Fear the Walking Dead: Shiva Recap

Synopsis for 2×07: The survivors allow themselves to be torn apart by choice and it’s a long wait until August to see who is reunited.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Bad news for Daniel fans, he continues to struggle with his past and what horrors the apocalypse is stirring up in his memories. He’s awoken by Strand’s gunshot, only to pull Ofelia away from the house to watch her tear her face off, before really waking up and finding her gone to investigate the commotion.

Everyone is brought together by the sound, where Celia is berating Strand for making it so that Tom can’t come back. Madison tries to serve as a peacekeeper, which only infuriates Celia more and she sets her sights on a vulnerable and sad Nick. He manages to talk her into giving Victor time to bury Thomas before they all leave at sundown.

At the same time, Travis asks Alicia to help him find Chris, but she refuses and tells him about the knife incident. They argue about whether or not he believes her and then he leaves to find his son alone. He eventually sees him out in the fields and runs after him, only to lose track of him and come across a dead body stabbed in the head.

In his haste, he ran away from the compound without shoes and stumbles upon a house with a man inside. The man insists he only speaks Spanish, gives Travis water and shoes, and tries to quickly shoo him from the home. When Travis notices something suspicious about the man, he bursts into another room and finds Chris holding the man’s son at gunpoint.

After the loss of Thomas, Nick comes strolling back to the house, covered in blood, with a tied up and reanimated Luis. Celia is thrilled and Nick ignores Madison when she tries to speak with him. In return for what he did, Celia offers to let Nick’s entire family stay with them, minus Victor. Later, when Madison confronts him about it, he is convinced that nothing can touch him and that he won’t die in these gambles with the dead.

Elsewhere, Daniel continues to struggle as he urges Strand not to bury Thomas in the “tainted ground” of the estate. He’s ranting about how they return and hate you for what you’ve done while Victor asks what’s wrong with him. He goes on to attempt to pull Ofelia outside of the compound, by telling her that her mother is waiting for them outside the gates. They’re stopped by Celia’s men and Daniel is captured by them after a struggle.

With no one else to lean on, Madison turns to Strand for advice on how to handle Nick, but he shuts her down handily by claiming he’s not his daddy. He knows that Celia put her hooks into a vulnerable boy and tells her that this wasn’t how he imagined them parting. He plans to go back to the boat and offers to take her with him, but she can’t leave without Travis, who is still out looking for Chris.

Celia uses Thomas’ funeral as a stage to talk about the world being reborn and dismisses Victor from the estate as soon as she’s done. He stubbornly wants to stay a little bit longer, which she allows, but only after reminding him that it’s a long walk in the dark. Off to the side, Alicia, Madison, and Ofelia watch the interaction, with Alicia asking if they’re really just going to let Celia throw Strand out.

Ofelia also takes the opportunity to confront Celia about where she’s holding Daniel. Celia denies her access to her father and won’t speak any more of him to her, but goes to visit him herself. He’s still hearing voices and refuses the food she brings him, even as she urges him to confess his sins and get over his fear of the dead. When she leaves, a vision of his wife is standing in her wake.

In a standoff with his own father, Chris is telling Travis that he’s a monster. When he gets distracted from his hostage, Travis uses the distraction to knock the gun from his hand before Chris makes a run for it. Travis tackles him and they wrestle on the ground, before Chris gets ahold of Travis’ knife and tries to slash him. When Travis finally disarms him, he lets him go and lets the reality of the situation sink in.

Nick, again covered in blood, finds Travis in an effort to bring him back for his mother. Unfortunately, Travis recognizes that Chris needs him more and refuses to return with Nick. He tells Nick that he never found them and in a moment of understanding, Nick passes Travis his knife and leaves the two of them.

Madison once again confronts Celia about her treatment of Strand and her singling out of Nick. In an effort to understand, Celia shows Madison the dead down in the cellar. When Celia opens the gate and enters, she asks Madison what she’s willing to do for her son. Madison admits there is nothing she wouldn’t do, as she locks Celia inside with the dead, seemingly accepting her fate.

Daniel talks to Griselda about Ofelia and how he misses her. She taunts him about how she was not buried and wants to know the sins he wouldn’t confess to Celia. Another flashback to his town and the river murders, she shows him how the first victim in his life was actually himself. When a man comes to feed him, Daniel feigns weakness to escape with a new plan in mind.

After Strand is escorted from the property, he heads for Tom’s truck, which was abandoned at the church. However, he turns around and heads back towards the property when he notices the smoke. As Strand arrives, so does Nick – and he is extremely upset by the scene of the home in flames. Ofelia and Alicia get in the truck bed while Madison and Nick argue about how they’re “monsters.”

In his hurt, and his feelings of betrayal on Celia’s behalf, Nick refuses to get in the truck and Madison has no choice but to let him run off. Ofelia is asking about their father, whom they also couldn’t locate, but as he was the one to start the fire in the cellar with the dead, his fate may or may not be sealed. Story Sync seems to confirm that Daniel has passed, but Talking Dead and Gale Anne Hurd claim that the writers aren’t sure yet.

Audiences will have to wait until August, when the show returns, to find out the fate of the now shattered group.