"Men don't do these things because of evil. They do evil because of fear." - Daniel Salazar
We see similar to natural disasters like a hurricanes and flooding (Hurricane Katrina in 2005 came to mind), the NG was going in and marking homes as condemned, and how many were found living or dead on the premises.
But also life in the holding pattern has given some of the characters a false sense of security. Nick is seen lounging in a pool as the scene opens. Meanwhile, Travis is jogging around the compound, trying to keep his mind off the craziness in the world at the time.
Travis' son, Chris, is a video blogger type of guy. He's always got his camera at the ready, and even when he was found at the center of the riots in the second episode, he was fully planning to document everything on video. However, he sees in the distance that there is a building in the distance, outside the city walls that is using their house lights as a beacon to send a message (we don't know what message this is, but that there is life out there, or something the military is trying to hide from the civilians).
The military tells the community that they are free from infected, and one in 12 communities that are labeled as "safe zones." They reassure the community, to free them from panicking (yeah, we know THAT will work out well), but also to reiterate they are strong with supplies and medical attention is on its way. Which is critical, because now there are several people in the community who are ill. May or may not be life threatening. But what we later find out is that anyone deemed a "threat" to the community, whether ill or a danger to themselves will disturb the balance they have set forth.
See, nature versus man. Nature always wins.
Travis, who we see is a lover of structure and pecking order, is acting a constable in the area. A go-between for the National Guard and the community.
What we see that the military has deemed someone a danger to themselves, therefore a danger to the community, we see with a friend of the family, named Doug. Doug seems to be a sensitive man who has children and a wife, and he is not handling the world events well at all. Maddie has almost sarcastically referred to Travis as "a man of the people," and spreading himself thin to get everyone to like him (and hopefully give him more information or reassurances, which, yeah right, that shit's ever gonna happen). He is asked to help with Doug, who has locked himself in the bathroom of his home.
This episode had a lot going on; if you watched it distracted or blinked, you might have missed some of the details. Details, that I've taken notes on, could prove to be important later on.
As an example, we see that the only thing to barter is really themselves. Ofelia has struck up a relationship with a National Guardsman, in an effort to get more meds and more info for her mother, who has taken a turn for the worst. As in a parallel civilized world, we are now seeing the human capital of trading favors instead of things or money.
Alicia, meanwhile, has seen that life as she knows it will never be the same. She's already figured out her boyfriend is more than likely dead at this point, and that her neighbors Susan and Patrick are gone. She breaks into their condemned home and finds a letter that Susan had written Patrick.
Chris also tries to talk to Maddie about what he's seen out there, with the house and flashing lights. When Maddie brushes him off, saying that the military is in charge, Chris argues that soldiers either know or won't help. Either way, we are led to believe there are lots of secrets that either the crew is better off not knowing or that they're deliberately keeping people tied up elsewhere.
Maddie tries to convince Travis to check out what Chris had seen in the distance. Travis, however, still trust the hierarchy and doesn't want to disturb this new normal they have. It's clear that Maddie is convinced that Chris may be onto something.
We also find out that Doug has "disappeared" or "escaped." Travis is a little concerned, but thinks he just needed to get out by himself (but now we are living in a world with curfews and having to be in a certain place at a certain time, and doesn't want to see Doug get hurt). However, when he goes to search for Doug, he hears screams and chaos outside the fences.
Clearly, this is something Travis doesn't want to acknowledge or feels he is better off not knowing.
We are introduced to Dr. Exnor, who (in her words) "works for the government." Liza has been acting a health professional to several families in the area, including caring for Griselda and another neighbor, named Hector (with his wife Cynthia). Hector is taken into care, and Exnor discovers that while Liza isn't technically a "nurse," that she has caregiving skills that she needs for help.
Exnor also confirms that Griselda will need surgery and plans to take her to the military facility off the grounds.
Nick, on the outside, has seemed okay with his weaning and withdrawal from his drug addiction. However, we had seen him earlier pilfering morphine from Hector's drip. Exnor discovers that Nick is an addict, when taking his vitals, notices his heart rate goes up when she mentions Hector's name. This lady is a very smart but cold and calculating cookie. She has sized up Nick in a minute and a half. And probably setting us up that Nick is not only a danger to himself but to others around him.
Maddie decides to explore the outside of the fenced in area. She sees flyers up, looking for the "missing" in the community. I couldn't help but think once again of other disasters and tragedies that have occurred here. Hurricanes, floods, even a man made disaster like September 11th. Several loved ones were missing, and after several days were presumed dead. When people got infected at the beginning, people just believed they went sick and then "missing." Maybe they were in hospitals. Maybe they were lying dead in a ditch. I couldn't help but think in the first episode, how they saw an eerie looking person just standing in the distance. That's one of the first infected after we see besides Patient Zero.
(things start to make sense once you write them down, haha).
Maddie, however, starts to see how the military has disposed of people or killed people they felt were a threat. She didn't believe they were all infected. She ducks under a car when a military tanks drives through.
Again, a recurring theme not just in this episode but circling from the last episode is that families start making pacts with others. Daniel Salazar asks Maddie to look out for Ofelia, if something were to happen to Griselda and him. After Exnor left, he says he wants to go with Griselda, he doesn't want her to be alone. Exnor reassured him that things would be fine. However, I noticed she really said nothing, just gave him a blank reassurance. Almost a military party line.
Daniel also tells Maddie to keep Nick close. Knowing what we know about Daniel in later episodes, it makes sense his early warnings to Maddie and just about everyone around. He's seem destruction of civilization and society before. But he recognizes that Nick is vulnerable. He warns Maddie.
Meanwhile, she takes her anger out on Nick, and starts slapping the crap out of him. Hell, I'd start slapping him too. He's been home for ten days and can't wash his freaking hair. Gross.
But things are really coming to a boiling point, and the show does a good job of making you feel that in this episode. Each individual feels differently and has a different perspective. Meanwhile, Maddie takes her frustration out on Nick. It used to be that his using was the toughest thing she needed to deal with. Now the world is falling around, and he's still behaving like a selfish addict.
The military arrives to take Griselda to the military hospital. Daniel mistakenly believes that he's going with them. They ask for Nick Clark, who is deemed a threat to those around him. Alicia tells him to run, but he is caught and brought to the hospital against his will.
Exnor convinces Liza to go too, they need all hands on deck. Liza, meanwhile, decides in a split second that doing this could help her keep tabs on Nick and Griselda. She says that she's going not just to "help," but to look out as a "mother." Which is what she and Maddie had discussed in the previous episode. However, she has a plan to see what exactly is going on the other side of the fence.
Travis and Madison, however, feel separate betrayals and rage. Travis has trusted the military to do the right thing this whole time, and still separates families based on who gets to live and who they decide is collateral damage. Maddie, however, feels ultimately betrayed by Liza. That she informed on Nick and that's why he was taken.
In the last moments of the episode, though, Travis decides to head for some personal time on the roof. I can't blame him -- the entire family and structure he knows and has gotten used to is starting to fall apart. He now sees what his son had talked to him about a few days ago, and realizes Maddie and Chris saw something that no one else has.
In Travis' line about Nature versus Man, and nature always being the victor. Man is accelerating nature's takeover by determining who is fittest to survive. It's clear that Griselda was taken not just because of her injuries, but because she and Nick are deemed to weak to continue in the new world order.
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