‘Fear the Walking Dead’ Recap: ‘Sonny Boy’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 712 of ‘Fear the Walking Dead’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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At some point or another in our lives, and whether we like it or not… we are going to have to face the reality… that death comes for us all. That might happen by way of the loss of a pet or a valued family member. Or it might entail a surprise diagnosis when we’re not feeling well, one that prompts us to take inventory and ponder upon what might happen if we lose our fight with our body, and we can also get the news that someone we care about is dealing with the same thing. But one way or another… this is going to happen in some form, and it will force us to ponder upon our mortality and the life we’ve led and being pushed to do that… can transform us in ways we never thought possible.
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Because it can in fact, terrify us and make us afraid to live our daily lives out of the fear that one wrong step could mean the end for us. It can, however, also be quite positive in nature, and teach us the value of life and of cherishing the moment and everything we have. But more often than not, facing our mortality will simply rattle us emotionally for quite some time before we reach either one of those two particular lines of thinking, and it could potentially prompt us to do things we regret out of a mix of emotions that we simply don’t have a handle upon, and that grand and sweeping moment of chaos is top of mind today, simply because it was put on full display during last night’s episode of Fear the Walking Dead.

For fear was everywhere in Strand’s Tower in ‘Sonny Boy’, and the sheer paranoia that Strand harbored over having to face his own mortality for his actions, pushed him to do some scary things. Such as have Howard and the Rangers… tear through everyone’s bunks to find if people were harboring a means to communicate with Morgan and the outside world, and if by chance those means were found… they were quickly sentenced to death and what’s terrifying, is that this kind of behavior only got worse over the course of the hour. Because along the way, a radio was found in Howard’s office. Which of course, Howard claimed did not belong to him in the slightest because he was and would forever be loyal to Strand and his beliefs, but Victor didn’t see it like that at all, and used this opportunity to really test Howard like never before and that… really helped us to explore exactly how a brush with death can change a person for the worse.

Because in essence, Strand’s close encounter with death and resurrection, filled him with a fear he’s never experienced before. Because he’s always cheated it, always schemed around it. So, to be near it, from a former friend no less… has basically broken him through and through and pushed him to demand more loyalty and sacrifice from people to heal from the pain of betrayal. When in fact, a change in his behavior and a shedding of the darkness he’s embraced would give him the forgiveness and safety he currently craves. But alas, for the moment, the fear is real, and it continues to transform Strand like never before. To the point where he was so filled with anger and terror and every dark emotion one can think of… that he eventually had Howard tossed off the Tower after all, by John Dorie Sr., no less.

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Whose journey ironically, served as the flip side exploration in this tale. Because John was also dealing with mortality in this story, primarily because he came to discover that whatever Charlie was exposed to from a radiation perspective, he was as well. And armed with the knowledge that radiation sickness was going to claim him as it would eventually, Charlie, put him in a different kind of terrified place. One where he began to ponder upon his past and all of his actions and what kind of legacy he was leaving behind now that his days were numbered. Which in turn, motivated him to help Strand through a different crisis, one involving Baby Mo. For she went missing in the midst of all of this chaos and well… for a time she became John’s obsession and ticket toward some semblance of salvation in his mind.
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For he firmly believed that if he could find and save Baby Mo, he could have a legacy and he could do something great for a change and give a child a life that he never gave his son and change the environment of the Tower in the process… and he stopped at nothing to make all that happen. To the point where he planted the radio in Howard’s office… to have Strand’s ear and the resources to make this Tower the best place it could possibly be for Mo and everyone else. But alas, Strand’s fear and tests of loyalty, led to none of John’s goals being achieved in the slightest and when John was faced with that failure and faced with the reality that his legacy would be sour and filled with horror for little Mo, since Strand wanted to raise her alone… he made quite the powerful decision to be remembered as a hero.

Wherein he called Morgan and suited up with Howard’s bevy of armor to walk Mo through a sea of the living dead to hand her over to Morgan and get her out of the Tower. A move that spoke volumes to how facing death can be noble in nature and how being brave in doing so… can transform us and make us more than we thought we could be. But of course, it came at quite the cost, his life in fact. But now, at the very least, John Dorie Sr. will live on as a hero in this broken world and tales will be told of the shattered father that gave a fighting chance to a child that had none. But what matters more, is that this powerful and heart wrenching story made it clear that our fears do not define us, unless we let them and that we should face them and whatever darkness they entail. Because to do so offers peace and sometimes a supremely fulfilling redemption, depending on what that fear has done to us from an emotional standpoint, and that’s a powerful lesson to find here.

One that will be overshadowed for some time by the subtractions of Omid Abtahi and Keith Carradine from the cast. For Omid really did take part in some critical and formative moments for the Tower and showcased how easily broken men will follow equally as broken me to find peace. And as for Keith, well his powerful performances added a special gravitas to this series through and through and well, perhaps the best way to bid farewell to Keith and his time on the show is to inform him through this review, that he can in fact, take great pride in what he’s done here. For he once told this reporter in an interview, that “if in the end, there is not a moment that I have given to this character, where everyone doesn’t actually believe who I am. Then if I’ve done that, then in that I will, I take pride.” And it is definitely safe to say… we believe in what he did and how he sold the story of a broken father that found redemption, and hopefully John’s actions here will inspire others in this world to do great things... so that the darkness can be lifted from this sorrowful corner of Texas at last. Until next time.

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