In the opening of this episode we learn that there really are survivors in Mexico. We see them grouped together in church being led by a priest who tells that the world they are living in now isn’t a test by God, but a distraction by something more evil. After taking their communion and ending service they all head outside and grab weapons, which seems bizarre until Victor’s friend/lover, Thomas Abigail, pulls up in a truck. He begs the priest not to do whatever it is that he’s doing, but the priest says that whoever he is protecting — a woman named Celia — needs to be stopped. Then, suddenly, each person from the church starts to fall over… blood gushing out of their eyes one-by-one as they collapse. Men, women, and children all dying around them. Before the priest dies he tells Thomas that “this was Celia.” She doesn’t sound like a great lady, does she?
Interestingly enough, the Abigail has arrived at the border and is ready to cross over to the other side. Luis gets ready to leave to pay his contact, Miguel, to let them, but Victor tells him to stop when they realize Miguel and a second person are on a boat approaching them instead. Madison gathers everyone else and hides them in the engine room, leaving Victor and Luis to deal with the incoming visitors. Needless to say, the money transfer doesn’t go so well and after a few gunshots Madison and the group come back up to deck to find Luis and the two patrollers have been shot. Victor guns it towards land anyway, which causes other patrol boats to start shooting at the Abigail. Eventually they stop, and Victor thinks it’s because “whatever is on land” will kill them anyway. Not a great sign.
Once on land it seems relatively quiet and isolated. That is until, of course, they stumble upon a pile of bodies and the church that we saw in the opening. Victor goes running when he sees the truck that Thomas arrived in, but there is no sign of him anywhere. Then, the group of church goes that we saw die in the opening arrive in walker form — including the small children — and the survivors are forced to take them out. Both Nick and Daniel have trouble taking out the little ones, but it’s Chris who causes the most concern when he stands by and watches a walker nearly take Madison out. That kid is trouble and way too much of it at this point.
When the coast is clear they pile into the truck and Victor drives them to the compound he once told them about. The group is left stunned that it really exists, and once they arrive they are eager to get situated. They are first greeted by Celia, who we soon find out is Luis’ mom. She takes Victor inside to find Thomas almost immediately, while another member of the house offers to give the rest of the group a tour — only after they hand over all of their weapons.
Victor is finally brought to Thomas, but we find out immediately he’s been bit. Thomas tells Victor he waited for him, but he doesn’t look good at all. He can barely walk when Victor helps him into bed, and it’s clear he doesn’t have much time left.
Chris Scares The Crap Out Of Alicia
Elsewhere in the massive house we find Alicia watching television, trying to get comfortable inside her new home. When Chris comes in to join her she hands over the remote and gets up to leave, which makes him ask if she’s mad at him. Of course she’s mad at him! He stood by and watched as her mother nearly got turned into a walker buffet, and she tells him that. But Chris denies it repeatedly, tells Alicia she doesn’t know what she’s talking about and that she better not tell anyone. When Alicia tries to leave the room he grabs her and slams her against the door frame and tells her that he “doesn’t want to hurt anyone,” then walks away. Did Chris just threaten Alicia’s life? Wow.
Nick finds his way to the kitchen where Celia seems to be preparing dinner. She sneaks him a bowl of food if he promises not to tell anyone, and while eating he opens up to her about how over the world he is. Madison overhears their conversation and then butts in, telling Nick to go take a shower. Once he leaves the room she tells Celia that he’s fragile and impressionable, and it’s immediately clear that Madison and the woman of the house are going to butt heads.
Weirdly enough, Celia finds Daniel at what appears to be an outdoor alter filled with pictures we can only assume are of those the people in the house have lost. Celia asks Daniel if he’s praying, which of course he’s not, so she asks if she can instead. He apologizes for her loss as she puts a picture of Luis up on the wall, and she asks why? Then she reminds him that her son was not shot in the head, which means there was nothing to be sorry for. Daniel seems confused by this but walks away without questioning it. Later he skips dinner, which Ofelia finds strange but lets go.
Back inside the house Madison knocks on Victor’s door, where inside he’s laying in bed with Thomas. She’s welcomed inside, and she delivers a tray full of dinner for both of them in case either of them feels up for it. Thomas looks awful and Madison is no idiot, so she tries to leave the room quickly to give them some more time together. However, Thomas holds her back by apologizing for not being a better host, and then asks her to promise to take care of Victor when he’s gone. Madison tells him that Victor won’t make it easy, to which Thomas tells her that’s why he asking her specifically. Well played, Thomas.
Daniel Discovers Celia’s Deadly Secret
As everyone is settling into bed Madison finds Alicia on the couch watching television again. She tells her daughter that when she was little and they left her with a babysitter, that they would always come home to find her in the exact same position she was currently in. Alicia confessed that as a little girl she was always afraid they would never come home, so Madison asks her what she’s afraid of now. The next thing we see is Madison barging into her room with Travis and questioning him about Chris, then revealing what the troubled teen demanded Alicia not tell anyone: that he threatened her and nearly let Madison die earlier that day. Travis refuses to believe this and even tries to turn the situation around on Madison, reminding her of all the times he helped her with her own troubled son, Nick. At the end of the argument Madison chooses to stay with Alicia, while Travis goes off to check on Chris.
Now, this is where things get even weirder. As Thomas fights death, Victor begs him to let the world go. Thomas tells him that he’s scared to leave him behind, so Victor offers to go with him — as in die alongside him. When Thomas questions it, Victor reminds him that Celia will “watch over them” once they are gone. A moment later we see Daniel walking across the compound in the dark until he witnesses a young boy drop a living dog down a metal shut into a building. The boy walks away as if it’s nothing, and Daniel can hear the dog crying as if it’s being attacked. My guess? Celia thinks walkers are still people and is keeping them alive inside that building — just like on Hershel’s farm on The Walking Dead. Not good.
As if we needed double confirmation, Daniel then stumbles upon a little boy talking to someone in the cellar. When Daniel asks who he’s talking to he says it’s his mother, and then tells him he can see her through the gate. He lets Daniel inside and that’s when he sees a large group of walkers reaching for both of them through the metal. It’s a horrific sight, and it’s no surprise that he immediately confronts Celia about it.
Celia’s excuse? That they are family, and that they were being “hunted” outside in the world. As she’s talking she’s setting up a plate for two, which features two pieces of communion bread. Daniel smells them to find that they are poisoned, then accuses her of killing the people at the church. She tells him she didn’t kill them, that he did, and then tells him to make peace with his dead as she walks away with the tray.
Victor Has A Change Of Heart
It’s not much of a surprise when Celia delivers the tray to Victor and Thomas. After singing a lullaby to Thomas, Celia tells Victor that she was wrong by not thinking he was good enough for her son. She tells him she’s proud of the decision he’s made, and then leaves the two of them alone. Victor crawls into bed with Thomas and holds him as he takes his last breath, then gets up out of bed and passes by the poisoned bread instead of taking it.
In another room we see Chris get up out of bed as Travis is sound asleep. He creeps out into the hallway and finds Alicia’s room, where she’s laying in bed being held by her mom. They are both sound asleep, and after calling Alicia’s name quietly Chris sees a large knife on the nightstand behind Madison. He slowly walks over to the stand and picks up the knife, but before anything else happens a gunshot rings throughout the house waking everyone up — including Madison and Alicia.
Madison sees Chris and asks him what he’s doing, and Alicia starts screaming at him to get out of the room. Chris leaves, stunned, knife in hand, and doesn’t say a word. Madison probably should have taken that knife from him, no?
We return to Victor, who is kneeling over Thomas’ dead body. It appears that he put a pillow over Thomas’ face and shot him, breaking his promise to go with him to the other side. Chances are this is going to leave Celia pissed, because as this was happening she was telling Nick that the dead are not actually dead. Bizarre.
Tell us, HollywoodLifers — Do YOU think Chris is capable of hurting Alicia or Madison? Do YOU think the group is really safe at Celia’s house? Comment below with your thoughts.