After last week’s bit of a shocking ending, I was a little worried we would be left hanging for a couple of weeks before learning of why Travis (Cliff Curtis)  was travelling alone and what may have happened to Chris (Lorenzo Henrie).  Fortunately, the writers aren’t that sadistic, and all is revealed in tonight’s episode — with one gigantic twist at the end.

Through a series of flashbacks, we are taken back to that very moment when Chris shoots the Hispanic farmer, which we learn was about 10 days ago. The opening scenes — which are actually shown in the Promo released by the network — are mesmerizing and depict a shell-shocked Travis, a desperate father trying to process what just happened and what his son has become. Once Travis finally snaps out of it, he and Chris don’t talk immediately about the incident but instead focus on the crisis at hand — one of the boys, James, has been shot in the leg. Luckily, the bullet went through and with his limited first-aid training he had to take in his previous life as a teacher, Travis thinks he can stitch James up. After combing through the farmer’s house, Travis is able to find what he needs, and with the help of the Bros. holding James down while he screams his head off, Travis is able to patch James up. It’s not pretty, but with some time, Travis thinks James will make a full recovery.

In the meantime and while James heals, the rest of the Bros. continue to act like a bunch of idiots. For one thing, they have all those chickens and if they were smart, they would harvest and eat the eggs, just like Travis suggested. But, no, that would actually take some work, and these guys are lazy SOB’s and decide to just eat the chickens instead. During this downtime, Travis and Chris finally get a chance to talk, but unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to do much good. Chris is nothing like the kid we may remember from Season 1. He’s cold. He’s remorseless.

Chris, where in the hell is your remorse? — Travis

This is how it works now. Look around — Chris

It’s like nothing happened, and the only thing on Chris’ mind is where he and his new “friends” will be travelling to next once James has healed. Travis manages to find the farmer’s ID, and even after trying to personalize the situation by reading the man’s name and birth date (which also happens to be Chris’ birthday), still no reaction from Chris.

Be careful how you play this, Dad. We need them — Chris

No, we don’t — Travis

I do — Chris

The only good thing that does come out of this shit-show is we finally learn about Chris’ past and what may have been the trigger for his current behavior. As it turns out, when Chris was in middle school, he was severely bullied. Every day during recess he would hide because the football players would make fun of him. And, Travis — trying to be a good father and help his son — told Chris back then that he should just “play along.” So, Chris’ defense is that’s exactly what he’s doing now — playing along. Of course, Travis disagrees and says “playing along” should never, ever involve taking a person’s life.

Regardless, it seems that none of Travis’ efforts are successful because Chris becomes involved in a plot to kill yet another person by the end of the episode. After a week has passed, all of the chickens are gone (you should have been eating eggs, dumb asses!), and the Bros. have decided it’s time to move on. Oh, and to San Diego too, even though Travis made it clear that San Diego has been destroyed. And, while James claims he’s feeling much better, when they try to leave, every bump the truck hits sends James into a frenzy of pain. So, they have to go back. That’s when the Bros. hatch the plot to kill James, and Travis is fully aware of what they’re planning. Unfortunately, so is James.

That’s the deal. I’m dead weight — James

Even still, Travis makes it his personal mission not to let these guys kill James. And, had it not been for Chris, he might have succeeded. The next day Chris comes to the barn where Travis and James are sleeping, under a ruse of bringing James some food. Travis doesn’t trust him (and he shouldn’t!), searches Chris for weapons, but ultimately, lets him in. As soon as Chris opened his mouth, I knew something was up because he was acting completely out of character. “Life still matters. We’re not disposable,” says Chris. WHAT! Talking about doing a complete 180 and in less than 24 hours. Nope, not buying it. Chris is definitely setting up Travis. And, that’s exactly what happens because before Travis can react, Chris overpowers him. And the sick part? Chris does it while he is hugging his Dad. That gives the Bros. enough time to ambush the barn and for Brandon to kill James. We learn that these guys had known James since he was 6 years-old. Can you imagine? I guess lives really **don’t** matter to some.

As much as I think most fans want to jump up and strangle Chris, this entire situation poses some really good moral questions and ones that have also been explored in the mothership The Walking Dead. Things aren’t as they were. Society is pretty much gone. If that’s the case and if you truly want to survive, is it really wise to continue following society’s rules? Or, do you have to adapt and change, even if that means doing things you would never dream of doing in today’s normal world?

Your way doesn’t work. It can’t. I’m not broken, Dad. I’m just adapting  — Chris to Travis

Chris does have a point. Regardless, it’s pretty clear that Chris and Travis don’t jive, and this simply isn’t going to work. So, Chris leaves with the Bros. even as Travis continues to plead as the truck is driving away. The last thing Travis says is “God damn you, Chris!” which will come back to haunt him later in the episode.

Fast forward back at the hotel. Travis does finally make it to the gates of the hotel — along with 40+ other people who had also seen the lights. So, thanks to Madison (Kim Dickens),  they have to allow in all of these other people in order to get Travis through the gate. Of course, Travis is thrilled to see Madison, but at the same time, is also somewhat cold and distant. For now, Travis is a broken man, and Cliff Curtis does an impeccable job and nails these scenes. He’s so real, so authentic. So, while Travis doesn’t feel much like talking, Madison still “listens” to what Travis isn’t saying and sees how guilt-ridden Travis is and how he feels he “failed” Chris. That “God damn you, Chris!” keeps replaying in his head, over and over and over again. This is when Madison decides it’s time to have a talk with Alicia (Alycia Debham-Carey).

It is here that we finally learn the truth about what happened to Alicia and Nick’s father. We know he was killed in a car accident and that the “story” Madison told her children was that he fell asleep. Of course, we know it’s a lie, and I personally thought he may have been an alcoholic and was driving drunk. But as it turns out, it was a suicide, and he intentionally crashed his car. There was no mistake about it either because he left a note in the glove box that very coldly and bluntly stated “I love you all, but enough’s enough.” Wow. Wow. Wow. When Madison reveals this to Alicia, initially she is pissed — and understandably. But, then, Madison goes on to explain why she has always treated Alicia differently than Nick. Nick reminds Madison of his father constantly and seems to have that same dark side. Madison has always feared that Nick would turn out the same way, and so, she’s made a point of giving Nick more attention. Of course, that meant less time for her daughter, but as Madison tells Alicia, “I’m sorry. But, I thought you were OK.” Very touching mother/daughter moment, and I think from this moment on, things are going to be very different between these two.

The episode ends in pretty much the same way as last week’s episode — with another shocking cliffhanger. It is night, and another small group of people approaches the gate of the hotel. There’s around 5 people in the group — 1 Hispanic man, an older guy, a woman with red hair. Then, the camera finally focuses in on the other 2, and holy crap — it’s Brandon and Derek. But, that’s not the shocking part. It may take you a moment like it did me, but then you finally realize that Chris is nowhere to be found and apparently not with them. WTH?! What. The. Hell! So, if Chris isn’t with the Bros., where did he go? Or, better yet, what happened to him? If you’re like me, you probably have a sinking feeling in your stomach that something bad has happened to Chris.

To reinforce this even more, the title of the next episode is “Wrath,” and judging from the synopsis, it appears to be referring to the wrath of Travis. What will Travis learn that will prompt such rage? The Bros. taking off and abandoning Chris? Or, even worse, Chris getting killed either at the hands of the Bros. or someone else? Either way, you can bet it’s going to be an intense episode.

WHAT WORKED? WHAT DIDN’T WORK?

All in all, this is a fairly decent episode, and in my opinion, one of the best of the 2nd half of the season. Ever since the mid-season premiere, I have felt that most of the storylines have been predictable. The group splintered off in the mid-season finale, and so, it stands to reason that eventually they would start to converge and come together once again. And, with Chris’ erratic and threatening behavior, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to conclude that Chris probably won’t be returning to the main group. What I actually expected is for Chris to leave with the Bros. and not to be heard from again — or at least not for a long while. Or, as some of the fans have theorized, Travis having to pull a Carol Peletier and kill his own son. What I didn’t expect is for those douchebags to show up at the hotel and minus Chris. So, kudos and plaudits to the writers for pulling a fast one and seriously shocking this writer.

Now, on to a couple of things that just didn’t work. First, and foremost, why, oh why, did the Bros. feel it necessary to kill James? It was already pretty clear that they were going to ditch Travis, and so, why not just leave James with Travis? Now, I know, I know, that to drive the plot forward, it was necessary for the Bros. to kill James. However, in my opinion, no matter how good the storyline or arc, it’s not really worth it if the steps you take to get there don’t really make sense.

Fear The Walking Dead  airs on Sundays at 9/8c on AMC.

Critic Grade — B+