'Fear the Walking Dead' Recap: 'Buried'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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Despite the fact that we are a quarter of the way into the fourth season of Fear the Walking Dead, I have to admit that I am still in awe of the incredible transformation this series has undergone. It’s simply phenomenal through and through, with acting that’s top notch and writing that’s equally as sublime and every episode now serves up an incredible feast for the mind and while I am supremely satisfied over the fact that this series has finally ‘arrived’ so to speak, I still find myself pondering over what exactly served as the true catalyst for this magnificent change.
 
Because this kind of transformation is a big deal, you just don’t see televisions shows reinvent themselves this quickly that often and well, it most certainly cannot be attributed to the fact that the cast has seen some shuffling about this year since there’s always been strong characters on this series from the get go, and all the powers that be have done is add more dynamic characters to the lineup and this change certainly cannot be related to the scares and the setting since Fear has always featured its fair share of the living dead and the gore and guts we all crave. Which simply means there has to be a very specific secret ingredient that was thrown into this fine zombie stew in order to make it so incredibly palatable and wouldn’t you know it? Last night’s episode of the show, ‘Buried’, finally revealed what it is that is making this season so utterly fantastic.
 
If anything, the casting changes and the dead served as a distraction for the first few weeks of this season, so that the big reveal of what’s driving this saga would be all the more satisfying when it came to fruition and boy it was satisfying indeed to learn that this series went old school if you will, by reaching into the horror vault to resurrect a wonderful storytelling element; the examination of the human condition. Because only the finest of horror films and shows take the time to look at the grey areas that exist in our lives and our world and ironically this is something the series has flirted with from the get go. But, it’s clear now that looking at the inner workings of mankind is here to stay and last night, the story took the time to ponder upon the notion and the power of the hope, and the dangers that come about when people are robbed of it.
 
All of this was accomplished, by Al finally getting her wish, to learn Luciana, Alicia and Strand’s harrowing story/stories and as it turns out, their sudden desire to exact revenge upon the Vultures all stems from one important day, wherein they each headed out to look for supplies since food was becoming scare at the Stadium and they all found themselves at a crossroads. They could either stand tall and try to make their new home work, despite failure lurking in the shadows, or they could give in to their more primal instincts and run as far away from that place as possible and it truly seemed for some time as this episode played out, that the latter option was going to be what brought them to this dark and ugly place mentally. 

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​However, in quite the surprise twist, none of them turned their back on the Stadium. In fact, they all pushed to save it. When given the opportunity to take his stashed supplies and drive off with them, Strand instead brought all of that food back home to share with everyone and deal with his own level of shame for hiding it all in the first place. Alicia convinced Naomi to stay and help them build something worthwhile to the point where they were going to set up an infirmary and Luciana, helped to inspire Nick to start over when it comes to the crops and while it was wonderful to see everyone believe in something more, we know at this point, something went horribly wrong at the Stadium and all of the hope these people had for a better tomorrow was robbed from them in that moment and having all of that torn away from their minds has put these poor people in a dark place, wherein they believe that revenge is the only way to find closure for their pain. 
 
Which is fascinating to say the least. Because we the audience know that revenge is probably the worst thing the group can take part in, but…we also understand their plight. Sometimes when things go wrong in life we want to place blame and exact revenge against whomever or whatever robbed us of our sense of serenity, and the fact that they blame themselves for all of this is equally as intriguing because…it rings of survivor’s remorse. As though they are bad people for trying to do good in a world that reminds them daily that all the good is gone and the only way to find closure in this dismal wasteland, is to remove one of the elements that makes it such an awful place, in this case…the Vultures and it should be interesting to see if the group takes a moment to ponder upon their current course, or if they indulge in the darkness.
 
When all is said and done however, I was blown away by how cerebral this story turned out to be, thanks to that examination of hope, and I loved the grand setup that this episode put together for the future of our characters. Because it’s becoming clear now that this universe as a whole, is going to focus heavily on putting the world back together, and saving one’s soul for that matter as well because everyone on Fear the Walking Dead is suffering from their own form of PTSD, and with the losses and pain mounting up, they’re at a critical tipping point as to whether or not they can make peace with their respective trauma and find a way to heal in a world that will test them daily.
 
All of those elements made for a downright brilliant episode, one that was poignant and powerful and thoughtful and I love that the series is shifting into this more cerebral mode and by throwing this into the mix for season four, this series is adding quite the George Romero vibe to the saga since Romero’s zombies always served as an allegory for the human condition and I am thrilled to no end that in essence, this series is now going to force these rattled and aching characters to answer some important questions. Can they be better than the mindless walking corpses that represent the worst parts of mankind, or will humanity transform itself into something far more savage…than walking death? 

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