‘Fear the Walking Dead’ Recap: ‘Ner Tamid’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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Faith is something that is supremely important to each and every one of us. Simply because, we all need something to believe in, and while some put their faith in themselves and nothing more, there are plenty more out there who wish to believe in something bigger and hold dear to the notion that something far more powerful in the universe is guiding their steps and their destiny and will step in and save them and/or help them when needed. It’s why we see folks in need turn to prayer and the church when the going gets tough and you’ll never be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t say that God, or whatever deity they worship, wasn’t with them every step of the way to help them through their darkest hour.

But while faith in the unknown has its genuine merits for so many, one can never forget that faith can indeed be broken and rattled. Because for every person who says that their religion and their God is what saved them from the darkness, there are plenty of other people who walked away from their faith when they saw or experienced something that made them question what they had committed to. But while the exact reason that someone walks away from faith and religion is often specific to the individual, one grand question remains as to whether or not we can ever believe in such matters again once we’ve given up on it, and that’s oddly enough something that Fear the Walking Dead felt the need to explore during this week’s episode, in subtle and fascinating fashion, by putting one of the show’s characters on shaky ground mentally.

For ‘Ner Tamid’, saw Charlie at her breaking point, thanks to the breakneck pace that June was demanding from the group, and not being able to get comfortable or feel a sense of safety was more than she could bear, to the point where she ran away from the group and found herself in the most unlikely of places; a synagogue. Because at this point in the zombie apocalypse, there’s not much need for the comfort of a place a worship, but this particular place was special in its own right. For behind the doors of the temple, was a kind Rabbi named Jacob Kessler, who was going the extra mile to quite literally keep the faith going as the dead walk the earth and his dedication to something bigger in this grand time of crisis caught Charlie’s attention like never before.

Because the man was grounded in a belief of genuine hope, and since he had worked so hard to keep the temple and the word of God safe, she felt as though he could in turn keep people safe and this seemed like the right place for the group to settle down and call home. But as is always the case in this universe, nothing is quite what it seems and the grand reveal that Rabbi Keesler was harboring a small herd of the dead is what brought about the grand exploration of faith in question. For we came to learn that Jacob lost his when the end of the world arrived, because seeing death come to an end spoke to a world that God had in essence forsaken, and the only way to maintain a sense of sanity or function with his primary purpose in life gone, was to go through the motions and keep his congregation safe and keep preaching the word of the Lord and this was a fascinating idea to say the least.

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After all, it’s rare to see a man of faith feel as though he dedicated his life to a lie, but that’s really what his journey came down to in this tale and while this more or less explains how one loses their faith, the show didn’t forget about the question it posed, as to whether or not we can get it back. As it turns out, the answer is yes, because Jacob started to believe once again that perhaps good can exist in this world thanks to everyone that he met in this tale. For Charlie’s belief in him and his abilities to engender faith in others allowed for him to believe that perhaps he survived the end times to serve a greater purpose, and seeing genuine kindness from John and June made him wonder if perhaps he was looking in the wrong place all along when it comes to finding the faith we’ve lost and honestly, I really dug this exploration as a whole.
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Because at no point was it ever heavy handed, nor did it speak to a need for religion in one’s life. It simply examined how faith is important to all of us, that we truly do need something to believe in, whether it be other people or an institution of some kind. And if by chance we’ve lost sight of our faith, or feel as though we are lost, all we need to do is take a moment and look at the world around us and find the beauty that’s already present in everyday life and that, really is quite the unique message to have in the middle of a horror story. After all, the zombie apocalypse is all about blood and guts and death and doom, so to see the story keep working toward something positive is fascinating to say the least because I simple cannot recall a zombie story that has tried to accomplish something similar.

But a joyous finale may still elude this season’s storyline after all. For in-between discussions of faith and a grandiose search for it, Logan and his buddies were working on quite the plan, one that involved scaring the living crap out of the convoy. Because they were tailing Dwight and Sarah for a better part of this episode in menacing fashion, prompting both of them to believe that Logan’s cronies were ready to seize the tanker and that they would eventually make their obligatory demands to learn of the oil fields location. But this was nothing more than a ruse, for Logan’s plan to obtain information about said fields on the tapes worked like a charm and he’s found what he’s looking for, meaning that a showdown for the oil awaits and let’s be honest, this likely will not end in peaceful fashion.

However, before the bullets and the blood begin to fly, we can at least find comfort in this surprisingly cheery tale. One that explored an aspect of the human condition that this universe tends to shy away from. For this one really pointed out that it’s not enough to just survive in this world, we need to feel a sense of purpose, and we need something to believe in, and it’s a wonderful thing that the series didn’t offer a specific directive on what we should be looking for in life so the audience didn’t feel boxed in and uncomfortable. But all that loveliness aside, it would seem that the philosophy and good vibes are coming to their end. Because a small skirmish with Logan is on the horizon and the future of so many now hang in the balance and it should be interesting to see how this fight for the oil will play out and whether or not everyone will survive to see another day. Until next time. 

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