Fear The Walking Dead – Shiva

By starrymag | May 25, 2016

By: Jennifer Vintzileos

 

With the group finally at Celia’s compound, we have reached the mid-season finale! So without further ado….

 

“You love no one.”

 

Daniel (Ruben Blades) has a flashback to his own childhood, which quickly turns into a nightmare. On the other side of the compound, Mama Celia (Marlena Forte) immediately tears into Strand (Colman Domingo) for his choice to shoot Thomas (Dougray Scott) rather than die with him.

With the staff and our group convening in the room with Celia, Madison (Kim Dickens) immediately steps up to Strand’s aid. Unfortunately, Celia decides that Strand will be the one to dig Thomas’s grave and after that, Strand and his group will have to leave the premises.

 

“Do you think I’m lying?”

 

When Chris (Lorenzo James Henrie) runs out of Madison and Alicia’s (Alycia Debnam-Carey) room after plotting to kill them, Alicia explains to Travis (Cliff Curtis) that Chris is dangerous. Travis is still in denial about Chris going bad, despite Alicia’s attempt to explain that her and Madison were about to be killed before Strand woke everyone up.

 

As Travis goes out to look for Chris, he sees him in the field, walking away. Chris, seeing his father, starts to run away and Travis runs after him. From the house, Nick (Frank Dillane) looks on. After a long chase with no shoes, Travis comes across a home where he hears noises. Upon further inspection, Travis discovers a man in the house who helps him by offering water and rest.

 

“These people are not our friends.”

 

With Strand digging the grave for Thomas, Madison explains to Alicia and Nick that they need to stay away from Celia, especially Nick, as he has taken a liking to Celia and her kind ways. Later, as a sign of good faith, Nick brings back Luis (Arturo del Puerto), now reanimated, to Celia as Madison watches from a distance.

 

Celia is now reunited with Luis so Nick takes the opportunity to bargain with her. He asks if he is allowed to stay then so should his family. Celia, while at first reluctant, explains to Nick how he is the only one who understands that the ones who come back are not monsters and if his family can learn to accept this, they can stay. Unfortunately, though, Strand will not be allowed to stay.

 

“You’re not the same and they hate you for it.”

 

As Strand is left to dig the grave, Daniel approaches him, claiming that Celia’s compound is not holy and Thomas deserves a better place to be buried. Strand starts to think Daniel is a little mad and tries to brush him off. But Daniel understands that Strand is not the same man he was when he came back to Thomas. Later, as Daniel starts to explain to Ofelia (Mercedes Mason) that this land is unholy, he causes a scene and is detained by the staff at the compound.

 

When Madison goes to visit Strand while he’s digging, she’s concerned. Nick has sided with Celia and starts to following her adage that the dead mean that immortality is upon them, not the end of the world. Strand expresses his own sadness over what has transpired with Thomas and urges Madison to take care of her family first, especially since Celia has her hooks in Nick.

 

“He went that way.”

 

The man in the house helps Travis by offering him a pair of shoes. Travis takes notice of a photograph of a young boy. His name is Ramon, according to the man, and that’s his son. Travis then tries to explain to the man (even though the man says he does not speak English) that he is looking for his son. The man then tries to rush Travis out the door, telling him that he saw Chris go East.

 

Travis goes to head out the door, but notices that a shadow passes under the closed bedroom door. Curious and against the man’s pleading to just leave, Travis opens the door to discover that Chris has taken Ramon, the man’s son, hostage. Travis continues to plead with Chris to give him the gun, but it does not work. Instead, Chris escapes the house and is then tackled by Travis, who tries to wrestle away any weapons from him.

 

“You are dying; can you feel it?”

 

After explaining to Ofelia that her father is a threat, Celia then brings a meal to Daniel, who is tied up. She knows that Daniel is obviously struggling and is close to death. Daniel continues to try and avoid Celia’s interrogation, but eventually gives in, as we hear the voices in his head. Once we see Daniel admit this to Celia, we then see the voice in his head: his dead wife Griselda (Patricia Reyes Spindola).

 

When Celia leaves, Daniel speaks to Griselda, who is upset that Daniel did not honor her by giving her a proper burial. She asks Daniel why he didn’t trust her with all his secrets and sins in life, despite him pleading with her that he has. When Griselda then asks about Daniel’s nightmare, it is revealed that as a child he was forced to kill a man. This man, according to Daniel, was his first victim. But Griselda then tells Daniel that that man wasn’t the first victim, but that Daniel was instead. It is in this moment that Daniel realizes what he must do to honor Griselda.

 

“I can’t come back.”

 

As Travis finally gets Chris under control and gets him calm, Nick arrives to their location, ready to take them back to the compound as Madison is waiting on him to return. But Travis, knowing that his son needs him more, refuses to do so. Chris views himself as a monster and it is up to Travis to make sure that until Chris is better, that they don’t return – even if it means that Travis never comes back.

 

At the compound, Madison confronts Celia about throwing out Strand. Celia will not budge on her stance, going so far as to relay to Madison that if she does not cooperate the way Nick does, then Nick will be forced to choose between his family or staying at the compound. Madison decides to play along and asks Celia to help her. When Celia takes her down to the cellar of reanimated corpses, Madison takes the opportunity to lock Celia in with them, effectively killing her.

 

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll hail a cab.”

 

After Thomas’s funeral earlier on in the day, Celia officially gives Strand the boot. Once outside the gates, Strand locates the pickup truck that they used to get to the compound when he sees a fire.

 

Daniel, who tricked the guard that untied his hand to eat, manages to get back to the cell of reanimated corpses with gasoline in hand. There, he sees Griselda one last time. As she asks to be set free, he lights a fire and the compound is now in flames. He dies in the fire.

 

“She was right about us.”

 

As Madison, Alicia and Ofelia find one another in the blaze around them, Strand comes to their rescue with the truck. Alicia and Ofelia climb into the truck, but Madison is stopped when she sees Nick in the distance. She runs to him despite the others pleading that they have to leave. Nick tells her that he didn’t find Travis and after finding out that Celia was dead, does not feel his place is among the living.

 

Madison begs Nick to come with them, but is unsuccessful as Strand pulls her away and into the truck. When truck drives away, Madison sees Nick alongside their truck, while Alicia sits in the back, also dealing with the loss of Nick.