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. 

Episode 21 Synopsis: North

"She believed in you because you weren't afraid.  Your people will live.  And you will get to die a beautiful death." - Nick Clark

Finally, IGN's review on the season finale and my thoughts were cohesive.  They gave it a high rating (the review was for the last two episodes), which I agreed with.  The episode was very well done, tied up soon loose ends but gave us enough to want more for next year.  Pretty sweet.

The episode started off with Travis left in a catatonic state after raging against Brandon and Derek, and accidentally injuring Oscar in the process.  Hector bashes through the window, while other security guards take out Travis.  Travis doesn't even fight it, but Madison chases them.  Strand tells her to stop.  Madison instead compartmentalizes the situation, takes Alicia's knife and stabs Brandon and Derek in the ear, remembering that, oh yeah, they are going to turn eventually.  They are now officially gone. 

Strand reminds Maddie that by her decree (remember: no violence!), Travis needs to be locked up or sent away.  He's compromised us, Strand says.  Travis needs to leave.  Alicia agrees with him.  But she tells Maddie that they will leave together.  "We found this place. We'll find another."

Which we see as a rolling theme in all these shows.  You stay in one place too long, you become compromised.  You either die or you leave.  It's a pretty simple concept.

And did we truly believe in happily ever after at the hotel?

Yeah.  That's what I thought.

Strand is incredulous though.  Each time Madison has compromised her integrity and rationale, she's put the group at risk.  Now she appears to put herself at risk by leaving with Travis.  "Are you really going to leave for the man who abandoned you?"

I'm certain Strand at this point thought to himself: get me the fuck away from these crazy ass white people.

Madison goes to Elena and Hector, who have Travis locked up.  Madison tells them, I know that Travis needs to go, he committed violence.  But they will all leave together in the morning.  Elena agrees to this, if they leave at dawn.  They have the night.  Hector is disgusted.  Elena tells him in Spanish that she fought for us once, and we can give her this.

Madison talks to Travis, says that he has to leave the hotel.  But that they will leave together.  They found each other again.  She feels this is a bigger reason why they found each other.  He waits the night out with Madison and Alicia.

Back at La Colonia, Luciana is preparing Alejandro to speak to the people.  He is already starting to feel the effects of the virus.  Luciana makes him "presentable."  He tells her that beyond the walls is death and more death, but Nick is right: the end is near for them.  She thinks he still needs to lie to the people though.  While addressing the masses, he tells them that men with guns are coming to do them harm.  He says their faith is stronger than any weapons the men have.

As he addresses the people, Nick leaves and sees a medevac in the distance.  He realizes there is activity at the border.  He makes his way back to Colonia to try one more time to convince the people to leave by appealing to Alejandro.

Back at the hotel, Andres operates on Oscar, as he believes his brain is swelling and needs to take out part of his skull.  Alicia offers to help, but Hector is there and tells her that if it were up to him, Travis would be gone.

Travis, meanwhile, tells Madison that he his not sorry that he killed the bromigos.  Madison tells him that she hasn't been much better, that she was responsible for locking Celia in the cellar with the dead, in an effort to "protect Nick."

She says that the world has changed, he did what he had to.  You'll do it again, because you will have to.  I can face that if you're with me, she tells him.

Oscar dies on the makeshift operating table.  Hector is very angry, tells Elena that she made the deal with Madison to save Travis.  He wants revenge.  Hector and Andres go to their room as Alicia and Madison slept, but Travis was wide awake.  Hector decks Travis, while Andres pulls a gun on him.  Travis seems resigned and accepting of his fate.  He asks them though, if they're going to do it, not in front of his family.  Well, I thought that was very noble of Travis. 

As Madison and Alicia scramble to save Travis, Alicia stabs and presumably kills Andres.  Hector lashes out at Alicia, while Travis fights back.  Strand enters the room as Travis, Madison and Alicia stand there with bodies everywhere.  Calmly, in the biggest understatement of the year, Strand says, "We need to run.  Now."

So Alicia, Travis and Madison hop into one of the hotel trucks, as they hear a ruckus in the distance (probably riling up the security muscle to take out those three), Strand stays behind.  He tells Madison he will stay behind.  He gives her his gun.  "I'll be okay.  Go.  Now."  Travis drives through the fence.

I mean, you just gotta love this new world.  You need a vehicle?  Fucking take that shit!

As the three of them drove away, I thought - wow, in the course of several months, each one of them has killed someone who was somewhat innocent (by our civilized standards of course, most of them had it coming in this world and it was in "self defense").  Madison has killed Celia, Travis the bromigos (and remember, he beat the ever loving piss out of Adams, the private who shot Ofelia after Travis had let him go) and now Alicia took out Andres to protect Travis.  They've adapted, all right.

They're on their way to Tijuana it seems, as Madison is intent on finding Nick.  I was disappointed that Strand didn't go with them, but Colman Domingo later said on the Talking Dead episode that night that he will still figure into the storyline.  Which makes me giddy because I do love his character.  I wasn't sure what to expect of Strand when he was introduced, but he just adds an element to the show that no other character does.

Alejandro is getting high on the Oxy reserves as he's preparing for his imminent death.  I mean, why the fuck not at this point, am I right?  Nick comes back to reason with Alejandro.  Tells him that he saw "something."  But before he says what it was, Nick flat out tells him that he is playing with other peoples' lives, when he knows he's already dying.  If the men come to La Colonia, they are all dead.   Alejandro needs to give them permission to go.  Alejandro asks where they will go.  Nick says, "North."

I ask...What is north of "north?"  Nothing.  I find it very symbolic that after crossing the border, Nick is now realizing that north is where an answer may lie for the people.  The end of the first season, they go "west."  Now they are going back North.

Nick says Luciana needs permission to go.  She was staying because of Alejandro, because he was not afraid.  If you tell her it's okay, they will all be safe.

Madison, Travis and Alicia arrive at the warehouse, which is now ransacked, completely empty, no one in sight.  Madison tells them there were about 100 people there.  She goes to the office where she interrupted the interrogation of Francisco, hoping to find clues about where Nick was or where these people were from.  They find Francisco's family, and Travis appears to have found something on Francisco's person.

In the next morning, the warehouse henchmen (including Marco and Elena's nephew Antonio) scale the wall of the dead and make it into the Colonia, without so much of a fight.  They celebrate; yet their victory is shortlived.

The wall of the dead, the wall that Alejandro and Luciana were convinced protected them from outside evils, was locked in by a school bus.  Alejandro, who had a death sentence anyway, stayed behind and moved the bus, allowing the dead to infiltrate the Colonia.  The men were outnumbered by the dead, and they start to run.

 
I have to say, when these leaders of the small communities go out, they go out with a bang (like Deanna at Alexandria in the main show).  The way Alejandro took them out was predictable, but needed to be done.  A+.  

Meanwhile, in the streets of Mexico, Nick and Luciana lead the remaining living to a new life.  "Where are we going," a little girl asks?

"North," says Luciana.

After all the bloodshed went down at Colonia, the Clark/Manawa tribe come in, after everyone has vacated.  Travis and Maddie tell Alicia to stay behind, where there about a dozen trucks from the banditos, who left them all behind when they took the Colonia.

Travis starts collecting the ammunition that was left behind when everyone started to run.  We see Marco and Antonio, as they are now bitten and have turned.  Alicia finds Alejandro in the bus, who is near death, and she attends to him.  Madison asks if he knows who Nick is.  Mistaking Madison as an angel at first, he tells her that Nick is still alive.  When she asks where he is, he spits out one word: "Border."  He saw something...before he could tell her what he saw, he passes.

I have to say, as far as death goes, Alejandro went out total balls to the wall.  He took out the banditos, protected his people and managed to give Maddie hope that Nick was still out there.  North, it is.

As the Colonia people get to the border, there are about a million abandoned cars, some infected border toll people.  Nick sees in the distance what appears to be a refugee camp.  As Nick lets his guard down for a second, presumably a border guard shoots at him, Luciana warns him and the Colonia people are scattering when the guns fire.

Nick and Luciana are captured in the last moments of the show, while Madison puts down Alejandro before he turns.

Nick was right.  Alejandro died a very beautiful death, giving hope to those around him.

Episode 20 Synopsis: Wrath

"The old rules of conduct no longer apply."  - Victor Strand

This episode represents the second to last of season two, which was aired as a back-to-back two part finale.  I also had the opportunity to watch much of the first season in a FTWD marathon over the weekend prior.  It was fascinating to watch the entire undoing of the world unfold, once again.  They gave us little clues here and there as to how the characters were developed.  Like some were more equipped to handle the new world more than others.  Like Alicia and Nick, for starters.  They've seemed to adapt more than the adults.  Which I guess is a good thing.  After all, the children are our future.  Or some shit.

Moving right along, another character that has developed in a direction that I completely did not think would ever happen was Ofelia.  Mercedes Mason, the actress who plays Ofelia, has been on Talking Dead after some of the shows recently.  She talked about her evolution as this sheltered daughter of two pious individuals who were escaping evil and served their lives to protect her.  In the very first episode she appeared in, she was wearing a cutesy dress and trusted that the family her father was giving shelter to (Travis, Liza and Chris) were good people she wanted to help.  In the end, Griselda (her mother) passed, her father's fate remains to be seen (I don't know how you can cast Ruben Blades and NOT bring him back, but we don't know if he died in the fire), and Ofelia has literally no ties to these people other than they survived the fallout together.

Her character has become sort of a solitary bad ass.  A little misinformed, but when you go all out bad ass, you fucking go all out.  She took Strand's truck, and while attempting to cross the border, her truck overheats and soon, she finds herself surrounded by infected.  She takes a few out, then decides to hoof it.  Well, okay.  I guess when you commit to something, you commit.

Plus, I noticed that the world is sort of ripe for the taking.  How many characters have we seen just take take take?  Perhaps she just had faith that she'd get to Santa Fe (I mean, it's been implied she's trying to find her ex-fiance who we found out had moved there), and that she'd find a way.  Day of the Dead and religious references still abound, as she takes her rosary and water, and walks.

This episode we see the fate of the kids.  Besides Ofelia, we've been following Nick's evolution as "gringo" in La Colonia to being a saviour to the group.  He's formed an alliance with Luciana, who he is also involved with romantically.  The leader of La Colonia, Alejandro, has been playing it safe the whole time, by bargaining with men at the warehouse.

Clearly, Alejandro doesn't realize what has happened to communities like Alexandria, where the hubris and false sense of security of the leaders usually leads to their untimely demise or kills innocents who should not be.  His philosophy has been what is outside the walls is less safe than staying in, even if it means being sitting ducks.

The last we saw Nick, he was trying to convince Luci and Alejandro to do the Oxy exchange with the warehouse banditos.  They overruled him, even though Nick believed that they found the colony and were planning to infiltrate.  Nick leaves against their wishes.  Marco, the leader of Pelicano warehouse, is running sinking ship.  Supplies are dwindling.  Their force is getting less effective.  They still have guns and other ammo, so they're clearly "takers."  Nick tries to negotiate drug drop offs to ensure the safety of La Colonia.  Marco shows that his henchmen have killed Francisco and his family.  They plan on taking La Colonia.  "Leave now or die."

Travis has been holed up back at the hotel, I'm guessing he was lost in his own thoughts.  Madison talks to him, tries to convince him he did the right thing by letting Chris go.  "You kept your promise to Liza.  The rules are different, and they're always changing."  Travis wasn't understanding Chris and his needs anymore.  He's safer with people who understand him.  She tries to convince him to join the others in the world downstairs.  They're ready when he is, she says.

See, this is a common thread that I've discovered.  Nick left, Chris left, Ofelia left.  In each case, each person had made an empty promise to look out for each other.  In Ofelia's case, Daniel asked Madison to look out for her.  Ofelia decided to go out on her own.  As for Chris, there was no changing him.  In that case, he had to change for himself.

Alicia comes to Travis to bring him food.  She apologizes, says that she felt responsible for driving Chris away.  Travis says she was right, that Chris is "sick."  He felt responsible for not protecting her.

Alicia has also found a niche in being a medical assistant to Andres, who has been attending to the hotel refugees.  She reports on some vulgar Americans who came in during the night.  One of whom had a dislocated shoulder from a wreck.  That was Brandon, who along with Derek had found the hotel.  Their typical entitled Americanism shine through, and Alicia wants to kick them out.  Madison overhears their accident story.  Their truck rolled about a dozen times.  The "buddy" who was driving...he didn't make it.  "Who grows up in LA without a license?," one of them muses.

Maddie is struck: this has to be the Americans who Travis described.  The similarities were uncanny.  Easily, one of the weirdest parts of the show so far is how she reacted.  She RUNS to Strand, who is still recuperating from his stab wound from Ilene, and she has this meltdown about how Travis left Chris with these men, she told Travis he did the right thing, that Chris was probably safe out there, and now she thinks he's dead.

Strand tries to rationalize with her, but she wants to kick them out.  In an effort to protect Travis (remember, each woman in Travis' life felt like "something" would break him...whether it was taking out Liza when she was bitten or losing Chris...they've all made some kind of association that Travis was weak, which was further beaten in by Chris when he left to join the Bromigos), she feels that the *hope* that Chris might be alive is enough.  Strand asks if the hope that Nick is alive keeps her going.  "It's a dark world Madison.  Do you think he can handle it?"  I like how they've got Strand as like this Jiminy Cricket for Madison.

The answer she clearly believes is no, though.

Back at La Colonia, Nick tells Luciana and Alejandro about the Pelicano banditos coming for the site.  While Luci and Alejandro talk about "faith" and getting through it, Nick believes they need to cut their losses.  They're out numbered and outgunned.  See, this is where I like Nick.  He was willing to give into a higher power (it's almost like being in NA or AA, where you put your troubles on the shoulder of a higher being), but when it came down to it, he was a realist and they needed a plan.

At this moment, a patient under Alejandro's care has turned and surprises everyone by biting Alejandro along with a few others.  Nick took the infected out, but now the jig is up: Alejandro is now scared.  Nick thinks he is not immune (I mean, I don't think he ever bought that story).

After the two others were bit, they sacrificed themselves to the "Wall."  Nick starts packing, says to Luciana, "Faith will not protect us."  Alejandro shows up.  Nick says that he never saw him afraid until yesterday, when people were leaving.  Now he's afraid of the bite.  Luciana is confused.  Alejandro then admits the day Luciana thought he was bitten and survived, he was bitten by the drugged out boy, who had not yet died.  He justified his actions as that more people survived than died as a result of his lie.  Nick tries to convince Luciana to come with him.  "I'm sure as shit not committing suicide for a fraud."  Luciana says that she won't leave. 

Meanwhile back at the border, Ofelia finds a fence with a hole and presumed to cross into the U.S.  However, she is shot at from a distance.  She takes cover, and she is approached by a man as she protects herself with a knife.  "Buenos dias, señorita.  Welcome to America."  I'm guessing he's some sort of border guard, still protecting the border.  Kind of funny, since Ofelia is Latina, they're probably going to assume she's Mexican...she needs to break out into song.  "Born in East LA," perhaps?

I'll save you the trouble: this is the last we see of Ofelia for this season.  BUT I have a feeling where the story is going with her, and I predict she will be reunited with the rest of the group at some point.  

Back at the hotel, Andres takes a look at Brandon's shoulder, says he will need to pop into place, but someplace private.  The rest of the patients take umbrage with this plan.  Some of them have been there a few days and haven't yet seen a doctor.  Crying preferential treatment, Madison and the group take them outside and plan to let them go as they are basically chased out by the rest of the refugees.  Travis, of course at this very moment decides to leave his room and hears the commotion.  He sees that Brandon and Derek are at the center.  Strand sees this, tries to stop him, but no avail.  Travis rushes downstairs and stops them from setting them out.

"Where's my son?!?!?!!!!???"

Travis goes to talk with Brandon and Derek in an empty cafe.  Andres, Oscar and Madison go with him.  Andres pops Brandon's shoulder back in.  The conversation was civil at first.  Travis asks where Chris was.  Brandon and Derek negotiate a car out of there, as theirs was wrecked.  Madison agrees to this.

They begin to talk about how they didn't make it very far.  Between banditos on the highway, wasted, they were all exhausted.  Brandon and Derek take a nap in the back of the truck, Chris drives.  "He wanted to contribute," they said.  (They said earlier in the triage that he wasn't "pulling his weight."  Which is sort of ironic because Chris had told Travis earlier that he felt that they would think nothing of killing him, but he told Travis that in an effort to trick him.  So there's that).  They guessed that he must have "dozed off," the truck rolled about a half dozen times.  They said Chris went through the windshield.  He didn't make it.

Travis, though, presses for more info.  They said they buried him, and took him out of the truck.  He notices inconsistencies.  Was he thrown...or did they take him out?  Derek jumps in, says he was thrown, but they pulled him out by the tree.  Travis, once the others leave the room, in an unprecedented Travis move, locks them in the cafe.  All the rage he's felt by the world falling apart around him, these two assholes who seduced his child into a false life of badassery and losing his son, he starts beating the piss out of them, while the others helplessly watch outside.  Oscar runs to get the keys.

Travis demands to know the truth.  Brandon admits, they had to put him down.  They had to, he says.  The writers had us see that Chris had broken his leg in the wreck, tried to beg for mercy.  Something tells me though, the "bromigos" weren't too broken up over it.  I mean, shit, they're getting a brand new car out of it!!

Travis then re-dislocates Brandon's shoulder, starts wailing on both Derek and Brandon.  Oscar tries to break up the fight, but Travis in a blind rage knocks him unconscious too.  He choked the life out of Derek, then took his boot to Brandon's head.  Ending it. 

I'm not going to say that the bros didn't deserve it.

But I understand.

Episode 19 Synopsis: Date of Death

"There is no more good. There is no more bad, right or wrong. It's us or them, kill or be killed." - Chris Manawa 

I wasn't crazy about this episode.  It seems like every episode I really like, IGN gives it a low rating.  Yet this one was rated higher than usual over there, an 8/10.  I chalk my feelings up to the next to last episode of the season finale doldrums (technically it's the third to last, but the last episodes aired back to back).  Yet, there was a theme to this episode.  Basically, the idea is, the world could end tomorrow.  Whether you are in the middle of the zombie apocalypse or what seems to be a good life.  Tell your loved ones that you care, and that you love them. You never know when that choice can be taken away from you.

Travis had left Maddie and her family to be with his son.  He left with the idea that he may never return.  Madison was separated from Travis and her own son.  Her daughter, Alicia, stayed behind with her.  Yet they've never really dealt with the underlying issues of Alicia and Nick's father's death prior to the apocalypse, and how Madison treated her children differently before and after this event. 

In the previous episode, we saw Madison come off her rocker once she heard about a gringo with ratty hair dealing drugs to the thugs at the warehouse.  Lighting up the hotel for the entire world to see, she is talked down by Alicia who convinces her that she is putting the entire tribe at the Rosarito Beach Hotel at risk.

We saw that one person who saw the lit up hotel in the distance was Travis, who had been separated from the Rosarito since the mid-season finale.  Travis, as we know, took off with his son Chris, who had a tough time adjusting to the new world, his life without his mother (who was one of the first casualties of the infection) and being linked to a family that he really had no other connection to than the fact that his father was attached to them.  Last we saw of them, they had teamed up with a couple of "bromigos" who crossed the border just days before the shit hit the fan.  Chris liked them.  Travis, needless to say, did not.  When we last saw them, the group had taken residence at a farm that appeared abandoned.  Turns out the owner was still there, but when he shot "Baby" James (one of the bromigos - hat tip to Talking Dead for calling them that), Chris in turn shot the farmer dead.

When we saw Travis in the distance, peering at the lit up beacon of a hotel, he was Chris-less.  At the time, we didn't know that Chris was no longer in the picture.  We just sort of guessed it, though, because it seemed as though it was a matter of time before Chris left him. 

In addition, Travis was not the only person who saw the hotel.  Several others have stormed the gates, demanding to be let in.  Elena, Hector, Oscar, Andres, Alicia and Maddie are all standing guard, apologizing, saying it was a mistake, etc. etc.  Now, the irony is, Maddie had told the group that another group could come and they will take.  These refugees are essentially benign, and rather than "taking" they are begging to be let through the gate.

Maddie sees Travis in the distance, she allows him access.  He shakes his head, silently, when asked about Chris' whereabouts.  What's interesting about them now is that both of their sons have left them, when they desperately tried to hold onto them against the odds.  

Like many other episodes this season, we are treated to a flashback of more recent times, and more precisely, what happened after Chris shot Señor Suarez (who we find out was named Elias).

Baby James is writhing in pain from the shot from Suarez, which had gone through his leg.  On one hand, it was a good thing the slug wasn't lodged in his leg.  The other hand, he would need stitches and medical help.  Of course, that's not happening here.  Keep in mind, Ofelia was shot in season one, and it took her weeks to fight the infection and get at least close to 100%.  James is now a liability, injured and needing immediate medical attention.

Travis, being the adult in charge, ransacks the house to find anything that can stitch him up or any pain medications.  He makeshifts a stitching of the wound, says that he needs rest and a few days before they can leave while James recovers.

The bromigos killed a chicken and start to cook it up.  Travis said something like, they should be eating eggs.  At first, I thought it was a bizarre thing to say, then it made sense: a chicken will keep laying eggs, even if they eat the eggs.  Eat a chicken, the chicken AND the eggs are gone.  Ah-ha! Of course, they don't listen.  James tells him also that on a scale of 1-10, his pain was like a "3 or 4."  It was clear that he wasn't being honest.   Travis feels for him, thinks he is holding back with him.  Turns out, he guessed right. 

Travis takes Chris aside and confronts him about shooting the farmer.  Chris says that he had to do it because the man shot his "friend."  Travis in incredulous: these boys are not their friends.  He calls them "savages."  Chris says that he is a "savage" then.

Chris related a story from when he was in grade school, how he used to come home crying becayse of bullies.  Travis had told him to play the game, to find his place.  Which was probably the worst advice that Chris could hold onto now.  Chris suggested that Travis has "proved his worth" to the guys by saving James.  "You could come out of this as a hero."  Travis doesn't want to be the hero: he just doesn't want them to kill him and Chris too.  Chris says that they need them, Travis disagrees.  Well, *I* do, says Chris. 

Chris didn't fit in as a youngster in school.  A young kid with anger issues in this new world is now trying to find his place.  Travis is trying to help him, but to no avail.  He's going to ally up with a bunch of strangers who think he's a cool kid, Travis will always be his annoying old man.

Several days pass in the flashback.  The bros say that they've gone through all the chickens, and they need to leave.  Travis has his "I TOLD you so" moment about eating eggs.  Travis says that they can't leave James behind, he's still recovering and it's much too soon to move him.  James reluctantly agrees to go, tells Travis his pain is basically zero.  The bros say they are going back to San Diego.  Travis says that San Diego is no longer there (he's told them this before, as well).  Chris says, "Well, we didn't see San Diego."

Before they leave, Travis creates a cross for Señor Suarez's grave, discovers his name is Elias and his birth date.  He also realizes that he has no idea what day or month it is, he's only guessing that the year (2010, when most of the people at the farm has perished).  As they drive away, the activity causes James to pass out from the pain.  Travis implores them to stop: he's not going to live if they keep going.

Brandon, Derek and Chris discuss the fate of James.  "He's not getting any better."  Travis, in protect mode, grabs a gun.  Brandon mocks him, says that he doesn't have the "balls" to use it.  Of course, Chris being the sullen teenager is all, "Geez, Dad, stop embarrassing me!"

When Travis goes back to James, he asks why Travis has a gun.  Travis is honest: he says he's protecting him from his friends who would think nothing of killing him.  Travis asks out loud, "Why not just leave you here?"  James then tells the story of when they first crossed the border, they were a foursome, and a buddy named Troy was with them at the Sea of Cortez.  Troy got bitten before they knew what was going on.  Troy knew he was going to turn, made them promise to "take care of him" (meaning: kill him).  However, Troy lost his nerve, got scared and begged them not to.  James took care of it.

Travis says that this is different: you are not dying, he tells him.  James says that it doesn't matter...they *think* he's dying.

Most of all, he is holding them back. Or rather they have the perception that he is.

Travis stays locked in the barn with James, keeping watch over him.  Judging by the amount of empty food cans around them, it's been a few days.  Chris brings Travis more food.  Travis pats him down, checks for weapons.  Chris empathizes with Travis, says that he gets what he's doing, that James' life still matters to him.  Even says - hey, they've known James since he was like six years old.  Imagine what they'd do to me.  Travis falls for the bait, tells him they will be all right, hugs Chris, but Chris in turn holds him down, the others come in and shoot James in the head.

Earlier in the episode, Travis had asked Chris where his remorse was.  Chris not only didn't feel or show any remorse, he allowed the others to hold Travis at gunpoint after they took care of James.

Chris is preparing to leave with the remaining bromigos, and head back to the states.  Travis tells him that this is forever, that if he leaves, they won't find each other. Chris tells him that his way of doing things won't work in this world.  To Chris, Travis was weak and wouldn't do what needed to be done.  He talks about how when his mother was bitten, Travis had it in him to take care of Liza.  Travis says it was different (of course it was: Liza was bitten and there was no cure; James was just injured and needed time to recuperate.  In Travis' mind, James didn't need to die).

Chris drives away with the bros, while Travis yells out, "Goddamn you, Chris!"  Travis buried James on the property, then started his journey to the Rosarito Beach, which took two days, then found the hotel lit up.

Travis says that if he hadn't found Madison, the hotel and everyone else, he wouldn't have had to tell a soul that he left his son, that he didn't do right by him.  Travis promised Liza he'd protect him, and he didn't.  He told a story about when he was a young boy, he had the biggest heart.  By the time Maddie came into his life, he was so angry, and Travis' reaction towards Chris' anger only deepened their wounds.

His last words to him before he left was "Goddamn you, Chris."  He had regret that he didn't tell him that he loved him.  We are now living minute by minute.

Now remorse, regret.  That's the prevalent theme in this episode.  In the normal world, we do live minute by minute, as Travis says.  However, there's always this promise of "tomorrow" that whatever it is, can wait.  Their own mortality is staring them right in the face, and now that families are getting torn apart, Travis is expressing some deep regret about not going along with what Chris decided.

Madison leaves Travis, heads to the parking garage at the hotel, which is now serving as a triage for some of the refugees.  Alicia and Andres are examining some people, to see if they are healthy and can pull their weight.  They seemed grateful for the help, as Alicia said.

Madison takes Alicia to the pier to talk.  Taking a cue from Travis' theme of regret, she tells Alicia that when their father died, the car accident...wasn't an accident.  The kids were told he fell asleep at the wheel.  Madison tells her that was not the case.  His suicide note was found in the glove box of his car.

"I love you all, but enough is enough."

Alicia asked if Nick knew.  Madison told her that Nick is the reason why she kept it to herself.  He's too much like his father for his own good, and that she was afraid he'd be like his father.

I never loved you any less, she tells Alicia.  I just thought you were all right.  Alicia tells her that she had to be all right.

Travis finally cleans up, washes away the last few weeks of filth and negativity.  In the dead of night at the gates, a few people pull up to the hotel.  Two of the faces are familiar.

They are Brandon and Derek.

Chris is not with them.