Fear the Walking Dead: Ep 208 Grotesque
Fear the Walking Dead makes a triumphant mid-season return with Grotesque, a solo episode featuring Nick. Picking up shortly after the Abigail compound’s fiery demise, Grotesque begins with the ever resourceful Nick about to embark on another journey. After getting some sage advice from Sofia, he sets out across the vista like a carrion smeared drifter. The path he’s on, one that he walks alone, is loaded with danger.
Grotesque also focuses on the search for family. Nick, now separated from Madison, Travis, Alicia and Chris finds himself searching for belonging among the dead. His affinity for the infected finds its genesis in earlier tragedies and manifests itself as he continues to disconnect himself from what’s left of the crumbling world around him. Those earlier tragedies are brought to light via flashbacks. This time around we’re transported to pre-meltdown L.A. and to witness Nick and his girlfriend talking about his rehab. The scene, while short is an important one and brings into focus what has been driving Nick since the world fell apart.
Nick has walked a long road of pain for some time now. The flashbacks combined with the struggles he faces in Grotesque are snapshots into the internal and external demons he’s been battling for years. There’s a moment halfway through the episode where what Nick perceives causes the viewer to question as well. If that scene is taken at face value then it opens up an interesting avenue moving forward.
At the conclusion of the mid-season finale, the group had splintered and gone their own way among the smoke and chaos of the burning compound. To recap, Daniel, on the edge of madness set the compound on fire, Travis chose Chris over Madison and her family and Nick walked away from everyone as the walkers roamed the countryside. With the main players divided into three groups it marks the first time in the series where the narrative is splintered. This form of storytelling is a staple of The Walking Dead and it looks as though it will be employed on Fear at least to start the second half of Season 2.
Grotesque hits the reset button. New characters, scenarios and dangers are introduced. The landscape has shifted and as we move into the second half of the season echoes of the world already established in The Walking Dead begin to come into focus. It’s one of the strongest and most captivating episodes of the series’ short run and bodes well for the rest of the season.
