"Eye of the Beholder" is the first episode of the third season of AMC's Fear the Walking Dead. It is the twenty-second episode of the series overall.[1] It premiered on June 4, 2017. It was written by Dave Erickson and directed by Andrew Bernstein.
Plot[]
The Clark family find themselves in a dire predicament. They must work together to discover a path to safety.
Synopsis[]
Armed soldiers drag Madison, Travis, and Alicia past dismembered corpses into a military fuel depot. Travis is carted off to a different destination than Madison and Alicia.
Soldiers bring Travis to a barrack and measure his height and weight. Travis watches as soldiers shoot a prisoner in a bathroom and write a number on his head. He's then taken to a holding area full of people, where he sees Nick along with a wounded Luciana. Travis sidles over to Nick and quietly informs him that Madison and Alicia are also at the depot and that they will figure out a way to escape.
Troy, the soldier in charge at the depot, enters a locked office where Madison and Alicia are being held. He offers them tea and seems hospitable until he starts interrogating them. Madison explains to Troy that she's looking for her son, Nick. Madison then demands to know where they've taken Travis. Troy avoids answering but promises to let them go once he's finished "processing" them. He shows particular interest in Madison.
Troy joins his soldiers in the barrack bathroom, which is being used as a secret lab for Troy's men to test infected resurrection times. His men select people of varying body types, health, and ethnic backgrounds to determine whether such variations have any effect. Troy stares into the vacant eyes of a dead body, waiting for him to turn. The infected reanimates, and the soldiers settle their bets.
In the storage room, Troy questions Travis about his connection to Madison and his ethnicity. He's impressed by Travis' Māori "warrior" heritage. Travis tells Troy that Luciana is dying and requires immediate medical attention. Troy shrugs and declares that "everyone here dies", and orders Travis to sit.
Madison searches the office for a weapon. Alicia gives her a knife that she hid in her boot before they were taken prisoner. Madison tells her that she is willing to kill if necessary, but that it will be her doing the killing, not Alicia.
Meanwhile, a fellow prisoner, Steven, asks Travis to help plan an escape. Their conversation is interrupted when soldiers take them to the "lab". Travis, Nick, Luciana, Steven and a few others sit in a line as the next victim is dragged to the wall and shot.
Madison watches over Alicia as she sleeps, planning their next move.
Steven tells Travis they can escape the depot via sewer tunnels that lead to the border. Travis agrees to help. The bored soldiers amp up their sick game by shooting two victims at once. Nick is next in line.
Troy takes notes in a journal as he watches Madison and Alicia sleep. Madison wakes up and asks Troy if Travis is dead. Troy doesn't answer. She tells Troy that she loves Travis' life more than her own.
Willy and his comrade bet on which corpse will turn first. Travis convinces them to shoot him next, instead of Nick, claiming that Māori don't turn. As they chain him up, he attacks Willy and throws the other soldier at a freshly turned infected. Travis, Nick, Luciana and Steven escape in the chaos.
Troy tells Madison that they're getting ready to evacuate the depot. He offers to release Travis if she and Alicia travel home with him. They hear a gunshot outside. Troy runs out of the office and locks the door behind him. His men fire at Travis, Nick, Luciana, and Steven as they flee the barrack. The soldiers are gaining on them, so Travis tells Nick and Luciana to go on without him, and he stays behind.
Steven leads Nick and Luciana to a sewer grate. Nick helps Luciana down, then follows behind her. Steven is shot up by the soldiers before he can descend. Willy slits Steven's throat, and throws his body into the sewer, ensuring that he will turn and find Nick and Luciana.
Troy orders his men, who have captured Travis, to take him to the pit around the back of the compound. Troy returns to the office and Madison attacks him with the knife, but Troy knocks the weapon out of her hand. She grabs hold of a spoon and plunges it into his eye socket. Madison tells Troy if he tries to break away he will lose his eye. Madison yells for Alicia to find Travis and a vehicle.
Alicia sprints outside and hides between parked military vehicles. She scans her surroundings, searching for where they might have taken Travis. Nick and Luciana make their way through sewer tunnels. Luciana urges Nick to leave her so that he can go on unburdened. He refuses and tells Luciana he will never leave her behind. Nick kicks down another sewer grate only to find a horde of infected on the other side. He and Luciana flee back inside the tunnel. The horde follows.
Soldiers throw Travis inside a pit of infected. The soldiers watch as the infected approach Travis and bet on his chances of survival as he battles fights for his life. Using only cinder blocks, the surrounding walls and his bare fists as weapons, Travis kills all the infected in the pit. From above, Willy tells Travis he's impressed, then decides to up the ante. He unlocks a cell inside the pit, unleashing more infected on him.
Madison drags Troy outside, holding the spoon in his gouged eye, as armed soldiers surround them. Troy tells the soldiers to back off. Alicia hides in a truck as the soldiers pack for the impending evacuation from the base. Jake, Troy's brother, arrives and urges Madison to release Troy. He acknowledges that Troy probably brought this on himself, but she's surrounded and has no where to go. Madison releases Troy who lunges for her but is subdued by Jake who demands to know where Madison's family is. Troy admits that Travis is in the pit.
Undead Steven attacks Nick in the tunnel. Alicia hears Nick's cries, and follows the sound to the sewer grate. She peers down and sees Nick and Luciana below. Steven is on top of Nick and about to bite him. Alicia drops her knife down and Luciana puts down the undead Steven. However, soldiers apprehend Alicia before she can reconnect with her brother.
Meanwhile, Troy brings Madison to the pit, where they find an exhausted Travis surrounded by brained infected and covered in blood. He climbs out of the pit and attacks Troy, but is quickly restrained. Alicia is brought to Madison, followed by Nick and the Clark family reunites.
Later, Jake offers to take Travis, Madison, Nick, Alicia and Luciana to his family's ranch. It's safe there, and Jake assures them that Troy will behave. Madison and Travis reject the offer.
As the soldiers continue preparations for the evacuation, Jake finds Troy in one of the barracks and chastises him for killing innocent people. Troy insists he was conducting research and says that their father would understand. Jake informs Troy their father sent Troy here for a reason, "Cast one out to protect the many."
Back in the lab, Willy finishes packing but stops to investigate a thumping sound coming from a vent. He opens it and rats pour out. When it seems all the rats are out, he is grabbed and bitten by an infected, and subsequently pulled through the structurally weak wall.
Madison and Jake hear gunshots nearby. The infected Nick and Luciana encountered have emerged from the sewer and breached the barracks. The soldiers scramble to keep them back. The compound has been compromised, and chaos ensues.
Madison and Nick fight the infected, while Travis and Alicia help Luciana into a helicopter. Troy arrives in a truck and urges Madison and Nick to hop on board. The helicopter takes off with Travis, Alicia, and Luciana while Madison and Nick depart in a truck with Troy. Troy tells Madison that they're all going to the same destination.
From the helicopter, Travis looks down and spots the truck on the road. He assures Alicia that Madison and Nick are safe.
Other Cast[]
Co-Stars[]
Uncredited[]
Deaths[]
- Tracy Otto (Confirmed Fate)
- Mexican Captive (Alive and Zombified)
- Steven (Alive and Zombified)
- Willy
- At least 3 unnamed captives (Alive and Zombified)
- At least 2 unnamed Broke Jaw Ranch militiamen
Trivia[]
- First appearance of Troy Otto.
- First appearance of Jake Otto.
- First appearance of Charlene Daley.
- First appearance of Blake Sarno.
- Only appearance of Steven.
- Only appearance of Willy.
- This episode was aired alongside "The New Frontier".
- As of this episode, Danay Garcia (Luciana Galvez) has been added to the opening credits.
- Starting with this episode, Daniel Sharman (Troy Otto) and Sam Underwood (Jake Otto) have been added to the opening credits.
- In the commentary, it was stated that originally, Travis wasn't scripted to throw the cement block at Willy. In fact, Cliff Curtis, threw it without anyone knowing he would do it.
- While captive Travis is asked if he is Mexican or Persian before he states he is Māori. This could be a nod to the fact that Curtis has played a number of roles in the past where he played Latino (such as Training Day, and Columbina) or middle eastern (Three Kings and The Insider) characters.
Episode Highlights[]
TBA
Goofs/Errors[]
- When Travis was first brought to the room holding all the captives, an old man was then dragged away. But later when Troy entered the "lab", the latest victim's corpse was still the man who was shot when Travis was dragged by.
- When Nick knocks down the wall, it is first seen completely fallen over, however when Nick returns, the wall is still leaning upwards.
References[]
- ↑ "Fear the Walking Dead - Episode 3.01 - Eye of the Beholder - Promo, Promotional Photos + Synopsis" 24 May 2017, SpoilerTV, Retrieved on 29 May 2017