"Fear the Walking Dead" season 4 episode 2: "Another Day in the Diamond" is another great episode. They have fast forwarded the show since the dam blew up in Season 3. Madison and her family are living in an abandoned baseball stadium. They have built a place full of farm animals, some crops, and believe it or not: coffee.
Then, there's the fact that Luciana (Danay Garcia) is back! Nick (Frank Dillane) makes snarky remarks that he can't help but make to get back at her for leaving him in the last season. There's some hurt left, but I'm sure he'll forgive her for leaving him.
Time Lapses
This season of "Fear the Walking Dead," we have to pay extra attention to understand the time flipping back and forth. In this week’s episode, it takes place at the baseball stadium with Madison (Kim Dickens) and her group- after the dam broke in season 3, but before Morgan Jones (Lennie James) gets snatched by Nick and Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey) (present day).
In the end, it flips back to Morgan and the two newcomers from the first episode of the season, Althea (Maggie Grace) and John Dorie (Garrett Dillahunt) (present day). They get kidnapped from Nick and the rest of the group because they know where they found the white flag. The white flag belongs to the Vultures, new villains who lure walkers into the home, tanks, and semis.
The time lapses might be confusing, but it makes the show intriguing and keeps you guessing.
Female Power
Madison, Alicia, Strand (Colman Domingo), and Luciana search for Charlie's (Alexa Nisenson) parents outside the baseball stadium. Charlie is a little girl who wandered into their camp, but she lost her parents.
Instead of finding Charlie's parents, Madison runs into a woman named Naomi (Jenna Elfman).
This scared woman tries to get away but ends up falling in a tank full of oil and walkers. With no hesitancy, the new, selfish Madison jumps into a tank full of oil and walkers to help a complete stranger. Madison seems to be going by her new motto, “They aren’t dead, till they’re dead.” She isn’t the same Madison that only protected those she considers family.
Madison and Naomi both end up killing a bunch of gory-faced walkers in a dark tank full of slippery oil.
Fear The Walking Dead: Madison Clark and crew get duped by young girl as Vultures threaten compound https://t.co/u5T68LyEqW pic.twitter.com/4dfTNI78R4
— thecelebdiary (@thecelebdiary2) April 23, 2018
Nick's flashbacks and fear
Morgan and Nick seem to share being mentally affected in this apocalyptic world. Nick is having flashbacks and fears going outside the stadium unless his family is in danger. It's possible he's experiencing some PTSD, Post-traumatic stress disorder, symptoms. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, staying away from places or situations that remind them of the traumatic event and having flashbacks are just a couple of symptoms people with PTSD have.
Nick denies that he’s afraid of coming up with the excuse of watching the turnips, instead of going out to help search for Charlie's parents. He's invested a lot of his time farming, since he seemed to be reading a gardening book, knows the turnip bugs, and is always seen gardening. Could Nick and Morgan bond over their similar mental states? Or will Nick still keep denying anything is wrong?
Fear the Walking Dead: Jenna Elfman shares backstory on 'broken' Naomi https://t.co/pwvCfpSMbL
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) April 23, 2018
New Villains: Vultures and Mel
After parking their vehicles in front of the stadium, the Vultures do something both genius and eerie. One guy turns some music on, gets on a bike, and lures the walkers into a semi.
With confidence and utter lack of fear, Mel (Kevin Zegers) unfolds a lawn chair facing the stadium. By casting the character in the shadows, they created an intimidating new villain. We hardly see his face, yet Kevin Zegers pulled the character off in being this relaxed, yet alert villain who was quite intimidating. But, Madison being Madison doesn't seem fazed by him or his crew of nomadic scavengers.
#FearTWD showrunners on the new villains of season 4. https://t.co/B6ZHpgJtDH
— Dalton Ross (@DaltonRoss) April 23, 2018
Mel is such an interesting villain because he says they wait for people to die. He doesn't kill people but scavenges everything they leave behind. What sets him off from other villains in "Fear the Walking Dead" is when he tells Madison they could join his group.
This new leader is unique because he has such a creepy, yet relaxing vibe that might disguise something more sinister. Could this potential villain turn out to be an ally, or is it all just a ploy to play with their minds?