‘Fear The Walking Dead’ Season 2 Spoilers: Death Destroys Everything In The Midseason Finale; What Happened In Episode 7? [RECAP]

Can the survivors on “Fear the Walking Dead” find safety in the midseason finale?

Episode 7 of the AMC series kicks off with Daniel ( Rubén Blades ) having a dream about Ofelia (Mercedes Mason) turning into a walker. He’s awoken from his nightmare when a gunshot goes off.

Although Strand (Colman Domingo) promised Thomas (Dougray Scott) that he would die alongside him, he decides to live another day and puts a bullet through Thomas’ brain to stop him from turning. Needless to say, this decision devastates Celia (Marlene Forte). She tells Strand that he can bury Thomas’ body, but he needs to be off the grounds by the time the sun goes down. This decision also affects Madison (Kim Dickens), Travis (Cliff Curtis) and Daniel’s families. Celia tells them that they need to leave with Strand.

That decision is fine with Madison, who has had an uneasy feeling about Celia since they arrived. However, Madison has another problem on her hands — Chris (Lorenzo James Henrie). The teen took off after Madison and Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey) woke to find him hovering over them with a knife. Not believing that his son would hurt them, Travis goes after Chris. Madison doesn’t want to leave until he returns home.

As Madison waits for her boyfriend to return, Nick (Franke Dillane) sneaks off in an attempt to patch things up with Celia. He wants to convince Celia to allow him and his family to stay at the compound, and knows the perfect way to do it. He returns to the boat and brings back zombie Luis (Arturo del Puerto). Celia is ecstatic to be reunited with her son, and agrees to allow Nick and his family to stay. However, Strand is not part of the deal.

Madison is furious when she finds out what Nick did, and thinks that Celia is the problem. She feels like she’s losing her son, but Nick insists that he’s never been better. He doesn’t understand why his mom can’t see that he’s flourishing in this new world.

“Nothing can touch me,” he tells her, even offering to go out into the unknown to bring back Travis.

Meanwhile, outside of the compound, Travis finds a survivor in a small village. He begs the man for help in finding Chris, but soon discovers that the man is hiding something. Travis busts open a closed door and finds Chris holding the man’s small child at gunpoint.

“Why can’t you just let me go?” Chris asks, turning the gun on his father.

Travis’ son is clearly broken, but Travis is not willing to give up on him. He lunges at Chris, causing the teen to drop the gun. Chris takes off, but Travis is right behind him. The two struggle on the street, and Chris attempts to slice his dad with a knife.

“I’m no good,” Chris insists. That’s still not enough for Travis to abandon him. When Nick finds him he tells him that he’s not going back with him. He’s putting his son first and taking care of him. He tells Nick that Chris “can’t come back” and makes him promise to tell Madison that he couldn’t find him.

Back at the compound, things spiral out of control as Daniel’s mental health deteriorates. His late wife Griselda (Patricia Reyes Spíndola) haunts him, and Celia orders her men to isolate him and tie him up. Celia seems to know that Daniel has a deadly past and is haunted by his sins. But what exactly does she want with him? She promises to take care of him and leaves the room.

Madison uses her spare time to confront Celia about Strand. She begs Celia to allow him to stay, but Celia is not caving into Madison’s demands. In fact, she tells Madison that the only reason why she’s there in the first place is because there is something special about Nick. Celia adds that if Madison wants to stay, she’s going to have to start viewing the dead as Nicholas views them. Although Madison sees the dead as “monsters,” she asks Celia to help her look at them differently.

Celia brings Madison down to the cellar where she’s keeping her re-animated family and friends. She asks what Madison wouldn’t do for her children to protect them, and Madison shows her that there is nothing she wouldn’t do. She locks Celia in the cellar and leaves her there to get devoured by the walkers.
While Madison puts her plan in place to save her family, the other compound workers escort Strand to the gates. What nobody knows is that Daniel is putting a different plan in motion. With encouragement from the ghost of his wife, Daniel manages to get free from being tied up. He steals some gas and a lighter and goes to the same cellar that Madison just locked Celia in. Continuing to hallucinate his dead wife, who begs him to give her body a proper burial, Daniel sets the whole place on fire.

Seeing the whole place on fire, Strand returns to the compound to pick up Madison and the others. Alicia and Ophelia get in his truck after realizing that Daniel is gone, but Madison won’t get in without Nick and Travis. Fortunately, Nick returns, but he doesn’t want to go with them. Believing that his mother destroys everything, he decides to stay and walk among the dead. Strand has to physically grab Madison and throw her in the truck to save her.

The episode ends with the remaining group members leaving the compound as it burns to the ground. The second half of “Fear the Walking Dead” will air in a couple of months.