Quite a few things changed on Fear the Walking Dead season four. A couple of major deaths and a major time jump brought new life to the show. And the biggest change of all was the first official The Walking Dead crossover arrived to save the day. As we go into season five, let’s recap how we got here. For storytelling purposes, this pre-cap will be linear.
The Clarke family was separated after the Tijuana Dam exploded at the end of season three. Madison (Kim Dickens) searched high and low for her family and ran into the first of three newbies. Althea (Maggie Grace), she goes by Al, is a journalist who is chronicling the aftermath of the apocalypse for posterity. She carries a video camera and lots of blank tapes with her and has collected the stories of almost everyone she comes across. She got Madison’s story and it reminded Madison of how good her kids are and how she didn’t want that goodness to ever go away.
So when Madison find Nick (Frank Dillane) and Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey), she decides to build them a new home. Nick went in search of Luciana (Danay Garcia), bringing her back to the show and of course we can’t forget Victor Strand (Colman Domingo). No sign of Daniel Salazar (Ruben Blades) though. Together they found an abandoned baseball stadium and started building. People came to seek shelter and contribute to the growth of the community. But like all good things, it had to come to and end.
The Vultures
The Vultures brought that end by planting one of their own inside. Charlie (Alexa Nisenson) was sent in to get the 411 on the stadium to use against them. The Vultures wanted their supplies and even invited the residents to join them. Or they could die. The residents of the stadium refused. After a long standoff, and the Vultures scavenging all of the remaining supplies in the area, the stadium fell when the Vultures released a herd of walkers on them.
All of the stadium residents died except the Clarks, Luciana, and Strand. But they were surrounded by walkers. Madison sacrificed her life to save her children. And that brought about a revenge plot to avenge Madison’s’ death. RIP Madison Clark.
Another stadium survivor, Naomi (Jenna Elfman) was suspicious from the beginning. She came around about the same time the Vultures did and after the stadium joined up with them. She doesn’t talk about where she came from either. Alicia tried to blame her for Madison’s death, but she just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Naomi does have a secret. Her real name is not Naomi.
Welcome to Texas
Morgan Jones (Lennie James) joined Fear the Walking Dead. After leaving Virginia, he was just passing through when he met John Dorrie (Garret Dillahunt). Morgan tried to get rid of John, but got stuck with him when the two were taken hostage and Morgan was shot in the leg. Fortunately that when they met Al. She offered to drive them anywhere they want to go for their stories. The trio soon got sucked into a dangerous situation when they found Alicia on the road.
So, here’s the story with John and Laura. She washed up on the banks of the river in front of John’s cabin. He nursed her back to health and fell in love. She was pretty quiet, but soon began to trust him. I don’t know if she felt the same about John, but she sure did give him the inclination that she did. And then she left him in the middle of the night. He’s been searching for her ever since. Plot twist: Naomi is Laura!
When the trio try to help Alicia, she turns a gun on them and tries to steal Al’s SWAT van. Nick, Strand and Luciana back her up. Eventually an exchange of stories happens, and Morgan wants to help them find peace with Madison’s death. Nope. No can do. Because they find one of the Vultures and after Nick kills him, Charlie reappears to kill Nick. RIP Nick Clark.
Vengeance
The final battle with the Vultures happened an a racetrack where John finally found Laura/Naomi. And Alicia tried to kill her. She shot John instead, prompting them to run back to the stadium for medical supplies to save John. After Alicia destroyed the Vultures’ caravan, she ran after Naomi. This is when Morgan finally got through to Alicia that her mother wouldn’t want her to live that way. Everything calms down and Alicia finally tells their story. Al realizes she has met Madison and shows Alicia her tape.
A storm blew through the beginning of the mid-season premiere, cleansing any hurt feelings anyone had and giving the group a new purpose. Alicia didn’t kill Naomi/Laura, whose real name is June. And she let Charlie live even after the girl asked Alicia to kill her. The storm separated everyone. Luciana ended up in a random town and helped a man named Clarence…aka Polar Bear (Stephen Henderson). Strand and John got stranded on an island of sorts with an alligator was just waiting for them to swim to the other side of the pond. Alicia tried to take Charlie to Galveston because she has never been to the beach. June and Al survived the storm in Al’s SWAT van and then ran out of gas. Al got pretty sick, which was really random and strange.
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The Man’s Name is Polar Bear
Morgan was blown all the way to Mississippi where he found a gas station full of food and supplies. He also met Wendell (Daryl “Chill” Mitchell) and Sarah (Mo Collins). They pretended to be the masterminds behind supply boxes left along the highway. In reality they stole Polar Bear’s semi to drive around in and was looking for the maker of Augie’s Beer. Morgan found that guy too. Jim (Aaron Stafford) was in the process of escaping Sarah and Wendell when Morgan found him. Oh! And Wendell is disabled, but his wheelchair is modified to kill walkers.
Morgan contemplated going back to Virginia, but he wanted to find his friends first. The newbies agreed to help him in return for a free pass to Alexandria. Morgan found June and Al first. Then he was able to contact Luciana. Alicia and Charlie found Strand and John, and they finally contacted Morgan. What they didn’t know is someone was listening to their conversations on the radio. And she had a problem with Morgan helping everyone.
Martha
Martha (Tonya Pinkins) had a car accident at the beginning of the apocalypse that left her husband severely injured. No one would stop to help so he died. That’s when Martha decided that helping people only makes you weak. After hearing about Polar Bear’s work, she set out to find him to stop him. She found Morgan instead.
Martha chased Morgan and his group down with Al’s van, before they could reconnect with Alicia’s group. She injured June and others in the process. They had no choice but to find medical help at a hospital in a nearby town. There were lots of walkers in and around the hospital and Jim was bitten. Al took off to find the power grid and got separated from the group. Morgan’s group made it out of the hospital, but Morgan had to stay behind with Jim.
Alicia was able to recover Al’s van and tie up Martha. Martha had been shot and was losing blood. Morgan told everyone to leave him at the hospital, but they all convened in front with a fire truck to rescue him. Morgan made it to the truck, but they were surrounded by walkers and couldn’t get away. Jim sacrificed himself to cause a distraction so they could leave the area. RIP Jim.
Martha’s Last Stand
Martha escaped the group, but they didn’t go back for her because she would only refuse their help. They decide to go to Virginia with Morgan. First they have to find Al. Martha finds Al first. She doesn’t hurt her, instead she records a message for Morgan to find her. Morgan takes the group to Polar Bear’s supply station and goes back to find Martha.
Martha tainted all the water at the supply station with antifreeze. Everyone at the station was sick and didn’t understand why. Martha hoped Morgan would lose it or kill her. Either way, Morgan would lose. Instead, Morgan handcuffs Martha to a police car and leaves her alone. He races back to the gas station to save his friends. When he gets close enough to reach them on the radio, he lets them know the water was poisoned. June says the antidote is ethanol. They have ethanol gas, but Sarah accidentally shoots the gas truck, spilling the gas everywhere.
Morgan arrives with a truck of Augie’s beer. Beer has ethanol in it too, so in another way, Jim saves the day. The group goes back to where Morgan left Martha, but she has already died and turned. He kills her and buries her near her husband.
Morgan decides not to go to Virginia, instead he wants to continue Polar Bear’s work. He knows there are people out there who really want help and that’s what they will do. They set up HQ at an abandoned denim factory where Polar Bear’s truck is from.
Season Five
Season five starts off with a lot of action, but some rookie mistakes are made. As with every new season there are new character, new villains, and new obstacles to overcome in the group. Matt Frewer of Orphan Black fame joins Fear the Walking Dead this season. Is he a good or bad? My money is on bad. He’s so good at being bad!
Look for Dwight (Austin Amelio) from the Saviors in The Walking Dead to join Morgan’s group. He seemed to be making a change for the better, so I expect him to be an asset. And we know that Daniel and Troy Otto (Daniel Sharman) are returning for sure. How, Why, When? I guess you’ll need to tune.
Fear the Walking Dead premieres Sunday June 2 on AMC.
RELATED: FEAR THE WALKING DEAD Season 5 Begins Production with Two Surprise Returning Characters
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.
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