The walker learning curve proved to be a steep one for some on Sunday's "Fear The Walking Dead."
As rioting escalated and Los Angeles continued to fall, more of the undead were unleashed, forcing those characters who hadn't yet come face-to-face with a walker to finally get their first glimpse at the horror that will become part of their daily lives.
Here's how it all unfolded in the series' third episode, titled "The Dog":
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At Daniel Salazar's barbershop in downtown Los Angeles, Chris Manawa is peering through the glass windows and steel shutters at the chaos outside. Men are knocking over cop cars, tearing things down, breaking shop windows, and running from the police – all of them but one. A man in a hoodie isn't moving. With his frosted-over blue eyes, he's staring straight at Chris through the window, sending the teen into a panic. Get back from the window, his dad (Travis) shouts.
Inside her house, Madison walks around and dims the lights. Alicia's still at the window, worried about Mr. Dawson and the neighbor he attacked. Nick, though, is on the couch, concerned about something else – the next fix that will keep the pain of withdrawal away. He crushes the two pills Madison doles out, and asks if they should get on the road to the desert. Travis is coming, Madison insists. They'll continue to wait for him.
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Although it's quiet and eerily peaceful at Madison's, at the barbershop, the rioting is inching closer. In fact, looting is happening next door. Travis tries to make his son feel better, telling Chris the looters don't want hair combs, but whether that's true or not doesn't matter. A hot wall next door reveals fire is on the way, so Travis, Chris, Liza, and Daniel and his family – wife Griselda and daughter Ofelia – make a break for it.
Looters rush in as Daniel opens the door, breaking mirrors and equipment. Meanwhile, Travis, Chris, Liza, Daniel, Griselda and Ofelia run for it. Something frightening outside in the street stops Chris in his tracks. A riot policeman is gnawing at the neck of another officer. Travis forces his son to ignore the gruesome scene and continue running as they make their way to his truck. Darting under scaffolding gets them closer – all of them but Griselda. She's trapped under bars as the authorities, in an attempt to deal with rioters, knock the scaffolding over with their fire hose. It's Travis to the rescue, as he pulls the metal off of her foot and gets her to the back of his truck, instructing Liza to examine Griselda's injury while he drives them out of there. "We need a doctor, Trav," Liza tells her ex after taking Griselda's shoe off. It's bad.
Travis gets his son, ex-wife and the Salazars out of downtown on 'Fear The Walking Dead' (AMC)
But so are things at the nearest hospital. Police have the facility surrounded and are shouting at the bodies in hospital gowns walking slowly toward them. "Stop, or we'll shoot," the authorities shout to no avail.
Knowing all the hospitals will be the same, Daniel calls in his end of the favor (for taking Travis, Chris and Liza in). "You will take us with you," he says. He says he'll call his cousin when they get to Madison's, to come collect them the next day. As they drive, though, this party of six is greeted by a terrifying sight. On a ridge, with a perfect view of downtown, they all watch from Travis' beat-up truck as the city lights go out block by block.
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The power is out at Madison's house too, causing Nick to worry. "You know what's out there. We can't stay here," Nick tells his mom, trying to plant seeds in her mind that Travis won't be coming back. He's with his other family, Nick says. And they need to tell Alicia what's going on too, he tells his mom. A sound at the back window stops their conversation. Rushing over, Nick yanks back the drapes. It's a dog! As he pulls open the back door, a German shepherd runs in, covered in someone's blood.
Nick worries as the power goes out in 'Fear The Walking Dead' (AMC)
Almost immediately, the dog alerts them to danger – walker Mr. Dawson. Thinking fast, Nick suggests they break in next door and steal a gun their neighbors, Susan and Patrick, have hidden in a closet. After climbing over the fence, Madison, Nick and Alicia make their way through the maze that is their neighbors' backyard (which is filled with various garden fences), and into the house. As Nick and Madison grab the gun, Alicia watches from the window as Mr. Dawson goes inside their house. The dog follows him, barking away. There's more barking, and then a squeal, followed by silence. A moment later, Travis pulls his truck into the driveway.
"Madison?" Travis calls out as he goes inside the house, followed by his son and ex, who have no intention of waiting in the car. Quickly, they learn they should have. In the corner is walker Mr. Dawson eating the dog. Just like Madison did with Principal Art when she first encountered him as a walker, Travis tries to reason with walker Mr. Dawson, telling him he's sick. Madison runs in with the gun, but Travis tells her to put it down. Luckily for Travis, Daniel grabs the gun anyway and shoots Mr. Dawson, but he keeps coming, pawing at Travis and trying to bite him. On his next round, Daniel finishes the job in front of everyone. Distraught over what he's just seen (and ready to vomit), Chris runs outside – and it's just in time to help Alicia, who gets trapped on the fence after trying to get back from her own ammo run to Susan's house. He pulls Alicia down on their side of the fence, saving her from Susan, who is a walker and stuck in her own elaborately fenced-in garden. With walker Susan trapped behind the fence, it gives everyone a moment to take in the developing undead situation.
At first, they try to rationalize what they see. Liza says Susan is sick. "She's not sick. She's dead," Nick tells them. His words send Alicia into a panic. "That's not Matt. He--he's not like that," she cries, as she mentions her boyfriend. Appalled by his bluntness, Travis asks Nick why he would say that. "Because it's the truth," Nick replies.
Although there is a walker trying to get through the fence next door, Travis, Madison, Liza and their kids won't be heading to the desert tonight. They'll wait with Daniel and his family for morning -- when Daniel's "cousin" is expected to arrive.
As the night continues, the seriousness of the situation starts to sink a little more for Madison, who tells Travis he has to take care of Mr. Dawson's body. When Travis takes it outside, Daniel has a suggestion – burn it to stop the sickness from spreading. For Travis though, that isn't the solution. They don't know how the disease spreads or who is already infected.
After taking care of business in his own way, Travis heads to the kitchen to clean up. "It's true what you said. They don't die. They keep coming back," Liza says. Talk quickly turns to how she didn't go to medical school to become a doctor and how she won't be able to help Griselda, whose foot is only going to get worse.
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Ofelia knows things are bad for her mom. In the privacy of Alicia's bedroom, where her family is holed up, she tells her dad that they should go with Travis and his family. "This is the wrong time to be in someone else's debt," Daniel warns her. "They are not family," he adds. Ofelia reminds her dad that their family is buried in El Salvador. "We must go with them," Ofelia insists, trying to sway her dad into joining Travis, Madison and Liza, before walking out of the room.
In the kitchen, Madison and Travis share a moment now that the major danger has passed. "I thought I lost you," she says. "I'm never going to leave you again," he tells her. A shortwhile later, Liza walks in as Madison is standing by the back door alone. They should support each other, Liza says. "The kids need it," she adds. Madison has just one request – if she ever ends up like Susan, Liza must take care of the situation so Travis doesn't have to. "It would break him," Madison tells her.
Hours later, as the day begins, Travis digs a grave, then rolls out his garbage cans to the curb like nothing has changed. He looks down the street at a neighbor who is doing the same. Inside though, things are very different as Daniel teaches Chris how to load, aim and shoot a gun. "What the hell are you doing?" Travis demands to know when he gets inside. He doesn't want Chris learning these things.
With the desert trip looming, Madison realizes she has to take care of something, and she heads outside. Holding a hammer, she stares at walker Susan through the fence. Despite everything he's seen – including Calvin and Mr. Dawson -- Travis urges restraint on Madison's part when he walks outside. "Give it to me," he says reaching for the hammer, "before you do something that can't be undone." As she heads inside, Travis too leaves walker Susan alone. "Weak," Daniel says quietly from his spot in the window.
Madison looks at her neighbor through the fence (AMC)
Finally, it's time to leave. Nick's worried though about the journey ahead. There are not enough pills for his detox. Madison gave some of them to Griselda.
Knowing the family is leaving, Ofelia makes one last plea to her father to get him to allow them to go too. They're good people, she insists. "Good people are the first ones to die," he responds.
Helicopters fly overhead, but the Salazars stay inside as Travis, Madison, Liza, Chris, Nick and Alicia pull out of the driveway and head down the street. Something, though, makes Madison turn the car around – seeing Patrick, Susan's husband, arrive home.
"Don't touch her, it's not your wife," Madison screams after she gets out of the car, running to try and save Patrick. But he doesn't hear her and he leans in to greet his (walker) wife. Just then, a gunshot rings out killing the walker. The cavalry has arrived! Military vehicles fill the street, and the authorities take stock of everyone.
"It's gonna get better now," Travis says, his arm around Madison as they stand on the lawn later in the day, watching the authorities take over. Doors are spray painted and tagged with emergency information, and the authorities load bodies into trucks. It may seem like order outside to Travis, but inside, Daniel has a different view. "It's already too late," he tells his wife.
"Fear The Walking Dead" continues Sundays at 9 PM ET/PT on AMC.
-- Jolie Lash
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