Fear the Walking Dead
Season 7 / Episode 7 - "The Portrait"
Strand: The episode opens with Strand sitting for a portrait, and downing one glass of liquor after another; he asks that the artist paint him as he sees himself--the man who founded the Tower. As this goes on (over the course of several sittings), Howard wheels in a portable phone for Strand to take calls from outsiders begging to live in the Tower. No matter what kind of valuable skills some of the people use as a sales pitch (which Howard questions), Strand rejects everyone, arguing that he's not checking off a list of skills, but going on his instinct / ability to read people, which has made the Tower what it is today.
Morgan calls the Tower, asking for June's help with Baby Mo, who is sick--but he does not know the cause. Strand rejects his request.
Something about the portrait disturbs Strand (who hears the intensifying growl of walkers as he stares at his portrait), triggering him to fling the painting from the roof, telling the artist to be glad she was not tossed over. The painting is trampled by the moat of walkers. Strand is increasingly pissy that no one sees him, and in an out of nowhere change of heart, orders Howard to let Morgan in.
Later, Morgan observes Strand's wall of walker Polaroids, and exchanges survivor names with Strand, with all either with Morgan or living in the Tower...except the still missing Alicia. June concludes Baby Mo's problem is an ear infection that can be remedied with antibiotics. Morgan questions June's decision to live in the Tower, asking if lending her services to Strand is any different than what Virginia offered. June believes she can make things work inside, instead of running off in the wild, which--she believes--is what killed John (well, Dakota being an amoral brat played a significant part in John's fate).
Strand needs Morgan to do something for him--and its not a request, but a demand, if Morgan ever wants to see Mo again. Swallowing his anger, Morgan accepts whatever unspoken task Strand needs him to undertake. Walkers are catapulted at Strand's office, with one--filled with explosives--crashing through. Strand acts fast, kicking it out before it explodes on a lower level. Panicking Howard runs in, announcing that the attack came from...
Arno and the Stalkers: Arno calls the Tower again and again, pleading for his people to be admitted, only to be rejected by Strand. Arno warns that if his people are not admitted, he will launch more walkers...only they will be the creatures he's stuffed with radioactive materials from the warhead, to either destroy the Tower outright, or make what remains uninhabitable.
Morgan pleads with Strand, asking him for a walkie and weapons he can use to pick off the Stalkers, arguing that he has a daughter in the Tower, so he has a legitimate reason to help Strand. Strand still refuses to accept Morgan's help, and suddenly falls ill, grabbing his throat before passing out.
Strand sends Dorie (rifle) and Wendell (spotter) to the roof to scope out the Stalkers, but cannot fire on them and risk the "nuked out" walkers detonating.
Inside, Strand is barely able to stand, and ends up vomiting some sort of blue bile, which June identifies Methylene Blue (which the rangers found when she asked them to find Prussian Blue for radiation sickness), which can be toxic if ingested in high doses. Strand now believes he's been poisoned and demands the questioning of all newcomers. Chaos breaks out as...
...Dorie suggests using his negotiating skills to talk down the Stalkers, but is cut off by Howard, who blames Dorie for failing to talk down Teddy.
...Morgan continues to ask for a walkie to alert Grace and deal with the situation, which Strand angrily rejects as if Morgan was asserting an authority he does not have...
...Wendell yells at Strand for sending his sister away...
Strand is so paranoid that he burns every bridge he has, even telling Howard that his being with Strand from the start means nothing (regarding trust), and that he can only rely on his own instincts. He finally agrees to let Morgan attempt to reach the now bomb-damaged armory to retrieve a walkie...only if he leaves Mo with Strand. As expected, Morgan does not accept the demand...until forced to at gunpoint. Morgan threatens Strand's life--in the even anything happens to Mo; Strand acknowledges Morgan's threat, adding that Morgan should not make him do anything that leads to Strand hurting Mo.
Morgan and Strand: Making their way to the elevator shaft, the men can see straight down to another entrance leading to the armory. Morgan warns Strand that if anything happens to Mo, what the Stalkers are ding will be nothing compared to the severity of his own vengeance.
Morgan uses the cables to lower himself to the entrance, avoiding fresh walkers along the way; Strand goes into a bit of reflection as he speaks to Mo, saying the universe gave her to Morgan, while it gave him the Tower, with both trying to save what they love.
Morgan worries that Strand might die / turn, so he gives Strand an ultimatum--lower Mo to him, or he does not move. Strand complies, but not before telling Mo not to walk the world alone. Once Morgan has Mo, Strand calls out, asking Morgan to find Alicia because he believes Alicia would not want him to find her.
Morgan returns (after contacting Grace) as June treats Strand for dehydration; she feels he's probably over the poisoning, but warns him to never use her medical skill to get what he wants. Morgan thinks he can find Alicia, but its up to Strand to make the Tower a place she would want to live in. As Strand accepts Morgan giving him a hand up, he notices a blue tint on Morgan's thumb and instantly assumes it was Morgan who gave him the Methylene Blue dose; Morgan slams Strand to the ground (holding him near the elevator shaft) denying he would do such a thing--then admits Strand deserved it for leaving others to die out in the wasteland. The fight is stopped by Howard holding Morgan at gunpoint, and he's taken to the rooftop to be tossed over the edge.
Grace: Thinking quickly, Grace offers to help Strand with the radioactive walkers and other issues if he spares Morgan, allows Baby Mo to stay and grants her entrance into the Tower. Initially, Strand wants to reject the offer, until Howard--once again--has to convince him to take the sensible route, adding that killing Morgan will make him a martyr--a myth that would outlive the man (essentially implying that a martyr creates more enemies to fight in his honor). Grace tells Morgan (soon to be exiled from the Tower) she made the deal with Strand for their family. Before Morgan can promise to find his way back to Grace & Mo, Strand hangs up the phone, saying Morgan will not--but has nothing to worry about, since he can provide them with everything Morgan could not (food, shelter and security).
Strand: The dictator has the oil painting retrieved and hung on a wall. Now that its been defaced by the walkers, the smeared, torn image finally represents the man Strand believes himself to be. To Howard's confusion, Strand asks him to bring Baby Mo to him, after all, she should get to know....her father....
Stalkers' Camp: By nightfall, Morgan is still on road, making his way back to the sub, when he senses the presence of people in the darkness. Calling them out, he's soon approached by several armed Stalkers, who stop once a duo on horseback ride up, who turn out to be Dwight and Sherry. Although the couple and Morgan are glad to see the other survived Teddy's missile launch, Dwight & Sherry ask Morgan to go their camp to meet the leader they've worked with for a couple of weeks. Apprehensive, Morgan still travels to a large campsite filled with survivors...many of them armed. Morgan assumes their leader is "Arno," but is corrected: their leader is a woman. The leader emerges from a tent, stares a bit at Morgan, then removes her gas mask, revealing Alicia, which brings a smile to Morgan's face, as he believed Alicia died. Happy reunions aside, Alicia asks Morgan for his help.
Before they can go into details, guards spot a group of walkers approaching the perimeter of the camp...only these are Arno's walkers, with their stomachs stuffed with materials from the warhead. Morgan warns the guards not to shoot, but they ignore him, fire and their bullets detonate the "nuked" walkers, instantly sending a wave of radioactive gas over the camp....
NOTES:
Next episode: a flashback to how Alicia survived in the hotel bunker, and the true meaning of P.A.D.R.E.....
Strand's back and forth psychological issues drive this episode, most notably, his desire to be seen as he sees himself, and his not so pleasant memories about his father. With Strand taking custody of Baby Mo--calling himself her father, it can only be a matter of time before Grace cannot take it anymore. She's determined to never lose another child, so we should see how far she can go to retrieve Baby Mo...and poison the leadership structure of the Tower.
Speaking of poison, just about everyone who watched this episode assumed Howard was responsible for tainting Strand's food, but even after all of his dehumanizing "boss" crap, he has remained a loyal and violent lackey up to this point.
This was the strongest episode yet, with tensions and excellent character moments running high from so many directions and no easy "outs" just to wrap episodes or arcs. This is such a fantastic series.
GRADE: A++.
Seriously, Z-Nation was what happens to any genre that bursts at the seams with too many productions, and strong, believable stories became a thing of the past, giving way to anything silly, not too sharp things happening (sort of like what's happening to superhero movies).
