We Can Make This Place a Home

When you get drunk during the zombie apocalypse and trap yourself in a hotel bar surrounded by the infected, you aren’t left with very many options, and that is exactly the predicament that “Pablo and Jessica” opens with. Strand and Madison are most likely regretting their spontaneous drunk fest, but they manage to get by and have taken a lesson from Nick: covering yourself in the infected’s blood is one way to get through a horde. Their next mission? Finding Alicia and Ofelia, a mission that Strand believes to be fruitless because the truck is gone and the only plausible explanation is that the two have fled. But just like her daughter, Madison isn’t willing to give up on Alicia.
Once reunited (and it feels so good), they are on to mission number two: getting the other hotel guests to work with them. Strength in numbers is the motto here, and if they ever want to make the hotel a safe place, they need to get rid of the infected that lurk in the halls. Cue Strand and Madison, who go off and meet with the mother of the bride and the groom’s brother. It is a negotiation, and Madison takes the lead. The hotel guests have their terms, which include exiling Elena if they choose to help Madison. They have mutual interests, though, and Madison isn’t going to toss Elena out for doing what she had thought was right. So the groom’s brother relents and gives her the keys to the hotel.
The group has Alicia to thank for the genius plan that she comes up with, a plan that saves them time and energy. Going room-to-room clearing the infected is taking far too long, especially when they have an ocean at their disposal, and whereas you typically don’t want to make noise during a zombie apocalypse, noise is their friend, and they use it to lure the infected from the hotel and to the pier. Madison takes the lead, guiding hundreds of the undead down the pier as Alicia and Hector get in a life raft, and just before the infected can get to her, Madison jumps from the pier and the infected follow, falling to the sea that will wash them away.
Meanwhile, over in La Colonia, Nick is putting his junkie knowledge to the test. They are running low on drugs that they use to trade with the gang in town in exchange for food, and while he can’t magically make more appear, he is capable of extending their supply by creating a substitute drug. His help for the community hasn’t gone unnoticed, and Alejandro even goes as far as telling Nick to be careful when he leaves because he wants him to come back. His affection and approval for Nick is showcased further when he moves Nick from the infirmary to an actual room.
Nick’s relationship with Alejandro isn’t the only one growing and deepening; his relationship with Luciana takes a sudden change as well. It is discovered this episode that Luciana’s brother, Pablo, has died, and Nick is quick to comfort her even going as far as offering her a hug. Later that night, Luciana comes to Nick’s room because she can’t sleep. Luciana revealed information regarding her family earlier, and now it is Nick’s turn. He tells her about his mother and Alicia, and how they were still alive when he left them but he doesn’t know if they still are. After waking up and standing to leave for the night, Luciana kisses Nick, and the kiss quickly turns passionate.
“Pablo and Jessica” was very much about making a home and finding family. The group at the hotel is attempting to make the place safe, a place where they can live, but they also have to mend the broken relationship between Elena and the guests. More so, there were the touching moments between Madison and Alicia, both of whom have proven that they will go to extreme measures to find the other. And then there is Strand, who used his own pain to provide comfort to Oscar and help bring him closure over his wife’s death. In La Colonia, Nick is beginning to feel like he’s home, and the people he is surrounded with are becoming family. He has found a father figure in Alejandro, something that he’s never truly had in his life, and he’s found a connection to Luciana that he perhaps has never felt with anyone else. Bonds are being formed, but not everyone can survive in this world, and sooner or later someone will lose somebody that they love.
Bullets:
- Nick Clark needs to write a Zombie Apocalypse Survival Guide. He was the first to cover himself in the infected’s blood; now he’s using his knowledge of drugs to help his community.
- FearTWD went all Breaking Bad with Nick going into junkie mode and making drugs.
- Well, we have the backstory on Alejandro’s bite. Do we believe it, or are we still skeptical?
- Alicia certainly has brains and the skillset required to survive the apocalypse. It was her idea to lead the infected into the ocean.
- And some people complain about kids always being on their phones. Turns out that a cell phone comes in handy during an apocalypse…very useful in creating noise to lure the infected away.
- Speaking of cell phones, how in the world is Alicia keeping her phone charged?! Magic?!
- Like mother like daughter. Both jumping from high places into the ocean.
- Alright, let’s get down to business. What is the ship name for Nick and Luciana? Nickiana? Lucinick?
- Where is Ofelia?!
Don’t miss an all-new episode of Fear The Walking Dead Sunday at 9 EST on AMC.