The group is running out of gas on Fear the Walking Dead. In “Channel 5” it’s time for the group to find a permanent home.. Morgan (Lennie James) remains optimistic that they will be okay, but with very little gas they have to find someplace close to settle down. Virginia (Colbie Minifie) has offered to help, but they know her help could cost lives. She already has Luciana (Danay Garcia), what more does she want?
RELATED: Read the Latest Recap of FEAR THE WALKING DEAD, “Today and Tomorrow”
Channel 5
Virginia is insatiable. She uses whatever means necessary to recruit people to her settlements. That includes using Al’s (Maggie Grace) video idea. That’s right, Virginia made a recruitment video. The video starts out with Tom (Joe Massingill) admitting that things when bad at Paradise Ridge. Other settlements chime in about how Virginia and the Pioneers came a long and fixed everything. Virginia uses her usual story that they are building the future. She even uses footage of a man fixing Morgan’s aikido stick. She tells the viewers to look for people wearing keys. Or they can call for help on Channel 5.
Al is pissed. The group knows that Virginia is selling lies. So what can they do? Al wants to make a new video, telling the truth about their group. She wants to show everything, the good, the bad, scary moments, and the most human moments that happen with their group. Everyone pitches in on the story. They remain adamant that their way is the right way. They use the new people to testify that their group is the real deal.
Wes (Colby Holman) talks about how he didn’t believe these people were legit. And now he’s doing whatever he can to help others. Jacob (Peter Jacobson) likes how June (Jenna Elfman) has faith that they will find a home soon. And Tom is the biggest cheerleader of all. He makes it clear that Virginia cannot offer what Morgan can. He basically says Virginia doesn’t care about people. Whereas Morgan brings people together. His group found Tom’s sister, Janice (Holly Curran). She was the girl that Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey) and Strand (Colman Domingo) found at the truck stop. She backs up everything Tom says.
Updates
Grace (Karen David) got pretty sick. June says she’s severely dehydrated, but other than that, she doesn’t know. Daniel (Rubén Blades) took the ultrasound machine from the mall, but June doesn’t know what to look for. There’s no way for her to tell if Grace is being affected by the radiation.
Morgan feels guilty for not being there when they lost Luciana and the oil fields. And he feels even more guilty that he ran away from Grace. He hovers over her now to make sure she’s comfortable. Al asks what he wanted to tell her earlier, but he says it doesn’t matter.
Grace teaches Charlie (Alexa Nisenson) to play the guitar. She is weak, but hanging on. She wants to live long enough to see the permanent home.
Alicia continues to paint trees because its the only thing that makes sense to her. She’s okay with killing walkers because it doesn’t consume her anymore. Wes travels with Alicia, but hasn’t painted anything. He smiles when he looks at Alicia, saying he might try again when they find a home.
Sarah (Mo Collins) and Wendell (Daryl “Chill” Mitchell) do whatever they need to do to help the group. Now that the oil fields are gone, their purpose to help transport their community.
The Gulch
The group meets by the campfire to talk about where they want to go. A lot of the locations that they found previously aren’t livable. Strand suggests Tom not film their conversation, but Al wants to show everything they go through. Just to be honest about their situation.
A walker breaches their camp and Dwight (Austin Amelio) takes care of it. The walker is wearing a strange outfit with a sheriff’s badge. He shows it to John (Garret Dillahunt) because it’s from Humbug Gulch, where they met. John tells everyone about the Gulch. It was built to run without electricity. There’s a water source nearby where they can fish, he remembers there were bison nearby, and the place is big enough for their group. It’s almost perfect, but it’s kind of far away. They might not have enough gas to get there.
Detour
Charlie yells for June. Grace collapses. She’s incoherent and her pulse is racing. June still isn’t sure what’s wrong with her, but she knows that Grace needs fluids. There is a retirement home nearby, but it would take them off their route to the Gulch. Morgan makes the decision to take the detour to get Grace what she needs. He knows she will want to see their home before it’s all over. Tom and Janice say that Virginia would never go out of her way for anyone, especially the sick.
Morgan and John check the basement, but find nothing. Morgan expresses his frustration, saying he should have never left Grace’s side. That leads John to ask June if something is going on with Morgan and Grace. He gets a little emotional and tells June that they need to get married when they get to the Gulch.
Al finds a box of saline but gets attacked by a walker. Alicia is there to save her and they take the saline to Grace. She is much better after one bag. Morgan and Daniel sit with her, but Morgan is awkward. He says it’s because he’s glad that she’s feeling better.
The group talk about taking risks for their people. Tom says they brought his sister back to him. They gave Jacob faith, forgave Charlie, tend to Grace’s medical needs, and brought people back to people.
The Bridge
The detour led the group to a bridge that was pretty beat up. They were able to drive the SWAT van and the semi across, but that made the bridge really unstable. They don’t have enough gas to go around the bridge. The only option they have is patch up the bridge to try and get the tanker across. If that doesn’t work,empty the tanker of gas for the vehicles that made it across. Morgan comes up with a plan to get everyone across while they try to patch up the bridge.
Virginia arrives, with a few men who have guns, but she insists she there to help. Morgan and the others are apprehensive about talking to her. Virginia is obsessed with their group. She’s been watching their group and picking up pointers from their group. But she doesn’t understand why they would take a detour to get medicine for a dying woman. She’s there to help them get out of their predicament.
Strand asks the question that everyone wants to know. What would it cost to accept Virginia’s help? She says it depends on each individuals talent. She needs people to help expand her enterprise. There’s not a lot of good people left. That’s when Tom asks why she tried to kill him if she needs people. She admits to trying to kill him because he became a liability. And she doesn’t apologize for her methods because she gets results.
No Means No
Dwight takes it upon himself to turn her down for the group. She in turn tells him that they found Sherri. That sets him off and he pulls his gun on Virginia. She tells him that Sherri is worried about him. And he has to know she’s telling the truth because Dwight never said Sherri’s name on the tape.
Morgan calms Dwight down. He tells Virginia that their group wants to do things different than her group. She agrees that they are doing things different but they want the same thing. She invites Morgan’s people to join her. Morgan offers to let anyone go who wants to join her, but no one moves.
Virginia gets frustrated. Strand points out that her method of watching them has become inefficient. She agrees and has her men shoot their guns in the air. Virginia admits she saw a herd of walkers nearby. The gunshots should be enough to attract them to the bridge. She tells them to call her when they need help and leaves.
The Herd
Morgan tells everyone to move to the other side of the bridge. They move the cars to block the herd. A group of people kill the walkers that come from the side, another group patches up the bridge, and another group gets the gas. The herd breaks through the cars, causing the group to move faster. They have to abandon the gas and that patch as the walkers have reached the tanker.
Tom continues to film everything despite Morgan telling him to get across the bridge. Everyone runs once they clear the tanker. Tom barely makes it before a board falls on him. He drops the camera and it faces him and the tanker. We see the herd come around but the weight is too much. The bridge collapses under the tanker, taking the walkers with it. Tom stands up to film how the group made it across. The bridge collapses under him, killing him too.
For Tom
Al and Morgan talk about needing to finish their video for Tom. Everyone feels like Tom died for the cause and they have to see it through. With that said, everyone packs up what they can and they start walking to the Gulch. Along the way, Wes asks Alicia to paint with him when they get to their new home. He doesn’t want to paint just trees. Alicia agrees.
John asks Jacob to officiate their wedding. Morgan is surprised to hear they are going to have a wedding, but he says it’s what the group needs. A wedding will remind them of why they are going through this down point. John asks Morgan to be his best man.
Daniel pulls Morgan aside and says they don’t know how long they have in this world. If he has something to say to Grace, he needs to say it.
The group sees a sign that says the Gulch is five miles ahead. They all stop to reflect and seeing the sign gives them the push they need to keep going. Morgan takes the opportunity to talk to Grace but she tells him not to say it. It would only make things more difficult for them. Instead he says he’s glad that she’s there to see them find a home.
Last Resort
They walk over a hill and see the Gulch in the distance. It’s overrun with walkers. There is a fence around the place keeping the walkers in. The group is distraught. There’s no food, no water and all of their supplies are with the trucks. They won’t make it back to the truck before dark and there’s no place close by for shelter. June and Morgan both are apologetic.
Strand tells them the only option is to call Virginia. Al and Dwight raise the loudest objections, but they have sick people and children. It the only option to keep everyone safe. Dwight won’t have it though. He says if they call her, there’s no going back. He starts to leave and Morgan begs him to stay. Dwight says he’s walked a long distances before. He’ll be fine.
Morgan looks at Janice and apologizes. He turns the walkie to channel five and calls to Virginia, saying they need help.
RELATED: Recap FEAR THE WALKING DEAD Season Five Here!
Thoughts
This has been the slowest season of Fear the Walking Dead. And the penultimate is just as slow and boring.
I don’t understand what Virginia’s motive is. She is determined to bring Morgan and his group into her service. They’ve rejected her so many times, I’m almost afraid it’s to torture them.
I’m not surprised Dwight left, but let’s be real. He knows what life is like under a dictator. Going to Virginia’s is like going back to Negan. I just wish he would say it.
The one thing I don’t like about this season is the anticipation of a major event or death happening. We got one good episode that did that for us. I know most of the season has been about this group finding redemption for past bad things. I guess they redeemed themselves, but at what cost. Because there is a cost…otherwise they’d have a home. Not that doing the right thing is wrong, but they mentioned taking risks for people. Maybe they’re not taking big enough risks.
News Editor, Senior Contributor, and Press Editor. Coordinate breaking news, trailers and press releases. I also contribute reviews, recaps and interviews. Creator of the Indigenerd Wire, a column dedicated to the Indigenous creatives in pop culture.
GGA's resident Indigenerd, a little bit rez, a little bit classy...with a love for all things Star Wars, zombies, science fiction, and Indigenous. My ultimate goal is to start my own podcast.
- INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE Recap: (S02E07) I Could Not Prevent It - June 24, 2024
- INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE Recap: (S02E06) Like the Light by Which God Made the World Before He Made Light - June 17, 2024
- INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE Recap: (S02E05) Don’t Be Afraid, Just Start The Tape - June 10, 2024
