‘Fear the Walking Dead’ Premiere [Recap]: “Eye of the Beholder”/”The New Frontier”

*****SPOILER WARNING*****

Well dead heads, season 3 of AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead has officially begun. For those of us that are fans of this series as well as the original, can now get our walker fix every Sunday night until season eight of The Walking Dead begins.

Let me start off by saying that THIS episode is by far the best so far. For me, it did not disappoint. Tonight was a two-episode premiere and we got some answers to a few of the questions we were left with at the end of last season. Family reunited, a character being exiled, infected kills (because they don’t call them walkers), new enemies, and a major character death. So, if you do not want to know what happened in last night’s episode, TURN BACK NOW! You have been officially warned……………………………………………………….Okay, now let’s get to the recap of Eye of the Beholder and The New Frontier.

Eye of the Beholder

Madison, Travis and Alicia are captured by a militia. Madison notices dead bodies scattered. I’m not sure if she is trying to see if any of the bodies are Nick but being the mom that we know her to be, I’m going with yes on this one. They enter the compound and are separated. Madison and Alicia are taken in one direction and Travis in another with him calling out to her, “I’ll find you, Maddie.” UGH…that hit me in the gut! Reminded me of when Glenn told Maggie the same thing before Negan finished him off. R.I.P Glenn!! This is also the first time we see Daniel Sharman as Troy Otto.

Travis is walked through an empty barracks and down the stairs though the compound’s hallways. They pass by the shower room where we see the soldiers writing the time of death on a man’s forehead and then Travis is put into a room filled with other people. As he settles down and while taking everything in he looks through the people in the room. We get a quick glimps of Luciana leaning her head on someone. As Travis’ vision comes into focus, he sees Nick. Nick soon looks up at him but they remain silent.

Travis sits next to Nick and let’s him know that his mother and Alicia are also there.Nick asks about Chris and Travis remains quiet, nuff said. Luci asks if Travis saw anyone at the border and he tells her that all they saw were the dead. While sitting there, Steven overhears them and tells Travis that he can get them out. Travis, Luci, Nick, Steven, and a couple of others are taken to the shower room. While there, they witness soldiers shoot a captive. Seems that Troy and his bunch are “learning” by killing people and noting how long it takes for them to reanimate. They are there through the night.

Travis decides to use the infected as a way to escape by distracting the soldiers. As the infected is coming back, Travis picks a fight with them when they try to take Nick as their next experiment. Travis volunteers himself as tribute and they agree. They struggle and he knocks one of the soldiers down who gets bit by the infected. They knock down Willy, the other soldier played by Noel Fisher of Shameless fame, and they make their escape. While running, they stop to cut their bounded hands and Travis tells Nick to save Luci and he will find Maddie and Alicia then find him. Travis gets recaptured and Nick and Luci escape through the underground tunnels. Steven is shot, sliced in his neck and dropped into the tunnels so that he can reanimate to kill Nick and Luci.

While all this is happening, Maddie and Alicia are held in an office and questioned by Troy. He acts like his intentions are good but, yeah, we all know he’s creepy as hell. They ask where Travis is and he tells them that he is being processed separately. She begs to be let go. He tells them that they can after they are processed…Yeah, right! While alone, Maddie looks for anything that she can use as a weapon. Alicia gives her her knife that she had hidden in her boot before they were taken. Alicia is still stuggling with the fact that she killed Andres but Maddie tell her that she saved Travis.

Maddie wakes the next morning to Troy sitting next to her writing notes. He tries to convince her to go with them to there sanctuary. She askes about Travis and he tries his best to avoid the subject. He eventually lies and tells her that he will released Travis if she agrees to go with them, however, she is not fully convinced that he is telling the truth.

Travis is taken the “pit,” reminiscent of The Governor’s Walker pit. He is forced to fight off a half-dozen infected. After killing them all, Willy, opens the flood gates and lets out several more infected.

Troy returns to the office where he left Alicia and Maddie and upon entering they are nowhere to be seen. Maddie attacks him from behind but drops the knife.  Alicia is knocked down. Maddie and Troy struggle and she stabs him in the eye with a spoon. Holding him hostage, she tells Alicia to go find a working vehicle. She takes Troy outside and they are surrounded by other compound soldiers but these ones seem a lot different than Troy. She yells at Troy to tell her what he did to Travis. This is the first we see of Jake Otto who tries to negotiate with her. She reluctantly lets Troy go after Jake promises to release her and her family. Troy tells Jake that Travis was taken to the pit.

Nick and Luci are still in the sewer tunnels and try to make their escape through a flood channel. They find infected everywhere. They head back into the tunnels. Infected are not far behind. Luci is weak and struggling. Nick is attacked by infected Steven. Up above, while searching for a vehicle, Alicia hears Nick and Luciana. She finds the sewer drain and drops her knife to them. Luci kills Steven…again. Alicia a taken.

Maddie is taken to the pit where an exhausted Travis killed all the infected. Travis tells Maddie that Nick is there and soldiers bring Alicia to her. They also bring Nick and Luciana for Nick to be reunited with his mother. They hug, then Nick pulls in Alicia…Awwwww. Travis looks on as though to think his job is done.

After all that has happened, Jake tries to convince them to go to their sanctuary. He lets them know that his father has prepared for the end of the world and that there are good people there. Maddie asks for their guns and she and Travis share a moment. He lets her now that he’s okay and that he is with her. Remember, it has only been days that he found out that Chris was dead and he killed the two guys that were with him.

Jake has a heart-to-heart with Troy and he is not happy with his bro. He shows no remorse for anything he has done. A true Narcissictic Sociopath!

Willy is packing up and ready to head back. He hears a thud coming from within the walls. He stops to investigate. Pulling off a vent from the wall, out falls dozens of rats! He gains his composure and looks into the vent hole. An infected grabs him, bites him in the face and pulls him through the wall. Honestly one of the best deaths ever!

Infected from the sewers finally make their way to the compound. Maddie and Nick fight the dead while Alicia and Travis take Luci to a helicopter where Jake is waiting. As more infected come, it seems as though they don’t have a chance but are surprisingly rescued by Troy who begins shotting the infected, aiming with his good eye. He yells at them to get in the truck and they, very reluctantly, agree. As they leave, he acts as though nothing has happened and says that they will meet the helicopter there. The helicopter lifts off and they all head to their new location.

The New Frontier

Okay, are you ready? Not what you expect to happen is about to happen.

It is night now and those in the helicopter are about  20 minutes from their destination. Suddenly, shots are fired and as they try to dodge bullets, Travis is shot through the neck. He immediately goes into a shock-like state holding his neck and asks for help. At the same time the helicopter is losing hydraulics and they are going down fast. Alicia realizes that he has been injured and tries to calm him down. He begs for help while he opens the door. Alicia begs him to stop and to stay in his seat. He unbuckles his seat belt. She pleads with him and she unbuckles her belt to go to him. She sees not only was he shot through the neck but that a bullet went through his body and out his neck. His wounds are fatal. Looking into his eyes and realizing that it is what he wants, she lets go of him. Now I’m not sure if he just falls of if she actually pushes him out but the last we see of Travis is him falling. WOW…good opening sequence! R.I.P. Travis.

Finally, back at the hotel, people are storming the front gates. They need a doctor and somehow word got out that they had one. Not anymore because Alicia killed him. The people try to break through the gates. Elena and Hector try to stop them. They grab hold of them and Strand walks out. He lies to the people and tells them he is a doctor and that they will be taken care of…WAH???? Oh Strand, what are you thinking, oh wait, you’re not.

Near the helicopter crash site, Jake tells Alicia that he thinks she did the right thing but she wonders if Travis is still out there. He tells her that they can’t stay out there and they have to leave.

The militia, along with Nick and Maddie, get to the ranch. Finding out the others have not made it there yet, Troy tells them to wait outside. Nick wants to leave to find them but Maddie tells him no because they don’t know where they are or where they are going. She asks Nick to hug her, revealing to him that she took a gun while they had made a pit stop. She tells him that they will take what they need and stop anyone who gets in their way.

At the hotel, Strand is trying his best to play the role of doctor. They seem to be buying it even after he tries to get out of delivering a baby.

At the ranch, Madison and Nick meet Jeremiah Otto. He asks her is there would be any reason for Travis hijacking the helicopter? She tells him that he would never risk Alicia’s life. He accepts and welcomes them to Broke Jaw Ranch. He takes them to their own cabin but Nick is still veary weary of them, and rightfully so. Nick blames himself for taking Luci to the border and them having to look for him there. She tells him it’s not his fault and thay are just going to “eat sh*t” and bide their time. That’s how they save everyone.

During the night, Jake, Alicia, Luci and Charlene have made camp. While on watch Charlene signals to alert Jake. He goes to check and finds 3 infected feeding. They attack Jake and Alicia comes to his rescue, killing all 3. He realizes that they were feeding on Charlene and he puts her down before she reanimates.

Strand is asked to leave by Elena who tells him that if his lies catch up to him, the people will turn on all of them. He agrees asking for a car, Elena refuses. Hector tell him he has one last patient, an old woman who refuses to eat. Hector takes him into the room and Strand finds Mrs. Stowe, the brides mother from season 2 who stabbed Strand. He opens the sliding door to the balcony to let in some air…foreshadowing here…they talk about having no hope and no future. That he could leave but now way to get there. He tells her that after delivering the baby, he saw a glimmer of hope for a new generation. She apologizes for hurting him. She gives him a gift. Not showing us what it is, he thanks her and she thanks him in return for freeing her daughter. She walks onto the balcony, she tells him there is no new generation and jumps.

Jake and Alicia connect over what has happened in the last few days and they make it back to the ranch carrying a very weak Luciana. At the gate, they lay her down but since she is near death, she is not let in. Maddie and Alicia reunite and she looks for Travis. Not seeing him, she asks where he is and Alicia just says, “he’s not-“. Maddie understands and is grief-stricken.

Troy will not let Luciana in because she will turn if she dies. He wants to kill her. Nick tries to stop him and when it seems like he will give in to Troy, he tells him that he will do it instead. Troy gives Nick the gun and Nick looks like he is about the break down when he takes his aim at Troy. Nick begs Otto to not let her die and he agrees as long as Nick gives up the gun. He does and Luci is taken to the infirmary.

Madison is grieving the loss of Travis when she is approached by Jeremiah. He lets her know that he has to make sure that people, meaning her, are not a danger to his people. She asks why he came to see her and he informs her that he is missing a gun. The one she took. He asks if she wants to sign for it. She does. He gives her his condolences and walks away.

Alicia checks in on Nick and Luciana. Nick asks her if she’s okay and she shakes her head, no. She breaks down in his arms, crying.

Strand, in the hotel parking garage is ready to leave. He clicks the car keys to see which car they belong to. He takes off the cover to finds a green Jaguar. This was the gift that was given to him by Mrs. Stowe. She meant is as a wedding gift to her daughter. Seems as though Victor gave her a way out and she returned to favor. He drives off.

Maddie, Alicia and Nick are talking in their cabin. She tells them that she is okay. She informs them both that they are going to stay and make it their home, even by force. She believes it is their fate and asks for Alicia to tell her everything that happen. Before we hear anything, the episode ends.

YES…I know, a lot for a premiere, but remember, it was two epsodes and a lot had to be answered. How far will they go to make the ranch their own? What trouble is Victor Strand going to get into? Where the hell is Ofelia?? Jeremiah was the one that we last see her with in season 2.

Fear the Walking Dead airs Sunday nights at 9 pm on AMC.