‘Fear the Walking Dead’ Recap: ‘Ofelia’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 711 of ‘Fear the Walking Dead’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
​
One thing that can we call agree upon, is that each and every one of us, harbor a variety of unique fears about life. Some are great, some are small, but there is something out there that sends shivers down our spines and motivates us to avoid it at all costs. But of the many unique things that we fear in life, there are surprisingly a handful of them that we actually share in. For instance, we all fear death in some capacity because of the finality it represents and the harm that it causes us emotionally, and whether we like to admit it or not… we also fear growing old. But not for the reasons that one might think. Because our fear of that, isn’t related to being closer to death… since that can hit anytime. No, instead… we are terrified of aging for fascinating and unfortunate reasons.
​
Because the hard truth about our modern world, is that we view age… in a supremely negative light. Granted there are exceptions to that line of thinking. As evidenced by the fact we elect government officials that are well past the retirement age, but we view those running for office as folks who are wise and eager to lead while everyone else that ages… is simply past their prime and no longer able to contribute to our world since they are collecting a pension and enjoying their twilight years. Plus, in our collective mind… they represent the end of the line, of a day when the hustle no longer matters, and we are forced to slow down and think upon a life we are sometimes too busy to enjoy, and all of those elements in a world where the grind is celebrated over anything else… make growing old a terrifying prospect indeed.

But the fact of the matter is, this is a terrible fear to harbor and a horrible way to look at old age, but it will take great efforts to change that perception in our world. But thankfully, there are people attempting to do that, through storytelling no less. For fiction is always the perfect place to offer us perspective on our world and our problems and believe it or not… there is a horror story out there that bothered to tackle ageism and how we need to view older people in our world and injecting that into the next episode of Fear the Walking Dead, allowed for ‘Ofelia’ to stand out as one of the finest episodes of season seven to date. Simply because it offered up powerful performances and was unafraid to put ageism, and mental health issues front, and center and it accomplished this feat… by having us catch up with one Daniel Salazar.

Whom was struggling with his mental health and some cognitive decline when we last saw him and unfortunately, those issues were persisting when we reunite with him in this tale. For his memory was still spotty at times and in order to help with that, Luciana was working with him on a consistent basis with tools such as flash cards to keep his mind sharp and functioning and well… it was her work to help him that led to some stunning moments and incredible twists and turns. For one card in particular, one that featured a boat… reminded Daniel immediately of the now long-gone Abigail, and his late daughter Ofelia, and in his confused state, he believed that she was alive and well and that he needed to find her and help her come home to the Pennsylvania and that, led to the first twist in question.

---

Because Daniel basically abandoned ship briefly to get his little girl home, and that motivated Wes and Luciana to follow after him and calm him down and center him to help him understand that Ofelia was gone. But the arrival of Arno’s troops didn’t allow for that happen and instead led to their capture and potential interrogation. For Arno wanted the guns that Morgan had recently discovered and well, while Luciana and Daniel awaited their turn in front of Arno, Mister Salazar came up with quite the plan. For there was a boat in this complex that resembled the Abigail, and come hell or high water, he was getting on that boat, and he was going to find his hija. Especially after Arno ‘confirmed’ that Ofelia was on that boat… and for a time… Luciana thought this might not be a bad idea… to help him realize the truth about Ofelia.
​
But what mattered more, is that his plan to get on that boat, allowed for escape and freedom to take place for the trio. Reminding us of the fact that Daniel is still quite the wily fighter and able to see five steps ahead of most people and while Luciana’s part of the plan didn’t work… Daniel’s anger over being lied to by Arno, led to the end of a foe and a grand alliance at last with the remainder of Arno’s people. Which meant that Daniel was a true hero on this day and brokered a peace deal in a swift and impactful manner and well… seeing that play out in the manner that it did, motivated Luciana to do something quite bold. In that, she lied to Daniel and told him that she was wrong and overheard that Ofelia was instead in Strand’s Tower. In the hopes of giving her side the advantage since Daniel would be relentless and focused on bringing her home and well… that difficult and stunning call on her part… was not without consequence.

For Wes could not stand for using Daniel in this manner and of course, she may have unleashed a lion. For a focused and determined Daniel will stop at nothing to accomplish his goals and that might upend some of Morgan’s. But above all, it is the commentary present in Daniel’s journey here that matters more. Because over the course of the hour, we were presented with a raw and powerful look at ageism and mental health bias. Since everyone basically wrote Daniel off as a crazy old man, who was too senile and useless to be worth of anyone’s time and that placation and manipulation was the right way to handle him. Which are views we often share about older folks in our world and clearly it needs to stop. Because as Daniel made it clear, and to paraphrase Rubén Blades himself, getting older doesn’t meant that someone is useless.

Which is a powerful message to send, one that reminds us to not shy away from folks that are older and that we should instead engage them and help them find direction at a time in their lives when they need it most. Not to mention, they deserve our care and respect. Because without them… so many of us wouldn’t be here and well, those unexpected messages and stunning performances from Rubén, Danay Garcia and Colby Hollman… combined with the quality direction of first-time director Alycia Debnam-Carey, made this a magnificent episode. One that was both moving and powerful and engaging through and through and truly, it will be downright fascinating to see where Luciana’s decision takes Daniel and the fight in the weeks to come and if by chance… she can find redemption for choosing to use Daniel’s condition as an end to her own means. Until next time.

To learn more about this episode and how the cast responded to it, check out interview with Rubén Blades, Danay Garcia and Colby Hollman, right here.

---