"Fear the Walking Dead" Recap: "Blood in the Streets"

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 thing we have all learned about characters in the Walking Dead universe as a whole, is that not everyone has the noblest of intentions and if they seem hell bent on a goal or a destination...it's often times for nefarious purposes. Which is why Victor Strand has become such a interesting character to all of us since we are dying to know...is he friend or foe?

Well, the answer to that question arrived at last this week on Fear the Walking Dead, because "Blood in the Streets" managed to reveal everything we ever wanted to know about Strand. Who he is, what he stands for, what his life was like before the end of the world and for that matter what motivates him now took center stage last night and when all was said and done...the truth about this enigmatic man was absolutely fascinating. But before we get too deep into Strand's backstory, let's take a minute today and talk about the trouble that the group is in now, since it finally gave everyone a sense of purpose. 

After all, there has been a grand debate this season on the show...should they continue to take on and help people when given the chance? We know Strand thinks they should not, while Travis and Madison have made every effort to do so and the debate reached an apex (but not an answer) last night when darling Jack, Alicia's radio based boyfriend finally arrived at the Abigail with a pair of his friends. The trio, posing as a group in dire need of help were able to board the ship with ease and of course, with open arms and man...did that ever backfire. They quickly seized the ship and in the process, unified the group for the first time this season.

Suddenly, the darker side of everyone, that survival mode necessary to make it in this awful world kicked in. We saw Madison play mind games to keep one of the captors distracted and boy did she play those games well. She was able to send her captor over the edge quickly and it was quite the sight to see her work in such a cold and calculated fashion. Even Travis got in on the game, toying with his captor to buy the group some time and he even helped arm Daniel without a second thought, and young Alicia, the one who essentially got everyone into this mess; played the romance card to try and keep her family and friends safe. It was truly wonderful to see the group work together to ensure their survival and considering that Alicia and Travis were taken by Connor and his mysterious group of pirates...they're going to need that unity.

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However, all trouble aside...Strand and everything about him was the focus of this episode and as I mentioned before, what a fascinating backstory this man happens to have. Now we know that Strand has always been an opportunist, stealing from a man he just met in order to get back on his feet and we also learned that really...little can rattle this man, considering how calm, cool and collect he was when the man he stole from, one Thomas Abigail, came calling to confront Strand.  

But while it was neat to learn more about his personality, nothing compared to the moment that we learned exactly why Mexico is such a big deal and why he is making a push to get there...the fact that he is trying desperately to be reunited with the man he loves, Thomas Abigail. Yes, Victor Strand is a hardcore romantic and all of this is to escape the madness the world is plunging into to live his life out in peace with the person who has stolen his heart, and well...I love this twist. It's one of the few times on this show or its sister show where someone's true intentions were actually noble and well because this move is so unlike the show. To give us something like this, when the world is crumbling around our characters is an incredibly hopeful move, one that speaks to the possibility that maybe mankind's future is salvageable after all and I applaud the show for taking that avenue storytelling wise and for keeping television diverse with another strong gay character.

We also need to take a moment and talk about the wonder that is Nick today as well because it is stunning to see how much his character has grown. A year ago he was a weasel of a junkie, begging his dealer for drugs and stealing an old man's morphine in order to get a fix and now he is truly transformed. As Strand said to him earlier this season, he is fearless and this is so true. To watch him face off against a walker and trap one to use the blood disguise he accidentally discovered last week was a stroke of genius and well, he was clearly the right person for the job to find Luis because he blended in with little to no effort and well...if it wasn't for Nick being asked to do all this, would the group have re taken the boat and saved Strand? Guess we will never know but in the meantime, Nick is quickly turning into one of my favorite characters on the show. 

What matters most though, is that the show continues to deliver one quality episode after another and this one falls into that category as well thanks to how intense it turned out to be and well, now that our questions have been answered when it comes to Strand, new ones arise. For starters, who is this enigmatic Connor that all the pirates rally around and exactly how strong of a force will they be to reckon with? While the group finally came together to kick some ass, they've never had to get into a fight like this, and with Travis and Alicia now being held captive, it's obvious the rest of the group will come for them and I certainly hope they will be able to do whatever they have to in order to save the ones they love. Looks like we will find out soon enough, until next time. 

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