Power Pair for Fear The Walking Dead episode 403 Good Out Here
Episode 403 of Fear The Walking Dead shows both hope and betrayal. Were there two characters who stood out as this week’s Power Pair?
Once again, the story in Fear The Walking Dead switches between two different time frames, past and present. In the past, Nick goes on a supply run with Madison. In the present time, Nick goes after something much darker than supplies.
There is another notable pairing in this week’s episode as well. In both past and present, we see Ennis of the Vultures traveling with Charlie, the young girl who betrayed the Clarks and others at the stadium.
Most of the other characters are assumed to be left behind at the baseball diamond or trying to rescue the SWAT van from the mud depending on the timeline of the story.
What takeaways do we get from the pairings in ‘Good Out Here’?
Madison and Nick
It is nice seeing Nick spend some quality time with his mom after their many tumultuous interactions over the last three seasons. We see Nick finally exit the baseball diamond after a long period of staying within its gates.
Nick struggles with the outside. He asks Madison how she manages outside the gates in a world with so much darkness. She explains that she always looks for something “good out here” and ends up finding something to give her hope.
Mother and son travel to a church where they find Vulture Ennis has arrived first and taken all the good supplies available there. Madison convinces Nick to let Ennis go when he has a knife to his neck. Madison still finds some goodness on the outing when she and Nick come across some bluebonnet flowers.
Nick and Morgan
Al’s group takes Nick captive after she takes him at knifepoint on their way to find the location of the numbered flag. The tussle combined with walkers in the road distracts driver Luciana. The SWAT vehicle goes tumbling down an embankment and gets stuck in the mud.
John, Strand, Alicia, Althea, and Luciana go in search of a vehicle to tow Al’s van out of the mud. An injured Morgan stays behind to keep an eye on Nick.
Morgan is not the strictest of wardens. He cuts Nick’s restraints loose so Nick can help himself to a snack in his backpack. The snack of choice is a peanut butter protein bar, which is a fun nod to the long-suffering joke about Michonne eating Morgan’s last peanut butter protein bar in The Walking Dead season 3. At least Nick shares. This, however, is one of the last “fun” moments of the episode.
Morgan walks to the road and sees a blue El Camino traveling in their direction. Hoping not to be sighted, he rushes back to the van and tells Nick to get down. Nick spies the blue vehicle and becomes unhinged. In a scuffle to get out of the van, the horn shorts and begins blaring non-stop. Walkers ascend, so Nick and Morgan have to get away.
During their time together, Morgan shares with Nick that he does not kill and encourages Nick to abstain from killing as well. We know the Vultures are not stand-up folks, but something has Nick intent on killing the driver, Ennis. Morgan loses the battle of ideologies and Nick does indeed kill Ennis, gruesomely impaling him with a set of antlers.
Nick sits with bloodied hands and the bluebonnet flower he has picked reminiscent of the supply run with Madison.
Ennis and Charlie
In both time frames, young Charlie is traveling with Ennis. In the past, Nick and Madison talk about their hope for Charlie to rejoin their group and give up her association with the Vultures.
Ennis makes a point of telling the Clarks that Charlie does not want to leave the Vultures. In both past and present, Ennis taunts Nick.
In the present time, Nick is consumed with eliminating Ennis. Is there something Ennis and the Vultures have done that we do not yet know about? Could Ennis have hurt Charlie?
No, Charlie is still alive in the present time. In fact, she shoots Nick in the stomach killing him.
We are not certain whether Charlie knows it is Nick when she fires the shot because his head is down. She pauses when she sees his face and then runs away.
Nick is gone and will be missed.
Power Pair
I had a difficult time selecting two characters as Power Pair for this episode. So, I am going with a less conventional pairing. I have selected Hope and Betrayal as the duo for this week.
Madison reminds us to be hopeful in a world gone so wrong. Nick is conflicted because he sees a sign of hope with the blue flowers, but he is clearly damaged by the Vultures in some way. He chooses vengeance over hope and is then betrayed by Charlie once again with the gunshot.
There is a duality present in the episode.
Next: MVP from FearTWD episode 403 Good Out Here
Even the other survivors are trying to navigate their trust or lack thereof for one another. There are acts of faith, as referred to by Strand, that gives us some hope for their ability to survive together. In contrast, we have Charlie’s fatal act of betrayal when she shoots Nick.
Power Pair for 403: Hope and Betrayal