This show is getting
more of a split time line than Once Upon a Time and I’m torn because
it’s very effective, it’s building a lot of new characters as they need to be
rather than dumping a lot of stranger back story on us without any real reason
to care. But it’s also really really annoying and I like my stories in order,
damn it!
So my reviews always
reorder them because otherwise my brain hurts
And this time in the
distant past we focus on Victor and Naomi. Victor is now on the outs with Cole
because Cole has realised he’s a pretty terrible person, but Madison in her
weird messiah saintliness is convinced that Victor was worth saving. Even if
Victor doesn’t entire believe it himself. Victor’s clearly dealing with a lot
of guilt issues
And he’s dumping them
all on Naomi. Because she apparently is trying to do another runner (which
she’s alreayd tried and Victor is super condemnatory about despite it making
him a huge hypocrite) and is only stopped because of another happy stadium
resident with a gun. She hastily explains she knows somewhere with seeds and
fertiliser and other supplies necessary to keep the stadium going since they’re
on teeny tiny rations and need to do more to stop complete collapse.
They stop in a motel
along the way and she explains they’re heading to a FEMA base. But she also
explains she was going to run which gives Victor more chance to dump on her for
being, well, him. He wants Madison to accept some people (him) can’t be saved
(so stop trying) because they’re just cowards and selfish and awful (still
him). But Madison refuses to accept that - we’ve all done bad things but we try
to be better going forwards and change. To which Victor confesses to his
getaway store and his plan to run if things went bad as proof that under it
all, he hasn’t changed.
Naomi also appears
not to have - since she hotwires the van and leaves without them, leaving a map
behind. But when she gets to the FEMA base there’s apparently other demons
troubling her. It’s full of zombies and as she infiltrates the facility she’s
especially devastated to find empty child beds and cots. She does find some car
keys and a book full of handy instructions on farming first aid and other
wonderful apocalypse things I’m sure they teach in those nice places where
people have more guns than teeth and who buy food in gallon tins
But then she sees
something that devastates her and she falls making a noise and is surrounded by
a horde she can’t bring herself to kill because she’s just so upset. She hides
on top of a large platform, trapped, saying she’s sorry
When Strand and
Madison arrives she tries to give them the keys so they can leave without her
but obviously that’s not happening and they cobble together a rescue and she
explains her story
She had a daughter,
Rose, and when they arrived at the FEMA facility Rose became sick. When she
realised Rose was seriously ill and needed antibiotics she went looking for
them but hid Rose’s illness because they’d seen people be kicked out of other
groups before for being ill - given that dead people rise as zombies. When she
got back it was too late - Rose had died in the night and rose and bitten
people. The zombies didn’t get in, her daughter turning caused the death of
everyone there
Of course Madison and
even Strand are quick to try and absolve her but guilt’s eating her a lot. They
do find the truck marked “just in case” full of seeds and fertiliser and all
sorts, prepared by the now zombie Ellen who was an expert in such things. And
they go back to the Stadium where they tell the Vultures what they just found
For a moment I
thought the vultures would attack but that’s not what they do. They wait until
a community collapses - and the Stadium is just going to take too long now.
Still things aren’t
all shiny. Suddenly filled with doubt, Madison has Alicia prepare a
Naomi/Victor style Just in Case Truck…
And while Victor has
listened to all the talk of growth and change and seems to have a better self
worth, Madison isn’t happy with him after his most recent confession. She may
have convinced him he’s a better person but maybe he convinced her that he…
maybe no-one… actually is
Through to the future
and John Dory is on the edge, he finds a Vulture and after some impressive
display of gun skills he then nearly loses it demanding the Vulture tell him
about Naomi. Only Morgan intervening stops John doing something murderous
because he’s become the Dalai Lama of the apocalypse.
No he’s worse - he’s
gone full on Stupid
Good and decides to WARN
the Vultures that Alicia & co are on their way so they can run away. Or, y’know,
set up an ambush because ye gods, REALLY?! I do not believe Morgan, after what
he has seen, can not see the problems with this.
Unshockingly when
Alicia & co arrive at the rendez-vous spot expecting lots of Vultures to
shoot and instead find Morgan who really needs to start dressing in Tie-dyes.
They are not amused. Morgan insists the Vultures aren’t coming because they
warned them
And an army of
Vultures arrives. Hey, anyone not predict this?
There’s a tense stand
off with lots of guns as Alicia faces off against Mel and both of them having
dead brothers when a car arrives.
Honestly I expected
Madison to step out as the new Vulture leader - but no, it’s Naomi, apparently
a Vulture member
Alicia is enraged and
shoots at her and of course, John, nicest guy in the world, gets in the way
So far all these plot
lines are starting to circle around Laura - John is focused on it. Alicia
clearly has major unresolved issues about her. It’s certainly an interesting
choice to centre the show on a completely new character we know almost nothing
about… I wonder if that can pan out
