REVIEW: Fear The Walking Dead, S3 Ep 11 – La Serpiente

This week’s episode of Fear the Walking Dead brought about another significant reunion, as Madison and Strand caught up with Daniel at the dam.

Tensions could not be avoided, especially after Strand had lied to Daniel before about Ofelia’s fate. But luckily for Strand, fate is on his side and Ofelia does turn out to be alive and well. Madison and Walker confirm this, with the latter informing Daniel of the strong, ruthless woman Ofelia has become, truly her father’s daughter, a truth Daniel finds unsettling.

There was a fairly exciting sequence where Madison, Walker, and Strand make their way to the community at the dam through dark, dank tunnels with some wandering walkers. Some of the tension was lost because the scenes were shot in the dark and it was difficult to make out what was happening to whom.

Most of the real action revolved around negotiations between Madison and Walker and Lola as they tried to strike a deal for water for the ranch. It proved not as simple as anyone had anticipated. But this made for some interesting conversations between Madison and Lola, with the latter even offering the Clarks a place in the community, if only out of their friendship with the Salazars. It’s great to see how the relationships established as early as the first season of Fear the Walking Dead endure to this point on the show. The Clarks and the Salazars have survived and have gone through so much together that they continue to help each other out.

Daniel also tried to convince his new friends that they needed to take a firmer stand against the discontented people who demanded more water from them. As much as they wanted to keep a pacifist approach to things, it would not work. The world of Fear the Walking Dead is one of compromise, as Lola realizes towards the end of the episode.

The final deal comes about because of the solid friendship between Madison and Strand, with the latter cleverly creating an “accident” that convinces Lola to make a deal with the ranch, water in exchange for protection (not unlike the deal Rick and company made with the people of Alexandria back on the main show). Madison and Strand pick up Walker on the road and then drive triumphantly back to the ranch with a large supply of water and more on the way. A fairly happy moment on a bleak show. Hopefully, the ranch will still be in one piece when they get back, though I’m not holding my breath.