Episode 24: TEOTWAWKI

"Water is the new currency." - Victor Strand

The story arc of this episode spanned the Otto's Brokejaw Ranch, where the Clarks now are with Luciana, and Victor's whereabouts after he left the resort in Rosarito Beach.


What we haven't seen to this point is what Jeremiah and the Otto boys, Jake and Troy, and how Brokejaw Ranch and their band of survivalists came to be.  The story opens with a video of Jeremiah, presumably set in the late 90s (it's a VHS tape and they talk about international terrorism incidents that occurred then.  He calls it "The End Of The World As We Know It" (TEOTWAWKI, as the survivalists call it).  He is pitching a Survival Starter Bucket (kind of like the Home Depot Homer bucket...do they even sell those? I had one back in the day), with all sorts of items that you need to survive the end of times.


"Don't plan for a future...Plan for a BETTER one!"

 

The video ends...

Madison and her family are at the camp, where there is a service for Charlene, Jeremiah's goddaughter who died in the field.  Madison gets up and says a few words, introduces herself and her kids.  "We lost Travis;  he was our compass."  The crowd wants to know who took the helicopter down. 

As the service ends, some of the members call her names like "freeloader," and she sees that they are skeptical of her and her family.  As Alicia and Madison get food in the line, one of the servers, a young lady named Gretchen Trumbull, introduces herself and invites Alicia to bible study later that evening.  There will be practice for the Christian rock band, "Christ Risen."  The group meets along with Carrie, Gabe and she can meet Jeff when they get there.  Madison encourages Alicia to go, though Alicia tells her that they are Jewish (PS I never got that sense they were part of the tribe).

Nick attends to Luciana, as she is still recovering in the infirmary.  She wants to get better so they can leave.  Nick seems to have a change of heart being with his family again, and just wants them to be safe.

Madison enters her barracks, and Troy is waiting for her there.  He starts to ask her what she did in the old world.  She tells him she was a guidance counselor.  Their dynamic seems to be more of a mother/son vibe, except I get the impression the son wants to fuck the mother (Oedipal complex maybe?).  He starts to press her for info on Nick, as he picked her to come back, and not him.  Specifically, why were they separated, and he was with strangers?

When Nick returns later, he broaches the topic of leaving (I guess he'd like to since Luci has no intention of staying).  Madison says that this is all they have right now.  She blames him for Travis dying, that they rescued him from that hellhole and Travis died as a result.  A little harsh, but I'm sure she feels some sense of guilt that her relentless tracking down of Nick led to Travis dying.

When Nick and Alicia talk after Madison leaves, Alicia confides that she doesn't want to stay either.  But this is a different circle of hell than what else is out there, so why not stay at this one?

Madison enters Jeremiah's office after her run-in with Troy, not to mention the reactions from the other residents.  She asks him for reassurance, and she feels threatened by Troy.  Troy killed people, she tells him, in the name of "science."  Jeremiah tells her that getting the residents on her side is on her, and her alone.  Meanwhile, he sends her into the viewing room to look at his old TEOTWAWKI videos.

Jake warns Troy, after he hears Madison talking to Jeremiah about their confrontation.  He tells them to stay away from them, and he will protect them from him.  Seems like Jake is the "good son," and Troy is the troubled one.  That was pretty easy to figure out.  But Jake tells Troy that if something happens to Dad, they will be the ones who need to lead. 

Alicia then attends "Bible Study" with Gretchen and her friends.  They enter a dark bunker...and it turns out the study is code for "let's get high and talk about shit."  And Jeff?  Jeff is a head, one of the remainder of first infected that came upon the ranch after "T.E.," as Gretchen calls it.  ("The End," for you kids at home).

Gretchen uses Jeff to ask Alicia questions about what it's like on the outside.  Alicia tells her bad stuff happens out there, and it changes you.  What kind of bad stuff, "Jeff" wants to know.  Alicia confesses that she killed a man.  She said it was "easy."  As they leave the camp at sunrise, and walk back to their barracks, Jake sees them and asks if they were up all night turning water into wine.  Alicia, clearly high, says, "Praise Jesus!"

Troy catches Nick by himself, while he watched an older couple slow dance on their porch.  Troy invited Nick to go hunting in an effort to "earn his keep."  Without hesitation, Nick goes with him in the truck.  The camera focuses on the older couple a little long.  They do figure in a later episode. 

While in the dark, Nick jumps Troy.  He taunts Troy, asks him how long he thinks it will take for him to turn?  Troy says, "87 minutes."  Nick holds a gun to his head, then fires away from his head.  They scuffle, and Nick laughs like a maniac.  Finding his fucked in the head match, Troy says, "I think we can be friends now!"

As Madison finishes viewing the survivalist videos, she finds a video cut where Jeremiah, obviously drunk, berates his family on camera, making his youngest (Troy) cry.  Jeremiah catches Madison watching it, says, "This was not my finest moment."  They talk, he tells Madison that his wife Tracy died of the drink.  Later, as Troy and Nick were hunting, she tells Jeremiah that Nick is an addict.

It's funny how the Ottos and Clarks have their deepest darkest secrets, and have no problem sharing this vulnerable information with one another.  Jeremiah though then takes Madison into a bunker, which is basically a pantry filled with his survival buckets, that didn't sell as well as he thought.  But, he tells Madison, that he has a purpose in this new world.  "We will build something better than before," Jeremiah tells Madison.  Out of everyone in this show, Jeremiah is the one with the most hope for a better future.  Guess he really did practice what he preached in building a better one. 

Later, Madison visits Luciana in recovery.  They talk, but hold their cards close.  It is discovered that later, in the morning, that a search party never returned from the night before.  They need volunteers to assist Troy to find them.  Madison raises her hand.  Our odd couple gets thrown together in a small space.  Because why not.   

On the Victor arc, we see him as he glides down the highway in his fancy new luxury car as Victor is wont to do.  He slows down as some people crowd the streets, which we see leads to a dam.  People are lined up for water, and are trading goods and wares to get jugs filled up.  Victor jumps to the front of the queue and asks to see "Señor Dante."  The guards take him down, and as (presumably) Dante approaches.

"Victor.  You look like shit."

They go into Dante's office and talk about old times, and Victor lets him know that Thomas didn't survive.  They go to the dam, where Victor sees Dante's henchmen throwing a man off the dam.  They then grab Victor, and Victor pleads with Dante.  Says that they need each other, and he will need Victor's help in transport, getting guns, etc.  Dante tells him he will need to pay off a debt.  Thugs take Victor away.



As the episode ends, we see Victor being held prisoner in a cell by the dam.  Someone hands him a canteen of water through the window bars.  Camera pans and...in the HOLY SHIT moment of the year, we see it's Daniel Salazar.

 

He's back, y'all!

He sing-songs, "I told you, I'd be your guardian angel...."

Episode 23: New Frontier

"We're building a new nation.  This is the safest place to live in a world gone mad."  - Jeremiah Otto

So this episode started off with a bang.  Literally.

While the first episode solely looked at the Clark tribe (Madison, Nick, Alicia and Travis) as they reunited, this episode goes back and forth between their new habitat at the Otto ranch ("Brokejaw") and those who stayed behind at the hotel, notably Victor Strand, who is quickly becoming my favorite character on the show.

As the premiere episode ended, Madison was on the ground with Nick and part of the ranch crew in a pickup.  Travis was in Jake's helicopter with his co-pilot along with Alicia and an infirmed Luci.

They've been up in the air for awhile, as it was light when they left and now dark.  They say over the radio, "About 20 out."  I'm no pilot, but I guess that means they are pretty close.  All of a sudden, there's gun shots, and the helicopter becomes compromised.  No one was hit...well, except for Travis.  He looks up stunned, makes eye contact with Alicia.  He opens his jacket, and he's hurt.  Bad.  Like, he's gonna fucking die no matter what.  The copter is losing hydraulics, and going down quickly.  Travis saves the crew and jumps to his death.

And that was it.  Just like that, a major character dies without any warning, no fan fare and absolutely no rumors.  And it was completely anti-climactic yet dramatic at the same time, as Alicia screams out to stop him from jumping. 

We go back to the Rosarito Beach Hotel.  This is literally how long since the Clarks left - maybe a day or two, tops?  Refugees are starting to revolt, demanding to be let in.  The hotel has power (thanks Madison!), rooms, water, safety.  People are ill, one woman is pregnant, they need medical attention immediately.

Victor comes out, tells the people to calm the fuck down and demands to Elena that they be given shelter.  There is plenty of room, he says.  Give them the empty rooms.  Oh yeah, and he also tells them he is a DOCTOR.  Yeah, this shit will end up well.

He performs simple procedures at first, like stitches, then the woman goes into labor. Well, of course Victor now has to deliver a child.  Ya gotta be shitting me here.  Well at least he can add that to his resume now.

Meanwhile back at the ranch (see what I did there?), Madison, Nick and Troy arrive.  They are greeted by the others, but the other group (Jake's group) hasn't arrived yet.

Madison and Nick talk amongst themselves.  Nick asks what if they don't return?  But Madison wants to stay put.  She tells him to hug his mama.  He finds a gun on her person, that she confiscated during a fuel stop on the way.  "We get our family, take what we need, stop anyone who gets in our way."  Cool story, Madison.

Jeremiah Otto then greets Madison at the gates and offers her coffee.  He cuts right to the chase.  "Any reason to think your husband could have diverted the aircraft?"  She said he'd do anything to get daughter to the ranch safely.  She admits that she was the one who hurt Troy by putting the spoon in his eye.  Jeremiah deadpans, "Happy it wasn't a fork."  So I guess they're cool with each other.

He tells her that they are two families with missing loved ones.  They wait it out together.

(PS Remember in the second to last episode of season two, when Ofelia was approached by who I thought was a "border guard?" The guard (who was clearly not a guard) was Jeremiah.  When I first watched this episode, I thought she may have been held prisoner on the ranch...to be continued...)

Jeremiah's goddaughter was Jake's copilot in the copter.  She takes off to be on watch.  Alicia and Jake hear a noise, he investigates and find some infected.  Alicia follows him and takes one out.  They also find the copilot, dead.  Jake shoots her in the head as Alicia walks away.

Victor meanwhile is having a celebratory drink after delivering the baby.  Elena and Hector tell him the family wants to name the baby after him, it's their custom.  However, his lie is now their lie, and he needs to leave immediately.  No cars, just his own two feet to get out of there.  Hector though tells Victor that before he leaves, he needs to visit one last patient who is on a hunger strike.

The patient is Eileen, Jessica's mother from season two.  And remember, she also stabbed Victor after he killed Jessica after she turned.  Riiiiight.  But the meeting was surprisingly tame.  He offers her food, and opens the sliding door to the balcony to get her some fresh air.  She recalls stabbing him, and she apologizes.  She tells him that he is an angel, that he freed her little girl.  He tells her that he delivered a baby earlier, and if this child lives, it's a start of a new generation.

She asks if he knew where he would go if he left.  He said he had a place in mind.  (What, did you think he didn't?).  She then gives him the "wedding gift" that had been marked for Pablo and Jessica.  He takes a look, smiles.  Then in a dramatic finish, she tells him, "But there are no more generations."  As he admires his new gift from Eileen, she leaps to her death off the balcony.  This was probably one of the best scenes in the show, to be honest.  I could watch it over and over.

Jake, Alicia and Luciana make their way to the ranch.  Luci is still badly hurt and goes unconscious, so Jake has to carry her the rest of the way.  They make it to Brokejaw, they are greeted by Madison.  When she realizes Travis isn't there, she knows what happened and now has to reconcile that he died without her saying goodbye and him being alone.  That was tough to watch.  But honestly, out of the family, Travis was the weakest.  He was afraid of change and knew there was a natural pecking order to life.  Madison would've been held back had he stayed alive.

Jake then tells Jeremiah they were shot down, but doesn't know by who.

And here comes Troy with the gun, saying, welp gotta put Luciana down, she's as good dead.  When the family pleads to put her in the infirmary to rest and recover, he's like, whatever she could die and turn and compromise us.  Later!

Nick blames him - tells everyone that it was Troy who shot Luci and almost killed them both at the border.  Then he says, that if anyone should kill Luci, it should be him.  He cares about her.  Troy, despite all his survivalist training, hands Nick the gun.  You know how this turns out.  Nick turns the gun on Troy, demands they let her in.  Jeremiah is a voice of reason, says if she has a pulse, they will let her in.  But "secure her before you treat her."

Madison goes off to be by herself, where she is literally sick with grief.  Jeremiah joins her, says that killing oneself presents problems in this day and age.  He needs to see if she's a danger to herself or the others.

He then says that a Beretta 418 went missing from the fuel stop earlier.  He asks her to sign for it, and she does.  So there's that.  He's okay that she has the firearm.  They seem to have an understanding.  Which I guess is good since it looks like the Clarks are gonna stay for awhile.

Later, Madison, Nick and Alicia are finally reunited and are out of harm's way...for now at least.  Madison tells them she wants to stay, that they will make it a home, even if they have to take it over.  They all suffered to get together and Travis died to get there.  Now, she says, she wants to hear how it happened.

Just before that last scene with Madison, we went back to the hotel with Strand.  Eileen's gift?  Oh,  only a fully loaded fucking brand new Jaguar that has been sitting in the hotel garage since the wedding night.  Victor, being Victor, drives off in style.  Because that's how he rolls.

Off to the future generation. 

Episode 22: Eye of the Beholder

"Resurrection at 17:17 hours." - Troy Otto

The previous season ended with Nick's group from La Colonia (with Luciana) were heading to the border, as Nick saw a helicopter flying back and forth.  Thinking it was a refugee camp, and potentially safe, they head up.  At the border crossing, they are caught in fire and presumably captured.  Luciana is also shot. 

We only find out how badly it was at the start of this episode.

Concurrently, Madison and her group (now just with Travis and Alicia) follow the tip Alejandro told them in his dying breath: that Nick was going to the border. 

This episode wasted absolutely no time in diving right into things.  The refugee camp was more of a vigilante compound, where Nick, Luciana, Alicia, Travis and Madison were captured (along with others) and brought in as prisoners.  Madison and Alicia are separated from the rest, and held in an office.

In the shower room, Travis is held and he sees Nick (with Luciana) on the other side.  He makes his way over and tells them Madison and Alicia are there. 

When I watched this initially, I was happy they dove right in.  But it was like, Nick hadn't seen Travis in, however long, months at this point?  Or maybe just a few weeks, going into a few months?  Really can't keep track of time here.  Yet, it's like, "Oh hey Travis," like they saw each other fucking last week.

Anyway, Madison and Alicia search for ways out of the office, since they are locked in.  Alicia takes Madison to task.  Says they shouldn't have followed Nick.  Alicia has always been steadfast in that Nick left them, and it wasn't up to them to find him.  Now they are held hostage.

We saw a young man transporting them to the camp, and he enters the office.  His name is Troy.  He asks them a few questions, offers them tea.  Seems benign.  But of course, we find out he's not.  Look at the world we are in here.  He wanted to know why they were traveling north from Mexico.  Madison tells him that they were at a friend's place.  He asked if it was Travis, the man she was with (what, everyone brown gotta be Mexican, dude?).  But she tells him they were together but it was not him. 

Troy tells them they are being "processed," and they can get supplies when this is over. 

Meanwhile back in the shower area, Troy and his militants are conducting experiments.  Killing people and timing how long it takes them to turn.  In the name of science, of course.  I'm sure in the real world, they'd deny climate change, but I digress.  As I said before, Troy thinks everyone brown must be Mexican, and he asks Travis if he is Mexican.  Travis tells him that he is Maori, and Troy tells him that he is a warrior.  (Is that good in Troy's view)?

Nick asks about his mom and sister.  Travis says that Luci needs medical attention.  Troy shrugs off their concerns.  He says, "Everyone dies."  So it turns out, Troy is a sociopathic son of a bitch.  Okay.

Things escalate because of course they do.  Troy and his men start choosing people to die next for their experiments.  Travis, meanwhile is approached by a man named Steven.  (Spoiler alert: he dies).  Steven tells him he knows a way out of the compound, but he needs backing.  Meanwhile, Steven, Travis, Luci and Nick are taken into the killing room.  A man is shot.  Luci gasps.  Travis is stonefaced.  The tough chick cracks and Travis is hardening.  Guess we all change in the apocalypse.  Steve tries to reason with Travis to take them down and go with him, even saying that he is less of a burden than Luci (who is badly injured and losing blood, slowly going into shock).  Travis says that Luci is family, she goes with them.  So cool, they are plotting their escape.  All but 15 minutes into their capture. 

Back in the office, Alicia hands Madison her switchblade (the one she killed Andres back at the hotel).  Says they didn't confiscate it when they were captured.  They fall asleep, and Troy finds them, writing his "observations."  He tells Madison that Travis is also being "processed," because he's in a different area.  She asks if Travis is dead, and says that she loves him.  "You love his life more than yours," Troy asks her?  She says, "Yes."  Not sure if that's true, but go you Madison.

As the militants kill people and time their "return," Travis confronts them, asks if they know what they're doing.  They just say, "Science."  They ask if Travis has killed yet.  He said, "No one that didn't deserve it."  Meanwhile Travis should've killed those bromigos back at the farm, but like any good English teacher will tell you know, imitating Hamlet is what gets us through life.  Moving right along, they choose Nick for the experiment.  Travis volunteers, says that Maori don't turn. You won't know unless you kill me, he says.  Okay, Travis, that was ballsy.  He then assaults the guard, while Nick, Luci and Steve make their escape. 

Troy is literally telling Madison as this occurs, "I will release Travis..." and they hear the gun shots in the rebellion. Then he runs off towards the conflict and locks them in the office again. 

Steve takes Nick and Luciana to a tunnel, where he's shot.  Nick and Luci make their escape and they slit Steve's throat.  Remember this is no surprise.  He dies.  Which is a shame.  He's played by Ross McCall, an actor I watched on Band of Brothers years ago.  He played a very memorable character.  Anyway, Luci is very weak and can't run, but Nick tells her he won't leave her.

Travis is captured by Troy and his henchmen.  Troy taunts Travis about Madison, says he will keep Travis "safe."  Troy then returns to Madison and Alicia, where Madison attacks Troy...with a spoon to his eye.  OUCH.

Alicia runs, looking for a vehicle to escape in.  Nick and Luci find a way out of the tunnel but...there's a shitload of infected coming towards them.  They run back. 

Travis at this time though, he is taken to a pit of dead by the rest of the militants, where he takes the dead out one by one with a cinderblock. First time I've seen him so bad ass, actually.  Madison holds Troy hostage and finds where Travis is.  It's then that Troy's brother, Jake, arrives.  He reasons with Madison, tells him that he knows his brother and brought this on himself.  She says she just wants her family back. 

At this time, Alicia hears Nick fighting Steven, who is now infected, through the grate.  She tosses her blade down, Luci finishes the job. 

As Travis finishes off the infected, he attacks Troy.  At this time, Madison and Nick are reunited.  If this sounds chaotic, it was.  It's the fucking apocalypse people. 

But what I remembered most was the way Travis looked longingly at Madison, reuniting with her family.  Yes, they were together and had a complicated relationship.  But also remember, Travis just found out he lost his son.  They may be together, but his family is all gone now. 

Jake seems like the "good brother" to Troy's "bad psycho ass brother".  Apparently, Troy went against orders.  He was to "get in" and "get out" of this camp, but stayed behind and started conducting these fucked up experiments in the name of science. 

Later, in the shower stalls, one of Troy's henchmen hears a noise through the grate.  It's like in the horror movies, when you say "GIRL DON'T GO IN THERE!"  He takes out the vent, and is swarmed by rats in about 3.5 seconds. Then a walker reaches in and kills him, dead.  Good.  But bad because shit happens after you die now.    

Jake Otto convinces the Clark tribe to go to their dad's sanctuary.  "He's prepared."  We had heard rumors that the Clark tribe would end in a survivalist camp. The compound they are at now has become compromised, and they will need to leave.  Madison is leaving in a truck with Nick and Troy, but is separated from Travis, Alicia and Luci as they go away in Jake's helicopter.  Possibly the same copter Nick saw in the distance from La Colonia. 

Travis surveys the land as they take off, telling Alicia that her mother made it off safely in the truck with the other group. 

"They made it.  They're clear."

Season Two Breakdown

Prior to the season two finale, AMC showed the marathon of the first and second seasons of the show.  Even though I keep a notepad of the shows, I had a few ah-ha moments while rewatching them.  I really do think they are trying to tell us something, an underlying theme.  Certainly I've seen the five stages of grief come into play a lot.  In Mexico, Day of the Dead was prevalent.  But also character growth is what has abounded.  In a world where you need to be selfish, it's the selfless people who seem to survive.  Sure, there are takers.  But they usually get theirs, one way or another.

Like Brandon and Derek.  Or the warehouse banditos.  The takers usually don't have contingency plans.  They just continue to take.

I think the easiest way to do all this is to breakdown where each character was at from the beginning.

In Season One, we started off with nine people as focal characters.  The Clarks:  Madison, Nick and Alicia.  The Manawa/Ortiz family: Travis, Liza and Chris.  The Salazars: Daniel, Griselda, and Ofelia.  In a flash, each of these families became connected for better or worse.  In the case of the Clarks/Manawas, Madison and Travis were living together, with Nick (a recovering and relapsing drug addict) and Alicia (an overachieving high school student).  Liza and Travis were divorced and splitting custody with their son Chris, who was an angry young teenager.  As for the Salazars, they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, allowing Travis's family shelter, then leaving with them.

Daniel's wife Griselda was one of the first casualties of these families.  Only to lose Liza once she was bitten in an infected attack at the refugee hospital where Nick was being caged, along with Victor Strand, who in turn took on this new tribe.

So season one ended with Madison, Nick, Alicia, Travis, Chris, Daniel, Ofelia and Strand as a group.

As the second season hit its midway point, we were introduced to Celia, who was the "house mother" so the speak of Abigail ranch, who was named for Thomas Abigail, Strand's partner.  Abigail had become infected, and Strand made sure he passed.  Celia had taken a liking to Nick, especially when Luis (Celia's son) died in a gun fight on the boat, and Nick had taken an infected Luis to Celia.

See the underlying theme is that the dead are not dead.  As Celia once said, the dead have always walked among us.  We just see them now.  And if I know anything about Mexican culture, it's that they have a respect for the dead.

By the end of Season Two, a main character was killed, and that was Chris.  We saw something very unprecedented in this show, in that the main characters stayed intact pretty much though at the midseason finale, they all went separate ways, and you wondered how they would get back together.  Strand, Madison, Alicia and Ofelia took off as a team, Nick went off on his own while Travis and Chris went in their own direction. 

And I am still convinced Daniel is going to make a big dramatic entrance somewhere at some point.  I just can't believe that a show would hire Ruben Blades and his awesomeness to just have him peter out in a scene with a shit-eating grin on his face as the cellar burned around him. 

(NOTE: I had this draft saved forever, and I'm finally writing the wrap up nearly one year after the second season ended.  We are well into the third season of FWD and we have a good idea of what Daniel is up to these days...)

 Unlike the predecessor show, this band of survivors of the apocalypse seem to compromise everything they fucking touch.  I believe we have seen several years at Alexandria, as an example.  In this show, each place they've touched has turned to shit, and quickly.  If Madison and crew show up, I'm warning everyone, just leave because shit is about to go down and badly.  Patient Zero was in LA - they knew her.  They go to the boat - it gets stolen.  They go Abigail - soon overrun by the dead and gone in a fire.  And they leave the hotel in potential ruins.

By the end of season two, Alicia, Madison and Travis leave together.  Victor plots his next move at the hotel.  Ofelia seems to have been captured by a border agent or vigilante.  Daniel hasn't been heard from.  And Chris is now with his mother.  

Right now I'm going over my notes for the second season and finally getting caught up on my third season notes.  We are well on our way through the second half of the season.  And man, it keeps getting better.  I'm so glad I got into this show.