‘Things Bad Begun’ kicks off Fear‘s highly anticipated season 3 two-part finale; one of the most eventful finales in the history of The Walking Dead franchise, which is saying something. The episode begins with Nick collecting walker heads (as you do) because they can be sold at the bazaar. Troy learns that the Proctors are planning to attack the dam, but there’s only really one way they could know about it, and that’s via Strand.
Daniel, understandably, hasn’t let the death of Ofelia go. He finds it suspicious that the herd just happened to find the ranch with no help. Honestly, I’m not sure why people are still defending Troy after all this time, but he’s a lucky guy either way. Madison and Strand are getting drunk together at the dam before Nick arrives with the news about the Proctors. Daniel doesn’t seem to like Troy at all, which only means he has good instincts. They ultimately decide to stay and defend the dam instead of giving up their freedom. Walker and Crazy Dog choose to leave, believing that some of their people may have gone up north when the infection began.
Strand is really insistent that Nick and Madison should leave the dam, and we later learn that his deal with the Proctors included immunity for Madison, Nick and Alicia. However, Strand isn’t confident that he’ll be able to protect them, so he tells Nick the truth and asks him to leave. Daniel tries to get answers about the herd out of Nick, and instead of telling the truth, he eventually says it was all Jake’s fault. This keeps Troy safe because Jake is already dead. Daniel doesn’t believe him at first, but Nick is apparently very convincing.
Alicia and Diana (the mystery woman from last episode) are driving before they’re hit by a car. They manage to gain the upper hand against a bunch of men by themselves, but not without Diana breaking her leg. Alicia manages to set it by herself (which is pretty impressive) and drags her to a doctor. The doctor takes a liking to her and asks her to assist in an upcoming surgery he has. When Alicia goes to meet the patient, however, we learn that it’s Proctor John. He has a tumour pressing on his spine, and he’s slowly becoming paralysed. The surgery is a success, and John also seems to take a liking to Alicia. She then becomes one of his companions as he travels towards– you guessed it, the dam.
Madison and Troy are planting C4 along the walls of the dam as a last resort against the Proctors. As usual, there’s some really weird tension between the two of them. However, this time, it doesn’t last. Nick finds them and it’s finally revealed to Madison that Troy led the herd to the ranch. She’s not happy, and eventually gets so mad that she hits Troy in the head with a hammer until he starts to bleed. They leave his body among the C4 charges and walk away. It’s a weird scene, and yet another quick and strange end to a character that had such a huge role throughout the season.
Strand, who is clearly really stressed out about the imminent arrival of the Proctors, pulls a gun on Lola. Apparently he promised Proctor John that she and Daniel would be dead so that he could take over the dam without a fight. Daniel isn’t having any of it, and tries to wrestle it out of his hands. It backfires (quite literally) and Daniel gets shot in the face. It’s not an instant kill, because it goes through his chin and out his cheek, and Lola takes him away before we’re able to learn his fate.
The episode ends with the Proctors finally arriving and Strand locking Madison and Nick in a room to keep them safe. This is a slow-building first half, which sets the story up perfectly for an action-packed finale.
THE REEL SCORE: 7/10
