Fear The Walking Dead Ep. 211 Pablo & Jessica
“The dead don’t drive Madison”
Fear the Walking Dead dove straight into the action to kick off Pablo & Jessica Sunday night. After the shocking ending to last week’s episode, viewers weren’t given much of a chance to collect themselves as the narrative returned to the ‘hotel of horrors’. With the buzz of their alcohol fueled soul searching session a thing of the past, Madison and Victor resorted to old tricks when confronted with an unhappy hoard of zombie barflies.
The drinking buddies continued to get some bonding time although their discourse was noticeably more tense as the effects of the tequila wore off and Alicia’s whereabouts come into question. After a short period of soul searching they decided to bring together the warring factions from the wedding from hell. Tired of running Madison pitched the idea of making the hotel a place of refuge. The group’s plan to clear the hotels of walkers evoked memories of a classic Disney documentary from long, long ago.
Nick continued to find his way at the Colonia but his methods weren’t seen favourably by everyone. He tried to make amends with the pharmacist and utilized his skills as a junkie to help out. A little more was revealed about the pharmacist’s backstory including his seemingly miraculous ability to recover after being bitten by a walker. Pablo & Jessica also offered glimpses into the softer side of some characters who’ve cultivated harsh exteriors until now. With a decidedly lighter emphasis on the walkers, Fear has focussed on the monsters within. The line separating good and evil has been blurred several times in the name of survival with perhaps only Chris fully embracing his inner demons. There are two sides to any coin and it’s interesting to see how circumstances in this episode and the ones before it have caused people to change.
Pablo & Jessica contained some heartfelt moments particularly as the episode drew to a close. The acting was solid and Colman Domingo’s portrayal of Strand has deftly shifted from the know-it-all-badass earlier in the show to become perhaps the emotional centre of Fear the Walking Dead. As new characters enter the landscape and begin to become established, the potential is there for more conflict to arise. While Madison has achieved an uneasy alliance, not everyone is on board with the potential for disaster within arm’s reach. How long she maintains her tenuous grip on peace is anyone’s guess.
