“Blood in the Streets” begins very ominously with Nick Clark swimming to shore, completely naked but with a bundle of clothes packed securely in a bag. He has stumbled upon an abandoned camp. Hundreds of tents, but not a single person. In fact, Nick’s only company is a lone walker, whom Nick lures closer and kills only to cover himself in its blood. It seems as if Nick is a quick learner, and he knows that the blood of the infected will allow him to blend in.
Laced throughout the episode are flashbacks that finally give us more information on Victor Strand. It’s post-Hurricane Katrina, and Strand has lost his fortune in the ruins of New Orleans. When a rich and handsome, and might I add very drunk, Thomas Abigail stumbles across him at a bar, Strand takes the opportunity and steals the man’s credit cards. He is caught, however, but instead of sending Strand to jail, he lets him go. He doesn’t pardon him; he has obligated him. The chemistry that was palpable during earlier flashbacks turns out to be real, and in subsequent flashbacks, we discover that Strand and Abigail have become a couple. Their relationship is so close that Thomas Abigail doesn’t want Strand traveling back to L.A.
Back in the present, it turns out that Strand has sent Nick on a mission to find Luis, Thomas Abigail’s right-hand man. Luis is a rich man with rich tastes, and he makes Nick clean the blood from his skin and change into clean clothes before he’s even allowed to touch his car. Luis is supposed to meet Strand and sneak him across the border to Mexico, though the extra baggage in the form of the Manawa-Clark-Ofelia families may throw a bit of a kink in the plan.
Meanwhile, aboard the Abigail, a group of pirates in the form of passengers on a life raft with a bleeding and pregnant woman board the ship. They are begging for help, stating that something is wrong with the baby, and Madison immediately rushes to aid the woman, taking her into the Abigail to treat her. Alicia is rudely woken by the noise, and as she makes her way to the deck, she recognizes a single voice: it’s Jack, and things only go downhill from here.
The pirates bind the hands of the group and as Reid sees Victor Strand attempting to escape on the raft, he shoots. If he missed Strand, then the hypothermia will kill him. Unfortunately, Strand is the one who has the keys to the ship, which Reid needs to start so that they can take it. Frustrated, Reid points his gun at Chris’s head, giving Travis until the count of five to come up with a solution. Travis tells Reid that he can wire the ship.
With this newfound mission, Reid orders Jack to find a radio to message Connor. He also orders him to bring his “Princess,” aka Alicia, with him, an idea that Madison doesn’t like. But Alicia is taking responsibility for her mistake; she brought this on them, and she’s going to make it right. Jack assures Alicia that she’ll be safe, even when Connor arrives. Connor listens to him, and it seems as if Jack has a fondness for Alicia.
Using the same radio that Alicia had used to talk to him with, Jack contacts Connor, informing him that there is a man onboard who can wire the ship. Connor tells Jack that he looks forward to meeting Alicia. Alicia, however, begins to wonder how much of what Jack told her was true, and Jack assures her that versions of what he told her are true, but there is only one story about his girlfriend. Her name was Allison, and they had been together for two years. Connor saved his life, and now he owes him, hence why he’s doing what he does. He doesn’t like it, but it’s what he has to do.
Alicia suggests that maybe they met for a reason, maybe they’re supposed to be together, and Jack requests that she come back with him. Alicia tells him that she can’t, not without her family. But every resource on his base is precious, and therefore, Alicia’s family can’t go with them. Alicia tells Jack to tell Connor that she’ll help, that she’ll contribute on the base; she can be with Jack if he can promise that her family will be safe. She recognizes the fondness that Jack has towards her, and she is using it to ensure the safety of her people.
In the main room of the ship, Madison, Chris, Ofelia, and Daniel are bound, being watched by a woman. If Madison can keep the woman distracted, Daniel will be able to get free of his bindings. So Madison begins to question the woman about her pregnancy. She is four weeks away from her due date, and it’s a girl. Madison asks if she has any names picked out, to which the woman asks if this is her baby shower. It isn’t until Madison asks when she last felt the baby moving that the woman becomes angry. The suggestion that the baby may have already died and that it may have already turned inside of her pushes the woman over the edge, and she threatens to shoot Madison if she continues.
Elsewhere on the boat, Reid forces Travis to wire the Abigail. They make their way to the engine room so that Travis can override the computer system. Travis tries to buy time, because when Connor finally does arrive, there is no telling what will happen to his own group. Travis proves to be sneaky, too, hiding a crowbar in the sleeve of his jacket, which he later places behind a cushion for the others to use against their captors. Just as Connor and two others arrive, Travis finally manages to get the Abigail up and running again.
Connor proves to be much more civil than Reid and the woman, and when he boards the Abigail with two others, he assesses the situation, questioning why nobody tended to Madison’s wounds. When Travis is brought into the room, he is informed that he and Alicia will be coming with Connor. Connor only needs the two of them and not the others. Alicia demands that her people are given a boat, and Jack assures her that they will be. As he had promised, Connor listens to him and agrees to this. Black hoods are placed over Travis’s and Alicia’s heads, and they are whisked away on a smaller boat with Connor, Jack, and the pregnant woman.
Reid, however, doesn’t intend to keep Connor’s promise. He sees the group as a potential threat and thinks it’d be better to kill them instead of taking them to shore. Thankfully, before he has the chance to act on his words, the approaching Luis and Nick shoot the two other pirates. Reid suffers a different fate, a crowbar to the gut via Madison, an injury that won’t immediately kill him.
“Blood in the Streets” was a very interesting episode and perhaps the best thus far of the season. Seeing how the group reacted in a serious situation where their lives are in danger was needed. It allowed for certain characters to step up, such as Alicia, who took responsibility for her actions and strove to correct them, going so far as agreeing to leave with her captors with the assurance that her family is safe. “Blood in the Streets” also showed the characters relying on one another for survival; they are all in this together now, and if they want to make it, they have to make it together.
Best Zombie Kill: Nick and the tent zombie…which he then used to cover himself in its blood. Very resourceful.
Bullets:
- I need more scenes of Ofelia and Chris. Their little talk was so sweet and genuine.
- Even in the zombie apocalypse Alicia still manages to be fashion conscious. I am quite fond of this skill.
- Where are Max and Nev from MTVs Catfish when you need them? I think Alicia needs them now.
- Officially disappointed that Jack isn’t Leonardo DiCaprio.
- How do they know everyone’s names? Alicia never told them that…
- What’s the official ship name for Strand and Thomas?
- Strand lost the phone, which means that he has lost communication with Thomas Abigail…
- Nick is learning more about walkers, meanwhile, everyone else is learning more about people.
- Anyone else want to smack Reid when he kept taunting Chris? Leave the kid alone!
- Travis the Boat Mechanic made an appearance again. It’s a very resourceful job in the zombie apocalypse.
- No! Travis and Alicia! Don’t take them! What’s going to happen now?! Why does Connor want them? Will they be able to make it back to the group? Will they both survive?
- Nick and Luis save the day!
- How will this change the groups’ opinion of Strand?
Don’t miss an all-new episode of Fear The Walking Dead Sunday at 9 EST on AMC.