Fear the Walking Dead: 510 – 210 Words Per Minute
A distress call from someone named Charles leads Grace, Dwight and Morgan on a quest to an abandoned shopping mall to find him. It seems that Charles has sought refuge in the mall but unfortunately has been bitten and wants someone to kill him before he eventually turns. One hiccup in the plan is that Charles is nowhere to be found once the trio arrives and another challenge to overcome is Grace’s low blood sugar which causes her to pass out before their search begins in earnest.
The mall contains a bounty of supplies that Morgan’s ever growing caravan could make use of. Logan’s crew, still stinging from losing the oil fields to Alicia and the others, looms over everything. The tension between the two groups places the members of the caravan in danger, something that Dwight is all too well aware of.
210 Words Per Minute refers to the rate Grace listens to an audio book of the Tale of Two Cities. I’m not sure if Dickens’ famous line, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” fits the world of Fear the Walking Dead but it may foreshadow a turbulent time on the horizon particularly when Logan’s plans for the oil fields becomes clearer.
Dwight comes to a crossroads during his encounter with one of Logan’s men. Dwight’s mettle is tested when he’s captured and his notes from Sherry are rifled through in a bid to get information on the oil fields. A lot has transpired since Dwight was taking orders from Negan and causing havoc as one of the Saviors. He’s a changed man though and his transformation becomes complete when Daniel finally gets his shears on his beard and locks.
210 Words Per Minute continues a frustrating theme that seems to have taken root on Fear. Unrequited or unfulfilled love is the order of the season unless you’re named John or June. Dwight has been chasing Sherry for sometime now, Al was forced to walk away from a potential love and now the first blossoms of potential bliss between Grace and Morgan seem to be dashed before they can even start.
Morgan may go to his grave honoring the memory of his late wife, but it doesn’t make sense to preach to everyone in his orbit about finding a path to inner peace while he denies feelings that can bring him happiness and some balance to his still tortured soul.
Maybe Dickens had Fear pegged better than I thought. It’s just that at 210 words per minute, things may be moving on just a bit too fast.
