# Fear the Walking Dead: 2.08 "Grotesque" (open spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 22, 2016, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-2-08-grotesque-open-spoilers/763588 "2016-08-22T00:13:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-2-08-grotesque-open-spoilers/763588/1 "2016-08-22T00:13:18Z")
[QUOTE=AMC] Nick’s search for answers leads him into deadly terrain; a dark part of his past is revealed [/QUOTE] The 2nd half of season 2 starts tonight at 9pm. Dave Erickson, Danay Garcia, & Kim Dickens are on **Talking Dead** tonight. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-2-08-grotesque-open-spoilers/763588/2 "2016-08-22T02:06:58Z")
I pulled Nick in the Story Sync (usually I get Madison, but at least I’ve survived every episode so far). I’m not really a fan of these “follow a single character away from the main cast” episodes, especially when we don’t get any clue what’s going on with the rest of the group. Is it just me or is Mexico in general handling the zombie apocalypse a lot better than the US? Granted it’s early, and we don’t know if the Mexican government has collapsed yet (or the US government for that matter). It was nice that Nick got rescued and found a still functioning community (complete w/ market vendors), but we all know that everything will go to shit in the end. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-2-08-grotesque-open-spoilers/763588/3 "2016-08-22T05:05:07Z")
Boring waste. Makes sense northern Mexico would be more self sufficient than southern California which is pretty dependant on the infrastructure still running. Seems seem pretty lawless on both sides of the border with the governments/militaries probably having contracted to smaller and smaller holdout areas. How much time has passed since events last season? ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-2-08-grotesque-open-spoilers/763588/4 "2016-08-22T14:12:41Z")
I thought it was a pretty interesting episode. I enjoyed seeing Nick walking with the zombies. If you do that, though, there’s always a danger of guys with guns shooting at your adopted herd, and maybe picking you off. But it sure seemed that the “bandito” was totally unnerved by the sight of the still-alive Nick out for a stroll with his undead pals. Nifty scene! ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-2-08-grotesque-open-spoilers/763588/5 "2016-08-22T14:48:07Z")
Was there any backstory to the woman and little boy he started out with? Last we saw of him, he was wandering away from “the group” because they killed the poor, misunderstood zombies. Was the woman just someone who gave him shelter for a bit? Looked like a couple of head shots in her cocina, guess she wasn’t down with Nick’s “Die and Let Live” philosophy. He appears to be an emo dumbass. Hint: Get a bat, at least. This way little girls can’t take your entire stash from you. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-2-08-grotesque-open-spoilers/763588/6 "2016-08-22T16:09:56Z")
I had to laugh at poor Nick. He’s beaten up by a bat-wielding woman, shot at and chased by bad guys (Los Manos?), mauled by dogs, nearly engulfed by ghouls, and left for dead on the road. That’s a ‘schlimazel’, right? Bad Luck Schleprock with a brighter outlook? ETA: > [@Duke\_of\_Rat](#): > > Hint: Get a bat, at least. He had the perfect opportunity to pick up a revolver and an AKM. . ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-2-08-grotesque-open-spoilers/763588/7 "2016-08-22T17:33:13Z")
His (presumably) hallucinations of the zombies calling to him was cool. So how _would_ you go about getting water from a cactus? ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-2-08-grotesque-open-spoilers/763588/8 "2016-08-22T18:10:25Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > So how _would_ you go about getting water from a cactus? By not letting a little girl with a bat steal my water in the first place. And I’ve tried the cactus thing, almost 100% chance you’ll end up with tiny micro-needles in your mouth if you’re not a lot more careful busting it open than he was. He didn’t have fire, but scorching the outside will burn a lot of the micro-needles off. And after all that, he puked up more liquid than he ingested. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-2-08-grotesque-open-spoilers/763588/9 "2016-08-22T18:21:42Z")
First thing I thought was, “see all those rocks laying around? Use a couple of those to handle the cactus.” ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-2-08-grotesque-open-spoilers/763588/10 "2016-08-22T19:25:12Z")
All those abandoned houses and he can’t find even one to get more water from before heading off to the desert? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-2-08-grotesque-open-spoilers/763588/11 "2016-08-22T20:46:55Z")
Zombies you can handle, once again, people are the real threat. Well, people and feral dogs. On it’s own, I like the episode. As part of a series, I don’t like it taking away from the limited number of episodes a cable show has to focus solely on a single character (other than mom showing up in flashbacks, and I did like getting some info about dad there). ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-2-08-grotesque-open-spoilers/763588/12 "2016-08-22T21:23:01Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > Zombies you can handle, once again, people are the real threat. Well, people and feral dogs. > > On it’s own, I like the episode. As part of a series, I don’t like it taking away from the limited number of episodes a cable show has to focus solely on a single character (other than mom showing up in flashbacks, and I did like getting some info about dad there). I was surprised at the dogs attacking walkers. I kinda thought animals had some sort of instinct that said “do not eat.” Also, an animal pack, even a pack of two, wouldn’t wade into a herd of prey. Also also, if animals can eat walkers, there really shouldn’t be many walkers around in Walking Dead, but there should be some large fat and happy dog packs running around. I was pissed they devoted an entire episode to one person and didn’t further the plot at all in such a short season, but I just checked and apparently there are 15 eps this season. So, not quite so bad. I’d change my vote to merely “meh” but too late. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-2-08-grotesque-open-spoilers/763588/13 "2016-08-22T22:02:14Z")
How old is Nick the Junkie supposed to be? I’d thought that he was a teenager, but if so then apparently his mom and stepfather are relative newlyweds and married soon after or at his dad’s funeral. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-2-08-grotesque-open-spoilers/763588/14 "2016-08-22T22:04:49Z")
Was the girl in his flashbacks Walker Zero from the first episode? ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-2-08-grotesque-open-spoilers/763588/15 "2016-08-22T22:07:21Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Was the girl in his flashbacks Walker Zero from the first episode? She hung out with Nick in the heroin den, but at the time weren’t there already reports of mysterious illnesses and things? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-2-08-grotesque-open-spoilers/763588/16 "2016-08-22T22:44:38Z")
I think it’s canon that Patient Zero was in that old church/heroin den, but I can’t find a cite. (Might have been something said on _Talking Dead_.) ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-2-08-grotesque-open-spoilers/763588/17 "2016-08-22T22:48:00Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > How old is Nick the Junkie supposed to be? I’d thought that he was a teenager, but if so then apparently his mom and stepfather are relative newlyweds and married soon after or at his dad’s funeral. Are they married? I thought they were just living together and any mention of step were just because it’s easier to say "step"father than dude my mom is currently having relations with or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-2-08-grotesque-open-spoilers/763588/18 "2016-08-22T22:49:58Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I think it’s canon that Patient Zero was in that old church/heroin den, but I can’t find a cite. (Might have been something said on _Talking Dead_.) I bet we never find out. I don’t think they want us to know. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-2-08-grotesque-open-spoilers/763588/19 "2016-08-23T00:29:07Z")
> [@Duke\_of\_Rat](#): > > Was there any backstory to the woman and little boy he started out with?.. She’s the housemaid who confiscated everyone’s guns when they arrived at the Abigail family compound. > [@levdrakon](#): > > I was surprised at the dogs attacking walkers. I kinda thought animals had some sort of instinct that said “do not eat.” Also, an animal pack, even a pack of two, wouldn’t wade into a herd of prey. Also also, if animals can eat walkers, there really shouldn’t be many walkers around in Walking Dead, but there should be some large fat and happy dog packs running around… I don’t animals have an instinctive aversion to zombies like they do in WWZ. Also we know only humans (& possibly chimpanzees) can reanimate, zombie bites still seem fatal. Personally I think any animal that eats zombie flesh is going end up dead as well. ---
**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:** [August 23, 2016, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-2-08-grotesque-open-spoilers/763588/20 "2016-08-23T01:17:21Z")
I do hope they kill of Nick. I have no interest in that character. Who was the guy on The Talking Dead with eyes so close together and looks like his head is on upside down? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-2-08-grotesque-open-spoilers/763588.md?page=2)