Fear the Walking Dead Season 7 Episode 13, “The Raft,” was a big improvement over last week’s episode. And while fans had a lot of complaints about plotholes and character decisions in Episode 12, Episode 13 brought us back to the quality that we enjoyed during Episode 11’s Ofelia.
This is a review of Fear the Walking Dead Season 7 Episode 13, “The Raft,” as shown on AMC Plus. So there will be MAJOR spoilers below.
This episode focused more on Dwight and Sherry’s journey to try to bring Baby Mo to safety, as Alicia and Morgan debated the pros and cons of starting the war against Strand right away.
Morgan was carrying Baby Mo and leading nearly every single walker who had been at the Tower behind him. He handed Baby Mo off to Dwight and Sherry so they could bring her back to the sub and keep her safe while he figured out a good place to lead the huge zombie horde. He decided to run with the opportunity of leading all the zombies away, since it would give them a better opportunity to attack Strand’s Tower.
Dwight & Sherry Work Out Their Problems While Helping Mo
I’ve had a lot of issues with this second half of Fear the Walking Dead. But this week’s episode was a big improvement in terms of character motivations and decisions. We didn’t have any random decisions to kill trusted allies like Strand did last week, or baffling choices like John Dorie made when he left Strand alive.
The episode began with Dwight and Sherry rescuing a woman who was looking for her daughter. Dwight ended up advising her to go to the Tower, which Sherry thought was really odd considering they’re about to attack to the Tower.
Much of the rest of the episode involved the two of them debating about whether or not fighting Strand was worth it, and whether or not they could even win. They went back and forth a lot, even debating whether it would be better to just throw in with Strand and join the tower. (Of course, considering how insane Strand was shown to be last week, the writers aren’t leaving us with any doubt that this would be a bad idea — even if Strand’s recent decisions run counter to how his character was portrayed in earlier seasons.)
Sherry remembers how Dwight had to put aside his own moral code in order to fall in line with Negan, and she’s terrified that he would become that man again if they joined with Strand. It’s a worry that makes a lot of sense, as does Dwight’s anger that she thinks he would fall into that mindset again. Their quarrels and debates in this episode were realistic, and none of those scenes felt forced.
In the end, Wes’s relentless pursuit of them leads the two (with Baby Mo in tow) deciding to hide out in Alicia’s old bunker. (Just how much air does Baby Mo’s helmet contraption have anyway?) Wes’s team follows them inside, and they set off the alarm in order to attract Morgan’s zombie horde after them. This kills much of Wes’s team (and really should kill Wes.)
Dwight and Sherry almost die when the tunnel they’re escaping through collapses, but they manage to dig their way out once they find some renewed hope when they realize Sherry’s pregnant. That part was maybe a little far-fetched (especially how Dwight just basically gave up on escaping and left Sherry alone to dig them out.) But they all emerged safely.
Morgan & Alicia Debate the Merits of Their Next Steps
Much of this episode centered around characters debating their future actions and which paths are right or wrong.
Morgan insists to Alicia that this is their only chance to attack Strand because the zombie horde is briefly gone. But Alicia rightfully understands that they just don’t have the manpower yet to have a good chance of succeeding. Either path is a gamble, it’s simply a matter of which gamble they take. And Alicia’s still really sick, suffering fevers every night from a cause they can’t identify.
Morgan left his friends on The Walking Dead once, and he’s not comfortable with taking off again. But for some reason, Baby Mo has turned into this Baby Moses type figure that needs to be protected at all costs. Morgan can’t take her back to the sub (since it’s leaking radiation). Instead, he’s going to use the escape raft that Sherry readied and float away with Baby Mo, navigating a way out of the irradiated lands. (It looks like the water is safe, for some reason, he just has to steer clear of the coasts.)
The episode ends with everyone bidding adieu to Morgan and Baby Mo, since he promised Grace he’d keep the baby safe no matter what. Daniel awkwardly stands around, not saying a word or even giving Morgan a hug goodbye. (I couldn’t help but wonder if this was a cost-saving decision, like maybe the actor has to be paid more per episode if he speaks.)
We’re left with a few questions as the episode ends:
- Is Wes dead? Why did he throw in with Strand if he doesn’t like lying, malicious people that he can’t trust?
- Where will Morgan and Mo end up?
- Why are all of Alicia’s former enemies (Arno’s gang) now following her into battle? That was too easy.
This episode was overall so much better than last week. The cinematography was on point and the acting was great. There are still some things I don’t buy. I think they should have been spending their time building rafts to try to get out of the radiated land, rather than fighting a well-armed militia for a chance at taking over a tower. Besides, this is Texas, there are lots of tall buildings they could take over!
Still, this was an enjoyable episode and a big step up over last week. I’m actually more interested in Morgan’s raft adventure with Mo and where they might end up than I am in the Tower War. Maybe Morgan will be the first to see Madison?
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