‘Fear the Walking Dead’ Recap: ‘Till Death’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 705 of ‘Fear the Walking Dead’.

It is definitely safe to say, that season seven of Fear the Walking Dead has offered up a masterclass exploration regarding the darker side of the human condition. Because over the past few weeks, we’ve come to learn how extreme stress and duress can transform the human mind into something that is both dangerous and frightening. Since we’ve watched beloved characters transform into shells of their former selves before our eyes… and we’ve seen them crack under the pressure of living in a world where the dead walk and where radiation silently lurks in the sky. Which has allowed for some powerful and harrowing stories to come to life, the kind that quite frankly, have left us wondering if by chance, there will be any positivity to be found this season. 
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Well as it turns out, there will be. In fact, it was put on full display during last night’s episode. For ‘Till Death’ offered up a grand exploration on how perhaps we can find hope and positivity when the world is genuinely beating us down, and one way to accomplish that… is by creating it. Which is precisely what Dwight and Sherry are doing in the wasteland when we catch up with them here. For in the days following the nuclear blasts, they rebranded themselves as noble vigilantes known as ‘The Dark Horses’ and their duty in these trying and uncertain times… was to play peacemaker and hero to the underrepresented and teach lessons to wrong doers in a peaceful, nonviolent manner… if possible, and well, being heroes of the apocalypse did indeed bring them some measure of personal peace and purpose and fame.

For word of their services spread far and wide, to the point… where even Victor Strand became curious of their identity and their true intentions and that of course led to a meeting within the walls of Strand Tower wherein the well-dressed, and dynamic, and sometimes dastardly Victor; offered them quite the deal. In that, if they took the time to play the hero for Strand and used their purity and understanding of good to bring a woman named Mickey back to the Tower… they could join his strange community and find comfort and peace and safety at last. Which was of course, an offer that concerned the hell out of both of them. After all, being promised safety by an enigmatic and bold leader who lived behind the walls of a ‘Sanctuary’ was a song and dance they’d heard before and it was a sour symphony at that. 

Which in turn motivated them to at the very least, to go and find Mickey, so that they would have a little time to really decide what their future should look like and if this vigilante life was right for them and well… after spending a little time with Mickey and hearing about how her journey was a parallel of their own, they decided to stick with the hero’s lifestyle. Simply because they realized their story and their drive, really did inspire others to push forward and never give up, and the help they provided others with gave them much needed catharsis and attrition for their part in growing Negan’s empire and that is why they had no qualms with helping Mickey find her missing husband, provided of course… they could overcome the roadblocks they encountered along the way.

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For the kind and loving family that accepted Sherry and Dwight into their bunker at the end of season six, were found dead when our heroes returned to the bunker to resupply themselves with weapons and food for their new journey and that hammered home the reality of how hard it was going to be to maintain hope in this desolate new world, and that reality, left Dwight full of doubt as to whether or not their mission could succeed. To the point where he stayed behind to ponder upon whether the cost was worth it and thankfully, he came to realize that it was. Thanks to the fact that Strand sent an assassin to kill that family. In the hopes of breaking Sherry and Dwight to the point where they would give up and return to the Tower and once, he realized that men like Strand would always try and rob others of hope to advance their plans… he shook off his worries and realized it was up to he and Sherry to be the counterbalance to that and then he was off… to be with his love once again and it is a good thing he found some clarity.
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Because Sherry and Mickey ran into a large horde of the dead when they reached their destination, a gym that Mickey and her love ran on the outskirts of town, and had it not been for Dwight’s arrival and assist, they might not have survived, and Mickey might have succumbed to the darkness and sorrow of this world. Since she came to discover, her love, her light… had died somewhere along the way and of course… turned into a member of the living dead. But Dwight and Sherry kept her spirits up and never left her side, as part of their resolve to spread hope wherever possible so that everyone suffering through this extremely dark time could find the strength to go on and well, after saving Mickey from the darkness, it would seem their biggest task awaits them. Since the mystery men in radiation suits summoned The Dark Horses and revealed to them, that they too are in need of hope of a better tomorrow and want Dwight and Sherry’s help in finding Padre. 

But while we wait to see what will come about from this super-sized quest to find a true oasis that may or may not exist in a world where radiation and living death reign, we can bask in the wonder of one positive tale. One that handled its overall theme in a super subtle but impactful manner none the less. For this one really did do a wonderful job of exploring how powerful we can become when we take the time to heal ourselves and our most critical relationships and what doing good deeds genuinely does for others and ourselves. Since The Dark Horses’ quest really did inspire hope in a world without it and brought real healing to Dwight and Sherry when it comes to their dark past and that definitely made this episode the most uplifting chapter in season seven to date and also its most entertaining and fun, believe it or not, largely thanks to the events at the gym.

Since the story took the opportunity to use Mickey’s backstory as a professional wrestler, to bring about a rip-roaringly hilarious slapstick sequence in the gym. One where every famous move in the industry was used to beat the crap out of or kill the living dead and that really did offer up some lovely levity and harkened back to the days of Romero, since that whole sequence reminded this writer of the pie fight scene from Dawn of the Dead. If anything, this was just a genuinely impressive episode when all is said and done, one that really did show us how far Dwight and Sherry have come and it is one that engrossed us to no end, thanks in large part to Lennie James’ masterful direction. Since he figured out how to make every scene and visual as compelling as possible, and well, all this episode does is leave us wondering as to whether we are headed into more positive territory, now that everyone is searching for Padre... or if more darkness awaits as we inch toward the midseason finale. Until next time.

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