What I couldn't figure out was why Strand had Nick swim to shore to get Thomas Abagail keeping it a secret from the others. I would think there would be no problem in picking up Thomas if Strand explained to the rest of them that the person being picked up was the real owner of both the boat and the place that they were headed to. Nick was the only person fit for the job out of everyone else on the boat.

 

I think Strand did not want to tell em "Im picking up a guy" since then they would turn on him going "BUT YOU TOSSED OUT THE OTHERS".

Strand is probably the deepest character now, all of a sudden.

 

Abandoning the ship seemed like a bad move. Even if he was trying to get to the guy to get to Mexico it seems like they still needed the ship from we gather from the plot so far. Plus it seems like they could have stayed where ever that guy was living though it would be better if it were more secluded. And maybe they would have looked for some supplies. Plus the basket ball bouncing seemed silly.

 

Strand (Colman Domingo) was on The Talking Dead. He said they were near the Mexican border and that's why Nick saw the boat and helicopter when he got to shore. The Mexicans are patrolling and not letting people in (Trump wall in reverse). Probably why there was a tent city there as well. Don't blame Strand for jumping ship. He was planning to defend the boat, but when he saw the clip gone from the gun it was like "WTF?? You losers are on your own".

 

Agree that Strand seemed humbled and desperate, but he wouldn't have been in that position if it wasn't for those others on the boat. After all, it was the daughter that led the "pirates" to the Abigail which wouldn't have happened if it was just Strand or Nick and Strand on board.

 

I disagree. Strand is THE ONLY ONE that send Nick ashore.

Strand alone stopped the boat.

Strand took the keys to prevent any motion by the boat.

Strand alone went to bed, NOT informing anyone of why the boat had stopped.

The 'pirates' ONLY could board a stopped boat. If it had been circling, idling, then no one could have boarded.

Strand alone is the only person who allowed the pirates to locate, find and board the ship. Alicia gave them info, gave them an idea.

Only Strand allowed them to execute it, though.

If he was tired from non-sleep - again - that was HIS choice and his alone. He's the one that hadn't shored up alliances with those HE allowed to come aboard. Everyone else had tested out and discussed alliances, knew the boundaries of those expectations - he's the only one that forced suspicion.

 

Strand was about to succumb to drowning and hypothermia but I saw no contrition or humility from him at all at the end of the episode,where was this?

Madison sees him and he reaches for her hand but we have no idea if he even realizes it is her,from his vantage point he is being rescued but any clue as to his mood or feelings was nowhere to be seen on my screen.

Oh and the Man Kiss was just uncalled for,talk about cheap cliche and just not needed.

 

The writers continue a long string of useless clichés that illustrate their lack of creativity. "It's what they do" as one TV commercial continues to pound forth.

As for Dougray, the last time I noticed him was in 2009 when he and Joely Richardson were escaping gangs, diseases, triffids AND Eddie Izzard in a plane-crashed London. Obviously, his parasitic ways have taken on a new 'main squeeze'. Pity - I thought Joely really dressed him up, quite nicely!

 

No bro. Having their cover blown and being followed was Alicia's fault. Being attacked and held hostage for a couple hours was Strand's fault.

To make matters worse, Strand abandoned them and "his" ship. What kind of captain is that?

You think Rick would've left Glenn, Maggie, Michonne, Abraham and Morgan like that? Not even Carol would have abandoned them like that: she would've wait until after she killed the pirates.

I didn't see Strand show any sign of humility when Madison saved him. I did see Madison hesitate to save him. I can't wait for her to chew him out.

And yes: Strand's romance with Abigail was very forced, contrived and - dare I say - quite political.

 

Strand seems very glib with words when he wants to be, or perceives the need. Look at how he sliced and diced that bad-husband in the lock-up. Look at how he rephrased his 'demands' onto Travis to fix the filtration system now.

The fact that Thomas Abigail is the one that acknowledged HE'S the parasite and Strand said nothing close to reciprocity doesn't mean Strand isn't thinking the same thing.

Like he said, he's an opportunist.

A nicer spelling for the word "parasite".

Black, your "forced/contrived" seem appropriate. "Of personal convenience", too.

In the TALKING DEAD, there was some attempt to make Strand appear to be a man of oh-so-great honor because he was "obligated". Yeah. OK. KrisK said it more poetically once - "Freedom's just another word for nuthin' left to lose."

Nowhere else to go. Nuthin' else to do. "Sure... Thomas Abigail is my next high-ground." Coming out of flooded N'awlins, "high ground" has some value.

 

Strand has turned out to be another terrible character....He is a Parasite Coward. I was hoping for someone cool, badass but he is just another fickin idiot.

 

I was hoping for the guy who ran the corporation with ties to Cartel. Oh well. That wouldn't fit mainstream values these days.

 

Man, I'm trying so hard to fight it.....but the writing really sucks.. The whole opening scene with Nick and the guts was terrible. We all know about the guts trick, we learned that 6 years ago already.

The writing is such incredible fluff and filler.. It is like the show is written by the guys who invented the classic board game "Mouse Trap". Nick could have just went directly from he beach to the address....but NOOOOOO.

The characters suck, the writing and acting is sucking....If this show was not tied to TWD it would be canned

 

This is still a strong possibility. I doubt there's too many ultra-rich in Baja without some connections to some Cartel. But that's the problem - ties to one means enemies to all others.

After all - Luis' ability to shoot from a rocking, hopping zodiac onto a distant boat not once but twice isn't exactly a skill learned by tiddlywinks. Luis' presence with Thomas Abigail when they tracked down Strand using the credit cards was also the reason Abigail had no reason to call the police. He has Luis. Justice was going to be meted out, one was or the other.

Of course, Luis is only one. And if a person has serious Cartel issues, 'one army' may not be enough.

 

I wouldn't count on it. I would not be suprised if by the end of the season the writers have Luis come out as a Transgender or maybe a crossdresser..

 

Well, we'll have to agree to disagree on this.
The pirates stated at the end of the episode where Alecia was on the radio something like "we have you now. We'll see you soon". They were tracking them. I was surprised it took 2 shows for them to catch up, but the pirates were locked onto the Abigail. If you say it was Strand's fault they caught up, I don't go for that either as Strand had to stop the boat to let Nick go ashore to get the Thomas Abigail's enforcer.
Not so sure Strand abandoned the ship as knew he couldn't do anything at the moment, so got into a raft (yes, no idea how) and would have tried some kind of counter attack until the raft was perforated by the bullet(s).
Strand doesn't have the same feelings for Nick's family as Rick Grimes does for his group. Can't compare that.
There was definitely a different look in Strand's eyes when Madison picked him up, and I agree it looked like she hesitated. Strand was starting hypothermia (you could see his hands shaking) so was maybe just delirious?
I don't care if someone is gay or not, but it's getting like it has to be written into every series these days, which is getting tiresome.

 

Given the buffoonery displayed by the others and the likelihood they would insist on sending some of the buffoons and messing everything up in the process, it was necessary.

 

Well, that's all fine and dandy. As long as it's a good character, a legitimately good character.

Strand being the mega rich legitimate and illegitimate business man surviving is what I wanted to see. I wanted to see that element of society grinding it out because we didn't see it in TWD and the portrayal of Strand up until making him a lackey/bottom boy to the boss was on point for that character.

Which... is fine... if Abigail or one of the other head honcho's will take over that portrayal that I so desire to see. Gay/Straight/Bi/Trans I do not care, I just want to see what was a BOSS in civilization surviving after the fall of such and have it written intelligently.

Although it's cliche to have to ruin icey strong masculine figures unless they are the villain. The hero can never be a brilliant strong masculine figure anymore without emotional hang ups or serious issues. Rick Grimes for example is neither brilliant and has plenty of emotional hang ups and that's great for TWD but I wanted the boss from the start, one that is even keel and not a psycho like the Governor or Negan.

TWD was all normal people surviving, some becoming leaders post-fall of society. We haven't gotten the alternative and the way it's going it's not going to happen.

It's had good elements. Cutting that raft cord was a good element, the pirates catching up and showing the group that you don't let people board learning the hard way is a good element - it's all the other stuff.

 

Term, I agree that Connor & Co said they "had them" but that was a hundred miles at sea ago. That means they had to track the boat for that time and sit around, waiting for it to remain in a fixed position for hours. Such as at Catalina. When they didn't attack. Then off again. Strand's letting them be a sitting duck is the real transgression, especially while he was the one presenting the argument "At sea, the real danger is other people." He's the one that left The Abigail shut down. Ready for boarding. Talking about what's onboard was motivation - for the entire world. Boarding was only accomplished because of Strand's act.

I'd also argue that Rick Grimes was a leader in his pre-zombie world. County Sheriff. Leader of men. Keeper of the keys in a cupboard. Able to run hot showers with a single twist. Let's just not mention that he wouldn't siphon gas to keep his car running.