"Sicut Cervus" is the sixth episode of the second season of AMC's Fear the Walking Dead. It is the twelfth episode of the series overall. It premiered on May 15, 2016.[2] It was written by Brian Buckner and directed by Kate Dennis.
Plot[]
Conflict erupts in a final push towards Strand's destination. Chris makes a decision that shakes the family. Nick meets a new maternal figure.
Synopsis[]
At a church in Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California a priest exhorts his parishioners to fight the dead. The parishioners take their communion wafers one by one. In the town square, the parishioners arm themselves. Thomas arrives in his truck and urges the priest to stop. "Do not protect her," says the priest. Suddenly, the parishioners begin to drop on their knees in agony as blood pours out of their eyes.
The Abigail approaches a Mexican flotilla that is guarding the border. Travis checks in with Chris, who asks why everyone is mad at him. Travis says that Madison does not believe Reed was infected when Chris shot him. Chris is devastated, thinking Madison was on his side. In the wheelhouse, Luis prepares to meet with his military contact on the flotilla and pay for their passage. Strand sees military officers approaching in a boat. Concerned that a second officer is coming along with Luis' contact, he orders Madison to hide everyone below deck.
From the engine room, Madison's group overhears the conversation between Strand, Luis and the two officers. Gunfire erupts after the officers insist on searching the boat to make sure no infected are aboard. Madison's group charges upstairs to find a mortally wounded Luis lying next to two dead officers. Daniel stabs the officers to prevent them from turning. Luis begs Daniel not to stab him and hands Ofelia a medallion with an owl's face, asking that she gives it to his mother. Daniel throws the medallion into the ocean. Luis whispers to Nick as Strand steers the Abigail toward the Mexican coastline.
On land, Strand leads the group into town of Valle de Guadalupe. They find a pile of dead parishioners in front of the church. Strand spots Thomas' truck and calls his name. The group fights off a herd of infected parishioners. Daniel grabs a young infected boy and becomes paralyzed by the memory of someone clutching him as young boy by the neck. Ofelia kills the infected boy for Daniel. Nick sits stunned after killing a young infected girl. Madison is overcome by an infected and fights for her life. Chris watches her struggle from a few steps away and does nothing to help. Alicia screams at him and saves Madison herself. The group piles into Thomas' truck and flees.
Strand drives the group to Thomas' gated estate where Celia, Luis' mother, greets them. Strand informs her that Luis is dead. "He's one of them now," Strand says. "Then he'll find his way back," she replies. A maid asks the group to hand over their weapons, which Daniel is reluctant to do. Strand tends to Thomas and learns that he has been bitten. Meanwhile, Alicia accuses Chris of standing by while Madison was attacked. He insists he merely froze, but when Alicia presses him, Chris threatens to hurt her if she tells anyone what she saw. In the kitchen, Nick tells Celia that Luis asked for her when he died. Celia calmly explains that the dead have always walked among them. "The only difference is now we can see them," she says. Madison overhears their conversation and later warns Celia that Nick is impressionable.
Daniel gazes at photos of the dead posted at an outdoor shrine. He notices an owl carved into a tree trunk, similar to Luis' medallion. Celia posts a photo of Luis and explains that his death does not faze her because he was not shot in the head. When Madison brings food to Thomas and Strand, Thomas asks her to look after Strand when he dies. Later, Ofelia summons Daniel to dinner and finds him sitting on his bed in a daze. When Alicia tells Madison about Chris' threat, Madison confers with Travis and worries that Chris is sick. Travis defends Chris and angrily wonders why Madison won't offer the same support to Chris that he always gave Nick. Madison decides to sleep in Alicia's room for protection while Travis sleeps with Chris.
Strand urges Thomas to end the suffering and let go of life, offering to kill himself so that they can remain together after death. Nick accompanies Ofelia to the shrine, where Ofelia prays to her mother. Nick sees the owl carving and has a flashback to the drug den at the Los Angeles church. In the flashback, he sees his friend feasting on a body. Meanwhile, Daniel takes a nighttime stroll and sees a young boy, Juan, place a dog down a chute that leads to a wine cellar. Juan explains to Daniel that he's talking to his mother. Daniel enters the cellar and sees a cell full of infected. Daniel confronts Celia, who explains that they are all family members of people who work on the estate. As she prepares two communion wafers, Daniel realizes that she killed the parishioners with poisoned wafers. She urges him to make peace with his dead.
Celia brings the wafers to Strand and Thomas and commends Strand for deciding to die with Thomas. She leaves the room and locks it. Nick finds Celia drinking wine in the courtyard. "They're not really dead, are they?" he asks. She shakes her head and says the infected are simply "what comes next". Thomas finally dies, but instead of following through with his death pact, Strand searches Thomas' bedroom drawers. Meanwhile, Chris awakens and sneaks into the room where Madison and Alicia are sleeping and notices a knife on a nightstand. As he takes the knife and stands over Madison and Alicia, a gunshot rings out, waking the two. Alicia sees the knife and screams at Chris, who flees. Strand sits next to Thomas with a gun: Thomas is shot in the head.
Other Cast[]
Co-Stars[]
- Moisses Arath Leyva as Juan
- Sebastián Cano as Young Daniel Salazar
- Diana Lein as Sofia
- Ramón Medína as Jorge
- Alex Perazza as Comandante Vazquez
- José Sefami as Priest
- Julio Umana as Green Eyed Boy
Uncredited[]
- Unknown as Miguel
- Lexi Johnson as Gloria (Archive Footage)
- Shaquille Carter as Church Junkie (Archive Footage)
- Casey Larios as Church Junkie (Archive Footage)
Deaths[]
- Priest (Alive and Zombified)
- Miguel
- Vazquez
- Luis Flores (Alive)
- Juan's Mother (Alive, Confirmed Fate)
- Thomas Abigail
- At least 6 unnamed choir boys (Alive and Zombified)
- At least 20 unnamed congregation members (Alive and Zombified)
- Many unnamed Abigail Vineyard residents (Confirmed Fate)
- 1 puppy
Trivia[]
- First appearance of Juan.
- First appearance of Sofia.
- First appearance of Jorge.
- Only appearance of Miguel.
- Only appearance of Vazquez.
- Last appearance of Luis Flores. (Alive)
- Last appearance of Thomas Abigail. (Alive)
- As of this episode, Michelle Ang (Alex) has been removed from the opening credits.
- The title of the episode, "Sicut Cervus", means in Latin for 'like deer', which could either refer to Psalm 42 or to the group being hunted, as deer is a commonly hunted animal.
- This episode marks the oldest flashback seen in the Television Universe which was when Daniel was remembering when he seemingly got recruited into the Salvadorian Junta.
- This is the first episode to take place outside the United States.
- A character is seen keeping and feeding walkers/infected similar to Hershel and his family did in Season 2 of the main show.
- Ofelia has finally beaten the infection in her gunshot wound that she has been fighting since "Ouroboros".
Episode Highlights[]
TBA
Goofs/Errors[]
- Right before Strand enters the church, a car can be seen driving in the distant background, a likely production error.
- The zombified woman in the blue blouse is seen being put down by Travis. However, immediately afterwards the same woman is seen being put down by Alicia.
- When Victor is watching Thomas in the bed, Thomas' breathing stops and his eyes open showing his death and then he very clearly swallows.
References[]
- ↑ Cable weekly Top 25, May 9-15: NBA and ‘Game of Thrones’ dominate again - tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com (May 17, 2016)
- ↑ Fear the Walking Dead Episode Guide - Zap2it