CAUTION: Spoilers Ahead!
Well that was a curve ball thrown at us. Just when fans of Fear the Walking Dead were convinced that the first villain of the series was the enigmatic Victor Strand, a villain steps from the darkness and kidnaps our protagonists.
For much of season 2 episode 4, Blood in the Streets, Victor Strand’s backstory is revealed. Mr. Strand had made his early fortune by buying up credit card debt. He then invested in New Orleans real estate but was made bankrupt by the flooding of Hurricane Katrina.
While sitting in a bar, Strand meets someone who says that they are a ‘buyer’. Strand reveals that he became bankrupt due to the Hurricane Katrina flooding. The two men get together and drink the night away until they can barely stand up. Strand then takes the man to his room, places him on his bed, and takes off his suit jacket and shoes before laying him down.
Strand then goes through the man’s wallet and takes his credit cards.
Later in the episode, the man goes to a luxury 5-star suite with his bodyguard/henchman that Strand is staying in on his credit card. Strand asks him not to arrest him, but instead to become partner in his scheme to buy more credit card debt. The man is impressed and says that Strand is now ‘obligated’ to him. The same thing that Strand said about Nick being obligated to him in season 1. They are later seen in business together and they have formed a romantic relationship. It is revealed that the man is Thomas Abigail whom the luxury yacht that everyone escaped Los Angeles in is named after.
Nick is sent on a mission by Strand to find Mr. Abigail’s bodyguard. He is on the American side of the American/Mexican border. While the American side shows no sign of life, just tents with the word ‘HELP ME’ spelled out on the ground. It appears that Mexico has not as of yet fallen to the virus. A helicopter is flying overhead and many boats that are operational are all over the ocean.
As a result, it is hard to tell if only the USA has fallen to the Zombie Apocalypse.
Chris and Ofelia are on the back of the Abigail when a little speed boat approaches. Inside of the boat are 2 men and a pregnant woman that appears to be bleeding profusely down her legs. She says she is miscarrying and needs immediate help. Chris has a gun pointed at them and asks Ofelia if he should shoot him.
Meanwhile, three people enter the yacht. Two men and a very pregnant woman.
Shortly after entering the boat the two men and women hijack the occupants. Alicia hears the voice of Jack and realizes that is the man she had been corresponding with over the radio. In her desperation to try to help him, she gave up everyone’s name allowing for the group to board the boat with full intel.
The group is working for Connor, the head of these Pacific Coast pirates. It is said that he has 7 large boats and many others under his disposal now. Very little is known about Connor pre-apocalypses except that he has a brother named Reed. After securing the boat for Connor, Connor enters the boat and takes Alicia and Travis as hostages, leaving the rest of the occupants to be executed by the pirates.
The pirates are about to execute the family when Nick arrives with Carlos, the assassin who works for Strand’s love interest. His shooting rivals that of any spec-ops personnel. He shortly dispatches of the pirates and they retake the boat.
Meanwhile, Connor and Jack have left with Alicia and Travis.
It is nice to finally see a villain in the typical Walking Dead mode. According to the episode, only 30 days has passed since the Apocalypse and yet Connor has already managed to amass a fleet and take over the Southern California coastline. It will be interesting to see what happens next. Expect for the next episode to be about Alicia and how she works to get her family back together in the next episode titled: Hostage.
It will also be interesting to see if Lee, the pirate that showed his hot-headiness, and his lack of empathy as well as disdain for anyone that shows mercy, rises in the ranks. He was angry when Jack refused to shoot Strand in front of Alicia. He was also angry that Connor showed mercy as well. Lee shows the traits of a sociopath and is someone who should either be dealt with now or suffer the consequences of letting him live.
Can everyone survive?
Time will tell, but if the family is to survive intact, then they must learn to have a take no prisoners mentality and look as anyone outside of their family as a potential threat. As fans of the predecessor series, The Walking Dead know, humans are often much more dangerous and evil than the walkers.