Fear the Walking Dead 406: Four to Fear and Four to Fear For

The latest standoff on Fear the Walking Dead has left another beloved character clinging to life while revealing the secret life of another. Meanwhile, a lack of news on the fate of others missing in action from the stadium dims hopes for their survival.

The ongoing conflict between the stadium survivors and Mel’s caravan of Vultures escalated in the last episode of Fear the Walking Dead. Flashbacks reveal that the stadium had been lulled into a false sense of security with the arrival of much-needed food and supplies from an abandoned FEMA shelter. Naomi’s help in locating those supplies may have seemed like a good thing at the time, but the revelation of her affiliation with the Vultures has some sinister implications. This week we look at both who to watch out for and those in the gravest danger. Here are this week’s “Four to Fear” and “Four to Fear For“:

Four to Fear:

Mel

Mel is alive and well in the present, and so are his Vultures. At the end of “Just in Case”, the caravan arrives. The Vultures exit their vehicles armed, presumably with weapons seized from the stadium, and Mel is still very much in charge. We also learned that the late Ennis was Mel’s brother. We still don’t know why Nick was so intent on killing Ennis is but his death clearly represented a deep personal loss to Mel.

By the numbers, it would certainly appear that The Vultures made good on their original threat to take what they wanted from the stadium. It also appears that there were little to no survivors from the community at the diamond other than Alicia, Strand, and Luciana. In the beginning, Mel spoke confidently of how he’d had the same standoff a hundred times and each time he and his group ended up getting what they wanted. It looks like this time was no different and Mel is the real deal.

Althea

Althea carries a lot of firepower for a journalist. Despite sticking to her assertion that she is simply there to capture the story, there remains plenty that we don’t know about her. Her armored S.W.A.T. vehicle equipped with multiple machine guns on a pulley for example. Where did she get it and who engineered that deadly gun array? She also carries a lot of tactical gear and it’s fair to assume that she knows how to use it all.

While Alicia may have been hopeful that she had recruited Althea and her gun-mobile, Althea made it clear that she had no intention of joining her fight. By the end of the last episode, however, Mel’s group had Alicia and her new associates outnumbered and at gunpoint. As one of those “associates”, Althea shares this disadvantage. She may not want to fight The Vultures, but her truck full of guns and ammo could be the surprise equalizer that sends Mel and his gang scattering.

Alicia

There are a few new reasons to seriously consider just how dangerous Alica has become. First of all, she is leading a trio into battle against a small army. Viewers didn’t know how many Vultures were still around until the end of “Just in Case”. Turns out there are a lot of them. Making a decision to pursue them in the face of such uneven odds approaches a “Rick Grimes” level of reckless arrogance, risking the lives of everyone following her.

And Alicia shot John Dorie. Yes, she was mad at Naomi and yes, he got in the way, but accidentally shooting John was just careless. Alicia’s feeling betrayed by Naomi and this adds a new hazardous layer to her crusade. The fact that Naomi shows up in a familiar Land Rover might infer some connection to Madison’s absence. That would certainly explain her sudden lack of judgment, but it can’t excuse hastily gunning down an ally.

Naomi

Naomi’s connection to The Vultures comes as a surprising new development. It also raises new questions. Did Naomi infiltrate the stadium (like Charlie) to weaken the community from within? Is she the group’s leader or does she answer to Mel? The revelation casts plenty of doubt on her FEMA shelter story. It also leaves us to puzzle over the circumstances that left her in the injured state that John found her in earlier in the timeline.

Since her introduction, Naomi has always had something to hide. Despite her evasiveness, Madison welcomed her into the stadium and it appears that doing so may have been a mistake. There were plenty of reasons not to trust Naomi. From the beginning, she had been deliberately vague about her past. She also made multiple, failed attempts to steal vehicles and flee with supplies. We can’t even be sure that her name is Naomi. Whatever her name is, she’s a dangerous person.

Four to Fear For

Strand

While Strand is caught in the same perilous standoff as Alicia and Luciana, there’s another reason to worry about his future. During the last episode, Strand has a series of conversations with Madison about his survival after the dam. He wonders why she helped him considering his history of being untrustworthy. Madison claims she saved him and stayed with him because she knows who he truly is, despite his superficial selfish motivations. Towards the end of the episode, Strand comes to accept his demons as a part of him while understanding that things he’s done, he’s done to survive.

Generally speaking, when a conflicted character finds inner peace on a show where people die a lot, they’re probably the next to go. Victor Strand has survived some of the worst the apocalypse has served up. He has done so, however by following his instinct for self-preservation. Now that he is pursuing a path of vengeance alongside Alicia, he is left vulnerable to risks. Risks that he would have known to avoid as his previous self.

Morgan

Morgan may be a born-again pacifist, but that doesn’t mean he runs away from a fight. As things got heated between Mel and Alicia, Morgan stepped between their guns and pleaded with them to find another way. Morgan’s experience in The Walking Dead‘s “All Out War” taught him something that he had to learn more than once. Violence begets more violence and it is a cycle that won’t end until all is lost.

After all that he has seen, Morgan does not fear death. In fact, he has stated in the past that he doesn’t die, rather he is burdened with the task of watching others lose everything before ultimately losing themselves. Since Alexandria, Morgan has reestablished his mantra of no killing, but that doesn’t protect him from those who kill. And despite his best intentions, he may have ended up on the losing side of a battle that was never his to begin with.

John

If you were among those who believed Naomi was still alive and she and John would be reunited –  congratulations! Sort of. As we now know, Naomi wasn’t dead and John did find his way back to her. Unfortunately, Naomi is a Vulture and John has been shot in the chest with a high powered assault rifle. John’s path has unfortunately led him to the wrong place at the wrong time. Naomi was definitely not expecting to see him and was shocked by his accidental shooting.

Naomi was a critical care nurse in her past life so we hope that she’ll be willing to help John. Whether or not she truly loved him remains to be seen. Things certainly weren’t looking good for John by the end of the episode, but if Naomi is willing to intervene to save him, perhaps he’ll pull through. John’s is such an intriguing character it seems unfathomable that his story would end so soon. That said, “no one is safe” always applies in the new world.

Madison

With each passing episode, hope for Madison’s well-being fades. The fact that we haven’t heard anything about her from either side is also unnerving. The lack of discussion about Madison might be an indicator that her death may have occurred some time ago. Alicia and company certainly have a hatred for The Vultures that is of a personal nature. Their pursuit of Mel and his group is not just a search for answers. It is a hunt to punish those responsible for whatever tragedy occurred at the stadium.

Madison was firm with Mel from the beginning, but he seemed unfazed by her confidence. Considering the present state of affairs, The Vultures plan to pick the bones of the stadium may very well have succeeded. Madison has always been a warrior, but there’s a frustrating reality to surviving in the new world. Sometimes the strongest players lose to those who are skilled at plotting and scheming. We haven’t given up on Madison yet, but the latest developments are not encouraging.

Next: Fear the Walking Dead: 5 reasons Madison is still alive

Find out who to fear (or who to fear for!) next week by watching Episode 407: “The Wrong Side of Where You Are Now” on AMC, Sunday, June 3rd at 9 PM EDT!