Fear the Walking Dead 411 – The Code
The Code begins in the middle of the hurricane that’s been raging over the past two episodes of Fear the Walking Dead. Separated from Alicia, Morgan finds refuge in the empty trailer of a discarded 18-wheeler. When the storm breaks Morgan realizes that the rig may not have been abandoned after all and that his wanderings have brought him to Mississippi.
While in Mississippi, Morgan meets Sarah and Wendell, the couple that inadvertently brought him across state lines and they inform him that the hurricane down south was one of the worst in history. Concerned for those he’s left behind he starts the 400 mile trek back to Alicia and the gang to see if he can lend them a helping hand. However, a wave of anxiety suddenly washes over him and he turns back to reconnect with Sarah and Wendell.
As fate would have it, Morgan then crosses paths with a brew master named Jim. Recently jilted out of his brewery and his equipment, Jim joins Morgan on his way north. The promise of a new world motivates Jim and thoughts of building society from the ruins – with beer at the center of the renaissance – dominates the conversation until Sarah and Wendell show up again.
Sarah and Wendell’s true intent soon becomes clear and Morgan’s fortunes begin to spiral even further. More scavengers than saviors, they stash Morgan and Jim in the back of the rig and set off to Virginia in a bid to grift the good citizens of Alexandria. A series of unfortunate and slightly contrived events leaves Morgan on his own and face to face with his own frailties.
The Code introduces a new set of characters and a whole lot of potential trouble for the Fear crew still located in Texas. While it’s always a pleasure to see Lenny James in a Morgan-centric episode, The Code isn’t one of Fear’s stronger efforts. With all this talk of rebuilding society, one can’t help but notice how it parallels what’s going on onscreen. The creative minds behind Fear are world building on the fly as the transition from the Clark centric storylines has shifted considerably this season. At this point the results are a mixed bag.
Hopefully a return to Texas will get things back on track and any talk of Virginia as the promised land is put to rest. Some more focus on the remaining OG cast, further development of the new Texas crew and the insertion of a worthy big bad is needed to make Fear the Walking Dead stand on its own merits and forge ahead with compelling storylines.
