# Fear the Walking Dead: 1.03 "The Dog" (open spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 13, 2015, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-03-the-dog-open-spoilers/731149 "2015-09-13T22:03:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2015, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-03-the-dog-open-spoilers/731149/81 "2015-09-15T22:23:47Z")
> [@grude](#): > > How are all these people dieing? > > The elderly asian woman had no obvious bite marks or wounds, are we to assume she died of natural causes? Or is it the flu killing them? > > There was some quick scene where the daughter saw an open RX pill bottle on the woman’s table, was this suggesting she ODed? > [@carnivorousplant](#): > > My Wife thinks she took pills to kill herself. > [@Critical1](#): > > The pills came from the mom iirc, She split them up while at the neighbors house to give some to the injured lady, so it was just an empty bottle. The implication from the scene is that the woman od’d - she was clearly on meds of some sort. Since the ‘impty bottle of un-named pills’ just happened to be where drug addicted son dropped the all important shotgun shells, I think its more likely that the woman just dies of natural causes and the son dropped the shells while pilfering pills. The pills in that case did not come from Mom - she has an ‘evidence’ bag of pills, half of which she gave to the lady with the smushed foot - she did this prior to going to the neighbors. > [@eenerms](#): > > This isn’t a spoiler this is what I think, the blonde mom killed her first husband and her daughter saw it when she was little. That’s why the Blonde didn’t want the son to tell her something was bad going on. Also that’s why the shotgun was in the garage house. That was not the “garage house” - that was the back door neighbors, who had quite the elaborate maze (looked to be a gardening/grape vine thing) set up - that was seperated by part of fence. They had the shotgun, presumably becuase, well, because someone needed a shotgun . ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2015, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-03-the-dog-open-spoilers/731149/82 "2015-09-15T22:28:44Z")
> [@simster](#): > > Since the ‘impty bottle of un-named pills’ just happened to be where drug addicted son dropped the all important shotgun shells, I thought that the daughter dropped them. ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2015, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-03-the-dog-open-spoilers/731149/83 "2015-09-15T22:53:02Z")
Mom had the pills in a bottle in a bag, she then split them up leaving behind the bottle. I could totally be wrong about where this happened though. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-03-the-dog-open-spoilers/731149/84 "2015-09-16T00:29:04Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I thought that the daughter dropped them. The daughter asked where they were - if she had dropped them, she would already have known. The reaction of druggiebrother suggests he was trying to hide something. > [@Critical1](#): > > Mom had the pills in a bottle in a bag, she then split them up leaving behind the bottle. I could totally be wrong about where this happened though. She had already split the pills before they went looking for the shotgun - after all, smushedAnkle lady had already been bandaged and was resting - also, that seemed to be an innoportune time for a cup of tea and pill counting. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-03-the-dog-open-spoilers/731149/85 "2015-09-16T03:10:56Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Hell if I know. Most suicides kill the wrong people. You listen to NPR, too? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-03-the-dog-open-spoilers/731149/86 "2015-09-16T12:07:14Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > You listen to NPR, too? Er, no a friend…that’s it, a friend listens. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-03-the-dog-open-spoilers/731149/87 "2015-09-16T12:26:04Z")
My interpretation was that the junkie son stole the drugs. Of course, it makes no sense that he would bother to open the pill bottle up, remove the contents and leave the bottle and cap lying on the table. But they were apparently not there when they started messing with the shotgun and shells in the first place. There is also no apparent reason for the woman to have killed herself - maybe there’s some deep backstory, but what would be the relevance for the narrative? The only way it makes sense to spend the time on it for our narrative is if it relates to the conflicts for our “protagonsists.” ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-03-the-dog-open-spoilers/731149/88 "2015-09-16T12:53:01Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > My interpretation was that the junkie son stole the drugs. Of course, it makes no sense that he would bother to open the pill bottle up, remove the contents and leave the bottle and cap lying on the table. But they were apparently not there when they started messing with the shotgun and shells in the first place. > > There is also no apparent reason for the woman to have killed herself - maybe there’s some deep backstory, but what would be the relevance for the narrative? The only way it makes sense to spend the time on it for our narrative is if it relates to the conflicts for our “protagonsists.” Right - apparently this “flu” is enough to kill people of its own, so its entirely possible she took ‘something’ to help her sleep and never woke up - after all, it isn’t until the second visit that she attacks. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-03-the-dog-open-spoilers/731149/89 "2015-09-16T13:07:16Z")
A couple points some of you seemed to miss; 1. They went to the neighbor’s house for the shotgun. 2. The empty pill bottle was in the neighbor’s house. 3. They went to the neighbor’s house BEFORE Travis and his crew, including the lady with the crushed foot, came home. 4. It was when they heard Travis come home that they rushed back forgetting the shotgun shells. So, the mother could not have divided up the pills PRIOR to going to the neighbor’s house because she did not yet have a reason to do so. Also, the pills she got from the school were in an evidence bag not a pill bottle (as someone else pointed out). ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-03-the-dog-open-spoilers/731149/90 "2015-09-16T13:26:33Z")
So what is the point of not revealing the pill bottle to all the characters when they are all in the house together, but instead having a lingering shot of just the daughter observing the pills when she goes back by herself? ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-03-the-dog-open-spoilers/731149/91 "2015-09-16T13:30:10Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > So what is the point of not revealing the pill bottle to all the characters when they are all in the house together, but instead having a lingering shot of just the daughter observing the pills when she goes back by herself? We need an after show again to explain the writer’s reasoning. Which is bad writing for a visual medium. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-03-the-dog-open-spoilers/731149/92 "2015-09-16T13:33:54Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > A couple points some of you seemed to miss; > > 1. They went to the neighbor’s house for the shotgun. > 2. The empty pill bottle was in the neighbor’s house. > 3. They went to the neighbor’s house BEFORE Travis and his crew, including the lady with the crushed foot, came home. > 4. It was when they heard Travis come home that they rushed back forgetting the shotgun shells. > > So, the mother could not have divided up the pills PRIOR to going to the neighbor’s house because she did not yet have a reason to do so. Also, the pills she got from the school were in an evidence bag not a pill bottle (as someone else pointed out). good points. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-03-the-dog-open-spoilers/731149/93 "2015-09-16T13:37:13Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Which is bad writing for a visual medium. But the writers think it is cool! :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-03-the-dog-open-spoilers/731149/94 "2015-09-16T13:37:33Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > So what is the point of not revealing the pill bottle to all the characters when they are all in the house together, but instead having a lingering shot of just the daughter observing the pills when she goes back by herself? to imply that someone was home they hadn’t seen yet - and then ZOMBIE! ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-03-the-dog-open-spoilers/731149/95 "2015-09-16T13:59:30Z")
> [@simster](#): > > to imply that someone was home they hadn’t seen yet - and then ZOMBIE! LOL you’re probably right, but how stupid to show a open pill bottle which could imply: Junkie son stole the woman’s pills The mom left it there for some reason Suicide of the woman I mean if you already have a bottle of pills as a plot point, you don’t introduce another bottle of unrelated pills. What about a half eaten meal, something else to imply someone is home? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-03-the-dog-open-spoilers/731149/96 "2015-09-16T14:11:48Z")
> [@grude](#): > > I mean if you already have a bottle of pills as a plot point, you don’t introduce another bottle of unrelated pills. What about a half eaten meal, something else to imply someone is home? It’s a zombie show. You’d need a half-eaten _cat_ to imply someone else is home. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-03-the-dog-open-spoilers/731149/97 "2015-09-16T14:14:50Z")
> [@grude](#): > > I mean if you already have a bottle of pills as a plot point, you don’t introduce another bottle of unrelated pills. Chekov’s medication. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-03-the-dog-open-spoilers/731149/98 "2015-09-16T14:15:29Z")
This was a good episode. The stupid things people were doing were about on par with stupid things people did in TWD, so I think we just have to accept that as part and parcel of this world. Either that, or give it up. I’m OK with a few eye-rolling moments if the writers can keep up the tensions and the dread one feels as the city falls apart. The Mexican family is a bit more interesting than the lead characters, although I fear that _abuelita_ is not long for this world. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-03-the-dog-open-spoilers/731149/99 "2015-09-16T14:26:19Z")
Nevermind… ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-03-the-dog-open-spoilers/731149/100 "2015-09-16T14:33:40Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > It’s a zombie show. > You’d need a half-eaten _cat_ to imply someone else is home. Thats actually a good idea, would have been creepier too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-03-the-dog-open-spoilers/731149.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-03-the-dog-open-spoilers/731149.md?page=6)