Fear the Walking Dead Season 4 Episode 8 Review: No One's Gone
Steve Ford
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The Clark family is dropping like flies.
Fear the Walking Dead Season 4 Episode 8 was without a doubt the most confusing, but ultimately, the most satisfying episode this season. With an incredible amount of answers to quite a few lingering questions were finally answered.
Some serious credit must be given to the writers. This episode definitely kept me on my toes and continuously guessing -- and second-guessing -- what was to come.
When Madison found Althea and ended up providing her story, the entire time we were led to believe that their interaction had taken place following the fall of the stadium.
That was nowhere near the case, as Madison meeting Althea took place following the collapse of the dam on Fear the Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 16.
While the excessive time jumps back and forth was a bit much at times, in hindsight, it was a clever way to utilize to dual timelines while filling in the blanks from the Fear the Walking Dead Season 3 finale.
Even if Madison regrouping with her family at the motel seemed a little too contrived for my liking, it worked well enough to set up how they found the stadium that they would call home.
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Alicia, Strand, and Luciana caught up to Althea, Morgan, John, and Naomi awfully quick, didn't they? Has anyone else been incredibly frustrated with Alicia? I think it has more to do with how enthralled I am with Althea that I find myself constantly pulling for her.
Even though we have more history with Alicia, Strand, and Luciana, I can't help but find myself fascinated with Al. She's spunky, witty, confident, and sexy as hell.
One thing that threw me off was following Alicia's rocket blast that knocked off the truck's door. How in the world did Alicia get into the truck so easily? With the arsenal that Althea supposedly had access to, she could have easily held Alicia at bay.
However, for storytelling purposes, that scuffle needed to occur in order for Alicia to find the tape of Madison's story. Althea's words to Madison earlier about her story being useful echoed what happened when Alicia watched her mother's video.
Look, I know you don't have the story you're looking for, but someone might be interested in yours one day.
Althea
Thank the Lord that John Dorie survived! Was anyone else on the edge of their seat thinking we had lost him on numerous occasions? Not cool, writers, not cool!
Of course, saving John wouldn't have been possible without Morgan intervening and risking his life to protect Naomi from Alicia's rage-fueled vengeance.
I'm thankful that Morgan got a chance to shine in this episode, aside from the Fear the Walking Dead Season 4 premiere, he's been relegated to background character for the most part.
Yet, Morgan played a pivotal role during this episode, as he was able to do what he does best and used empathy to get through to people. He failed Nick but was determined -- even at the cost of his own life -- to save Alicia from that same dark path.
Hence my biggest gripe with Alicia's grudge against Naomi: Alicia has been going after Naomi as if she directly caused Madison's death, yet she literally had no involvement.
I can understand if Alicia was looking for someone to blame, but in the end, it felt completely unjustified.
Oh, and Naomi's real name is June? I'm glad we finally learned her real name -- at least, we can assume that's her legitimate name?
Which brings us to the elephant in the room. At the onset of the season, the present storyline was set up to incline that Madison was dead. It made sense given Alicia, Strand, Nick and Luciana's quest for revenge, but as the season progressed, I had a glimmer of hope that Madison might have actually been alive.
However, with Alicia, Strand, Luciana and Naomi giving Althea Madison's complete story, we learned that Madison sacrificed herself to save everyone else by leading the enormous herd into the stadium and setting it ablaze.
[filming a message to Naomi] If I don't make it, that's okay with me. As long as you do. You hear me? And when this is all over, stop running from people. And Morgan, you help him do the same, or not do it. I think you kno what I mean.
John
That entire scene was actually reminiscent of Daniel Salazar setting the cellar on fire on Fear the Walking Dead Season 2 Episode 7. Speaking of which, where the hell is Daniel? We still don't know what happened to him following the fall of the dam.
I know Ruben Blades has been busy making albums, but throw us a freakin' bone here!
It was a very emotional moment, especially with Madison talking to Alicia and Nick in her final moments. Of course, we never actually saw Madison die, but she was in close enough proximity to those walkers that there seemed to be no escape from their clutches.
Odds are Kim Dickens will be on Talking Dead, so we'll have to hear it straight from the horse's mouth to get some conclusiveness on the issue. At this point, all signs point to Madison being dead.
Perhaps what's most heartbreaking is that Alicia is all who's left. Not only of the Clark family, but of Madison's legacy that she tried to bestow upon her children.
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So, now that everything is hunky-Dorie, what's next for this group? Now that Alicia has accepted Madison's death and embraced the way of life she intended Alicia to follow, will they all be able to coexist and work together?
I still find it odd how Alicia and Luciana can travel with Charlie, knowing full well that she directly caused Nick's death. Talk about one hell of an awkward road trip.
Related: Fear the Walking Dead Season 4 Episode 6 Review: Just In Case
At the end of the day, this was a satisfying midseason finale. It provided plenty of information -- even if it was confusing to piece together at times. The stadium arc has officially come to a close, and I'm looking forward to being a part of this new journey now that these two groups have joined forces.
And what a force to be reckoned with.
Now it's your turn, TV Fanatics.
What did you think of "No One's Gone"?
Hit the comments below and let me know.
Fear the Walking Dead will return later this summer. In the meantime, you can watch Fear the Walking Dead online right here at TV Fanatic.
