Blood in the Streets
Directed by Michael Uppendahl
On the border just outside Mexico, Nick surfaces on a beach and pulls himself out of the water, carting a sealed plastic bag full of his belongings on a rope behind him. As he catches his breath, a helicopter flies past him. He quickly pulls himself together and walks inland, coming across dozens of empty and abandoned tents a short distance away.
A lone walker begins to stalk him. Nick uses a pot to make noise and lures the walker into a nearby tent, where he dispatches it and cuts it open to use its blood as camouflage. He smears the blood over himself and sets off down the beach again, while the camera pulls back to reveal a large contingent of military boats massed near the border...
As the Abigail continues towards the Mexican border, tensions begin to fray among the group due to the handling of the Alex and Jake situation. Travis begins to lose his patience with Strand, and tells Madison that he wants to throw him overboard. Madison calms him down by saying that Strand has a plan and that she wants to start a new life for the family.
On the upper deck, Ofelia is drinking tea while Chris stares out at the sea. They share their respective pasts, and Ofelia admits that she made some "bad decisions" as a teen. When Chris asks her about relationships, she tells him that there will still be women in the new world. Their moment of connection is halted when they see a lifeboat slowly drifting up to them. As they run up to look, a group of people are in a boat yelling about being allowed to come aboard because there's a woman who's pregnant and suffering from contractions. Chris asks if he should shoot them, but he holds his shot and the group gets onto the deck.
As everyone else hears the commotion and comes upstairs, the lead man in the group tells them how their boat capsized and they've been drifting for days. As the conversation continues, Strand hears what is happening upstairs and sneaks over to the railing to listen. Realizing what's happening, Strand rushes to the command deck and grabs the assault rifle from the locked chest, but realizes that Daniel took the ammo clip from the rifle. He curses Daniel under his breath and decides to flee.
Alicia also hears what's going on and goes upstairs, passing Madison holding the pregnant woman. As she approaches the group, she recognizes one of the voices as Jack and realizes that they're the pursuers who promised to "see her soon". As she calls to him, the lead man in the group, Reed, knocks out Travis and holds Daniel at gunpoint, while at the same time, the pregnant woman, Vida, slams Madison's head into a nearby mirror and ties her up.
The rest of the group are tied up, but soon after, they all realize that Strand has fled on the marauders' lifeboat. As he speeds away, Reed takes several shots at it and manages to pierce the side of the boat. He reasons to Jack and Vida that if he didn't kill Strand, the loss of the boat and hypothermia eventually will before they go back inside. Strand struggles with the slowly sinking boat and loses his satellite phone in the water...
In a flashback prior to the outbreak, Strand meets with a man named Thomas Abigail in a bar, and learns about his work as a real estate developer. After getting Thomas drunk, Strand steals his wallet and credit cards before going on a shopping spree with them. A short while later, Thomas and an associate named Luis track Strand to a hotel room and chastize him for his actions, but notably do not call the cops on him. Thomas realizes that Strand has a very useful skillset, and they go into business together. Sometime later, it's revealed that they've become lovers and are financing a deal to buy several properties in Mexico, as well as care for Thomas' mother, Celia. Soon after the outbreak starts, Strand tells Thomas that he's going to finalize the deal on the properties, and will be back soon...
In the present, Reed continues to antagonize the group and asks where the keys for the boat are. When they tell him that Strand had the keys, Reed threatens to shoot Chris until Travis defuses the situation by saying he can hotwire the boat to run. Reed takes Travis downstairs while Jack pulls Alicia out of the room. Jack apologizes to Alicia for what happened and says that everything will become clearer once Connor, the group's leader, arrives and "assesses" the situation.
Nick arrives at a nearby town and passes through a broken gate, then goes past a walker who ignores him as he walks by. He eventually makes it to an address written out by Strand on a piece of paper, and knocks on the door, only to be held up at gunpoint by a man who appears behind him. When Nick explains what he's doing there, the man identifies himself as Luis and says he's thankful to be leaving. When Luis asks where Strand is, Nick tells them that he's on the ship with the rest of the group, to which Luis expresses confusion and says that the original plan was only for two people to get into Mexico. They haul a number of supplies to a nearby boat and take off back to the Abigail.
Back on the yacht, Alicia has a conversation with Jack and begins to play him, claiming that she wants to go with him and doesn't want to be around her family any more. At the same time, Daniel starts working to undo his restraints and tells Madison to keep Vida busy. The two women exchange small talk, and Madison begins to make her feel doubt about her pregnancy, reasoning that the child could have died in utero if it hasn't been kicking for the last month.
Travis completes the rewiring down below and goes with Reed up top to reconfigure the central console, while the latter tells him about Connor's group and why he needs to assess them. After Travis finishes the job, Vida gets fed up with Madison's line of questioning and strikes her across the face.
At that moment, a speedboat with Connor and two other associates arrives at the ship. As he comes onboard, he criticizes Vida for hitting Madison, then says that he'll be taking Travis with him because he's a useful repairman. Jack also convinces Connor to let Alicia come along, despite Madison's objections. Connor gets back on the speedboat with Vida, Travis and Alicia, and leaves a different pair of marauders, Ben and Red, behind.
Madison realizes that Reed isn't going to let them live, and starts bargaining with him to let her family go, while Daniel gets his bonds free. Reed slaps her in the face again, but just when it seems like they'll be killed, Ben and Red report that there's another boat incoming.
As they wonder aloud whether it's Connor returning, Nick and Luis are on the speedboat and see the pirates aboard. Luis pulls out a sniper rifle and executes both Ben and Red with well-placed headshots, while Daniel uses the distraction to grab Reed's weapon. Madison also breaks free and impales him with a crowbar, driving it in deep for good measure while he panics and gives up. As they get their bearings, Nick arrives onboard and introduces Luis to the group, then asks what happened.
They all realize that Strand is still out in the water and take the Zodiac out to rescue him, and drag him back onboard before he drowns. As they reel from what's happened, Madison wonders what's happened to Travis and Alicia...
Tropes:
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Played with. It's implied that Alicia is enacting a long-term plan to trick Jack by pretending that she loves him and wants to leave her family to be with his group.
- All There in the Manual: The Story Sync online supplement shows that the woman named "Red" is actually the alias of a woman named Breannah, who used to be a sailing instructor and eventually joined the marauders.
- Big Bad: Connor, the leader of the marauders that take the family hostage.
- The Cavalry: Luis snipes two of the marauders on the Abigail, allowing the group to overpower Reed and take back the boat.
- Chekhov's Gun:
- Alicia's prior conversation with Jack eventually results in the latter man (and his group) finding them during the dead of night and taking them hostage.
- Also played with - the assault rifle Daniel discovered in the locked chest resulted in him taking the ammunition, which leads to a major Oh, Crap! moment when Strand goes to get the weapon after discovering Jack's group has boarded.
- Chekhov's Skill: Nick's discovery of the dead ignoring him when he's covered in walker blood proves to be a handy tool when he's asked by Strand to infiltrate the Mexican border and find his contact.
- Closest Thing We Got: Connor's group takes Travis along with them, in order to put his skills as a repairman to work for them.
- Cold Open: Nick surfacing on the beach near the Mexican border.
- Cold Sniper: Luis, who saves the rest of the group by sniping two of the marauders without a second thought, and allows them to overpower Reed.
- Crazy-Prepared: Strand is revealed to have put a long-term plan into place before the outbreak began in full, purchasing multiple properties in Mexico as a long-term hideout for himself, Thomas and the latter's mother. When Luis meets Nick, he tells him that this is one of several phases Strand had laid out for the apocalypse.
- Dressing as the Enemy: Nick once again smears himself in walker guts, just like the previous episode, to move anonymously past walker.
- Drowning My Sorrows: The initial conversation between Strand and Abigail is this, as Strand claims that he's bankrupt and are drinking to cope. It's revealed soon after that Strand is taking advantage of Thomas to steal his credit cards and go on a shopping spree.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Connor calls out Vida for hitting Madison across the face, although this is later played with, as Reed says that Connor doesn't like to get his hands dirty with killings and puts up a positive air to reassure his captives.
- Five-Finger Discount: Strand brazenly steals Thomas' wallet in a flashback, as the latter man is too inebriated to do anything except go to sleep.
- Foe Romance Subtext: Strand and Thomas' early scenes together run into this. They sit close together at a bar, laughing at each other's jokes and showing how they're not that different, and Strand helps take Thomas' coat and shoes off while staring at him for a long time. The next time they meet (when Strand is confronted), Thomas spends most of the conversation complimenting him on his fashion choices.
- Friendly Enemy:
- Connor is initially this, as he chastises Vida for hitting Madison. However, this is revealed to be a front, as Reed later says that Connor doesn't like to get his hands dirty with killing and puts on a friendly air to reassure the people they take hostage.
- Thomas is also (initially) this towards Strand in the flashback, despite Luis' objections. When they discover where Strand's apartment is, Thomas compliments him on his fashion choices, asks what he was doing with the money taken from him, then tells him that he's giving him a reprieve because of his skills.
- Hidden Depths:
- Ofelia tells Chris that she made some "bad decisions" as a teenager that her parents don't know about.
- Madison reveals that she had a miscarriage between Nick and Alicia's births, which informs her decision to bring up the matter with Vida and question whether the latter is also suffering from a miscarriage.
- Strand's backstory is revealed, and he is shown to be a former debt collector who went bankrupt himself and resorted to stealing a wealthy real estate developer's credit cards in order to finance an extravagant lifestyle and get back on his feet. It's eventually shown that Strand put a long-term plan into place to get himself, Thomas, their associate Luis and Thomas' mother to safety in Mexico, but Strand was captured and placed in the internment camp before he could get back.
- Hostage Situation: The main group (sans Nick) is forced into this for the majority of the episode.
- How We Got Here: Strand's actions prior to the outbreak are revealed, and it's shown that he'd been setting up a long-term plan to get to Mexico with the help of a real estate developer (and lover), Thomas Abigail.
- Idiot Ball: Due to Daniel removing the ammunition from the assault rifle, Strand is unable to defend the group and is forced to flee from the ''Abigail'' as a result.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: Luis is able to score direct headshots on Ben and Red, while's on a moving speedboat firing at people on a moving yacht.
- Kick the Dog: Reed and his group repeatedly antagonize, hit and threaten the group, but this doesn't last long before they turn the tables and stab Reed and dispatch the other two marauders still left on the yacht.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Madison stabs Reed with a knife and drives the blade in deep, after the latter had just hit her a few moments prior.
- Man of Wealth and Taste: Discussed after Thomas discovers Strand's shopping spree on fine clothing.Thomas: You look like a man who could... create beauty from the coarse.Strand: I'm a student of the fine.
- Meaningful Echo: Strand told Nick (in "Cobalt") that he "obligated him" when the latter asks why he was saved. As it turns out, Thomas says the exact same thing to Strand in this episode at the end of their conversation in the hotel room.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Due to Daniel removing the ammo clip from the assault rifle in the command deck, Strand is unable to defend the rest of the group and is forced to flee the boat when Jack and the other marauders board.
- Not So Stoic: Reed acts like a badass while holding the family at gunpoint, then all but gives up once the other two pirates are sniped by Luis and he's taken hostage in turn. Notably, he has a look on his face of pure terror and tears on his face after he's impaled with the crowbar and Chris holds him down.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Strand gets this when the lifeboat sinks and he loses the satellite phone in the water.
- Reed gets this once Luis snipes the other marauders. When Madison stabs him in the side and Chris shoves him against the wall, he has a look of pure terror on his face.
- Relationship Reveal: Strand is shown to have been lovers with Thomas, which influences his decision to close a real estate deal in Los Angeles so he can protect himself, Thomas, Luis and Thomas' mother during the outbreak.
- The Reveal: Strand's backstory is this, as he is explained as being a former debt collector and conman who went into business with a man (Thomas Abigail) who eventually became his lover, and they set in motion the plan to go to Mexico and stay with the latter's mother.
- Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: Strand abandons the boat once Jack and the others board and take everyone else hostage.
- Spotting the Thread: Madison realizes that Reed and Jack know the group's names, despite Alicia stating that she didn't tell Jack any personal information. As a result, this leads her to suspect that someone might be acting as The Mole.
- Title Drop:Strand: When there's blood on the streets...Thomas: I won't have your blood on the streets!
- Ungrateful Bastard: Madison and Daniel are ready to abandon Strand to his fate, until Nick and Luis rightfully point out that he wasn't the one who got them into that situation with Jack's group and is the only one who can get them into Mexico. As a result, Madison begrudgingly helps Strand onto the Zodiac after finding him alive in the sea.
- Villain Ball: Reed shoots Strand's boat (despite knowing he's the captain), and reasons that Strand is either dead or will die from hypothermia. This comes back to bite him when Travis tells him that Strand had the keys to the boat, and Reed is forced to conscript Travis to hotwire the boat. This gives the group time to prepare an escape plan and allow Daniel to free himself from his bonds.
- Would Hit a Girl:
- Both Reed and Vida have no problem hitting Madison when she gets on their nerves. This comes back to bite the former when she breaks free and drives a crowbar into his side.
- In turn, Luis is shown to have no problem with sniping enemy combatants, even if they're women (like Red).
