Spoiler warning for anyone who hasn't yet watched Fear the Walking Dead's "The Wrong Side of Where You Are Now."
After taking a week off for Memorial Day -- an interesting choice, considering the lack of military presence -- Fear the Walking Dead returned for the penultimate episode of Season 4's front half, giving fans of the Vultures some big shocks and reveals. We saw the villainous machinations that went into the stadium's collapse, and we learned what Mel and Charlie are up to in the current-day timeline, as well as John's fate after being shot by Alicia. Let's go over all the big moments below, starting with how Ennis became Public Enemy No. 1.
The Vultures' Big Plan
The Stadium's downfall (and Madison's current absence) can be placed largely on Ennis' hipster shoulders, as the now-deceased villain was directly responsible for destroying all hope for the protagonists. Though Mel and Charlie are definitely not innocent bystanders by any means, even if they tipped Madison & Co. off about what their mustachioed cohort was up to. Ennis brought out all the walkers that the Vultures had collected from different areas, which is apparently what the numbered banners were for, and his group eventually set loose the mega-horde on both the Stadium and on the completely stranded Nick and Alicia.
This was indeed a pretty masterful and frightening way to properly weaponize walkers for an attack, and the Vultures wisely added fuel and fire to the mix. Once again, the Vultures themselves didn't have to get hands-on with the violence, since there were enough walkers to guarantee a successful community demolition, as evidenced by the final shot of the Diamond still being overrun by a slew of burned-up zombies. In the end, I kind of loved the relative simplicity of Ennis' act, especially since not everything got cleared up.
Mel Is Totally Dead Now
In the past, Charlie sought out the others' help in saving Mel after his vehicular accident, which went down in 0% traffic. (Did anyone else get a Lassie vibe whenever Nick asked Charlie what was wrong?) Madison took Mel in, against NIck's wishes, and he revealed Ennis' walker round-up goals, although it all initially just seemed like an attempt to drive everyone away from the stadium. Are we really supposed to believe Mel and Ennis' tiff was that serious? In any case, the episode ended with Nick, Alicia and the injured Mel trapped and surrounded by walkers...which was a weird cliffhanger, considering we know none of the three died there.
Mel was brutally killed by Alicia in the present, however. She first blew up the vehicle he was driving, and then skewered his burnt and bloody husk that tried crawling away. Moments that were all the more shocking for arriving in the early and middle portions of the episode. Not only did Mel's death add some finishing touches to the Vultures' defeat, but it also gave Alicia yet another moment to showcase her muted empathy and thundering judgment. But how on Earth will this storyline extend into the second half of the season?
Now head to the next page to see how things ended for everyone else, including that li'l demon Charlie.
Madison May Have Sacrificed Herself
While viewers are still in the dark on what happened to Madison, one part of this episode may have hinted at how she bows out of the story. Alicia gave Madison a short and impassioned apology for having gone out to help Mel, even though it was the "right" thing to do. And Madison followed that up with an extended moment of contemplation, staring out at the increasingly dire situation in front of her. And as Madison's face was overtaken by the flames' reflections, it looked like she may have come to terms with making the ultimate decision if it meant her children's survival. And that would be the perfect way to add legit stakes to that situation, since everyone else definitely lived through it.
Charlie Is The Worst
Having "Nick's murderer" as a credential hasn't helped Charlie's chances of winning me over, and she stoked mine ire tenfold in "The Wrong Side of Where You Are Now." In the up-to-date timeline, Charlie was taken in by the new group and confessed how things went down before, though her side of the story should be taken with grains of salt. She contacted Madison instead of the other Vultures, which was already suspect, and she's an orphan several times over with Ennis and Mel now both dead. But is she actually going to convert to being a "good guy" after all that, so long as it's not with Alicia? Or will she only look out for herself? Either way, she has earned the throne as the Dead-verse's latest pint-sized menace.
John Survived, Barely!
Fear the Walking Dead delivered one hell of an awkward situation by having John take Alicia's bullet intended for Naomi, and thankfully, his survival was revealed early on in the episode. Unfortunately, though, he's in need of medications and supplies that no one has access to. Alicia literally blew up Naomi's closest stash, and it's going to take some effort to hit up the makeshift infirmary within the stadium, what with all those grody walkers milling about. John obviously needs to get better, though, and both Naomi and Charlie seem to be intent on making good things happen on that front. (Except Charlie will probably screw everyone over, and Alicia will probably show up and stab the wrong thing to death, just as Naomi tells John she loves him, because ugh.)
Al's Videos Could Prove Extremely Important
We still don't know what's up with Al's collection of videos centered on "The Bog," but it now seems a lot more likely that she witnessed some pretty hazardous situations that other survivors likely wouldn't want the wide world to get their eyes on. Instead of joining the fight between the Vultures and Alicia's crew, Al chose to play war reporter by capturing the violent showdown on tape, which Morgan did not approve of. (Not her story, bro.) But it's very likely that Al has recorded or will record some heinous act that someone else would do ANYTHING to keep a secret. And I'm pretty sure it will involve Alicia murdering someone she shouldn't have.
There's only one episode left in Season 4's first half, so be sure to watch Fear the Walking Dead on AMC next Sunday, June 10, at 9:00 p.m. ET. And if you're in need for some other great shows that'll be premiering in the near future, head to our summer premiere schedule.
