Fear the Walking Dead 215: North
The fallout from the final moments of Wrath continued to produce shockwaves. As morality, loyalty, and guilt were thrown around like grenades the circumstances facing the main players on Fear the Walking Dead, continued to spiral downward. For Travis and the citizens of La Colonia it appeared as if they had finally hit rock bottom. As the old saying goes, the good thing about hitting rock bottom is that there’s no place left to go but up, although sometimes those words offer little more than hope.
As the narcos closed in on La Colonia, hope and faith were in short supply. The ever-resourceful Nick, especially now that he’s out from underneath Madison’s wing, faced some hard choices as he balanced his love for Luciana, his loyalty to La Colonia and his own personal safety. Travis on the other hand was dealing with his own personal demons and loss after his return to the hotel. North was filled with hard choices. Whether to stay or go, run or fight every decision came at a price. Nothing in this new world order comes easily and the realization of what it takes to survive unleashed an avalanche of mayhem that set the Clark and Manawa family on a decidedly different if not uncertain path.
While North may not have packed the collective punch to the gut that Wrath delivered it was nonetheless a fitting end to a strong season. Like a hand with its fingers outstretched, having the group split up at mid-season allowed the writers to let the characters breathe and develop on their own. Now that those arcs have played themselves out the fingers are coming back together, even though the fist isn’t fully formed. The struggles the Clark, Manawa and Salazar families endured in Mexico have scarred them forever. Their collective pain will no doubt be felt well into next season and if there is ever a chance for them to reunite, the interpersonal dynamics will be interesting to watch.
The finale provided a seismic shift in the narrative and Fear will undoubtedly have a profoundly disparate tone next season. While the walkers are viewed as monsters on the show, the real monsters are the uninfected. The horrific thoughts and actions perpetrated in the name of survival have shocked many including some of the guilty. The talk and confession between Madison and Travis earlier on during North, was poignant and tender. It was also a mantra of forgiveness that will allow them and those around them to survive physically and mentally moving forward. Taming the monsters within and reconciling how to use them while retaining one’s humanity will always be a delicate balancing act. We’ll all have to wait until next season to see how well the characters deal with their demons and if north truly is an upward move.
