Tight ship.
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.
I was all prepared to simply label "Blood in the Streets" as the best Season 2 episode of Fear the Walking Dead so far. But really, thinking back to the show's shortened first season, this would be the best episode the show's ever done to date. Not that the story wasn't built upon a bad character choice (Alicia being too trusting over the radio back in the premiere), but it was a choice made a few episodes back. And the crisis this week didn't really leave room for our heroes being inept. Bottom line: They had to rise to the occasion. They had to be clever and form a united front. And the show was better for it.
I suggested back at the very top of the season that this show needed more unifying horrors to help our ragtag band of survivors band together more. The more people shuffled off on their own and meandered about under dark clouds of zompocalypse ennui, the more the series chose to have them make bad, self-destructive choices. There needed to be a catalyst to help them all gel as a team. And walker attacks weren't exactly doing it. Though last week's beachfront stand-off did work in some respect.
In "Blood in the Streets," the Abigail was violently boarded. Invaded quickly by a small group of punk-ass pirates who were more than adept at conning boats into letting them climb up on board. All part of a group of marauders led by Connor (Mark Kelly) - a seafaring scavenger whose taken to the "murdering people to survive" lifestyle right out of the hellscape gate. With him came Jack, the young man Alicia thought she was helping back in the premiere, and Reed, Connor's mean-spirited trigger man. Along with a young pregnant woman (Veronica Diaz-Carranza) who acted as the team's bait.
So all our main characters got jumped, which forced them into individual courses of action. Independent, but all aiming toward escape. Madison, very cooly, tried to get into the pregnant girl's head while Alicia tried to play Jack. Meanwhile, Travis and Daniel sent little signals to one another so that Travis could sneak a weapon into the mix. It was really the first time, on this series, that I was rooting for our main players to win. Hell, I even started to like Chris, which was a big deal.
And I haven't even gotten to the best part of "Blood in the Streets," which was the exploration of Strand's backstory. Or at least, via flashbacks, important notable moments that helped explain Strand's wealth, yacht, and passage to Mexico. Along with a couple of character layers that helped round the guy out as something more than a direct, coarse, logic-monster.
Dougray Scott guested here has Thomas Abigail, the wealthy real estate shark who Strand came to work for after losing all his own properties in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. And I liked this backstory a lot not just because it helped fill in gaps, but because it also kept Strand's sociopathic tendencies intact. He's not a full-blown criminal, but he is ruthless. But also honorable, in his own way. And that was important here because the undercurrent of this chapter involved Travis and Maddie having to decide whether or not to get rid of Strand, if given the opportunity. So when they ultimately chose to rescue him at the end, it felt right.
I feel like the the fact that Strand and Thomas were revealed to be lovers/partners during the final two flashback segments was supposed to come off as more of a surprise than it actually was. By then, I knew what was up with them. In fact, their first scenes together had a very intimate vibe in place, making me just assume that they were both attracted to one another. A lot of their dialogue had flirtation to it. In fact, I think my main comment would be that the entire flashback arc would have worked better if they hadn't treated Strand's sexuality as something that needed to be a third act "surprise."
Overall though, this episode worked very well. As did Nick's little side venture to get Strand's man, Louis. I didn't know what Nick was up to at all most of the time he was stumbling through that tent town, but I was intrigued. Nick, having shed his addiction for the most part, continues to be one of the most watchable and interesting characters on the show. And his lazy fearlessness only adds to his odd charm. Plus, nothing really takes him over the edge, emotionally. He's already more than willing to smear himself in guts and walk through a place with a TON of zombie hiding places.
The Verdict
"Blood in the Streets" brought our main characters together in a time of cramped, confined crisis. And with no room for squabbling between them, they came out in full force, both physically and psychologically to win the day (though Alicia being taken is still an issue). And in the show's first ever experiment with flashbacks, Strand was given a great background arc.
Editors' Choice
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