Strand Can’t Get His Plan (or Plane) Off the Ground on ‘Fear The Walking Dead’ (RECAP)
Spoiler Alert
[WARNING: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for Season 5, Episode 4 of Fear The Walking Dead, “Skidmark”]
It doesn’t matter how long it’s been since the world ended — flight delays will always be annoying.
In a manner of speaking, that’s what Strand’s dealing with in “Skidmark.” He hasn’t given up on his plan to get Daniel’s plane, but his old enemy is determined to keep him from “hurting anyone else.” Elsewhere, Morgan and Alicia try to help Dylan and end up in trouble.
Ryan Green/AMC
Bad Blood
Strand’s still trying to get Daniel’s plane, though he’s given up on convincing Daniel to give it over. Instead, he sends in Charlie to let them into the factory once Daniel leaves. A great idea in theory, but in execution, less so. Charlie ends up going on an impromptu run with Strand’s nemesis when she hides from him… in the back of his car. Dejected, Strand, Wendell and Sarah have no luck in getting the plane to work, so they’re forced to sit and wait for Daniel to return.
Charlie and Daniel go to work on disarming traps the man who previously owned Daniel’s warehouse had set, and the two form an unlikely bond (maybe she reminds him of Ofelia?). In so doing, they end up unleashing a small horde of walkers, and when Daniel’s plan to lead them back proves impossible, he tells Charlie to leave. He then stays behind to lead the undead away, communicating with Strand’s group as he does so. It all seems self-sacrificing until Sarah, Wendell and Strand show up, kill the walkers and save Daniel’s life.
“I’m not going to shoot you in the face,” he says, having decided not to kill Strand after that.
Ryan Green/AMC
Not Just Us
Meanwhile, Morgan and Alicia venture back out into the woods to look for Althea. They’re following Dylan’s instructions as to where they can find her kidnappers’ camp, but there’s nothing there. Seemingly feeling guilty about leading them astray and frightened for his siblings, who he knows are in danger, Dylan tells the two where to find his brother and sister and apologizes for lying.
Morgan and Alicia arrive just in time to save Max and Annie—her ankle is badly hurt, and they’re both moments from getting bitten. They’re still not thankful for the help, even though Morgan reassures them “it’s just us here, now.” As it turns out, he’s wrong. Max and Annie appear to be leaders of a Lord of the Flies-esque group of kids who have stayed in the area because their parents are buried in a nearby camp, and at her signal, they emerge from the trees.
Ryan Green/AMC
Something I Have to Do
After Strand saves him, Daniel—and the rest of the group—return to his place. Charlie gets him to tell her what he wishes he would’ve once said to Ofelia: “Every day brings a chance to start over. A chance to get it right.” He’s clearly packing to go somewhere, and when Charlie asks him what he’s doing, he says there’s a reason he’s been on his own and that he needs to go “take care of it.” He gives almost everything in the warehouse to Strand and his group, asks Charlie to look after Skidmark, gives his old enemy a small smile, and then leaves.
As the episode ends, Morgan, Alicia and the kids see a familiar three-ringed helicopter rising in the sky. Annie explains that the helicopter is what the other group arrived in, and now, it looks like they’re leaving. “Maybe they got what they came for,” she says.
Ryan Green/AMC
Other Observations
- If that’s the last we see of Daniel Salazar, I’m going to be annoyed. As much as I wanted to see him clash with Strand, I wanted to see him reunite with Alicia. There are so few remaining bonds between the show’s original characters, and theirs would be a powerful one considering the history they have.
- While we’re on the subject of Daniel bonding with characters… how awkward is it going to be if he ever asks who killed Nick? Not that the show will address it again, and not that he and Nick were close (he got Nick out of the dam, but he also threatened him for protecting Troy), but I couldn’t help but wonder how Daniel would react to learning this seemingly innocent girl killed Nick Clark.
- I think Fear is trying to balance too much this season, and it’s starting to show. Now, not only do we have the storyline that the factory was taken over by Logan, but we have this band of children, the radioactive walkers, Althea being kidnapped by the helicopter people, Dwight’s search for Sherry and, if Daniel isn’t really gone, we’ll have his storyline, too. Any of these—or maybe two of these—would’ve been enough for a half-season. As it is now, the show feels quite disconnected and cramped.
- Does it bother anyone else when Wendell and Sarah call Strand “Vic”? His name, since the start of the series, has been Strand. Everyone called him Strand, except Daniel, who sometimes called him Victor. It’s a small thing, but for those of us who really enjoyed the first three seasons, it’s glaring.
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