Fear the Walking Dead 516 – End of the Line
Making a deal with the devil usually comes with unwanted consequences and this stark reality hits Morgan and the others hard in End of the Line, the Season 5 finale of Fear the Walking Dead. With the Gultch uninhabitable and Virginia unwilling to let them try to restore it, Morgan is forced to allow her to break up the group and follow her rules in order for them to survive.
Morgan’s decision has everyone doubting what will happen next. Due to Virginia’s unwillingness to care for anything that doesn’t have a future that can serve her needs, Grace is well aware that her time is limited due to her illness. John and June dread the uneasy prospect that they may be separated just as they are preparing to enter into a union that will bond them forever. Fortunately for everyone, one of their group stumbles across something that could potentially change everything.
To misquote an old disco tune from the 70’s, today a horse saved Dwight’s life or more accurately, the entire group’s. His fortuitous discovery of a team of horses by their abandoned caravan makes him realize that water must be nearby. Without it, the horses would be dead and with this new development Dwight lets the group know that Virginia was lying and that the Gultch can be saved.
It’s ironic that it’s taken 5 seasons of Fear and 10 seasons of The Walking Dead before the battle for natural resources became a central issue to any of the storylines. While Virginia and her group have been hell bent on securing as much Texas tea as possible, the most important natural resource on the planet, water, finally gets it’s due.
End of the Line shows how the shadows of the past can darken any light the hope of the future may provide. Morgan’s deal with Virginia fractures the group and leaves them scattered in the wind. What lies ahead is uncertain and many questions arise from Virginia’s iron grip on everyone. What did Strand promise her and will his assertion to Alicia that they can do more damage from the inside come to pass? It also sets up Virginia as the big bad Fear has long needed.
When it returns after hiatus, it’s difficult to see how the show can shift past what seems like the inevitable in the final moments of the season finale. One thing Fear has established though, more so than it’s sister show, is that anything can happen and no one is safe. With Virginia that should continue into the upcoming season and improve upon what has so far been overall an uneven reboot of the show.
