‘Fear the Walking Dead’ Recap: ‘Anton’

10/23/2023

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Colman Domingo as Victor Strand in Episode 807 of ‘Fear the Walking Dead’ – ‘Anton’. (Photo Courtesy of Seth F. Johnson/AMC.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 807 of ‘Fear the Walking Dead’. To revisit the previous episode, click here. Also, this piece was written during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.

If there is one particularly irritating lesson that we are forced to learn on several occasions in our journey through life… it would have to be… that we cannot escape our past. And what makes that so irritating, is that we often try to avoid that lesson, at any cost. Even though deep down we know it isn’t possible. But there is just that tiny part of our brain that believes that maybe, just maybe, if we play our cards right and we do our best to reinvent ourselves and bury the things we don’t want to think about… perhaps that will be the moment we can escape and start fresh and do right this time around. But alas, it is only a matter of time… before the past finds its way to us.

It might take days, it might take decades, but one way or another… there comes a point where it is front, and center and we are forced to deal with it. And that is when we are once again forced to learn that yesterday cannot be escaped and eventually… we come to learn that making amends for our past and resolving it, will finally give us peace. If anything, this age-old lesson is top of mind today, simply because it served as the central theme of the season eight midseason finale of Fear the Walking Dead. A feat that ‘Anton’ accomplished, by finally answering one of the biggest questions that has been hanging over the final season of the show. Specifically, what happened to Victor Strand after the events of season seven’s penultimate episode?

Because he was absent from the battle that took place for control of P.A.D.R.E. and anyone who saw him on that fateful day when the lifeboats set out into the gulf, spoke to him going missing long ago. Well as it turned out, Victor, was deeply unsettled with what happened at the Tower, in every way imaginable. For he was sick over the man he became in the name of safety, and he was disturbed by his actions and what he put his friends through. So rather than pay the piper and properly apologize to each and every one of them, he ran. He ran far and he ran hard and eventually, he ran into a community that offered him hope, and a chance to perhaps reinvent himself and forget about the little dictator that almost killed every last person that ever mattered to him.

For the community in question was big on offering refuge and second chances to people, and they had quite the self-sustaining community inside of a luxury resort. Wherein they grew food in gardens and lived a simple life where everyone took care of one another and brought the right people in and well… he wanted in on that. So, he declared himself to be a man named Anton and he made himself a useful member of this community. To the point where he fell in love with the leader of this place and even cared for his son, and just like that… Victor truly believed he was free of his past and had his long-awaited fresh start. For no one came looking for him and he was happy and in love and surrounded by peace and wonder. But alas, years later… the past came calling. In the form of Madison Clark.

Daniel Sharman as Troy Otto in Episode 807 of ‘Fear the Walking Dead’ – ‘Anton’. (Photo Courtesy of Lauren ‘Lo’ Smith/AMC.)

Because she was out and about in the world and running from nefarious people and that brought her to Strand’s new place, wounded and out of air and well, that the put the fear of every God to ever exist into Strand’s heart. Because he knew she would speak up about his past and who he was, and that could potentially bring his perfect world and perfect life down and well… Strand did what Strand does best in a situation akin to this; he worked to survive. Which meant, he quickly offered Madison up on a platter when those nefarious forces came calling for her head, and he did everything and anything to make it seem as though Madison was out of sorts, and mixed her up for another man, one who was capable of such dark acts. But alas… the past won’t allow for such games to be played when it comes calling.

Which was why, Madison kept pressing and eventually convinced Strand’s adopted son to follow her words and help her escape before trouble was to come. Which put Strand on the offensive, to find her and his son, and keep her away from the lie he had so carefully built… but it was no easy task. For the chase led him and his love all around the area, and raised more questions about Strand’s true identity, and well… eventually he had to begin the process of facing his past, through Madison no less. For he did find her, and he did send his family back home so he could sit with Madison and speak upon the past and the poor decisions he made, that she made, and discuss the reality… that like it or not… they had to own up to their pasts and find a way to resolve them or this was the horrible cat and mouse they’d play with their souls until the end of time. That prompted Strand to face it, own it, and well… that decision could not have come at a better time.

Because eventually, they were face to face with Madison’s enemies, and the wondrous community Strand helped to maintain was also under their weaponized thumb and that meant, his new family and friends needed Victor Strand. So, he admitted to his identity and his past and accepted his nature to help them, right as another blast from the past walked in. For it turned out that the people chasing after Madison, were doing so at the directive of a man hellbent on revenge. A man who believed that Madison destroyed everything his family worked to build and now wanted to destroy her world in kind. Which Troy Otto set in motion, by killing Alicia Clark after finding her in the wastelands, and stealing her weaponized prosthetic before letting her walk around the world as one of… them. And now, he would destroy P.A.D.R.E. and make Madison suffer.

Which was a stunning reveal, one that brought the whole theme home, and had it not been for Daniel and his troops, who knows what Troy would have done. But that aside for a moment, we absolutely need to take a moment today and offer up thunderous applause for one brilliant episode. One that truly did an amazing job of exploring its central theme through two key characters who have a lot to atone for regarding yesterday. But now they know the lesson at hand, and they have a chance to finally set their souls right and do something wondrous. And all it took was the return of one of the show’s most ruthless villains and it will be fascinating to see if everyone’s quest to heal from a broken past will be enough to overcome the fury and darkness that has consumed Troy Otto. Until next time.

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