Even though last week’s premiere got the back half of season 2 off to a slow start, the good news is the pace really picks up in tonight’s episode, and in my opinion, makes up for being forced to watch Nick (Frank Dillane)  wonder aimlessly in the desert for almost a full hour. Now that we’ve seen Nick’s story, it’s on to Strand (Colman Domingo), Madison (Kim Dickens), Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey), and Ofelia (Mercedes Mason).  Even though they’re not strapped for provisions like Nick was, trust me, they have their own set of problems.

First, as some may have guessed, our merry band decides to head back to the safety of the Abigail. Unfortunately, the Abigail is long gone, likely stolen by the military assholes they encountered earlier in the season. So, with few options, the group makes their way back to a high-rise hotel they saw along the beach. The place is dark, quiet, and just plain creepy, but hey, it’s better than being outside, right? Our survivors think so, but they will soon find out just how wrong they are.

So, with their being low on supplies, Alicia and Ofelia pair off to search the rooms in the tower, while Strand and Madison stay behind to scope out the ground floor. Alicia finds a master key on a maid’s cart, but they quickly discover that a great deal of the rooms are occupied by walkers. Interestingly enough, the rooms with the infected all have “Do Not Disturb” signs on the doors, which means **someone** likely lured the walkers inside to lock them in. Unfortunately, that also implies that whoever corralled them into the rooms could still be at the hotel.

Back downstairs, while Madison and Strand are supposed to be looking for food as well, they stumble on the hotel bar, which just happens to be fully-stocked. So, they decide to have a little party while they wait, tequila shots and all. Here we learn more about Madison’s past, including the fact that she paid her way through college by being a bartender. So, when Strand pretends like he actually knows something about mixing drinks, Madison quickly sits him down on his ass and shows him how it’s done. You go, Maddie! The only downside to this drunken party is if you’re in a zombie apocalypse, it’s probably not a good idea to draw attention by smashing a bunch of shot glasses and playing the piano as loud as you can. That just may draw all of the walkers out of their rooms, off the balcony and boom! Right there at the front door of the hotel lobby. Nice move, Strand and Madison! Nick looks like a genius compared to you two!

And, of course, that’s exactly what happens. Strand finally turns around and sees a huge pile of walkers in the street, and the ones inside the buildings across the street have also managed to break out. All of them begin flooding the hotel, and before Strand and Madison can react, they are surrounded. To make matters worse, Ofelia has run off and is MIA, and Alicia can’t go down to help her mother because the stairwells are full of walkers too. Now, that is one effed-up situation and a hell of a cliffhanger.

While the vast majority of the action takes place at Hotel Hell, Tijuana and this new Colony are where the big shockers of the episode are revealed. First, given that we were led to believe last week that the Colony may be a place where the dead aren’t viewed as “monsters” and actually respected, it shouldn’t be surprising that they have some beliefs that are a little cuckoo. We get to see an example of this very early in the episode. We can’t be sure how he is “chosen,” but a man is sacrificed to the “wall” of walkers that surround the community and protects it. After a hug from Luciana (Danay Garcia) , he turns over his knife and just walks into the arena and is quickly devoured. All of this while his young daughter cries in the distance, with only Nick there to comfort her. There is a very good tie-back to this scene later in the episode involving Nick.

After witnessing that horrific scene, Nick is recruited by Luciana for a supply run after she discovers they are almost out of clean water. Why him, Nick asks? “Because no one will miss you,” Luciana very bluntly responds. Okay, then. While on this run, we learn that the community has been trading drugs for food and supplies with a local gang for some time. Drugs are highly-valued by the gang and in very short supply, and so, just a small amount gets them 1-2 carts of food, clean water, vitamins and other supplies. But, when Nick reaches for a package of cupcakes as they are loading up their carts, Luciana quickly puts it back, saying that they get only what they need. Well, it appears that Nick has a hearing problem because he decides to steal them anyways and is caught by the gang’s leader on their way out of the facility. And, what is the punishment for stealing? Your hand committed the crime, and so now, the gang gets to cut it off. Oops. Of course, Nick has to think very quickly, but as it turns out, his past experience with drugs comes in very handy. While inside loading up their supplies, Nick notices the gang’s leader sitting with his sister, who appears to be sick. But, Nick, being a career addict, is able to spot an addict a mile away. His sister isn’t sick — she’s going through severe withdrawal. So, Nick explains that if they don’t let him go unharmed, they’ll take their business elsewhere, and as Nick puts it, “How long do you think your sister will survive without Oxy?” Well, it works, Nick still has his hand, but Luciana is super-pissed. Nick could have gotten both of them killed, and now, the incident has piqued the gang’s interest, and they will likely try to find the location of their community, which has never been revealed to them. Oh, and it doesn’t help that Nick stole the cupcakes for that little girl whose father was sacrificed to the Wall. I think Luciana understands why Nick did it, but at the end of the day, it still was a stupid thing to do.

Now on to the Colony’s leader, Alejandro (Paul Calderon). Here is where things get really, really interesting. While I think most of us are reluctant to trust any leader of any gated community after The Walking Dead and the Governor, Alejandro does seem like a good man — at least initially. He appears to genuinely care about his people and will do whatever it takes to protect them — including threatening to feed Nick to the Wall if he ever endangers the group again like he did while he and Luciana were out on that supply run. Even so, the man does have some really strange religious beliefs, and that observation alone concerns me.

What’s more, Alejandro also seems to have a very strong hold over the people, and in one scene, it almost feels like they worship him like a God. At first, I couldn’t understand why because while Alejandro is well-spoken and articulate, he’s not very charismatic. Then, they drop the bomb on us. While on the supply run, Nick asks Luciana why they follow Alejandro. What’s so special about him? Luciana’s response: Alejandro was bitten but didn’t turn. WHAT??!! Nick calls it bullshit, but then, he sees what appears to be a healed bite wound on Alejandro’s shoulder later after they return from the run.

If you’re like me after I first watched the episode, your heads are probably spinning about now. Other zombie series like Syfy’s Z Nation have explored the possibility of someone surviving a bite and thus, laying the groundwork for a possible vaccine. But, both The Walking Dead and its companion series have been completely silent on the topic — at least until now. Well, maybe.

And, so, now the big question. Is Alejandro really on the level? Is he being truthful about being bit, and if so, why is he not doing something like trying to find doctors who could use his blood to potentially create a vaccine? After all, he’s only a pharmacist, and I don’t think he really has the training or knowledge to do it himself. Or, is this guy just a con, using the story of getting bit just so people will follow him? I think it’s too early to call, but if this does turn out to be the real deal? Then, Fear The Walking Dead just may have kicked off one of the biggest, most shocking twists and storylines that the franchise has ever known.

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

Critic Grade — A

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