Fear the Walking Dead: Pablo & Jessica
September 11, 2016 7:19 PM - Season 2, Episode 11 - Subscribe

Alicia and Madison try to bring two competing factions together. Nick uses skills from his past for his new role.
posted by tobascodagama (8 comments total)
 
I cannot see the title of this episode without thinking of the immortal "Who the hell are Nina and Pablo?" scene from LOST. (Which is criminally not anywhere on YouTube that I can find.)

Thoughts on the episode:

* Nick is gonna get everybody killed. Junkies may not be able to recognise cut oxy, but aren't the dudes they're trading with cartel? That's a step above mere junkie, and I'm sure they've dealt with corner-cutting street pushers like Nick before.

* The mother of the bride is going to be a problem going forward, I can tell. Forgiving Elena is not on her agenda at all.

* Obviously, someone is going to try to take the hotel before the end of the season. And the family will have to get back together before the end of the season, too, right? I'm wondering if the apocabros will try to hit the hotel. The hotel is only about a dozen people, and they don't seem to have guns. I can see the bros wanting to give it a shot, with things getting messy once Chris realises that Madison and Alicia are there.

* Why the hell is Alex still in the IMDB credits for every episode of the season?
posted by tobascodagama at 7:31 PM on September 11, 2016 [1 favorite]


I'm so glad the cartels finally showed up. You know large criminal organizations like that have superior survival skills.
posted by fshgrl at 9:43 PM on September 11, 2016 [2 favorites]


I have to say that I was impressed with this one.

* I am so happy with Nick's plot at the moment.
He is indeed totally going to get everybody killed, but this is how you do that: it stems from completely believable character motivations and decision making processes. Nick cutting oxy and enraging cartel guys is rooted in the character we've been sold on.

The stuff with Lucia was believable too, and I like that the pharmacist is so well drawn too. Plus, they left room to explain his survival away as the not-yet-infected guy biting him.

That was all good. I laughed out loud at both the pill cutting music and Nick's attempt at Spanish.

Also, points for the cartels surviving, yes. Obligatory plug for Z Nation, who did it first, but it's nice to see here. (I like these guys more than the Zeroes, too - loved the idea, wasn't big on the execution. So far... well, these guys have been written poorly, but they don't wear the skull things, so we'll see.)

* The hotel stuff is what I want out of zombie fiction.

Lots of squabbles, uneasy working together. Recognition that the new world needs communities, not a tough white guy with a gun. I really enjoyed the entire thing.

Strand's talk at the end was genuinely good, too. Strand's always a pleasure to watch, but the motion there was fantastic, as was the talk itself:
"I liked who I was."
"... so did I."
I remain cautiously optimistic about FTWD, even as I actually debate whether I'll bother with its parent show when that comes back.
posted by mordax at 6:42 PM on September 12, 2016 [2 favorites]


* emotion, not motion. Gah, five minute editing window isn't enough when I have low blood sugar, clearly.
posted by mordax at 6:50 PM on September 12, 2016


Yeah, it took one and a half seasons, but I feel like this show has really found its footing now.
posted by tobascodagama at 7:37 PM on September 12, 2016 [1 favorite]


I cannot see the title of this episode without thinking of the immortal "Who the hell are Nina and Pablo?" scene from LOST.

Oh good, so I'm not the only one!

Personally, after last week's episode feeling like something very different from its parent show, this one felt like a step back towards the original. Gathering all the zombies together into a mob to drive them off a pier was such a classic bad plan that didn't deserve to work as well as it did that you'd almost think Rick Grimes had come up with it. And Madison justified it by saying they didn't have time to go room-to-room to clear the zombies, while earlier in the episode talking about how this place could be home and they could grow crops there and all that stuff. So which is it, you could spend months growing crops here, or you don't have a couple weeks to clear the zombies in a safe, controlled way?

On the other hand, we also know from the parent show that things bog down to a crawl whenever they decide to settle down in one location too long, so if they're not going to be too long at the hotel (and I agree it looks like they won't be) that's maybe for the best.

Nick's plotline on the other hand, was very solid in this episode. No complaints there.
posted by mstokes650 at 9:56 AM on September 13, 2016 [2 favorites]


Watching Nick compound that pill was a thing of pure beauty.

However, dude, you are SO fucked when they figure out it's you causing the Cartel junkies to go into withdrawals.

I am here, however, for the possibility of Strand finding love (or at least comfort) in the arms of the recently widowed newlywed. Anytime I see hints of bisexuality being shown in a network TV show and the character isn't immediately killed, shamed or otherwise having that identity negated, I'm all for it.

So, basically, if they kill Strand or Pablo next week, I'll riot.
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 3:24 PM on September 13, 2016 [2 favorites]


So which is it, you could spend months growing crops here, or you don't have a couple weeks to clear the zombies in a safe, controlled way?

Man. Among 2016's various crimes, I'm going to defend a Walking Dead show for like five whole minutes. This year, guys...

I'm willing to give them this one because Madison wants to establish their group as useful and productive to the wedding survivors. Those people represent manpower, potential community, a better chance for survival in a way even their supplies do not. In the moment, her relationship with them is tenuous and strained, and I can see why she wouldn't want to take weeks to establish it when she could get them on board immediately. (Bandits could arrive at any time, from her perspective. Solidifying support can't wait.)

I guess what I'm saying is that I felt it was in-character stupid, rather than Idiot Ball stupid, myself. Not so different from Nick's actions, really. That said, I was expecting someone to be hurt in the attempt, and disappointed that it went so improbably smoothly.

Anytime I see hints of bisexuality being shown in a network TV show and the character isn't immediately killed, shamed or otherwise having that identity negated, I'm all for it.

I was so happy that Strand came out as bi-, and would love if they ran with that. ("I am a seducer of people," is one of the best lines to come out of a TWD property.)
posted by mordax at 4:54 PM on September 13, 2016 [2 favorites]


« Older Podcast: ars PARADOXICA: 07: D...   |  BrainDead: Talking Points Towa... Newer »

You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments

poster