Fear the Walking Dead 4.03 Recap and 4.04 Promo

AMC‘s Fear the Walking Dead 4.03 episode, titled “Good Out Here,” found Nick and Morgan paired up, allowing the very similar characters to form a very brief bond before a shocking turn of events resulted in tragedy. Next week’s episode shows Al documenting Alicia and Strand in the present while the Vultures continue their threatening presence outside of the stadium in the flashbacks. Check out the promo — and a sneak peek — for Fear the Walking Dead 4.04, “Buried,” in the player below, as well as some behind-the-scenes looks at Episode 4.03 and let us know what you thought about the gut-wrenching final moments of last night’s episode.

Last week’s episode established a balance between past and present which continued in “Good Out Here.” In the flashbacks, Nick is forced to destroy and burn his crops due to the weevil infestation. Those crops were Nick’s main way of contributing to the community, and now that his garden has been ruined, he finally decides to face the outside world and tells his mom that he wants to join her on a run to help her find food. Before Madison and Nick head out, they’re stopped by Vulture leader Mel, who taunts them about their lack of food and also gives back the book Luciana left for Charlie.

As they drive on, Nick asks Madison not only how she is able to stay so positive, but how she’s able to go outside of the stadium so much. He explains to her later that being out in this new destructive and violent world full of the dead feels more like a prison to him than being in the stadium does because he’s afraid of what the world outside of their community turns him into. Madison explains to her son that she always looks for something good. Little things that remind her of the good or, at least, of how people used to help each other or signs that they still do.

As they make their way to one of their pitstops in search of food, they come across one of the Vultures, Ennis, his blue El Camino, and Charlie. Ennis is carrying out crates of canned goods and supplies, and we learn that thanks to Charlie stealing a walkie from the stadium, the Vultures were able to listen in and pick the food stashes clean before Madison and Nick could arrive. Madison and Nick try to reach out to Charlie again, telling her she doesn’t have to do what the Vultures tell her if she doesn’t want to, but Ennis says he’s the one who found her and taught her how to survive. Ennis then taunts Nick about not being able to provide for his family, resulting in Nick lashing out by putting a knife to the Vulture’s throat. He manages to draw a bit of blood before Madison talks him down and the two take their leave.

After the intense confrontation, Nick is regretting reacting so violently in front of Charlie and worries about how she’ll see him — and them — now, especially when their goal was to try and get Charlie back into their community and away from the Vultures. Nick presses on the fact that he doesn’t like what the world turns him into and why he prefers staying inside of the stadium. Later on in the flashback, Madison stops the car to admire a grove of bluebonnets. She has found her one good thing on this outing, just as she said, and so has Nick, who lies down in the field amid the flowers.

During the episode, as has become the usual pattern this season, we cut into the present as each scene strikes a parallel between what’s happening with the group now and something significant that took place in the past. In the present, Morgan, Al, and John are still being held captive as they ride along in the SWAT van with Nick, Strand, Alicia, and Luciana. Al continues to tell the four that she’ll tell them where she found the Vulture’s flag, all they have to do is give her something in return: Their stories. When Al makes a move, a scuffle ensues in the back and the commotion, as well as a group of walkers on the road, causes Luciana to lose control, sending the vehicle and all of its passengers over the side of the road as they crash into a ditch.

The occupants are all alive, but now Morgan, Al, and John have the upper hand. Nick wakes up to find that he and the others are tied up and Al and John are attempting to get the SWAT van back on the road but the vehicle is stuck. Al decides that their new friends are going to help her, and Luciana mentions that she spotted a garage while they were driving that had some trucks they could use to pull the SWAT van free. Al ties Nick up to the van as insurance with Morgan offering to stay behind with him as the others go in search of a truck. While Morgan reads his pocket-sized The Art of Peace book, Nick asks if he can get him a snack. Morgan, knowing that he can overpower Nick, especially with his staff (which he proves when Nick tests that theory), simply cuts the younger man free and tells him he can get the snack himself.

Nick and Morgan’s bond begins to form when Nick shares half of his peanut butter protein bar with Morgan, a nice callback to The Walking Dead when Morgan once accused Michonne of eating his peanut butter protein bar (she did). Morgan later goes up to the street to perform his staff exercises while Nick decides to search the van. He eventually finds Al’s camera and watches her interview with Morgan, wanting to learn more about the man. Up on the road, Morgan sees a car coming and rushes back down to the SWAT van, telling Nick to get down. When Nick spots the blue El Camino, however, he shoves Morgan aside, who falls back against the van’s horn as Nick then chases after the car on foot. The now jammed horn attracts nearby walkers, leaving Morgan having to deal with the undead as the loud noise blares on.

Meanwhile, at the garage, Strand asks Al why she wants their stories so bad. She tells him that “the truth matters” even if it’s only heard once. Luciana recognizes that Al “knows her shit” while Strand and Alicia are confused by the woman. Down the road, Nick is still chasing the car when he suddenly pauses after spotting a patch of bluebonnet flowers. After picking one, Nick comes under attack by walkers but is saved by Morgan. The two make their way to an old pharmacy where Morgan can re-bandage his injured leg. Nick asks the older man why he helped him back at the flowers, and Morgan simply responds that he doesn’t kill.

Nick is curious about Morgan’s “karate” skills, and Morgan turns the conversation back to the blue El Camino Nick was chasing. Morgan, recognizing the vengeful and violent path Nick is on, warns Nick that seeking revenge won’t work out the way he thinks it will, no matter what the man — Ennis — did to Nick. Morgan shuts down, though, when Nick presses him about what happened to Morgan that caused him to “lose himself” and why he no longer wants to kill. As Morgan leaves Nick behind, the other group arrives back at the van whose horn is still blaring and is now swarmed with walkers. Morgan left behind an arrow made of sticks pointing out the direction he and Nick went. John and Luciana go after them as Alicia and Strand stay behind to help Al clear out the walkers and retrieve her SWAT van, whose inside contents are incredibly important to her.

Morgan suddenly comes across Ennis and his blue car, who is raiding another location for food and supplies. Morgan, knowing Nick isn’t far behind, warns the man to leave. Ennis laughs him off and doesn’t seem too concerned when he spots Nick in the distance. As Nick approaches, Morgan tries to stop Nick and the path he is about to take, but Nick, full of rage, asks if Morgan is going to do what it takes to stop him, knowing Morgan won’t. Morgan steps aside and leaves as Nick and Ennis fight, ending with the Vulture impaled on the bust of a deer and Nick slowly pushes the dying man onto its antlers. Morgan, after coming across the same patch of bluebonnets as before, decides to go back for Nick.

When a bloodied Nick sees that Morgan has returned, Morgan tells him that he lost his wife, son, and friends before losing himself. He tells Nick that he knows what he’s going through and has been there before, but that he was able to get himself out of it thanks to a friend that taught him that all life is precious. He hands over The Art of Peace to Nick, wanting the younger man to read it and telling Nick that they can talk about it after. Morgan has found himself becoming a mentor to Nick, wanting to help the young man because he feels that just like him, Nick can be saved from his rage and violence and the people the new world turns them into.

Morgan leaves Nick to read the book and greets the SWAT van as the rest of the group catches up with them. Inside, Al panics briefly when she finds the lock to her safe has been broken but is relieved when she finds that the tapes of people she has interviewed and recorded are all accounted for. Cutting back to Nick, he puts The Art of Peace in his back pocket, next to the bluebonnet he had picked earlier. Suddenly, a shot rings out. Charlie, who likely came across the dead Ennis, is holding a gun and flees as Nick calls her name before falling to the ground. Alicia, Luciana, and the others come running as blood spills from Nick’s mouth. As Alicia, Luciana, and Strand cry over Nick’s body as he dies, a distressed Morgan stands nearby alongside John and Al. The final scene cuts back in time as Nick lays in the grove of bluebonnets Madison found, and the young man closes his eyes, looking relaxed and peaceful before the episode cuts to black.

Fans are devasted after losing such a major character, but it’s important to note that it was confirmed on Talking Dead with Chris Hardwick after the episode that Frank Dillane, who plays the fan favorite character, had asked to leave the show at the end of season three because he wanted to pursue other projects. Frank left behind a message of love for the fans, cast, and crew, and spoke about how grateful he is to have been on Fear the Walking Dead. While we wish Frank all of the best moving forward, and we know we’ll see more of Nick in the flashbacks this season, it’s still hard to say goodbye to one of the original characters.

In season four of Fear the Walking Dead, we will see the world of Madison Clark (Kim Dickens) and her family through new eyes — the eyes of Morgan Jones (Lennie James), joining the story from the world of The Walking Dead. The characters’ immediate past mixes with an uncertain present of struggle and discovery as they meet new friends, foes, and threats. They fight for each other, against each other, and against a legion of the dead to somehow build an existence against the crushing pressure of lives coming apart. There will be darkness and light; terror and grace; the heroic, mercenary, and craven all crashing together towards a new reality.