This episode of "Fear the Walking Dead" has a darker element than the previous episodes of season 4. It starts off with Luciana (Danay Garcia) having to stab Nick (Frank Dillane) in the head to prevent him from turning into a zombie. The opening credits for "Fear the Walking Dead" have a gloomy, dreary image of a field. It differs from the show's earlier season 4 opening credits of the field of blue bonnets. Their hope at the beginning is slowly fading away, and war seems to be the only thing left.

Strand and Cole: Testing loyalty

Cole (Sebastian Sozzi) goes outside the stadium with Strand (Colman Domingo) to find food.

He taunts Strand with questions, but Strand keeps deflecting Cole's questions. Cole keeps his obvious interest in Strand quite clear. Strand says he's unafraid and that he likes him, that's why he ignores him. He doesn't want Cole to discover who he can turn into, the worst side of himself.

Strand shows Cole his stash of supplies in a vehicle, and he tells Cole there's only enough for two for at least a month. Strand seems to test Cole's loyalty by showing Cole his selfish side. Cole seems disgusted by the idea of abandoning all those people to starve, and he leaves Strand there.

Strand seems conflicted but is reminded of what he will lose if he gives in to his old way of life: a bottle of syrup.

The syrup represents what he will lose, which is a family in Madison (Kim Dickens) and her kids.

New Alicia: Dark and hardened

In this episode, Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey) loses her knife, which foreshadows her progress to a darker side of Alicia.

She drops her knife when she and Naomi (Jenna Elfman) brave a pool infested with zombies. They try to climb up a water park slide to look for any supplies some people might have left behind.

When she is at the stadium, she’s so much happier than the Alicia at present, who seems obsessed with revenge. Alicia obtains a bigger weapon on the top of the slide.

It was part of a gun that broke off, which she wields to save her and Naomi from zombies stuck in the water slide.

In the present, Alicia's transformation is different from her usual reasonable and soft-hearted personality. Her new choice in weapon is now sharper and long enough to easily kill zombies. Alicia is harder in the present than she was at the water slide. The change in her weapon could be a representation of Alicia's darker side.

When she talks to Althea (Maggie Grace), Alicia seems to be grinding out her answers. Nick's death is sending Alicia to a darker place than we've ever seen.

She doesn’t care how abrupt she is when she tells John Dorie (Garret Dillahunt) about Laura.

Buried weapons and war

Nick hasn't been dead that long, and they are seeking revenge for his death. They don't stop to grieve or think over their plan, because there was already a plan. They had a whole arsenal of guns, armor, and a lot more coming out of the box they dug up. They didn't even bury Nick first before they decided fighting was the answer.

John Dorie's heartbreak

John Dorie finds out Laura was in Alicia’s group, and she went by the name Naomi. Dorie tells them he never knew her real name.

Did he really know Laura? Was Naomi her real name, or does she always lie to protect herself? Dorie finds out from Alicia’s group that Laura died in the stadium. Of course, Dorie is hopeful and thinks there’s still hope that she somehow made it out alive. He decides to keep searching for her, with Morgan (Lennie James) by his side.

Where are Madison and Daniel?

We still don’t know where Madison is. Could the Vultures have killed her? Or did they persuade her over to their side somehow? They could have used leverage or food to persuade Madison to switch to their side. Why else would Mel (Kevin Zegers) be trying to convince her to switch to his side in this episode?

There's only four original characters alive from season 1 now.

According to Digital Spy, co-showrunner Andrew Chambliss stated that "Daniel is alive and out there." Thus, we know that Daniel (Rubén Blades) is alive. He has been removed from the opening sequence, so it might be a while before he comes back.
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