Fear The Walking Dead season 4, episode 4 recap: Buried

Fear The Walking Dead digs deep into the group’s past as they mourn the loss of Nick in “Buried”.

We have still not recovered from the events of last week’s episode of Fear The Walking Dead, in which we lost Nick–and neither has the group. In a shocking turn of events, Nick’s life was taken and fans were thrown in for a loop as we processed this loss throughout “Buried”.

The episode plays out with Luciana, Victor, and Alicia sharing their stores with Al–who is sitting behind the camera recording it all. We see glimpses of footage that Al has recorded, including Luciana driving a knife through Nick’s head before he begins to turn. The three reflect on how they could have stopped Nick from dying–and boy, is it brutal.

The Vultures continue to camp out in front of the compound as Madison tries to figure out places they may not have hit for food. This is a flashback, of course, because the group splits up and heads to different locations to scout–a decision which Victor admits was a mistake and the beginning of what led to Nick’s death.

Victor and Cole find themselves in a greenhouse, while Lucy and Nick are at a library. Nick intends to gather books for Charlie, who he still hopes to win over. We learn later this never ended up being the case.

In the present, John opens up about himself and his past as a police officer. And if you recall, he is on a quest to find Laura, who he wishes Morgan to meet. However, Morgan is all set to leave once Nick’s body is buried.

Al’s focus then shifts to Alicia, who reflects on her splitting off with Naomi and going to a water park. Ever wondered what water-bloated zombies look like? “Buried” is the one to show you! They run into some trouble when they find a fort at the top of the slide but are attacked by walkers and pushed down the slide into a pool full of them.

We find out once again that Victor planned to betray Madison and the group when he takes Cole to his secret stash that he had been hoarding. He asks Cole to leave with him but Cole refuses and returns to the stadium. Come on Victor, we expected better.

Back at the library, Lucy and Nick find a map and decide to pick a place to run away to. But Lucy in the present states that it was a mistake. At the stadium, Madison is still dealing with the Vultures and has a conversation with Mel about asking him to join their community, while he asks her to join the Vultures. While she declines, she learns of his past on a ranch and being one of two people to survive the fire that destroyed it.

Despite Naomi’s warning to Alicia about the stadium not lasting, the group decided they were going to protect their home–because it’s the only one they have left. Alicia convinces Naomi to open an infirmary at the stadium due to her previous life as a nurse in the ICU and Victor comes back with his secret stash.

Instead of running away like they planned, Nick and Lucy decide to go looking for seeds to fertilize their dying plants. They run the plan by Madison who agrees it is a trip they’ll have to take to survive–however, in the present, the group states that they should have left the stadium and looked for another place to live.

Props go out to Alicia, Lucy, and Victor who, we learn, have a stash of weapons hidden to take down the Vultures and discovered their meet-up spot. They try to convince Laura to join them but John insists she stay with him as he looks for Laura–she decides to go with the three.

But first, they must bury Nick’s body in “Buried”. As they prepare to do so, John comes across a backpack he believes belongs to Laura, along with a revolver he recognizes. A flashback tells us that Naomi and Laura are one in the same–and that in the present, Naomi is dead.

Next: Why Fear the Walking Dead killed a major character on this week’s episode

While Alicia wishes to seek revenge for Naomi, John doesn’t want to join the cause, so Morgan decides to stay back with him. Where will things go from here? Only time will tell.

What was your favorite moment from “Buried”? Share your comments below!

Fear The Walking Dead returns next Sunday night at 9 PM on AMC!