‘Fear the Walking Dead’ Season 4, Episode 12 ‘Weak’ Recap: Not-so Noble Intentions

Fear the Walking Dead is slowly turning into its parent show, The Walking Dead. Tonight’s episode, titled “Weak,” echoes the previous TWD seasons—back when being mysterious was a thing for zombie TV. Season 4 of FearTWD has seen its fair share of good and bad episodes, and this one just makes it one for the meh chapters of its narrative. Directed by Fear’s very own Colman Domingo—who plays Strand on the show—it’s a good episode to watch, never mind the script and premise.

The storm has passed, and we center on June (Jenna Elfman) and Al (Maggie Grace) as they try to find their way back to the others. Meanwhile, we’ve got Morgan (Lennie James) and his ragtag group of do-gooders placing boxes of supplies along highway markers and radioing into oblivion that “help is here.” It’s not that bad of an episode, but like its title, it is one of the weakest of the bunch.

Here’s what went down on tonight’s Fear the Walking Dead.

What’s up with Al’s obsession with the freaking van?

So we see a montage of June, and Al stuck after the storm. The SWAT van’s all beat up and there’s no more battery and fuel to power it up so they can find their way back to John (Garret Dillahunt). June tries to contact him on the walkie, to no avail. Since she misses him, June watches Al’s tape of John over and over until the camera runs out of battery. As they camp, supplies run out, and June suggests that they should find higher ground so they can contact their group. Al agrees but almost passes out of exhaustion. She’s sick—it could be low blood sugar, dehydration, who the hell knows at this point.

Ryan Green/AMC

Now, we get it. The van is an asset to their group, but when push comes to shove, and you’re left choosing between life or the van, it only makes sense to want to live. Not for Al, though. She’s determined to get back to the van even after June finds an SUV with fuel. June did convince Al to abandon the van and go back for it later. As they drive out,  June tries to ask Al about whether or not she had a romantic partner before. But of course, even though we’re closer to the finale than before, Al didn’t share a thing.

They stop by a mile marker so June can radio in. There, Al throws up, making her condition worse. Suddenly, they are overtaken by some guy who was apparently able to make the van work. Al chases after it, saying that the meds she needs are in the van too. The car chase goes awry when their SUV busts a tire. The van escapes, leaving Al and June stuck without a car. Al tries to make the SUV work, but it’s clear that she needs meds stat. Al tells June that the meds are also in the van, so June has to go and find it. They overhear the van’s guns go off somewhere near them, so June goes after it.

She comes upon an overturned bus with Infected in it. As she investigates, a man pulls out a gun and orders June to stand down. June tries to convince him that they can work together, but the man has none of it. June then wrestles the gun out of him and accidentally pulls the trigger. Al hears the gunshot and forces herself to fix the tire despite her weak state.

Ryan Green/AMC

Back at the bus, June has the man captive and looks for medicine in the van. The man also tells June that the van ran out of gas, and he stopped by the bus thinking it could have fuel. Since the man was of no help, June tells him to leave. She radios Al, who is busy fighting off an Infected. After successfully killing the Infected, Al radios in and tells June that there are no meds in the van, she just wanted her to bring it back.

June returns with antibiotics that she miraculously found in the overturned bus. When June grills Al about the van, she reveals that the videotapes are all that’s left of the people she used to know and love. Boo-hoo, Al, boo-hoo. Nobody cares about the van, and you didn’t answer June’s question.

Morgan and his crew round the gang back up

Sarah (Mo Collins), Wendell (Daryl Mitchell), Jim (Aaron Stanford), and Morgan stops their truck at mile marker 27. Morgan blasts a radio broadcast about their location. Wendell and Jim don’t like how Morgan’s noble efforts are stalling them, but the latter tries contacting his group nonetheless. Even when Sarah expressed her doubts, Morgan was hopeful that they would come.

Meanwhile, the dirty mysterious woman (Tonya Pinkins) that decoded Morgan’s broadcast in the mini-mart hears June’s cry for help via the walkie. The woman turns to her Infected pet named Purvis and says that it made them weak. Whatever the hell she means by that (at this point, it’s getting a bit tiring trying to think of what her character wants—she’s a villain for sure.)

Morgan patiently waits at the mile marker. When Sarah tells him that its time to go, Morgan hears brief chatter on the radio. He sets out on foot to look for a better signal. Later, Morgan comes across the mysterious woman and encourages her to take what she needs since it’s tough living out there. The woman tells Morgan that she’s not weak and that Morgan should be careful. As Morgan leaves, she replaces the clean water in the box with dirty water.

Ryan Green/AMC

Morgan sees a radio tower and climbs onto to it. He broadcasts one last message, which Al and June hear and recognize as Morgan’s voice. Before they could respond, the battery dies. June says that they have enough gas to reach mile marker 27. Al, on the other hand, wants to go back to her van. June reluctantly drives away, but Al changes her mind and comes with.

Meanwhile, Morgan returns to the truck. It’s nighttime, and it looks like no one’s coming. Just as Sarah gears up the truck, June and Al arrive. Reunited, Morgan gives them food and water.

Feeling guilty about forcing the man who stole the van to run away, June radios in to try and contact him. Surprisingly, he responds, telling June that he found fuel for the van. June apologizes and invites him to mile marker 27. The man, named Quinn, agrees and drives to her location. Meanwhile, Morgan tells Al about the truck’s real owner and their plans to return it to him. Apparently, that man lives in a community with power, food, and an unlimited amount of supplies.

Ryan Green/AMC

Quinn contacts June and says that he’s finally reached mile marker 27. Puzzled, June tells Quinn to check again. He then finds out that it’s actually mile marker 21, and some bitch taped a “7” over it. Turns out that bitch was the mysterious woman, who had Purvis attack Quinn. Once done, the woman lets go of Purvis and gets in the van. Inside, Quinn reanimates, much to the woman’s delight.

‘Fear the Walking Dead: Weak’ Overall Verdict

Nope. Just nope. Even though this episode is indeed weak, you have to hand it over to Domingo for directing an episode that has amazing visuals and camerawork. The story na dialogue might be a bit forced, but Domingo’s direction made it feel flawless, at the very least. But other than that, tonight’s episode of Fear the Walking Dead does feel like an entire reboot of the series, since all these new faces seem to hint at becoming the new regulars once Luci, Strand, and Alicia are officially done for.

Fear the Walking Dead continues next Sunday, September 9th, with “Blackjack” at 9/8c on AMC. Watch the sneak peek below: