Warning: General spoilers ahead

Damn, last week’s episode was a hell of a sucker-punch, don’t you think? It was shocking, it was heartbreaking, but man, oh man, it was so good. While I love The Walking Dead and will likely be loyal to the show until the very end, I must admit it’s gotten to be quite predictable. However, with what we’ve seen this season,  Fear has become nothing but. After all, I don’t think anyone could have foreseen Troy getting payback by raining a horde down on the entire ranch and trying to wipe out anyone in the vicinity. Damn. And, just when we thought we had seen everything with that boy! So, while the last episode was super-intense and beyond shocking, don’t get too comfortable because it’s not over. Oh, yes, scrape that jaw up off the floor and buckle up because here comes round two.

While I don’t want to spoil anything major for you, what I can say is this episode most definitely belongs to Alicia Clark (Alycia Debham-Carey). Truth be told, I’ve never cared much for Alicia, but wow, this episode really turned my perception of the character around. As we can see from the below promo, Alicia sees the dire predicament they’re all in when she learns that the sole air vent in the pantry is blocked somehow. All of a sudden, the horde outside is no longer the enemy but instead, is the dwindling oxygen and rising carbon dioxide inside. To make matters worse, she also learns that some of the ranchers had been bit, and so, with the clock ticking, Alicia is forced to make some really tough choices and at the same time, face some of her past demons in order to execute those decisions.

In the process, we also see Alicia become close to an older lady at the ranch, Patricia, and through their conversations, we discover just how close Alicia and Nick (Frank Dillane) are — or at least how close they were when they were younger. One story stands out of when Alicia and Nick attended Camp Big Cove, and Alicia was supposed to sing “This Land Is Your Land” at a little talent show at the end of camp. Well, she completely forgets the words, but Nick runs up on stage and just starts singing, “This land is your land. This land is your land. This land is your land. This land is your land. This land is your land….” Over and over and over again. Nick saved Alicia from the embarrassment, and they both got a standing ovation. At the same time, Patricia tells the story of how she ended up at the ranch. After her husband was killed in the twin towers on 9/11, she eventually remarried, and her new husband was convinced another major attack was coming. So, they heard about Jeremiah Otto and came to the ranch to prepare for that. However, upon looking back, Patricia really regrets doing that because instead of just hunkering down for the past 15 years out of fear, she could have been out there in the world actually living. She tells Alicia that no matter what she does, don’t ever let fear drive you and the decisions you make. This actually has a profound impact on Alicia and influences her in some of the decisions she makes toward the end of the episode.

I can’t tell you how everything plays out, of course, but I will say that it won’t be what you’d expect. That is, don’t look to The Walking Dead for guidance on how a typical horde attack plays out, because this one is far from typical. On a more positive note, it does seem that Nick feels just as close to his sister as he did on that day at Camp Big Cove. We see this in the final moments of the episode when Nick steps up and chooses to once again protect Alicia and make sure she’s safe at all costs. The music of “This Land Is Your Land” is playing in the background, and while it’s a somber scene, you can’t help but laugh when thinking about little Nick bellowing out “This land is your land! This land is your land! This land is your land!” on that camp stage over a decade ago.

Episode 3.13 of Fear The Walking Dead is titled “This Land Is Your Land” and airs Sunday at 9/8c on AMC.

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