The group is still rocked with what happened to Nick. Luciana stabs Nick in the head, pretty forcefully to make sure he doesn’t turn. Alicia kills the vulture walker, all the while Al is filming it all. After this they all load back up in the SWAT vehicle and head to somewhere that Alicia’s group wants to bury Nick. The trio finally breaks down and allows Al to interview them about their stories. They don’t answer their whole stories, they all talk about one fateful day, which is a bit odd. They all say that they could have avoided things if they followed their guts and left that fateful day.
Back in the past, the Vultures were still hitting home runs all over the place, they found some military rations, while Madison’s group inside was struggling for food. To stretch the food supply they were mixing in cattle feed to the regular food to make an ugly looking cake looking mess. Strand was willing to use some of the maple syrup to make things taste better but they decided to keep it as it’s the last they have. Coming up empty trying to beat the Vultures, Madison thinks outside the box and has the group go to some off the beaten locations looking for food and supplies.
Strand and his admirer are sent to a plant store. Strand tells his partner what types of plants are edible and which aren’t. The other man says he knows what is safe, Strand does notice something that is useable. He says he is going to go and get a cart and makes all sorts of noise, which of course attracts some walkers. A walker has all sorts of cactus needles in his face and knocks over Strand’s partner. Strand is able to save him and kill the walker, but not before the other man has needles in him. We flash forward a bit and the other man asks Strand if he likes him or why he is so mean to him.
Strand says he does, but he has done some things, and he doesn’t want him to get to know him but he will show him. So Strand takes him to a lot of a bunch of cars, it turns out Strand has been gearing up with a secret stash of supplies in a vehicle in case he wants to leave. Strand had things the right way, if things are bad get away, but the guy wasn’t about that. Strand said the food could last two people for awhile, but the other guy said people back at the stadium are starving, it could last everyone a day, but that day could make all the difference for people. He will drive himself back, Strand sits in his vehicle and thinks for awhile. He sees the maple syrup in the back seat and it makes him change his mind to come back to the stadium. Madison sees the loot and think’s that is quite a win for the group.
Luciana and Nick head, well honestly I have no idea where they were supposed to go, but Nick has them go to the library. Nick takes a page out of his mothers book to try to find something nice in the real world. He sees a poster that says just hang in there….or something similar to that. Luciana is a little shocked he is taking that, she tells Nick they won’t find food here, Nick says they need books. People need a reason to stay and fight besides food, and they need to build up their library. Luciana thinks this is about Charlie, and Nick says it could be. In the backroom they find someone who tied himself up and slit his wrists. Luciana doesn’t want to end up like that, she sees a book of maps, she tells Nick they need to go, whatever page she turns it to and points is where they will go and start over. Luciana wishes she never did that, but when they get back they tell Madison that they have a plan, they point to somewhere on one of the maps. Madison says that’s to far to go every time for supplies, Nick and Luciana says they just have to go out once to get fertilizer, and seeds, and supplies to rebuild the stadium back up. Madison understands and thinks that’s a good plan and that plan will get in motion.
Alicia and Naomi are tasked with the water park, Madison says perhaps they had nachos there, which would mean canned cheese. The two arrive and talk about how the parks used to have good churros. This park was once lived in until the walls came down. Naomi notices a vehicle she thinks is good in this environment, can drive with blown tires, and holds lots of gas. Alicia is shocked and wonders where she learned all about vehicles and she says from her dad, however she can’t find the keys. They move inside, the pool is disgusting and full of walkers, the water is all green and gross. After doing a quick scope of the area they see that when the walls fell they moved to the top of the slide, and barricaded the stairs. The plan is to walk up the slippery curvy slide. For some reason they don’t kill all the walkers in the pool first before heading up the slide, and in the mayhem Alicia drops her knife in the water.
The two take their long trek up the ladder, when they get to the top they see a lot of supplies, and a large gun that has some ammo. Some walkers were still up their and one knocks Naomi down the slide, the other one scares Alicia who has her hands on the gun, it breaks way and she slides down as well, their is a funnel of walkers in a bowl. Alicia is able to use the barrel of the large gun to kill the walker that was close to them. After a rest they head back up the slide again. They find all sorts of medical supplies and Naomi gives Alicia some binoculars to look around to see what else might be untouched. She takes that time to dip out as she found keys to the truck she saw earlier. She tries to leave but it’s out of gas, Alicia tells Naomi that if she stays she has to stay with them and can’t keep leaving. Alicia offers to help find Naomi gas. Naomi says she worked in ICU and after awhile they could tell who would survive when they came in, the stadium is going to be lost and Alicia needs to tell Madison that it falls. Alicia asks Naomi if anyone survived in ICU that they thought would die, Naomi decides to come back. When they show Madison the supplies Naomi says it’s going to get worse before it gets better and she wants to set up an infirmary and Alicia will help.
Back at the stadium the vultures are cooking up some hot dogs and wants to talk to Madison. He is asking Madison if they have relish, Madison goes out to talk to him. He asks Madison where she is sending people these days, and that they run the risk of not coming back. Madison says she won’t tell him so they can beat them their, and they will come back because she knows her people. He goes to tell her the place will fall, and before this him and his brother were at a ranch with some other families, and a wildfire started about 30 miles out. Madison cuts him off and says she gets it, that he saw what was coming and they got out. Madison offered for them to come and all live together, he refuses and Madison refuses to join them. He asks Madison if she really thinks they can work together and she says yes, she heads back inside, he tells Madison she got the story wrong. He convinced everyone to stay and try to keep the place together. But only him and his brother were able to get out alive and they drove off hearing the screams of the families dying.
Nothing like some betrayal. Photo Credit: AMC
On the drive to the burial location, John tells Morgan that he thinks he is going to leave when he can. Morgan says he is better alone and wants to see Nick buried and will be leaving after. John says he used to be a police officer and he will find Laura and he wants Morgan to meet her and Laura to meet him. The group arrives at the spot they are going to bury Nick, Morgan can’t seem to understand why this spot is so special. The trio is digging when they hit something hard. Turns out it was a ruse! Inside is a huge group of weapons, they are going to gear up to try to kill the vultures. Morgan asks if they were actually going to bury Nick, he says Nick liked growing things right? So he is buried under a tree, Alicia says nothing, Luciana lingers a bit, Morgan actually puts a blue poppy on his grave. He seems the only one who cares at all!
John urges Al to keep on his journey to find Laura, that his story doesn’t end with someone being hurt, their story does. They lied to Al and how is she supposed to know if their story is true. Strand says they can go with them and see for themselves how this story ends. While loading up the truck John notices a familiar backpack, he asks if he can see it. It turns out that it’s Laura’s backpack and has the engraved gun like he does. He says that Naomi is really Laura and never told them her real name. He asks where is she, Luciana says the stadium went bad, she didn’t make it, Alicia says that she is dead. John says no he doesn’t believe it, Strand starts to say that someone’s story did end with someone getting hurt after all and Luciana tells him to shut up.
John refuses to go, Al wants to know the stories, Morgan tells Al to go with the others to do what they have to do and come back for them. Morgan stays in the middle of nowhere with a shell shocked John.
