As the episode begins we hear “Perfect Day” by Lou Reed. As it plays, we see Nick in a dirty swimming pool floating on an inflatable raft, wearing his sunglasses. Travis is jogging down the street. Others are taking care of Griselda’s foot – which looks really bad. Chris is on the roof of Madison’s house video recording what’s going on outside on their street. He says people are leaving and going east. They’re going to Bakersfield, and Las Vegas. Chris says they’re on Day 9 now, since the lights went out. The military, the National Guard, has moved in and taken control of this particular section of the city. They’ve put the residents behind a chain link fence. “They are protecting us,” he says. “They know when it’s feeding time at the zoo.” He says that everything outside of the fence is dead. Then Chris sees something outside the fence. Lou Reed sings, ‘you just keep me hanging on.’
Madison is watching the ticking clock in the kitchen. She wants to repaint the living room because there are still blood stains on the walls from where Daniel shot Peter Dawson. Alicia says they just painted it, but Madison wants to paint again because of the stain. Travis comes in breathless from jogging, and the lights blink on. So I guess that sometimes the lights do come on. Madison and Travis begin to fight because she feels has to take care of people in her house – her daughter’s room is an ICU ward, and her house is a refuge camp for strangers, plus she has to keep an eye out for Nick while Travis is being a ‘man of the people’. Alicia tells them to stop bickering like times are normal. They’re not normal, so stop.
Chris is on the roof signaling with someone outside the fence. The military says everything is dead out there, but Chris thinks there’s someone alive due to the maybe response of his signaling.
Madison walks up to Nick in the pool and wants him to take a pill. He says no. Madison says that they have to wean him off slowly, but Nick says give the pill to Griselda, who really needs it. He looks fine, and says nope he doesn’t want it. Madison says it’s here if you want it.
The military is holding a meeting for the gathered neighborhood residents in the street. The leader, Moyers, is sitting on top of his tank reading off the official message. We get some necessary exposition. They are in a six mile radius with no dead things in that radius. Woo hoo.
Moyers: Everyone needs to be careful of biohazardous material
The people: When do the phones come up?
Moyers: If you leave the safe area you will be detained. There will be health screenings/monitoring. Continue to boil water.
The people: What about people outside the fence – where are they?
Moyers: You’re in one of 12 camps where healthy people are congregated. You’re lucky you get to stay in your own homes, others don’t get to. Sounds like the others people in the other camps were placed in those camps and they aren’t in their own neighborhoods.
Moyers wants to talk to Travis, and calls him by name. Travis and Moyers walk down the street and discuss Doug Thompson. Doug won’t go through the medical screening and the military needs him to do that. He asks Travis is he can talk Doug into going through the tests – because if Travis doesn’t help out, the military will take Doug down. When they get to Doug’s house, there is a big military presence stationed there, and all of the troops have their guns drawn. Doug won’t come out says Doug’s wife, Maria. He’s been holed up since last night in the bathroom. That’s when he started acting strange. Travis goes through the bedroom calling Doug’s name. We’re supposed to be wondering at this moment whether or not Doug has become a walker. But no, he hasn’t. He’s just sitting in the bathroom, and tells Travis, ‘I don’t think I can do it.’
Alicia is heading back home from the meeting. She’s bringing food and other supplies in a child’s wagon, burning man-style.
Doug says his kids keep asking him questions that he can’t answer. He’s worried that they’ll know he’s lying. Travis says he has to show the kids that he’s okay. Show the guard that you’re okay.
Alicia is back in the Trans’ backyard maze next door. There’s police tape on the door, but she goes in anyway. It’s dark inside without any lights on. Again we see the overturned pill bottle and the tea cup on the coffee table. Nothing like being bashed over the head with stuff we’re supposed to notice. Alicia goes down the hall into the bedroom. She takes a picture off the wall, it’s a crayon drawing she did for the Trans’ when she was a child. As she looks around she finds a note on the bed – and cries. She looks at her arm and Matt’s fading drawing. We don’t see the contents of the note.
Travis tells Doug to hang in here.
Liza is helping an older man, Hector. He’s in bed hooked up to some tubes and his health is clearly precarious. Liza is giving him some morphine. Cynthia, Hector’s wife, wants Liza to stay for dinner, but Liza can’t because she has other people to look after. Liza does accept some soup from Cynthia. Cynthia wnts to thank Liza for all that she has done to help Hector, and Hector is all she has.
Nick gets out of the pool to see Liza leave with the soup. He watches as Cynthia goes outside to do some gardening. He’s probably thinking about all that morphine.
Chris tries to tell Madison that there might be people out beyond their safe zone as she’s putting pictures back on the wall. If they’re out there why don’t they go to the soldiers? She says maybe they can’t or won’t. We cut back to Hector. He looks critical and his breathing is erratic. It sounds very walker-like. And there is Nick, is under the bed, siphoning off some morphine.
Ofelia is fooling around with a military guy, Corporal Adams (first name Andrew?) while the military people are trying to contact him. He ignores them, because Ofelia is right there. He’s going a little bit too fast for her tastes and asks to slow down.
Adams says he likes her and that she makes him believe there’s good in people. She asks him about the medicine for Griselda. He says they’re stockpiling and can’t get it. They want it for the take-back of the city. Ofelia is unhappy that she can’t get the medicine for her mom. She’s probably just using him for potential access to medicine. It’s not clear if he realizes this or not, but he does repond to the next call he gets from his boss. He’s got to head back.
Travis and Madison have make-up sex in the car in the garage. Madison goes to take off, she’s got stuff to do. He asks her what’s going on? She wants information, like what’s the deal with a potential quarantined area by Barstow? He says he wants to know what’s going on with her, not what’s going on with their situation. He tells her to pay attention to Nick, and she says pay attention to Chris. Travis then tells her he feels like he’s been called into her office. She mentions the video from Chris and the maybe signal. Travis doesn’t believe it. Madison says where are the phones? There has to be cell towers, right? They’re not getting information, no nothing. They can occasionally get lights, how come they can’t get any kind of phone service? Maybe the military doesn’t want them to have them.
Travis says she’s paranoid.
It’s dark now, and Maria is banging on their door. Travis is worried she’s going to get in trouble for violating curview. Maria says that Doug took the car and is driving inside the fence and that’s not allowed. Can Travis help to find Doug? Travis says he’ll help.
Now it’s dawn and we’re looking out toward L.A., which is completely dark. It’s a nice, desolate shot.
Madison is sitting on the roof trying to signal with the flashlight. She wants to try to verify Chris’ light theory.
Travis finds Doug’s car by the fence – really great lighting. We don’t know whether Doug is okay yet.
Madison is still on the roof and there is still no answer.
Now it is daytime. Moyers, is standing by the chain-link fence and Travis is on the other side. Moyers is golfing. He tells Travis that they found Doug in his car, crying. They’ve taken him to HQ so that he can get the medical care that he needs. Travis comments that he could have told them about this and Moyers responds that he’s not a social worker, and that Travis can notify people. And as Moyers sees it, this is a win-win situation. Doug gets help, and Moyers doesn’t have to to worry about Doug going nuts and maybe killing people.
Travis says that Chris saw a light outside the fence. Moyers says there’s no one out there in the DZ (dead zone). Moyers said they already went block by block, door by door. There’s no one alive out there. Travis says okay, there probably isn’t anyone else out there and to just forget about it. Moyers says ‘I already did.’ Moyers loks very nonchalant. Chances are high that he didn’t.
Liza goes into Cynthia’s house looking for her, and sees that Hector is gone and the bed is made. Dr. Exner comes in and says that he’s getting the care he needs. Liza asks again where is Hector? Cynthia comes in and says she’s going to pack and go with her husband. Dr. Exner never tells Liza where Hector and Cynthia are going. Dr. Exner then speaks with Liza privately and says that Liza has skills. She knows that Liza isn’t really a nurse because of the way that Liza has handled a couple of medical procedures, but she clearly can improvise and uses medicine in unconvential ways to save people. Liza says she did what she had to do so that Cynthia would trust her. Dr. Exner isn’t upset at Liza at all and asks if Liza can pretend to be a nurse for a little while longer?
Madison watches out for the military as she sneaks out of her yard and away from the neighborhood. She goes up to the fence in a slightly wooded area. She’s got wire cutters and snips the fence. She out! She walks down a street outside their safe zone. She sees burned out buildings and shot out windows. More fencing and stuffed animals and other memorials attached to it. Some walls are completely covered with missing person flyers. Bouquets of flowers are everywhere. It’s all of the usual things you see at makeshift memorials. She notices magazines on the street, fluttering in the wind along with papers, trash, and other things that people left behind – the detritus of the world. She’s running down the street when the stench hits her, almost knocking her over. There are many, many dead bodies laying on the ground and propped up against the walls, and maybe a suicide victim in the street, the hand gun next to him. All of them have been shot in the head. Someone knows what they’re doing. She hears all of the buzzing flies and then sees a tank crest the street along with four military personnel walking toward her with guns drawn.
Madison hides under a car and has to lay down next to a dead woman. The troops walk by, in their hazmat suits and don’t see her.
At home, Dr. Exner says that they’ll take Griselda to the fortified military facility because she needs surgery on her foot. It’s 15 minutes away and there’s not a lot of traffic anymore. Daniel wants to go too, and Dr. Exner says ‘of course, she’s your wife.’
Outside, Liza and Dr. Exner then meet with Nick, who is lounging in a chair. Dr. Exner says she heard Nick might need methodone. She asks when he last used. He lies and says right before the end of the world. He wants to know what happened to Mr. Ramirez (Hector). Dr. Exner doesn’t look him in the eyes and says that she can’t discuss other patients with him. All of his vital signs are normal except when he hears that Hector has been taken away and thus is cut off from his source of drugs. Dr. Exner says his heart rate is a little elevated. He tries to charm her and says ‘you’re a beautiful woman.’
Alicia is still in the Tran bedroom trying to make a homemade tattoo of the drawing that Matt did on her arm. Yes, there’s blood. Will she get blood poisoning? Kind of an unbelievable moment given everything that’s gone down.
Madison gets back home and Daniel asks where she went. She says outside the fence.
Daniel: What did you see?
Madison: Bodies. The infected.
Daniel: Go on.
Madison: A man, who was shot, like the others, but he wasn’t sick.
Daniel then tells her a story of when he was young in El Salvador. These men from the government took some people away. His dad went to speak to the captain, and asked when would the people return? The captian said, ‘don’t worry, they’ll come home, they always do.’ Daniel said, ‘and they did.’ One day when Daniel was fishing he found them in the river he found all of them. They were all around them dead in the water. His dad said not to have hatred in his heart. Men sometimes do evil not because of you but because of fear. He thought his dad was a fool. And then he adds, if it happens, it will happen quickly, and you must be prepared.Then he asks Madison that if he doesn’t return, to please look after Ofelia. She says she will. They understand each other and do not trust the military. He says to keep your son close. There are lots and lots of candles on the coffee table. It kind of reminded me of Griselda’s shrine at the barbershop.
Then we focus on the wind chimes – again.
Tanks continue to patrol their street. Madison is outside looking around. Nick is in Cynthia and Hector’s house, in the bedroom, clearly looking for drugs. Madison is right behind him and she catches him looking for drugs that may have been left behind. Nick asks ‘what do you want me to say?’ Madison gets angry and says ‘you don’t know.’ Then she starts slaping him. ‘You have no idea.’ She’s really beating him up! She’s very angry and finally stalks off. Nick is left cowering in the corner.
Night time in their street. Alicia wants in to see Nick and Nick won’t let her in. She asks him ‘what happened to your face?’ before he closes his bedroom door in her face. Travis comes to help and Alicia says she’s got it. Travis says okay and leaves. Alicia says ‘do you want me to get mom?’ Nick lets her in.
Nick’s beat up. Alicia asks ‘Who did that to you?’ Nick looks quite traumatized. Alicia hugs him and says it’ll be okay. He doesn’t look good.
Madison is crying in the garage, drinking from a cup. She’s really upset and is probably wondering if she went too far. There was whiskey in the garage before and I wonder if that’s what’s in the cup. She sees Travis outside. We hear vehicles drive up.
Troops are in their house. They are there for Griselda. Ofelia is saying goodbye. Liza says they’re on the way to the facility. They want Nick too. Travis tries to intervene and the soldiers tell him he’s in the way. Alicia tells Nick to run. Too late, they smack him with a gun. The family exclaims that he’s not sick! They don’t care and take him anyway, not only that, but they won’t let Daniel go with Griselda. Madison sees them take Nick. Travis tries to help but they say no. Dr. Exner asks Liza to get in the truck. They need people like her. Liza is very conflicted and looks toward the house where she can see Chris at the window. The doctor asks her if she’s coming. Liza gets in the truck. Chris sees this and gets upset. Madison tries to get to Nick whose hands are now zip-tied behind his back, but is prevented from getting very far by the troops. She stands in the yard, looking after Nick.
Travis tries to get Chris’ attention, but he’s very angry. Madison looks daggers at Travis and says it’s Liza’s fault that they took Nick. Travis is left standing alone. Madison goes back to the garage.
While Travis sits on the roof, Alicia reads the note under the covers. It’s from Susan to Patrick. Susan says ‘if you find this note, I love you.” Susan saw something abnormal and horrifying, but it was prophesied.
Travis is up on the roof, while Madison cries in the garage.
Travis starts to hear gun shots outside of their safe zone.
Alicia finishes reading the note. It says, ‘I will see you soon and you will hold me.’
Travis sees lights on the hillside and gunshots in the direction where Chris was looking earlier. It looks like Travis believes Chris now.