'Fear the Walking Dead' Recap: 'Shiva'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

It's been quite the downward spiral psychologically on Fear the Walking Dead this season and well, that's a good thing. Far too often the zombie genre is filled with predictable tropes where the characters are able to flip on a switch and become super survivors without having to deal with all the messy stuff that happens emotionally to a human when they realize what they have done in order to survive another day. 

The  long term effects of doing what must be done is a concept we have witnessed on the sister show for this series, but even then The Walking Dead doesn't always have to focus on it in depth because every single moment is about survival and the people on that show know what is at stake if they don't keep moving. But in Madison and Travis' world, the life they knew is only a few weeks removed and adjusting to full survival mode has never been easy and last night's midseason finale; "Shiva", decided to explore another fresh element of the early days of the end of the world...what happens to people when they truly realize there is no help coming, and that nothing remains of the world they left behind.

It turns out that in those precarious days when that reality settles in, the people of this world can find themselves completely and utterly lost and for proof of that, we need not look any further than Chris and his complete and utter breakdown this week after grabbing the knife and inadvertently threatening Madison and Alicia in the middle of the night. The reality of his actions, and the consequences that come with it all were simply too much to bear and we spent a good chunk of the episode watching Travis chase down his beloved son in the hopes of being able to reach him from the dark place that he has now slid within.

For Chris, this was the apex of his journey for the first half of the season. After losing his mother, and truly understanding the reality of the world and death now surrounding him, there is no hope in his heart or belief that life is worth living. He just sees this as a world that has now become a massive void, where death rules over all things because mankind is weak and perishes easily. He was ready to hurt his family and the son of another man all in the sake of finding what appears to be solitude to work out whatever pain is in his heart and oddly enough, his journey led to the most hopeful moment of the night, but we'll get to that in just a little bit.

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Because that hope was overshadowed by far uglier moments, as we discovered that Chris was not the only shattered member of the group, Nick has lost his way as well. He has gone from a productive member of the group, able to save the day to a man who has decided he belongs amongst the dead. Part of it may be due to the fact that he can finally walk about the world freely as something better than the creatures that surround him, the opposite of his life prior to the apocalypse, or it could be related to the fact that he believes he can never be anything more than a junkie in his mother's eyes. But either way, Nick has clearly had enough of people and the pain that comes with them and in a world without rules, he has drifted away from the people that matter. 

But the most heartbreaking story of the night was Daniel's. After all he has been quite the rock for a better part of the last season and a half, always knowing the right thing to do and when to do it and always having a good eye as to what might be on the horizon for the group. So to see him at his lowest last night, haunted by his memories and his late wife for that matter, well it was simply devastating. It's hard to say exactly what finally snapped inside of Daniel; but whatever sent him over the edge did one hell of a job because his need to find a purpose again, drove him to the extremes and it was sobering to know he completely destroyed the Abigail compound with fire to find peace within. 

Yet, despite watching so many of the group succumb to the despair and desolation of this world, there was still hope to be found. For one, they have quite the leader growing in Madison, since she demonstrated just how far she will go to keep her family and the group safe with her decision to lock Celia in with the dead and allow her to become "part" of the family and oddly enough, Travis' actions were equally as hopeful last night. For him to recognize how lost his son has become, and still be willing to stand by his side and step away from the group to get Chris' head right is quite the move. It speaks to the fact Travis still believes that people can be saved in this awful world and that maybe, just maybe he can reach his son. 

Those optimistic gestures however, don't fix a lot of the problems at hand for the group unfortunately. Once again, they are without shelter or safety since the Abigail compound is now burned to the ground and well, this is really the first time that the group has in essence, made an active choice to be apart and well...there are questions that remain. For instance can everyone move on from all the things they've said and done and find a way to reunite? Can Nick ever see himself fitting in with those that love him? Can Chris be saved from this savage world and for that matter, can Daniel? These are questions we will have to wait until August to have answered and it's going to be one heck of a wait because this truly has been some top notch writing and storytelling and let's hope that it continues along into the second half of the season. Until next time.

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