Fear the Walking Dead 416 – …I Lose Myself
Sometimes when you win, you lose and sometimes when you lose you win. I can’t remember what film that kernel of wisdom is from but it certainly applies to Althea in the opening moments of …I Lose Myself. Separated from the others and on the run from a myriad of walkers, Althea finds herself in a parking garage with an abandoned news van and as luck would have it there’s even a video camera on board. Buoyed by her good fortune she sets out onto the streets to find her friends and runs right into the Filthy Woman. Even though Althea is armed with a gun, things don’t go well for her and she falls prey to her nemesis.
When the darkness fades, Althea finds herself among friendly faces. June and John fill her in on what happened and reveal that Filthy Woman has left a video message for Morgan on the new camera Althea found.
What is so maddening about how things are moving along on Fear is how inexplicably formidable Filthy Woman is. Armed only with a revolving, yet singular walker/guard dog she is able to wreck havoc single handedly. Be it a group of survivors or a lone wolf, yes you Althea, Filthy Woman is able to best all comers even when she’s out gunned. The need for a strong villain is essential to any good tale but if the execution is flawed it can make the protagonists seem inept and Fear is unfortunately heading in that direction.
Morgan’s decision to save the Filthy Woman and turn away from his friends is another in a series of curious moves he’s made recently. For a guy that has ping ponged between wanting to be alone and being part of a community Morgan’s turn seems a little forced. Even if he can see shards of his former self in the Filthy Woman letting the others head on to Alexandria without him doesn’t really make a lot of sense.
Making matters worse is that everyone else is sick due to the tainted water at the gas station in Mississippi. Mercifully, June discovers the ruse and the truth behind their predicament and its fallout brings Morgan to the edge. The ordeal does test his strength but it also tests Althea’s as well. Their combined resolve gives them hope and paves the way for the group to form an unbreakable bond.
…I Lose Myself isn’t about loss. It’s about what can be gained when people are unwilling to give up. The bonds between the characters on Fear were undeniable in the beginning mainly due to the fact that the show centered on an actual family. Now that the Clarks have been reduced to one, and with so many scattered souls in the mix there needed to be a unifying event to jumpstart those bonds. …I Lose Myself gives all of the players a chance to rebuild and much like the show itself it will be a work in progress.
