Fear The Walking Dead Episode 5 Review: They All Come Back

Last week I complained about having zero zombies in the episode. In "Cobalt" we see one in the form of donut shop waitress Kimberly... may she RIP. While "one" is better than "none", I still think there is something fundamentally wrong with a zombie show that has no zombies. Am I the only one?

Still A Wuss

Alicia and Chris play dress up at some abandoned house before trashing the place. Looks like there's a possible love connection. Travis hitches a ride with the army boys to visit Nick and Griselda. They try to force him to shoot at a zombie (the aforementioned Kimberly) but he cant. Travis, you really need to "man up" at some point. Even when the soldiers were obviously under attack (which we MIGHT have liked to have seen since...ya know...zombies) he stayed safely in the jeep.

Don't Mess With Daniel (Or His Family)

In the highlight of the episode, Daniel tortures Ofelia's boyfriend Corpora Adams for intel. Previously I thought Daniel was a good guy. Now we know he was an interrogator (read torturer) back in El Salvador. His skill set might come in handy during the zombie apocalypse. Daniel fillets Adam's arm until he spills the beans. "Cobalt" is a secret operation to evacuate all the troops from the LA basin. It is scheduled for the next morning. The only problem is they arent panning on taking anyone else. They will "humanely" kill them all first.
At the hospital, Dr Essex shares with Liza that "they all come back"-- meaning you dont have to be bitten by a zombie to become one. This is VERY important info and explains why they separated the sick from the living. They're not heartless bastards after all (for the most part). "The Walking Dead" survivors didn't know this secret until the Rick/Shane smack down in season 2.

So Far, Strand Is More Interesting Than The Main Characters

Griselda dies a fitful death. She is battled memories of what she and Daniel did. Nick is almost carted away by the soldiers. A man named Strand trades some fancy cuff links for him. Strand says he sell anything (except insurance). He wants Nick to help him with his escape. Beware Nick, that guy cant be trusted.

And in the final scene, Daniel heads to the stadium where he knows thousands of undead are trapped (thanks to Adams). Will he release them in order to wreak havoc on the soldiers? If so, I'm not sure that's a good idea... since he'll have to fight off the zombies too.
Grade: 3 1/2 Monsters (out of 5). I would have given this episode a lower score but Daniel and Strand pushed it up. Right now they're the best things about the show. And what happened to Madison's story line? She really didnt do anything this week (except reluctantly approve of Daniel's methods).

Next week is the season 1 finale. To be honest, I'm not very enthused. The overall structure of this series is WAY too slow. Characters wander around doing random things and act strangely for no reason. I believe "FTWD" was already renewed for next year. I really hope they make some serious changes. The zombies may "all come back" but that doesnt mean any of viewers will.