'Fear the Walking Dead' Recap: 'Pablo & Jessica'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

It would appear that at long last, Fear the Walking Dead has finally found a formula that works when it comes to telling a story. It seems that going forward, we are going to be getting a pair of stories to progress the plot along. This new layout is allowing for us to catch up with the 'lost' folks in the group while we see what Madison and company are up to as well, and so far, this new style of storytelling is working out in brilliant fashion.

It's allowing the show to spend quality time with our characters on a more intimate basis, allowing us to get to know them and develop them in proper fashion and this week's episode, 'Pablo & Jessica' is a fine example of this. We finally learned a few quirks about Nick and what he's all about when it comes to why the man has been lost in the world for so long and we saw a new side of Madison this episode as well and it turns out that she is the leader and focal point that the show has been lacking because the decisions she came to at the hotel last night were bold and wonderful and necessary as she figured out a way to keep the peace between the people surrounding her.

But before we get too deep into that, let's go back and talk about Nick because it was time to revisit him and the Colonia and we were treated to some wonderful moments with the young man as he tried to make amends for putting the Colonia in harm's way a few weeks ago when he crossed the line with the gang that serves as the little community's lifeline to supplies. He decided to help everyone out by making use of his skills learned on the streets and manipulate the town's supply of Oxycontin. By cutting the drug with other ingredients, Nick knows the gang leader's sister will have the fix she so desires, but more importantly, their already dwindling supply of the drug is now extended out further, buying them more time to continue to bring valuable supplies into the Colonia. 

However while it was nice to see Nick step up and offer this kind of help to those allowing him to stay, there were two gentle moments that stood out above the rest last night. The first came about when he received a home from Alejandro. He was genuinely stunned by the gesture and calmly pointed out that he didn't deserve it and the second was the fact that his concern for Luciana's well being over her brother's death allowed her to open up to him on a romantic level. This truly gave us some insight into the fact that Nick is a good man through and through who has found himself in some awful circumstances of his own doing and because of his mistakes...he feels as though he deserves to be punished in life, and it's led to his years of wandering. It added a new and intriguing depth to his character, but while all of this was fascinating, Madison's journey overshadowed it. 

---

Because back at the hotel, we slipped back in time for a moment to learn how she and Strand escaped the wall of walkers in the bar and well...she oddly enough took a page out of her son's survival book, ensuring that she and Strand were covered in the blood of the infected to escape before sneaking into the area where she and Alicia finally met up last week. It was in this place that Madison came to realize how important the discovery of the hotel was to the group and that it would behoove them to secure the place and make it their new home.

It was in this moment that this show found its own Rick Grimes if you will, because Madison transformed before our eyes last night. No longer happy to run, she brokered peace between her group and the wedding party holed up here and with Alicia's help, brought forth a daring and stunning plan to finally clear the hotel of the dead. Every able person would use themselves as bait, leading the dead to the pier nearby where Madison would lead them to the end of it and dive off toward a waiting boat, allowing for the dead to follow her into the sea and be pulled out into the ocean courtesy of the rip tide. The plan works like a charm, and the hotel is finally free, but what matters more here, is that people began to follow Madison for her actions. She inspired people and change and well, this was an impressive twist to the story and it's wonderful to finally see someone in charge.

Plus it was absolutely stellar to finally see her character go from confused and needy housewife to a solid and stoic leader that rallies the good in people. How long that will last, we don't quite know, but her leadership allowed for a grieving Strand to find a purpose once again, and that made the final moments of this episode incredibly powerful as he came to realize that the groom had made a tough decision in all of the chaos, and left his resurrected bride, formerly known as Jessica,  walking around in the Honeymoon Suite. His decision wasn't out of spite, or to keep her around as a weapon, it was simply out of grief, and his inability to let his love go and after a wonderful talk with Strand, it was clear that the two men were bonding in their mutual pain of losing a spouse and by allowing Strand to go in there and deal with her walking corpse...perhaps both men would find peace.

Either way, in many ways this was a beautiful episode. One that bucks the trend of darkness the show has been embracing by supplying us with hope. After all, the hotel is now secure, Nick seems to finally be finding his way in life and people that have been needing to heal are healing. But one cannot stress enough how awesome it is to finally see a strong leader emerging in Madison. It's been a long time complaint for the show that it needs a leader, a voice of reason and someone to direct everyone through the hellish wilderness of the end of the world and she's it and she's a damn fine leader at that. She's strong and vocal when she needs to be, and a good enough person inside to be gentle when that's required as well. It should be interesting to see what life in her new home/community is going to look like, and like any good leader, she'll no doubt be put to the test quickly. Until next time.

---