Okay, folks, if you thought last week’s #Flight462 crossover episode was intense, I think most of us can now agree that was nothing. Of all the episodes of Fear The Walking Dead, tonight’s episode turns out to be the one that is so gripping, so compelling that you don’t once look up at the clock and are screaming when you realize that an hour has passed and the episode is now over. Sounds about right? Yep, I’m thinking so — or at least it were the case with me.

First, the answer to probably THE most burning question — do we see Alex and Jake tonight or learn their fate? Unfortunately, “no” and “no.” Except for some grumblings from Maddie (Kim Dickens)  to Travis (Cliff Curtis) about his doing nothing to stop Strand (Colman Domingo)  in the opening sequence, Alex or Jake aren’t even mentioned. Yes, I know that sucks, but I’m not really worried because I’m all but certain that we’ll see them again (well, at least Alex. The jury’s still out on whether Jake will survive). After all, why go through all that trouble of the Flight 462 webisodes only to get a single episode of FTWD out of it, right?

The good news is for those who have been dying to get Strand’s backstory, you’ll get your wish this week — and in spades. The downside is for those who still like the character and have been hoping for some kind of Jason Bourne/national hero background, you will be sadly disappointed.

LET ME INTRODUCE YOU TO VICTOR STRAND… AND IT ALL AIN’T PRETTY

In a great series of flashbacks, we follow Strand’s life from where he lost everything back when Hurricane Katrina hit in New Orleans until right before the outbreak, showing how he rebuilt his fortune from the ground up. But, hey, don’t everyone start thinking Strand is a brilliant businessman with degrees from Harvard and Yale, because how he pulled it off is shady as hell.

It begins with a scene in 2005 New Orleans right on the heels of Hurricane Katrina hitting. Strand is in a bar drinking his sorrows away with a real estate developer by the name of Thomas Abigail, whom he had just met. We can’t really be sure of Strand’s profession, but given that he says he’s now bankrupt and that his entire fortune is “submerged in the floodwaters,” we can guess it may also be in real estate. However, the difference between the 2 men is that Abigail is an opportunist, a self-described “parasite” who takes advantage of bad situations and rebuilds at sites of natural disasters. In other words, he makes his money off the losses of other people. Such a nice guy.

Whether it is intentional or not, Abigail ends up drunk as a skunk, with Strand being the one stuck with helping the stranger back to his hotel room — except Strand does a little more than “help” him. Instead, he helps himself to Abigail’s wallet which includes 3 shiny platinum credit cards. At this very moment, Abigail wakes up but instead of trying to stop Strand, he says something very strange:

Maybe I won’t remember tomorrow — Abigail to Strand

Is it just me, or did this sound like an invitation by Abigail for Strand to rip him off? Or, is all of this just the booze talking? Hmmm….

The next thing we know Strand is in a 5-star hotel with the room full of shopping bags and what appears to be a whole new wardrobe, obviously courtesy of Thomas Abigail and his stolen credit cards. But, Strand doesn’t quite get a free pass here because there’s a knock at the door, and it’s Abigail along with his assistant, Luis. To our surprise, Abigail doesn’t seem upset at all, but Luis takes an immediate disliking to Strand and wants to call the police. However, Abigail insists that no police are involved, and instead, is curious how Strand spent the money.

Plenty of money on new clothes and accessories but also $36,000 in cash advances, with $30,000 0f it being used to buy credit card debt (Strand mentions buying such debts is how he began his career). Strand argues that in 5 years, he’ll be back to where he was before Katrina, and that he’ll pay him back, and with interest. Luis is still insisting on the police, but Abigail has become even more intrigued with Strand and tells him to get dressed and meet him at the hotel bar.

This isn’t a pardon, but more like an obligation — Abigail to Strand

Thus begins the partnership between Thomas Abigail and Victor Strand. Fast forward to 2015 and the beginning of the apocalypse, it’s apparent that Strand has definitely repaid his debt in full and together, they have built quite an empire. In fact, Strand has become more of a businessman than Abigail when he insists on going into Los Angeles to close a real estate deal even though it’s very dangerous with all of the rioting. It is in this flashback that the mother of all shockers is dropped in our laps, and even though there are plenty hints of this from the very first flashback, I still was beyond stunned.

While Strand is more business-focused even in the face of the undead roaming the streets, Abigail doesn’t seem to care about the deal and is more concerned about Strand’s well-being. Abigail wants him to remain in the safety of his Mexican estate (now, we know why Strand is heading for Mexico in present day and what is waiting for him there). But, Strand still insists on going, and here, the 2 say their good-bye’s with a kiss confirming what many of you may have already suspected — Strand is gay, and the twosome is a little more than casual business “partners.” Wow. Wow. Wow. WOW! Never would have guessed that one!

However, at the end of the day, the fact that Strand and Abigail are lovers is just about the only detail of the man’s backstory that I can say I remotely even “like.” Good for Strand that he has somebody to love. However, that doesn’t erase the fact that he’s a con-man. He lost everything and then, stole in an attempt to get back on his feet. But, instead of being caught and punished, he gets in cahoots with another con-man who makes a living out of ripping people off.  Not a pretty picture.

A PRETTY JACKED-UP SITUATION ON THE ABIGAIL — WITH NICK AKA “MINI-STRAND” SAVING THE DAY… AGAIN

I’m sorry, everyone, but I just couldn’t resist using the “jacked-up” pun. It’s a pretty ridiculous joke but no more ridiculous than the situation our group is in all because of Alicia’s stupid, immature actions. Ever since Alicia foolishly began talking to “Jack” over the radio in the season premiere and revealed the group’s location, I think we have all known it would come back to bite them, even after Strand manages to lose the pirates’ tail in “We All Fall Down.”

When a family in a lifeboat approaches the Abigail begging for their help with the woman appearing to be going into labor, our naive group falls for the ruse hook, line and sinker. However, Alicia immediately recognizes Jack’s voice, and before anyone has a chance to react, the threesome manages to overtake the group and pretty much gain control of the boat. And, with the exception of Maddie, everyone in this group proves themselves just as useless as they were last week.

With Strand being MIA, Travis can’t produce the keys so that these pirates can start the boat but says that if they give him a little bit of time, he can “hot-wire” the Abigail and start it without the keys. At first I thought he was bullsh*tting the kidnappers as part of a plan to regain control of the Abigail, but oh no, instead he continues being a dumb-ass and does exactly what they want by starting the boat. And, Alicia isn’t much better. Even though she’s the one directly responsible for the group’s predicament, she seems to be crushing on Jack more than anything and even says she wants to go with them since “Strand isn’t really any better.” Is this girl playing Jack, or is she really this stupid? Given her history, I’m banking on the latter.

Now, you may ask where in the hell is Nick (Frank Dillane)  while all of this is going down. Very good question! As it turns out, presumably before they were even attacked, Strand tasks Nick to swim ashore and locate his associate, Luis, probably because he had lost the connection on his satellite phone. Well, not only does Nick pull the entire thing off, he does so with flying colors and ends up being the hero once again, just like in last week’s episode. This brings me to another point, which ties back quite nicely to the Strand backstory. Although it is never said, it becomes pretty clear that the reason Strand allowed the group to come with him is solely because of Nick. Strand may be a crook, but he does know people, and he saw something in Nick that no one else could. The funny thing is that it’s very similar to what we witnessed Thomas Abigail do with Strand in the flashbacks. He saw potential in Strand and took him under his wing, so much so that he forgave thousands of dollars being stolen from him. Basically, back in 2005, Strand was the apprentice, and now, in 2016, Strand has found his own apprentice in Nick. I guess on some level it can viewed as some wicked case of pay-it-forward.

Now, back to the story. After getting some new threads at Luis’ house (an all-black outfit, no less. Ah, look, a mini-Strand!), Luis and Nick make their way back to the Abigail, but Nick notices that there are strangers on the deck and with guns. The next thing we know the pirates are dead thanks to Luis and his sharp-shooting skills.

However, it’s not entirely a win, folks, so let’s not celebrate just yet. Even though the pirates on board the Abigail are dead, their leader, Connor, as well as Jack and a few others, had left just moments before Nick and Luis arrived and with both Travis and Alicia in tow. So, basically, we have a kidnapping situation, and with the pirates on the Abigail being dead, no one has a clue where they may be.

Oh, given that the majority of the episode is focused on Strand, I guess we probably should address where Strand is the entire time this pirate situation is happening. Well, as soon as the pirates start to board, he flees in one of the lifeboats only to have a hole shot in it by one of the captors. So, basically, he’s just been floating out there on the water the entire time before Maddie comes along in the final moments of the episode and saves his ass. In other words, Strand ran like a coward when the heat was turned up. Given his backstory that is revealed tonight, this doesn’t surprise me much.

All in all, a fantastic episode that answers some big questions that really needed to be answered but at the same time, has plenty of action to where it doesn’t become boring. Flashback episodes are always difficult to do, but the writers did an impeccable job and what’s more, pulled it off without dragging it out over multiple episodes. We got the vast majority of Strand’s backstory tonight, and it was done without spanning it across half a season like so many series like to do just as “filler.” Kudos and plaudits to the writing team for that.

So now what? Will Strand move forward with his plans of going to Mexico with Luis, even though Travis and Alicia are missing? And, especially given that Nick risked his own life for Strand in order to bring Luis to him? Also, will Strand even be able to bring the group with him to Mexico? It’s obvious Strand neglected to mention to Luis that there are others on board the Abigail, and judging from the Luis we saw in the flashbacks, I don’t think he’ll be thrilled about the idea of sharing their precious supplies and resources with strangers.

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

Critic Grade — A

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