‘Fear the Walking Dead’ Recap: ‘Still Standing’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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Once we lock onto a particular goal in our lives, we truly dedicate ourselves to reaching it. We work late hours, we skip out on dinners with friends, all in the hope that a few extra hours a day will get us exactly what we want. But while there’s nobility and respect to be found in regard to that kind of dedication, we often forget that the road to achieving said goal is often riddled with setbacks and disappointment, and how we respond to those little snafus is paramount, since they will decide whether or not we reach the finish line, and it just so happens that setbacks and how we respond to them both served as the focus of last night’s episode of Fear the Walking Dead.
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Because ‘Still Standing’ saw some of the problems that the group were facing go from bad to worse, and some were minor in nature, as was the case with the issues that arose at the Truck Stop. For the fuel lines were ripped on that magnificent, reassembled plane, meaning that the team had to repair them and find fuel in order to get the old girl off of the ground, and that problem fell to Al to fix, since she knew where fuel was. And she wasted no time in solving this issue by taking June with her to the mysterious refueling center Isabelle introduced her to, and she was able to get her hands on what the group needs, with ease. Plus, she even took the time to, sort-of, fill June in on what happened when she was separated from the group, making this storyline the opening chapter to a series of plot threads that lived up to the theme I mentioned a moment ago.

Because John and Dwight’s journey in this tale only moved that exploration further along. For these two gents were still on the hunt for Sherry, and they were getting further and further away from home base, and supplies were getting scarcer the further along they ventured, which meant, it was time for John to come clean with Dwight, still he was still pining for Sherry and was of the belief she wanted him to continue the hunt. Which meant, John braced for the worst when he gave Dwight the letter, and well, it most certainly did break Dwight’s heart, which was tough to watch since he’s been on this quest for so long. Yet, Dwight handled this complication with class, and opted instead to do everything to get John back to the Truck Stop as soon as possible, to get him back to June and to see if by chance, paying it forward would eventually bring him face to face with Sherry.

Yet, the series still wasn’t done exploring the notion of how to overcome adversity. For Morgan had several tough tasks in front of him. For starters, he had to figure out how to help his friends who were stranded and surrounded by the radioactive dead, and he needed to find a way to help Grace as well, and a little advice from the nuclear whiz allowed for him to solve one of his problems. For he was able to get his hands on some protective gear and a truck, allowing for Strand and Charlie to get to safety, with the propellers, bringing everyone one step closer to salvation and I suppose the lesson here was to never believe in the no-win scenario since you never know what resources you may discover, and never forget to pay back the person who offered up an assist. 

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That last notion prompted Morgan to push ahead with his mission to save as many people as possible, and he made his way to the power plant to let Grace know that she didn’t have to sacrifice herself in some blaze of heroic glory. Instead, she could come back with the group, and enjoy what little time she had left in safety and comfort. And while she was initially hesitant to do so, the fact that Morgan was willing to risk life and limb to save her and help her out, genuinely touched her and prompted her to realize that she and Morgan shared something in common, in that; they both believe that other lives are more valuable than their own. It was an epiphany that touched Morgan on a supremely deep level, to the point where he now believes that he and the group need to put together a future that fulfills each and every one of them on a personal level, in addition to saving as many people as they can.
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But while this episode offered up a lot of positivity and wonderful notions after giving us a week of darker moments, the ugly stuff was still waiting for us here, it just so happened to be lurking within Alicia’s storyline. For in this particular tale, she found herself lost in the woods of the dead, and it took an assist from Dylan to bring her to the kids’ base of operations, wherein she once again tried desperately, to no avail, to change Annie’s mind about coming with Alicia’s group to safety. But despite being shut down for the umpteenth time, Alicia was determined to find a way to get these kids away from this dangerous place and back to the Truck Stop, and well, she achieved her goal…in the most unfortunate way imaginable.

Because the dead came calling as they always do, and when Annie was faced with failure and the prospect of losing this new home, Alicia pointed out that letting go is sometimes the only way to move on, and to truly prove to Annie that she was serious about helping them, she put herself in harm’s way and fought the dead head on and alone. But while she was successful in holding them back long enough to get the kids as far away from that place as possible, a horrible mistake was made on Alicia’s part. For she killed one of the radioactive dead, and found herself covered in its blood, meaning that there is a serious chance that her life is in danger now. But before we discover whether or not Alicia suffered a fatal dose of radiation, there’s a bigger problem looming on the horizon. For reactor number two is about to go critical, and now it’s a race against the clock to get everyone to safety.

So, yeah, this is another episode filled to the brim with juicy plotlines and hopeful notions, with a little terror thrown in for good mix and when all is said and done, I really loved this one. Because it’s just awesome to see how this group is working to find the positive in everything, and I love how they handled their setbacks in this tale and that they were able to overcome a majority of them, but I’m also supremely unsettled by Alicia’s conundrum. After all, she’s one of the last original cast members on the show, and she’s grown into someone so strong and so dynamic that losing her would be a blow for certain. So, here’s to hoping she won’t die of radiation poisoning and cheers to an episode that found a way to balance terror and hope in magnificent fashion and sadly, we will have to wait until next week to find out of this group makes it out safely, or if their first successful run at helping people will end in tragedy. Until next time. 

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