Warning: General spoilers ahead

First, and foremost, we are less than a month away from San Diego Comic-Con 2017, and I couldn’t have been more thrilled to see AMC confirm on Twitter yesterday that, indeed, both The Walking Dead and Fear The Walking Dead will be returning this year for the event. Yay. Of course, The Walking Dead has been the highlight of SDCC for the past several years, and so, the announcement isn’t really a surprise. However, it still feels great to see it in black and white so that we can officially start counting down to the biggest Walking Dead fandom event of the year.

However, I’m going to be honest with you. While I think most of us were focused on The Walking Dead last year at SDCC because of the highly-anticipated Season 7 Lucille premiere episode, I’m actually more excited this year for FTWD. With just 4 episodes into season 3, Fear The Walking Dead has really raised the bar, and some critics have said it has now become better than the mothership. I’m not sure if I entirely agree with that assessment, but I will say that the writing thus far this season has really revived my interest in the series, and I absolutely cannot wait to see what next they have in store for us.

And, perhaps one of the best parts of the season has been the return of Daniel Salazar (Ruben Blades).  Last week’s bottle episode was perhaps one of the best of the series, and while Daniel does share airtime this week with the other characters, he most certainly steals the show once again. As would be expected, Daniel’s top priority going into Sunday’s episode is to continue his mission of searching for his daughter. So, taking Strand’s (Colman Domingo)  word at face value that Ofelia (Mercedes Mason)  is, indeed, at the hotel, the 2 men embark on a road trip which we all know will end badly. Of course, if Strand had any brain at all, he would have come clean, told the truth about Ofelia, and, then face the consequences of his actions. But, oh no, he continues tap-dancing around the truth, telling lie after lie, and stalling until he can stall no more.

They finally arrive at the hotel, and things get ugly really fast. The hotel is dark, the gate is down, and when they go inside, nothing but walkers. Of course, by now Daniel is furious, and Strand has no choice but to tell the truth. Ofelia left Alicia high and dry, stole their truck, and took off by herself. And, what does Daniel do? Well, he doesn’t beat Strand senseless like I thought he would, and in my opinion, does something even better, leaving Strand in a very, very precarious situation by the end of the hour.

Elsewhere, Madison (Kim Dickens), Troy (Daniel Sharman), and the rest of the group continue their search for the helicopter, and finally arrive at the crash site. And, to their surprise, no helicopter. There are bootprints everywhere, and it’s obvious someone moved it. Uh oh. Yes, I’m sure you’re thinking what I’m thinking. You’d have to have a very large bad-ass group with a lot of resources to be able to actually move a helicopter. They finally track the group to a camp, where they also find the people from the first search party — all dead (and, sorry, no sign of Travis… not even a corpse). Ultimately, the group’s leader — an Indian by the name of Qaletaqa Walker — steps out from behind the curtain, and yes, these people are bad news, and they mean business. He admits they shot down the helicopter, and it also becomes apparent these people have a big bone to pick with the Otto ranch for some reason. In the end, Troy and Co. are spared, but I will say there’s going to major trouble coming to the folks at the ranch very, very soon. Jeremiah, you always said you had prepared for the low lives who would come and try to take what you have. Well, get ready because that’s about to be put to the test.

Oh, and what about the title of the episode — “Burning In Water, Drowning In Flame”? Odd, don’t you think? As it turns out, that’s the title of a book of poetry Jake gives to Alicia, and yes, if that sounds a little romantic and sappy to you, you’d be right. There has been a chemistry between the 2 since the helicopter crash, and so, it’s no surprise that they finally get together. But, just how long will it last? We all know about romantic relationships on the Walking Dead, and how as soon as they put 2 people together, you can start taking bets on when one will become walker chow. And, of course, Jake is the “good son” in the Otto family and in many ways, the moral compass of the group. In other words — Alicia, don’t get too attached.

Episode 3.05 of Fear The Walking Dead is titled “Burning In Water, Drowning In Flame” and airs Sunday at 9/8c on AMC.

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