‘100’ is an episode that brings a different energy from what we’ve seen since the beginning of Season 3. This episode focuses entirely on Daniel (with appearances by Strand), and with the exception of one conversation, is entirely in Spanish. The title is a reference to how many people Daniel has killed, which he states is 96 at the beginning of the episode. By the end of the episode, he has killed four more.
We learn how Daniel managed to escape the farm in Season 2, and a man named Efrain eventually saves him. Efrain has an interesting way of killing walkers, which includes driving a nail into their head with a hammer. He saves Daniel’s life, and shows him kindness that the old Daniel would’ve probably seen as a weakness. However, Daniel doesn’t stick with him for long. Eventually he finds a woman named Lola, who works for Dante, and Daniel becomes tangled up in his organisation once Dante finds out who he really is.
Strand appears towards the end of the episode as it catches up to the present. In typical Strand fashion, he tries to manipulate Daniel by saying he knows where Ofelia is, but soon learns that Daniel is the one person who can’t be manipulated. Their dynamic is an interesting one, and I hope we do get to see them on the road together for at least a little while. One of the great things about FTWD is its ability to place any two characters together and create an interesting relationship.
Daniel is charged with killing Efrain and Lola (after Dante learns they’ve been stealing water without his permission), but he turns around and kills Dante and his muscle instead. This, presumably, takes Daniel’s total kill count up to 100. By the end of the episode, Daniel is allied with Strand, Lola and Efrain, and we’re unsure where he’ll go next. This is a complete one-eighty from the ruthless Daniel we’ve come to know, and personally, I’m hoping this Daniel sticks around.
This episode is an interesting change of pace, and the first episode of the season that doesn’t focus on the core family. Regardless, it seemed necessary to have an entire episode dedicated to Daniel’s journey, since he’s been gone for over half a season. While, once again, there’s no sign of Ofelia, it was nice to have her father refer to her a couple of times so that she’s not completely forgotten. It’ll be interesting to see if he and Strand will be able to reunite with the group and integrate back into it after what they’ve been through.
THE REEL SCORE: 8/10
