Fear the Walking Dead season 3 episode 5 recap

Fear the Walking Dead returns this week with “Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame.” Here’s your complete recap of episode 305.

Remember the cute old couple that Nick was watching? Well, Martha died in her sleep and turned into one of the Infected. Her husband doesn’t seem to surprised by this, so he opens his arms and embraces her, then he shoots them both in the head. As he falls to the ground, he knocks over a lamp and the cabin catches fire.

Cries of “fire” awaken Madison, Luciana and Nick. Alicia is at Bible study, so they all three race outside to join the other members of the ranch who are racing to get water on the flames. They’re using buckets, which isn’t very helpful. A little girl notes that the couple is dead now. Madison hears her, and then Jeremiah steps forward and tells everyone to stop wasting the water, and to let it burn. Madison watches him, then she turns to see Nick standing there.

One of the men going on the mission ask Madison if she knows what she’s doing going with them. He says the terrain is rough, and he says she should be scared. Madison points out that she survived without their help before, so she’ll be fine. Nick and Alicia show up to say goodbye, and Madison notes that Alicia was up all night partying. Madison tells Nick to take care of Luciana, and to make her feel safe. Troy pulls up and honks, and he says that she gets to ride up front with him.

Alicia is looking for coffee when Jake comes up quoting scripture. He has noted her Bible study habits and he’s happy that she’s fitting in. He offers Alicia his coffee. We find out from Gretchen that the couple that died was one of the original founding four. Alicia says she can’t possibly drink anymore.

NIck brings Luciana breakfast, and she can tell something is wrong. He’s thinking about the fire and the couple. Luciana thinks it’s beautiful that they died together. She says it’s time for them to go. Nick says they can’t walk to Tijuana, and she knows it’s because he won’t leave his family. He promises not to make her live there.

Strand and Daniel are watching Infected from the Jag. Daniel needs to pee, and he says he can kill all them. He left Lola at the dam and Daniel needs to get to Ofelia. Strand says he needs to be prepared for Ofelia not being there, and Daniel sees through Strand’s hesitation. He suspects that Madison and Alicia will tell him the truth.

Alicia goes to Otto’s house to find Jake. He says he’s happy Alicia is there, and she apologizes for not understanding more about the people who died. She asks if they’re ever going to be normal again. She had plans and had plans even though her family was crazy. He asks again if she’s ok, and then she kisses him. They look at each other, and then they kiss again.

Troy’s caravan speeds down the road. On the side of the road they see an overturned truck with infected inmates wandering around. Cooper says they don’t need to get distracted, but Madison strategically agrees with Troy. They go down the hill and start fighting. Madison holds her own but the ax gets stuck ax gets stuck. Troy fights with relish. Cooper shoots them with arrows. When it’s over, Troy asks if anyone timed it. Cooper tells Madison that he takes back what he said to her. She can fight.

Nick wanders through the burned house and finds an old photo of the couple while Jake and Alicia get dressed. She sees his books and he says he’s a writer but his father steered him toward law. However, everyone has a Buckowski phase. She says she used to love poetry and art, but now there’s no point.

Jeremiah finds Nick scrubbing the walls and says that it’s community work. He appreciates that Nick is helping. The house used to be his own. Jake was born there, but his second wife didn’t like it and so he built a new house. Jeremiah finds Russell’s gun and says it’s a work of art. Nick asks if Jeremiah taught Troy that guns are beautiful, but Jeremiah says that Troy is still trying to find himself. He asks Nick if he has found himself. Jeremiah shares that Russell was there when no one else was, and he knows that Nick knows what that’s like. Jeremiah picks up a brush and starts working with him.

Troy’s group comes to where the chopper should be, but it’s gone. Bullet casings are on the ground. There was a fight there, and Troy says they need to find the people who did it. Madison walks out in front of the group, showing the men that she’s on board with this plan to get revenge for Travis.

Troy wants to be sure Madison has more fight in her. She says it’s hard to see where Travis died, but she’s ready to fight. She asks if he’d feel differently if it had been his father who died. Troy says that Jeremiah is “immortal” and is bigger than life. And he didn’t mourn his mother because it didn’t make any sense to waste time on it.

Strand asks Daniel how he survived the fire. They all thought he was dead. Daniel doesn’t think he has a place in Heaven so maybe his place is on Earth in Purgatory. Daniel asks Strand why he left the hotel, and Strand lies and says he tried to broker a deal with Dante. Strand tells Daniel he can shoot him if he thinks he’s the same man as before, but Daniel isn’t interested in killing him.

Jeremiah praises Nick’s work ethic. Nick’s dad was a contractor, and he taught him about making a house a home by finishing it. Jeremiah says there could be something in it for him. They see Luciana and Nick says she wants to go. Jeremiah says they can stay but when bad things happen people tend to go back to feeling the way they did before things changed. Luciana can’t get past what happened at the border. He tells the story of Troy throwing a fit and being thrown into the basement by his mom. The next day Jeremiah went and found him there and he stood there apologizing. It didn’t stop Jeremiah’s drinking. He was the only one who could make the change. Jeremiah points out that Madison wants to stay and Luciana needs to go, so what does Nick want. He tells Nick he quit drinking because he went out shooting deer, drunk, and “almost blew [his] dick off.”

Troy and the team find a ranch and move in. Madison walks the perimeter of the house and they see blood splattered everywhere. There’s a smell. They find a pile of smoldering bodies nearby. There’s a man sitting on the rocks nearby. A crow is eating his brains while he repeats nursery rhymes. Troy knows him. He’s too far gone, so Madison takes a knife and plunges it into his head. She says they need to go, but men show up and say they just got there.

The men know Troy and they have them surrounded. He wants his land back, and it’s time to abandon the ranch. Clearly this is a longstanding dispute and they want to send a message to Jeremiah. He demands their cars, guns and supplies, down to their boots. Madison tells him they need water or else they won’t make it back to deliver the message. He says she’s fighting with the wrong side, but she says they made it her cause when they killed Travis.

Alicia is in bed when Jake knocks at the door. He wants to show her something. He takes her to a lake and tells her how the ranch was set up for the end times, but they didn’t envision this happening. Alicia’s negativity sounds like everyone else. Jake is an optimist, and he says they need something greater to live for. That’s what they used to do.

When they arrive at the resort, there is no gate, and there is no guard. Something’s wrong. Daniel urges Strand to go inside. Daniel takes the car keys and his gun, telling Strand to stay close. Inside, they can hear Infected all over. Strand wants to wait til daylight, but Daniel rings a bell. Daniel demands to know where Ofelia is and Strand is forced to tell the truth when he becomes surrounded by Infected. Daniel says that he can get out of this one.

Nick leads Luciana into the house with her eyes closed. He has made a picnic for her. He’s trying to show her surprises can be good. He tells the story of how Russell met Martha after he was injured in the Korean War. She was his nurse. He tells her that with work, this place can be good. Luciana looks at him, then she kisses him.

Troy swears as he steps on rocks. Madison suggests that they take a break, but Troy says Walker will make it back before they do and Nick will have to face them. Troy tells Madison she’s overstepping, and she gets into Troy’s head talking about his mother. He eventually agrees to let them rest. During the night Troy puts a knife to Madison’s throat, but he backs down.

Nick wakes up the next morning and discovers that Luciana has left. She’s following the border wall.

More from Undead Walking

Troy leads the group back to camp, barefoot and hurting. Madison walks beside him. There is respect there.

Alicia stands at the cliff and jumps off. She lands in the water below and laughs.

Jeremiah presents Nick with the gun. It has been cleaned up. It’s an offering.

Fear the Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9pm on AMC.

Home/Fear the Walking Dead Season 3