‘Fear the Walking Dead’ Recap: ‘USS Pennsylvania’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 615 of ‘Fear the Walking Dead’.
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Fans of The Walking Dead Universe, tune into the dynamic shows that populate it for a bevy of different reasons. For some it is all about their love of the zombie and practical special effects, since the living dead are everywhere in this saga and Greg Nicotero’s KNB EFX team do a phenomenal job of providing us with realistic and disgusting zombies alongside gore that makes one cringe. Or they’re watching because of the drama, because despite being a horror universe… it has a lot of human and beautiful moments present within its framework. Plus, there are folks that tune in to ponder upon the nature of the world and our modern society since all three shows in the saga are filled to the brim with powerful social commentary on who we are and what we could become.
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But while everyone has their own specific reason for tuning in, there is one in particular that everyone shares in. In that, we all love a good horror show, the kind that puts us on the edge of our seats and leaves us in silence with the bold and terrifying moves that it makes and when shows in the franchise offer that up, well the end result is nothing short of spectacular and it just so happens that the next episode of Fear the Walking Dead takes the time to accomplish just that. For ‘USS Pennsylvania’ undoubtedly left most of us filled with worry over what is coming next, thanks to the harrowing storyline that played out. One that saw a frenzied showdown take place between the forces of good and the forces of… whatever the hell Teddy stands for. 

Because the opening moments of this particular tale, enlightened us to the fact that Teddy and his closest associates were looking forward to not only firing off a hailstorm of nuclear fire from the ship that shares the namesake of this episode, but dying in the baptismal flames of fission as well. Making them a lost cause for certain, but one that was supremely deadly. For we also came to learn that Riley was once the weapons officer aboard this boat, so they absolutely had all the knowledge needed to send those missiles skyward and those revelations alone, set up the tension in question since now Morgan and his merry band of heroes were on the clock and if they failed… so many innocent lives would die a horrible death, one that could be viewed as worse than falling to the rotten hands of a walker. 

To complicate matters further, Morgan and his team knew little about the layout of a submarine and despite their best efforts to learn on the fly, they more or less had to guess which way would take them where they wanted to go, and of course… they had to contend with the walking dead. For this boat was once host to one-hundred and fifty sailors and their mottled corpses were shambling about the decks and the dark and that made for some terrifying sequences. The kind that absolutely made this reviewer jump at the sheer surprise of seeing a walker emerge from the shadows at the most inopportune moment possible and well, watching Morgan and his friends try to navigate that kind of terror, is what accomplished the episode’s goal of putting us on the edge of our seats.

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But as Fear the Walking Dead is wont to do, there was some depth and meaning to be found in this story as well. Simply because not every corridor was wall to wall with naval corpses, which gave both Morgan and Strand a chance to be honest with themselves about what they wanted to accomplish in regard to this mission and unfortunately for the both of them, they wanted to be the hero for all the wrong reasons. For Morgan saw this as a chance to be a martyr and hopefully inspire a better tomorrow through his sacrifice and Strand… well he just wanted Alicia and everyone really, to know that he was in fact a team player, and a hero deep down. Meaning that his usual cycle of unhealthy behaviors was once again on display here and well, despite the sour nature of their actions, they did manage to accomplish something worthwhile after all. 
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Because eventually, both men made it to launch control and their wild journey there, did allow for them to get their hands on a bevy of ID Access cards from dead officers aboard this boat and well, that likely meant that the tide was about to turn, and the heroes would be victorious at long last. A notion that was reinforced by the fact that they made it through the doors before Riley had the chance to the launch the missiles. But alas, that’s when this story took its utterly devastating and dark turn, for mere seconds before Strand or Morgan could pull either man away from the trigger, the two mad men scrambled and one missile was sent into the air, one that was loaded with ten warheads that were pre-programmed by Riley to give his wicked master exactly what he wanted for his twisted prophecy.

Which means, that the heroes failed, and the bad guys won, and that horrifying realization allowed for some poignant and heartbreaking moments to take place. The kind that saw Morgan let both Teddy and Riley go, so they could enjoy what was likely their final moments, and these dark moments also saw Morgan and Strand reflect upon their failure and that is what brought about the devastation in question. Because just like that, everything they’d worked for and fought for after all these years, was in jeopardy, courtesy of the evil of man and watching Morgan soak in that reality and know that the clock was ticking, definitely puts the viewer in a worrisome place and rightfully so. For this series has no qualms with going big and bidding farewell to cast members and well, a nuclear detonation could lead to a changed landscape for both Texas and the cast in season seven. 

But as the same time, while that is a powerful and unsettling and horrific way to end this tale, it is in fact… also quite brilliant. For it really does stand tall with the concept that this is the end of the world and that mankind is in a precarious place at this point in time, one where its survival will be decided by the actions of a small few and of course, it also sets the stage for a powerhouse and tense finale. Because Riley’s targeting orders, will dictate how long our heroes have to live and that means we are likely going to watch them suffer and ponder upon their journey and what to do with their potential final moments on this earth after fighting so hard to see tomorrow and well… that’s horror at its finest for certain. And it is definitely safe to say that we will all be counting down the minutes until next Sunday, to see where this terrifying twist will take us in the season six finale. Until next time.

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