'Fear the Walking Dead' Recap: 'People Like Us'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

Over the course of its storied history, the horror genre has done quite the phenomenal job of exploring and examining our world and our culture by way of some powerful social commentary, the kind that outright gives one pause once the story in question has come to its respective end. Yet, ironically, a genre that holds nothing back when it comes to what it has to say about our world and is happy to show us buckets of guts and gore and explore taboo subjects, has often been afraid of letting its characters truly open their soul and show us what kind of struggle they are experiencing in the midst of the terror surrounding them. 
 
If anything, horror subscribes to the old mantra that people simply have to be strong in times in crisis and understandably so. After all, they’re under extreme duress in these stories and taking the time to focus on their emotions and their feelings might get them killed when the monster in question finds them brooding. But slowly and surely, horror is evolving and finding ways to flesh out its characters in new light and for proof, look no further than the new and improved Fear the Walking Dead, since last night’s midseason premiere of this magnificent series, ‘People Like Us’, took the time to explore exactly what this rag tag group of survivors are thinking and feeling after everything they experienced and spoke to in the midseason finale, and wouldn’t you know it? They’re not exactly in a good place right now.
 
Of course, why would they be? They have in essence lost everyone that mattered to them in life since Alicia is the last of her family line, Strand lost the only person that ever believed in him and Luciana lost the love of her life. But, while I expected this particular tale to be bleak in its own right because hey, it’s the end of the world and these folks have been through hell, I was ill prepared for just how deep the series was going to dig into all of the characters’ respective pain, and that it was going to take the time to remind us that grief and loss are extremely powerful when they grab hold of us, and that they can in fact shatter us completely, as was the case with everyone in this tale.
 
Luciana for example, went from being a true warrior who would never let anything get in her way or slow her down to outright listless behavior, spending her days listening to music and dreaming of a life with Nick that would never become possible. Strand of course, turned to the drink since his newfound shelter was filled to the brim with a lovely wine cellar, and without his favorite drinking buddy Madison around, he was more than happy to down her share in her honor and Alicia, well she isolated herself as far away from her friends/surrogate family as possible to ponder and what was incredible is that this desolation and distancing didn’t end there. 

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Because even John Dorie found himself wishing for the simple life of his cabin once again, to the point where he was beginning to formulate a plan to return to it with June and Charlie and potentially raise a family in the midst of this mess and to top it all off, Morgan made plans to return to Alexandria and overtures to the group to go back with him and well, I have to admit, that it was downright incredible to see everyone in this rough state of mind. I expected there to be some level of pain that accompanied Madison’s death, but not this kind of stark desolation and emotional destruction, but the show went there. It really felt the need to show us how badly everyone was hurting after that emotional midseason finale, and while it seemed for a moment there that this was going to be how the hour was going to go, it offered up a surprisingly hopeful twist.
 
Because the story presented us with a potential fix for the group to get out of their funk in that, they need some kind of purpose. Morgan thought that Alexandria could offer that, but Alicia was quick to point out that he was running away from a tough situation as well instead of sticking around and helping them heal. But as to what exactly that unifying purpose is going to be remains unknown but we at least received a taste of it in this tale, since it would seem that doing a little bit of good in this awful world got Alicia out and about, and it brought John and Strand together when they went to look for Charlie and speaking of that young girl, it would seem she’s trying to make amends and that reached Luciana in her darkest hour as well.
 
Yet, while I’m sure some would call this episode filler, since it didn’t advance the plot that much, I would simply have to disagree. Because this was a grand character study through and through, a true rarity for horror to say the least, and I appreciated the fact that it took the time to look at the pain that these characters are going through now that they have a moment to take inventory on their lives and ponder upon what they’ve lost and hopefully, they will come out stronger on the other side, but there are of course, no guarantees when it comes to that. For this is still the end of the world, the dead walk the earth and they have a new threat staring them down, courtesy of mother nature.
 
In fact, I’m a huge fan of the literal storm that’s brewing at this point in the story as well, simply because mother nature and the elements are often forgotten in these kinds of stories and without technology at their fingertips, they’re at the mercy of the apparent hurricane that’s about reach landfall and well, I’m hoping that the storm and everything that happens with its arrival serves as the catalyst to snap this group out of their funk. In the end however, this was quite the bold way to kick off the back half of season four, and it just goes to show how far this series has evolved and judging from this cerebral tale, it’s clear that there are more incredible surprises waiting for us down the line. Until next time.

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