Fear the Walking Dead: Season Two, Episode Two – “We All Fall Down” (The Family that Stays Together, Dies Together)

First Aired April 17th, 2016.

Two children are shown playing on a beach as walkers get washed ashore, but a fence along the shoreline keeps them safe. Meanwhile, the group aboard the Abigail learns that San Diego was destroyed while looking at the log from the sunken boat Nick (played by Frank Dillane) found.

Strand (played by Colman Domingo) tells them about a more pressing threat: a larger boat is following them and they can’t outrun it. They plan to dock at Catrina Island to lose the pursuing vessel and look for supplies. Daniel (played by Ruben Blades) and Ofelia (played by Mercedes Mason) decide to stay with the boat to make sure Strand doesn’t abandon anyone. Madison (played by Kim Dickens) notices light coming from a house and they find a family. The patriarch, George (played by David Warshofsky), is a ranger and informs Travis (played by Cliff Curtis) that other major cities have been destroyed with napalm as well. Everyone begins to talk and bond over their lives before the outbreak, albeit with a shared caution being around strangers. George reveals he thinks the outbreak was all part of nature’s plan and that he and his family are safe on the island. Madison however gets the feeling that his wife, Melissa (played by Catherine Dent), lured them to the house on purpose because she wants to leave.

Walkers in the water seems to be the recurring theme so far this season but luckily we get a break when they dock on the island. Introducing new characters especially for just an episode or two can either pay off royally or be a waste of screen time depending how they’re integrated. It was immediately evident that George would be trouble because from the start he was shown as someone who was holding it together but falling apart at the seams. People often succumb to the horrors of this new world, bad for the characters but great narratively. That’s of course coupled with the fact that his family is seemingly being held against their will, setting up an episode with high emotional stakes. The information he provided also forced Madison and the others to face the reality that the entire world that is likely dead and things may not get better.

The next day, Chris (played by Lorenzo James-Henrie), helps George’s teenage son, Seth (played by Jake Walker), kill walkers gathered at the fence along the beach. Travis is uncomfortable when he sees how Chris has changed but George says it’s just the way the world is now. He shows Travis a nearby town possibly teaming with walkers but George insists his family will not leave their land. Madison talks to Melissa who admits she lured them because she wanted a chance for her children to escape because the island won’t remain safe. She is dying from MS and wants Madison to take her two youngest children since her oldest and George refuse to leave. Daniel searches through Strand’s bags to learn what his plans are. Meanwhile, Strand prepares to leave after the boat following them disappears and tells someone over the phone he will meet them at sundown. Travis is uncomfortable with taking someone’s children until Nick reveals he found pills in the house and thinks George is planning to kill his family and commit suicide.

Is there much difference between mowing lawns and killing walkers? Both are very tedious. Taking the children from their unwilling father might seem like a morally grey area, but when the alternative is death it’s justified. As for Strand, its ironic everyone was worried he would abandon them when it might have been better if he did. He’s not above sacrificing others to save himself and if he wasn’t leading the group into a trap he would have told them about the people he’s going to meet. The threat of a horde of walkers nearby added a sense of danger to the second half of the episode and although it never happened it’s actually for the better. Fear is still a very new show and Kim, Travis, etc., these are characters we’ve only known for eight episodes. Though it would have made a great action scene, we have to care and know more about them and truly have someone to root for.

George confronts them before they can leave and Melissa discovers her daughter dead after finding and eating pills. The girl then turns and bites Melissa. Everyone runs for the boat where Strand refuses to take the boy until Madison stands up to him, but Seth shows up and demands Henry at gunpoint. As they leave, a reanimated Melissa approaches the dock and Seth is forced to put her down. What happened with George and his family was a wake-up call for everyone about how fast it can all be taken away. Leaving Seth and his brother behind may seem heartless but, in the end, Seth was his last surviving family (plus he had a rifle). They will likely be dead sooner rather than later but it was their choice. However wrong it might be, they had to accept that.

Quotes & Thoughts

“I think this guy is planning on Jonestowning his entire family.”

So far they’re 0-2 but I’m sure one of these days Madison and the gang will successfully save someone.

“Something is off here.” “Everything is off, everywhere.”

After all the buildup I hope we actually get to see these pirates, otherwise that’d be a huge letdown.

 If you enjoyed Manny’s review, you can find the rest of his work right HERE on Sci-Fi Bloggers. You can also follow him on Twitter @KN_Manny.

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