Fear the Walking Dead 312 recap: ‘Brother’s Keeper’

The action is ramping up on this week’s episode of Fear the Walking Dead. Here’s your recap of episode 312, “Brother’s Keeper.”

A rattlesnake is coiled but the snake is no match for Troy, who spears it and cuts off the rattle. He writes in his journal and studies the landscape. For a man who has been banished, he doesn’t look too bad. He still has the gun and the bullet.

As he walks along he spots his friend whose head has been scalped. He has a place to live, for now, since the old man is long dead. Inside the barn he finds cans of food and supplies. The house has been ransacked, but he makes his way through the mess to a picture on the wall. “God helps those who help themselves” it says. The cabinet beside the picture has a gun and ammunition in it.

Outside Troy finds a shovel and buries his friend. He writes in his journal and makes a fire. Though he has the option of staying indoors, he sleeps outside. In the morning he sits in the old man’s chair and toys with his gun. He has a contemplative look on his face as he fires into the air, capturing the attention of the herd of Infected we can hear in the distance.

Nick watches as the militia men tae out some Infected near the Ranch. They’re protecting the cattle, which were victims of the Infected and will soon be victims of thirst. Nick kills the remaining cow to keep the dead away.

Alicia finds Jake by the corral and tells him that it’s not good to kill all the cows. They need to keep milking cows anyway. They used to have hundreds of cows and now they only have a few. Alicia kids him that he never wanted to be a rancher anyway, but this isn’t reassuring to him. She says they can start over when the rain falls, and she promises to get them more cows. He says his father would have killed himself before he let the Ranch fall apart. He also says Vernon wasn’t wrong about how many other people are out there. The Pacific Northwest is prepper central. He tells her about a cabin in the desert nearby. He wants to go there with her becase there was supposed to be more than what they have now.

Ofelia tells her companion that things are still good and they’re in charge. He points out that they dug a welll to nowhere. Ofelia reminds him that Jake is weak and he is in control while Walker is gone. Thay have to meet in the middle to gain their trust. Nick is in the middle, he says. Everyone trust Nick and people want him to lead.

Alicia finds Nick and teases him about not liking the steak. She starts smoking and she tells him he looks awful. He says he killed a man and now is sleeping in his house, but she reminds him that he was evil. Nick did it so Madison wouldn’t have to. She asks if he’s worried about her, and he is. He’s losing sleep over Troy and the thought of taking Troy’s father from him. She says he doesn’t owe Troy, but she likes him and is self-destructive like he is.

Later that night, Nick is in bed. He gets up and makes sure the knife is still by his bed. He hears a noise outside and goes to the door. He lights a cigarette and turns to find Troy standing there. Troy says smoking will kill him. Nick says he shouldn’t be there but there he is. Troy says he can’t sit down because he’ll pass out and he can’t pass out because he’s on a mission. He says Nick saved him in his own way so now he’s here to help Nick. Troy says a reckoning is at hand, something good. He says it’s so big it’s “biblical.” Nick tells him he should leave or Nick can hide him for a few days, but Troy locks himself inside and demands that Nick listen to him. He warns Nick that in a matter of hours the Ranch will be gone. Troy goes inside and Nick follows him.

Alicia finds Jake the next morning and says that they need to work on the water situation. Her mom didn’t check in the night before or the night before that and she might not be coming back. He says they will be back but it might not be enough. He says they need a plan B, which upsets her because she’s still fighting for the Ranch while he seems to be giving up. They need a plan for the Ranch, she says, because they’re staying there. She can’t worry about him, which upsets him because he doesn’t think he needs it. He asks what she’s fighting for and says he almost thought he took advantage of her, but now he thinks it might have been her that was taking advantage. She says she likes him, but he wants to know if this is really an alliance. Maybe that was the plan — Madison bonds with Troy, Nick with Otto and Alicia with her.

At that moment Nick shows up and tells them that Troy was there and wants to warn them. Jake thinks he knows where his brother would be, at the outpost, and Alicia says Troy is baiting both of them. Jake says he has to face him. She tries to tell Nick not to go but he feels he has a sense of duty to go, and he also has to watch over her boyfriend. She insists that Jake take a walkie talkie and tells him that he’s “the last good man” she knows. Nick and Jake drive off.

While on the road, Jake reaches into the glove compartment and pulls out a gun. Nick tells him that Troy could have killed him, but quickly realizes he can’t explain that one. He backpedals and says that Troy was there as a warning, not to hurt them. Jake tells the story of when he was 12 he went to hunt the coyotes that were attacking the herd. He found a rabbit that had been skinned alive and staked into the ground. He says he put it down because that’s what you do. To something that is lame or sick. He knows Troy will never get better. He warned him about this. Nick looks away and sees dust in the distance. He drops an F-bomb.

In the distance there is a huge herd of Infected that are heading straight for the Ranch. Nick radioes back to Alicia. He tells her a horde of Infected are coming towards them. Jake says they won’t be able to stop them if they head right, so Nick suggests they use the truck to lead them left. Down the hill they spot Troy, who is looking out over the mess. Troy sees them and they realize he could derail their plans. Or maybe that was Troy’s plan all along.

Alicia tells Ofelia that Nick and Jake are in trouble. She explains the situation and says they found a herd of Infected. Alicia wants to go see what’s going on, but Ofelia wants to know why they went alone. She reminds Alicia that they scout in packs as part of the new Ranch protocol. Alicia admits that Troy is the one who gave them the information. Ofelia says Crazy Dog won’t be happy with this information but Alicia says he doesn’t need to know that part, just that the threat is real.

Nick and Jake run up to Troy, who is wearing ammo around his neck with his rifle at the ready. Nick wants to talk to him but Jake says he’s too far gone and there’s no coming back from this. Jake relents and Nick approaches him. Troy says this is “a cleansing” and Nick says he is messed up in the head. Troy admits that he is a bit fuzzy. He has been leading the Infected for two days now, starting and stopping them with constant stimuli. Jake begs him not to do it but Troy enjoys the sound they make. He compares it to hearing a baseball being smacked out of the park, and he asks if Nick was ever into organized sports. Jake was all of that, he says. Jake did everything right. Troy points at the Infected and says this is evolution. Darwinian. Nick calls it murder, and Troy repeats the word. He asks if Nick really wants to “go there.” The Infected will clear out the Ranch and Troy thinks it’s a good thing. Jake threatens to kill him but Troy knows better. He fires the gun and Jake attacks him, but he doesn’t shoot.

The sound of the gunshot can be heard at the Ranch. Alicia and Ofelia share a look.

Nick tells Jake not to kill his brother because he’ll never live it down. He mentions the rabbit screaming, and Nick tries to reason with him. He says he’ll never be able to live it down, which leads Troy to wonder if Nick is having trouble dealing with his own conscience. Jake wants to know what he’s talking about and Troy tells Nick to tell Jake the story. Jake slowly realizes what Nick did and though Troy tries to instigate the situation, Jake says he doesn’t care that Nick killed their father and that Alicia might have known. Jake says none of it matters and aims the gun at Troy. Nick uses the rifle to knock Jake out of the way, sending him rolling down the hill toward the Infected.

Alicia and Ofelia look out over the valley surrounding the Ranch and Crazy Dog and Coop guess that the Infected are less than half a mile away. Crazy Dog says Walker told them to protect the Ranch and that’s what they plan to do.

As Nick and Troy run after Jake, one of the Infected lands on Jake and bites his arm. Nick pulls him off and asks Troy how long his brother has before the infection takes him. Troy says he doesn’t know but Nick doesn’t believe him. He tells Troy to stretch out his brother’s arm and though he initially hesitates, he eventually pulls his arm out and Nick chops it off.

Crazy Dog wants to know why Nick and Jake were out in the desert. They’re down in the weapons storage with Coop and Ofelia and though Crazy Dog (correctly) guesses that Troy could have brought this upon them, Ofelia reminds him that he could have saved their lives. Crazy Dog wishes he’d killed Troy when he had the chance. Coop says they could all go into their issues, but if a herd that big is coming then the whole camp needs to arm and fight together. Crazy Dog walks away but Ofelia stops him and he tosses her the keys, telling them to arm the Ranch.

The truck speeds along down the path. Nick drives while Troy holds his brother in the back. He tells Troy to keep pressure on the arm until they make it back but Troy is conviced that the Ranch is gone.

Crazy Dog leads preparations to fight back at the Ranch. They’re using the RVs as a blockade against the dead. Alicia asks him if this will stop the Infected and he says it’s supposed to block them and keep them moving around them. He tells his people to go behind the wall they have created. Alicia looks up and sees them getting closer. The sound of the Infected starts to fill the air as both the ranchers and the Black Hat community hunker down behind the RVs. Ofelia is ready with a spear and Alicia is behind her.

The Infected reach the barbed wire fencing and it slows them but doesn’t stop them as they start piling up against it. The latch breaks and they move in, marching toward the RVs. Alicia looks up and sees how many there are.

In the distance, Nick is close enough to see the invasion through binoculars.

Ofelia and Alicia look at each other as the Infected start pushing against the RVs. They’re coming from underneath them.They’re coming everywhere. At first they’re able to manage them but the RVs are rocking dangerously. Alicia knows this is bad.

Nick goes back to the truck. Troy has Jake on the ground and he doesn’t look good. He’s dead. Troy says his brother wasn’t supposed to die. He looks stricken. His brother was “the one who wasn’t supposed to die.” Nick tells Troy that he needs to put him down. Troy had wanted his brother to see what he did. Nick drags him to the edge and shows him the attack on the Ranch, telling him that’s all on him. He radios Alicia but she doesn’t answer. Troy tells him to do what his brother should have done and kill him. Nick kicks a gun at him and tells him to kill himself.

The Infected aren’t coming underneath the RVs anymore and Crazy Dog says it’s because there are too many. Alicia says this won’t hold and everyone will die. The Infected manage to push the RVs thanks to their numbers. She screams for everyone to get to the pantry, and Ofelia agrees. Alicia turns to see the RV going down and she hears screams.

Nick hears the screams, too. They’re female.

Alicia starts swinging at the Infected as they close in on the pantry. Ofelia comes to get her and tells her to go to the pantry. She calls for Coop, but he stays behind to shoot more of them.

Nick looks back at Troy. Jake has started to turn and Nick tells him to do it. Troy holds his brother’s head down and builds up the gumption to kill him.

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When Ofelia runs out of ammo she starts using the gun as a bat. She’s soon surrounded by Infected but she and Crazy Dog fight their way out of the mess. They get to the pantry and lock the door. The Infected are right outside.

Troy is still unable to kill Jake, but he eventually runs his knife though his brother’s ear. Nick watches him. Troy says he needs some sleep. Nick says they need to find a way to save everyone Troy tried to kill, and then he can sleep. The Ranch below is overrun.

Crazy Dog, Ofelia and Alicia are in the pantry with as many of the people who could make it there. They all look to them as leaders. They are all the same community now. Alicia knows this has changed everything.