaw a little bit with Brandon's acknowledgement that Travis and Chris are the first Americans they've run into in quite some time. Brandon says that they've managed to survive because they are the outdoor types but that they are looking forward to returning stateside. It's then that Travis has to inform them that the military bombed San Diego and Los Angeles. Brandon doesn't even skip a beat and says, "we'll come back, we always do."
Brandon's turns the conversation to Chris's fighting skills against "the wasted" (read:walkers) Apparently they call walkers wasted because the first one they came across they assumed he was drunk. Brandon wants to know how many walkers they've killed and Travis tries to blow the question off but Chris quickly says 17. Travis is back to feeling uncomfortable and decides that he and Chris will be on their way in the morning but Brandon offers them a ride to the next town.
It's back to the hotel where Alicia is trying to convince Elena that she has no idea who Elena is looking for. It seems that the he, that Elena is so concerned about is her nephew Hector. Alicia is only really interested in finding Madison and to do that, she has to head downstairs. Elena reveals that since she has the keys, she controls the hotel and this is how she was able to trap walkers in the rooms. Elena also lets slip that there are 12 other people in the hotel. The women decide to team up to look for their missing loved ones.
Chris and Travis have finally settled in for the night but father and son cannot agree about what to do regarding the young men they've met. Chris of course wants to stay with Brandon and the guys, convinced that they are good guys but Travis is still wary. Travis is concerned with just how much Brandon has in terms of supplies and is convinced that their group probably killed in order to acquire them. Chris argues back that Travis doesn't want to go far because he wants to stay close to Madison. What the hell does this kid want? Travis already left Madison behind to be with his creeper behind. Chris suggests that Travis crawl back to Madison because he wants to stay with new group because Brandon and guys supposedly know how to survive.
Elena and Alicia manage to work together to trap some loose walkers in a room. It's very dangerous but Alicia pulls it off fearlessly. Elena is not really down with leaving the tower because she hasn't done so since the outbreak but Alicia appeals to her by saying that Madison would never stop trying to find her. The two head downstairs and into the ballroom where the wedding took place. Elena is troubled by her decision to lock people in and the people who hate her because of it. Alicia claims to have seen and done worse and vows to keep Elena safe.
Everyone is back on the road. Travis sits in back with Brandon while Chris rides up front with Derek and Baby James. Chris jokes with the guys about girls and with the exception of Travis's clear disapproval, once again it seems like a zombie apocalypse isn't going on. Brandon is loving it all and explains to Travis that the end of days made them gods. Yep, these guys are sketchy.
Chris notices a farm and so the group decides to investigate. They find empty cupboards and well water that leaves them in some serious doubt. When Brandon's crew head to investigate the barn, Travis pulls Chris aside and suggests that the two should just stay there and let Brandon and the guys travel on without them. Chris however believes that they need a group and to his credit, Travis points out that they had one but doesn't go as far as reminding Chris that he ruined it for them. Chris once again proving that he's gone full on creeper doesn't take responsibility for what he did to Alicia and instead whines that they "looked at him funny". Were they supposed to smile and crack jokes with his creeper ass? Chris then runs off to be with his chosen group.
The guys open the barn and find chickens. In the meantime, Travis is looking around and he finds graves belonging to the Suarez family. You can see the wheels turning in Travis's mind.
Back at the hotel, Alicia is terrified when she sees the bar has been shut and that there are walkers inside. Before she can even begin her search for Madison, the other residents of the hotel burst in and they have Hector as a hostage. It seems that the groom and the mother in-law survived despite being locked in. They demand the keys to the hotel in exchange for Hector's life and that Elena and Hector leave. Alicia sees that they really don't have any options at this point and instructs Elena to comply. While the exchange happens, Alicia opens the door, thus unleashing the walkers, forcing the other occupants to flea. Alicia begins to look for her mother and is horrified when she sees one that has Madison's haircut.
Back on the farm, Travis tries to tell the guys that they need to go because the farm has not been abandoned. Of course, they are too busy catching chickens to pay much attention to him. Cue the entrance of an armed Mr. Suarez. Travis tries to talk their way out and tells the guys they have no right to be there as Chris, Brandon and the guys decide to stand their ground. The tension is high and when Baby James breaks one of the chicken's legs, Mr. Suarez shoots. In the end, it's Chris who ends up killing Mr. Suarez.
Back at the hotel, Elena leads Chris and Hector into some underground tunnels as they try to outrun the walkers. They reach a door and Elena quickly discovers that it's locked and this is a problem since she no longer has her keys. Hector tries to break the door down in desperation. Alicia starts to shout and this is what gets Madison's attention and she opens the door and lets them in.
Travis kneels on the ground next to the dying Mr.Suarez. Chris holds out his hand to his father and instead of taking it, Travis keeps his attention on Mr. Suarez.
Well that's it for the week. At this point, Travis really needs to get Chris to look at some flowers. He's too far gone and there's no way to get him the help that he needs. The truth of the matter is that Chris is a liability and dangerous to anyone they come across. Travis might just be starting to see the truth of this. He'd better accept it soon or he might find himself next on Chris's hit list. The kid is unrepentant and has no respect for life. If that were not bad enough, he seems a bit power hungry as well which of course is shades of Shane if you ask me. I'm really ready to be done with his character.
I really love how Alicia has developed this season. Madison naturally wants to protect her daughter but Alicia clearly is strong enough not to need protection. Alicia is on her own in this situation and she manages to survive and show her strength and quick thinking skills. I don't think that there's going to be any going back for her character and quite frankly I like it. This will of course lead to some trouble with Madison later but it's well worth it.
So we have some drama in the hotel. Elena clearly feels guilty and I strongly have the feeling that we haven't seen the last of the other guests. No matter how sorry Elena feels what she did was unforgivable. So many people died that wouldn't have had to die, had she not locked them in. I did however find it interesting that Alicia lied and claimed that she's done worse. It seems to me that Alicia will cop to anything to build a relationship when necessary for her survival. At any rate, it seems to me that Fear the Walking Dead is quickly adding to its roster of characters which means that we can expect someone to become walker bait soon. If someone has to go, please let it be Nick or Chris since they are my least favourite characters.
