Under no circumstances would I risk sneaking my family through streets infested with walkers and Mexican drug dealers, for any reason. Yet we see Francisco with his family in tow sneaking out of Colonia in the morning, and since cartel foot soldiers are light sleepers, they are captured almost immediately. His absence is noticed by the other scouts and Luciana and Nick join the team to search for him. However dangerous it is out there, Ofelia seems to be doing alright on her own but has a flashback of her life before, and a fiancé we never knew about.
Back at the hotel it seems that things are going well. A generator, cold beverages, a fully stocked bar and surf lessons. Our fragmented group and their new friends make plans for supply runs and it seems all is well, that is until Strand is shanked by the still grieving mother of former bride, former walker, now dead twice over, Jessica. One of the cardinal rules about life in any horror or survival situation is always see who’s at the door, and never just open it like the jolly, careless idiot you are.
His wound complicates things at the hotel, as does Francisco’s exit complicate things at Colonia. At the hotel we have the question of trust between survivors, of crime and punishment and the laws of a community. Eileen is a danger and the question of imprisonment or exile comes up. Maddie has proven to be a strong person on her own but also shines as a leader. It’s been a few times that she’s spoken up during squabbles and settled things. Here, she makes somewhat of an imperial decree: No violence against each other, under any circumstance.
Alejandro speaks to the people of Colonia in a similarly authoritative way, speaking on the dangers of abandoning their home, and he is right about the danger but also comes across as somewhat despotic. Nick notices that he may not be well, sweating as he beseeches his people to stand with him. It’s an interesting situation for our heroes, as we are most accustomed to the Ricktatorship in regards to the group and his trigger happy policing of Alexandria. These characters are trying to either recreate or maintain the civility they have so painfully and recently lost.
While making an offering to the narcos for the supplies they need for Strand, Maddie in a complete 180 from the level headed leader she was in the last scene, rushes into Francisco’s interrogation regarding the colony because she thinks Nick might have been mentioned. Not only that but she fires up the generator at night in an attempt to signal him. Alicia is personally hurt by her mother’s continued quest to drag Nick back home, which makes sense because every time he’s left, either on a bender or to go traipsing through the Mexican desert covered in blood, he’s done it by choice. Meanwhile Alicia has been desperate for her mother’s attention, something she admitted to Strand while she tended to his wound.
Nick may be endangering his place in the colony by setting up a run to the narcos to trade for water, without Alejandro or Luciana’s knowledge. Alejandro seems to be motivated by something other than the safety of the colony, perhaps to its detriment. He is very concerned with remaining hidden, but Nick inadvertently shits on that one by being spotted on the roof by the narcos. Whether or not his trade goes south seems like a moot point now.
Finally we catch up with Ofelia, who seems to be making her way to “el norte” and has another flashback. Griselda is probably one of my favorite characters. Her dialogue is so eloquent and haunting that she stole the first season, and her definition of love in this episode has ensured that she steals this one as well.
Just when we thought our heroes were mostly settled, (scattered yes, but at least safe) the rashness of a few have once again endangered the many. Strand’s fate is uncertain, and the narcos know where the colony is now, and for all we know they also know about the hotel. But that glowing red sign in the night has attracted at least one person that we want to find the hotel...
Written by A Play On Nerds contributor, Jerry Herrera - Lover of horror, sci fi, and fantasy in that order. Semi-permanent Disneyland resident. I'm at least one of the droids you're looking for. Twitter: @FrankenJerry - Instagram: @GeraldoPedro