‘Fear the Walking Dead’ Recap: ‘Today and Tomorrow’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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

If there’s one element that I enjoy above all else when it comes to The Walking Dead universe, it’s the sheer fact that the aforementioned mother-show, and its spinoff Fear the Walking Dead, do a fine job of building mystery for their respective audiences. For we often have questions when it comes to the intentions and the origins of the various villains that make their way to the series, along with a stark curiosity as to where the season is going to take us, and whether or not everyone will make it out of this year’s storyline alive. And it just so happens that Fear, the one series that has truly mastered this style of storytelling over the past few years, is bringing mystery back to the forefront of the story, as we close in on the season five finale.
 
Because last night’s episode, ‘Today and Tomorrow’, really worked hard to keep us guessing when it comes to the suspicious new group we encountered in the last episode. For thus far, we simply don’t have a clue as to whether or not Virginia and her group of cowpokes are genuinely bad, and this episode certainly didn’t make that any clearer when all is said and done. Which is fascinating, because at first, it really seemed as though nefarious deeds were indeed their focus since Morgan and Al came across a man who was on the run from said group, and all he could inform us of, is that this group are as dangerous and evil as they come, and that they were happy to take over a gated community known as Paradise Ridge and that prompted our duo to pay this place a little visit.
 
In part to deal with some personal demons, since some of the stuff our new friend had to say about Virginia’s Magnificent Seven reminded Al immediately of her girlfriend’s group, which gave her a sense of hope. After all, if this group was aligned with Isabelle’s, that meant there was a chance that she might see her love once again. But all butterflies aside, the real point of swinging by this facility was to garner information and see exactly what these people were all about, and that of course ended in unmitigated disaster, since they were eventually captured by Virginia and her lackeys and I know I’m not the only one who felt a sense of worry when Morgan and Al came face to face with this mysterious leader, since so many encounters in this vein have ended in bloodshed and heartbreak.
 
But as this series is wont to do, this face to face meeting ended in surprise. For Virginia showed kindness and offered Morgan and Al food and conversation and tried to make it clear that her people really were trying to reboot some semblance of civilization and all of its comforts, since she made mention of the fact that a ‘licensed’ therapist was in their midst. Plus, she even provided Morgan with a restored version of his poking stick, before letting them go back out into the world and this is why I question their intentions and their motivations. Because thus far, they haven’t harmed a single person in Morgan’s group, just the man that was tormenting them, and offering kindness in a universe where bad people spill blood first and offer a helping hand later, is just unheard of and mysterious in its own right.

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​However, while all of this was quite fascinating to watch, and tense at times for certain, this episode also made a point to offer up a little character growth for Morgan. Because his nervous nature and refusal to return to the convoy, made it clear to Al that he was running from something. What exactly, he wouldn’t reveal to her, but the audience was certainly aware of the fact that it was related to Grace and his sheer worry about giving into his emotions for her, an act that would most certainly disrespect his late wife and child. At least, in his mind. But something special happened to Morgan in this particular tale, and his little sit-down chat with Virginia is what prompted this. Because hearing her drone on about the past and how important it is to resurrect the old ways didn’t sit well with him, since he’s seen that particular quest bring about failure before and at this point, his belief is that moving forward is the key and that mantra brought forth quite the lesson for him.
 
Because hiding in the confines of yesterday is exactly what Morgan has been doing all this time, since he refuses to let go of Jenny and Duane, despite the fact that they’ve been gone for a long time and while we all understand that grieving goes at its own pace, at some point, we do have to let go. Thankfully, Morgan finally came to realize this, and in a stunning sequence of events, he abandoned his video diary and his quest to hang onto yesterday and made a grandiose move to live in the here and the now by reaching out to Grace, with a smile on his face, all in the hopes of finally starting a relationship with her, something that might allow for both of them to enjoy a little happiness for a change. But alas, as is often the case in this universe, joy is not easy an easy thing to come by.
 
For dear Grace found herself in quite a bit of trouble in this story, and all of it stemmed from a bevy of good deeds. Because she and Daniel were out in the roughest parts of the world, searching for viable parts that might help a new community sustain power, along with a great many other things. But the sheer amount of stuff they collected was more than their truck could handle and once it broke down, the dead came, forcing these two to find shelter in a nearby bar and well, all of this was more than Grace’s body could handle. And once again, she found herself in a tough place physically and this time around there may be no recovery since she has the sneaking suspicious that her body is finally giving into the radiation surging through her system, meaning that Morgan will need to get to her as fast as he can if he wants any shot at enjoying some happy moments with her.
 
If anything, this was quite the unique episode, simply because it took the time to slow things down once again and provide us with grand explorations of both our characters and to a lesser extent our villains, and that’s quite the bold decision to make with only a handful of episodes left in the season. Because normally, this series is building toward something big at this point in the season, which leaves me quite curious as to what exactly the writers room has up their sleeves for the final two stories of the year. Because something tells me the show is about to wow us with something powerful. But I digress, for in the here and the now, we are left with a story that featured some quality character growth and I’ll bask in the wonder of Morgan’s epiphany for as long as I can because this is Fear the Walking Dead and it won’t be long before terror and sorrow return. Until next time.

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