‘Fear the Walking Dead’ Recap Season 1: Episode 3

Fear the Walking Dead Episode 3 Review

Not everyone’s making smart decisions tonight in “Fear The Walking Dead.” (Justina Mintz/AMC)

Things are getting crazier on Fear the Walking Dead and we’re beginning to see which characters will have what it takes to survive in this new zombie apocalypse world — and it may not be who you would have guessed!

This is the recap and review for Fear The Walking Dead’s third episode, “The Dog.” The recap has spoilers up to episode three.


Rioting Is Bad For Your Health

The episode starts out alternating between stories of the barber shop and Madison’s home. At first, Madison’s home seems like a tranquil spot compared to the sheer terror coming from a riot that’s just going to kill more people and create more zombies. But that’s not going to last for long.

Travis, his ex-wife Liza, his son Chris, barber shop owner Daniel, his wife Griselda, and daughter Ofelia are hiding out in the barber shop, hoping to ride out the riot. (I provided the names for you because, let’s face it, this early in the season they can be hard to keep track of!) It seems like they may be safe when they discover one of the walls is warm and the shop is actually on fire. If we needed something dire to get them to leave, this is definitely it. They gather their things to escape but as soon as they open the door, the store is overrun by looters.

It’s symbolic, in a way, how either crazy people overrun a building or zombies do. We get the idea that the show is hinting at one of the major themes of The Walking Dead: humans can be just as dangerous as zombies, in their own special way.

Griselda is severely injured as they try to escape. Luckily, they find their truck completely unscathed in the middle of a hugely destructive and violent riot. They drive away incredibly slowly and we hear on the radio that a state of emergency has been declared and the National Guard has been called in. As they continue to drive incredibly slowly, because Travis is apparently 90 years old, we see that everything is utter chaos. It didn’t take long for the city to fall apart. We watch as police try to shoot down a zombie, having no idea how to kill it. And then, in a very haunting scene, we see all of Los Angeles go dark, neighborhood by neighborhood. Tobias was right. Again.


Never Get Attached

Travis Drives Slow in Fear The Walking Dead

Heartbreak is always nearby in a zombie apocalypse, Fear The Walking Dead teaches us. (Justina Mintz/AMC)

Back at Madison’s home, a very smart German Shepherd is trying to get into the house. We all learned in I Am Legend that a German Shepherd is super important in a zombie apocalypse. But Madison, Alicia, and Nick decide to go next door and, for some reason, leave the door open. We see a zombie sneak into their house and kill the dog. Once again, in true The Walking Dead fashion, our hearts are ripped out.

Never get attached. NEVER.

At that exact moment, Travis comes home. Rather than running out the front door to warn him, the trio decides it’s more expedient to run through a strange greenhouse labyrinth maze thing in the backyard. Travis encounters the zombie in his house and greets him like any of us would if we saw someone eating a dog:

“Hey! Do you need help?”

Luckily, the zombie is killed and Travis’s life is saved. He promises Madison: “You’re never going to lose me. I won’t leave you again.” Sadly, since this is The Walking Dead, there’s a very good chance that this means Travis is going to die soon.

The next morning, Travis logically decides to bury the zombie before taking off and escaping this terrible apocalyptic town. He gets mad when he sees his son, Chris, trying out a shotgun that Daniel is showing him how to use. Then he gets mad when he sees Madison considering killing their neighbor, Susan, who is now  a zombie. Daniel watches him from afar and says what we’re all thinking: “Weak.” After seeing this, Daniel decides that his family is not going to join Travis, so they stay in the house while the families caravan away. But, because Travis is in the lead and driving really slowly, they don’t get very far when Madison sees Susan’s husband come home. She turns around and jumps out of the car, telling him not to touch Susan.

But it’s not Susan that gets him. The National Guard shows up and kills Susan The Zombie with one precise headshot. (Finally, someone knows what’s going on!) Patrick ends up covered in her blood. Madison asks where they are taking him… Patrick’s still alive, but somewhere in quarantine. Perhaps he will go to that CDC center we saw in The Walking Dead?

The guard is pulling Madison and the family away from the scene as the episode ends, leaving us surprised by the twist but also feeling a bit hopeless since we know what’s going to ultimately happen.

And by the way, in case you didn’t know: