Fear the Walking Dead: “So Close, Yet So Far” — August 30, 2015
This week’s FTWD introduces more characters, more action and more drama as the menace spreads. Special Contributor Tracey M. looks at the mayhem that is about to ensue in her new recap.
Courtesy AMC
Principal Art Costa’s (Scott Lawrence) footsteps echo loudly through the deserted halls of the high school. It seems the world has changed overnight.
After their run in with Calvin, Travis is backing out of that tunnel like a bat out of Hell. He barely misses an eighteen-wheeler as he swerves onto the road. He’s repeatedly dialing his son Chris (Lorenzo James Henrie), who keeps rejecting his calls. Hey, off the cell and eyes on the road, Travis! Chris’ relationship with his extended family is strained. He has little patience with Nick’s addiction and constant need to be looked after. Lately, Chris has been refusing his scheduled visitations with his father. Maddie leaves messages for Alicia while Nick is obsessively turning the radio dial, looking for any news about what’s been happening. Nick can’t believe no one’s talking about it. Where’s the Emergency Alert System when you really need it??
Travis thinks it’s best if the family heads to the desert, away from the crowds. Alicia returns her mother’s call, and tells her she’s at Matt’s (Maestro Harrell) house. He’s very sick and Alicia is worried. Maddie says they’re on their way to pick her up and head out of town. Matt has a fever of 103 (he’s hot blooded, hot blooded!) and Alicia’s been unable to get through to a 911 operator. All lines are busy and she doesn’t want to leave Matt’s side.
Travis, Maddie and Nick arrive at Matt’s. A badly jonesing Nick raids the medicine cabinets while Travis takes a closer look at Matt. When he opens Matt’s shirt, he sees he’s been bitten on the shoulder. Maddie sees the bite and asks if that’s how all this starts. Travis isn’t sure but knows Alicia needs to get away from Matt. She says she can’t leave him alone in this condition-she loves him. Matt tells her he loves her, too, but she needs to go- Go! Alicia reluctantly goes home with her family.
Travis tries calling his ex-wife Lisa (Elizabeth Rodriguez) to no avail, and decides to drive over to pick up Lisa and Chris. He kisses Maddie and promises to return soon.
Once on the road, Travis finally gets through to Lisa. She has no idea what’s been happening and tells Travis not to come over. This isn’t his scheduled visitation. Travis tries to explain what’s going on, but Lisa hangs up on him.
Nick is going through an awful withdrawal, and Maddie has an idea how she can help him. She asks Alicia to watch over her brother and drives over to the high school. She crowbars her way into the nurses’ medicine cabinet. She finds a good supply of oxycodone, which should make things easier on Nick. Footsteps approach from behind her. Startled, she turns to see it’s good old Tobias. He wants his knife back. He says he’s come to the school to raid the food supply and suggests Maddie do the same. She goes into her office, and gives Tobias his knife.
Meanwhile, Chris is riding a bus downtown when a man runs onto the bus claiming a homeless man has just been shot twenty times by the police. All of the passengers, including Chris, get off the bus, fuming at this seemingly heinous act. Chris has his digital camera, and zooms in on the action. The crowd is angered and ready to riot. Chris notices an officer being treated for what appears to be a bite. Yeah, a little neosporin oughta fix that right up!
Back at home, Nick is vomiting and suffering. Alicia decides she has to go back and help Matt. Nick screams for her not to go, claiming Matt will hurt or kill her. Alicia steps outside and closes the door on Nick’s screams. As she heads down the front stairs, there’s a loud thud from inside the house. Alicia runs inside to find Nick having a grand mal seizure. He’s foaming at the mouth as he’s seizing, and Alicia holds his head in her lap, trying to help him get through it.
Travis drives up in time to see Lisa stepping out of her car. He tries his best to explain what’s happening, and Lisa lets him use her phone. Chris does pick up this time, and Travis explains that they all need to get out of town. Chris wants to stay and film what he believes is historical injustice. He hangs up. Lisa turns the TV on, and the riot is on the news. She and Travis now know Chris’ location and go to pick him up.
At the school, Tobias tells Maddie all he knows about the virus. They hear ragged breathing through the intercom system, and take their supplies and run. Art Costa shuffles toward them, clearly not himself. He comes toward them and tries to attack Maddie. She tries to talk to him, but she and Tobias end up fighting him off. Art has Tobias pinned, so Maddie grabs a fire extinguisher and hits Art in the head repeatedly until he stops moving.
Tobias and Maddie leave the school with what they could salvage, and get into her car.
Downtown, Travis and Lisa have found Chris and insist he leave with them. There’s chaos all around; police in riot gear, some in hazmat suits. The crowd begins looting. Chris doesn’t want to leave the scene. He sees a rainbow-haired hipster being shot repeatedly until a shot to the head brings her down. There is danger in every direction, and Travis, Lisa and Chris take refuge behind the locked gates of a storefront, despite store owner’s Daniel Salazar’s (Rubén Blades) initial protests.
Maddie drives Tobias to his house and offers to take him along with her family. He declines her offer and says he’ll be okay. Once home Alicia tells her Nick had a seizure. Maddie administers the oxycodone and tells him it needs to be rationed so he can wean off once they reach the desert. Maddie breaks down in the bathroom. Travis calls and tells her to head to the desert and he will meet them there. The phone goes dead. Alicia asks her mom what’s happening, but she is speechless after all she’s seen. Looking out the window, Alicia sees some neighbors leaving, and some that have turned and are attacking other neighbors. Back at the storefront, the owner’s wife Griselda (Patricia Reyes Spindola) prays the rosary.
Maddie is learning the hard way how quickly all can be lost. But she’s resilient and very observant. It was a happy accident that she ran into Tobias at the high school. Unknowingly, she’s learning survival skills that could possibly save her family.
Fear the Walking Dead airs on AMC Sunday 9/8c
