This blended family thing isn't at easy as it sounds.

Madison and Travis learned this first hand in Sunday's episode of Fear the Walking Dead when someone in their little family hit a big snag, as Chris took a jaunty walk down Sociopath Lane.

We could have seen this coming, of course. In last week's episode, Travis' son killed their captive foe in cold blood, claiming he did so because the tied-up man was turning into a walker. That turned out to be B.S. and at least three family members knew that to be true. This week, Alicia, too, saw Chris' instability first hand during a scene in which she caught him standing idly during a zombie attack and watched Madison almost get killed.

When Alicia confronted him about it, Chris at first denied it, claiming he'd simply frozen during a moment of turmoil and begged her not to tell the family this heresy.

When Alicia said she wasn't "going to pretend it didn't happen," he went full Mexican-American Psycho, telling her in a threatening tone, "I don't want to hurt anyone."

It was enough to scare Alicia into telling her mom what she'd seen, and Madison then confronted Travis, who asked for her support, which Madison wasn't quite sure she could give in this situation. After all, she said, he'd threatened her daughter.

"Our daughter," Travis corrected.



Chris, being rude. Image: AMC

This is clearly a tricky situation for both — but also not. If the season has taught us anything, it's that this blended family isn't as blended as they like to claim. Travis has always put Chris' safety first and Madison has done the same with her own kids. There's always been this sort of unspoken distance between the kids and the step-parents. Though last week's scene with Madison and Chris was sweet, it didn't seem like Madison was used to nurturing Chris all the time.

Whatever the case, I hope Chris gets to sample one of Celia's poison Jesus cookies sometime soon.

Oh, right, we need to talk about Celia — mother to Strand's lover Thomas.

As the gang arrived to the compound, at first, Celia seemed like the ultimate abuela — trust me, I've had two. She made delicious pozole, she snuck Nick food in between meals, and tried to make her guests comfortable.

Then, the sweet abuelita persona melted away when we learned Celia isn't exactly a defenseless granny. It turns out she's keeping a cellar not unlike Hershel's barn — it's full of walkers who eat the occasional doggie dinner. And she was responsible for putting them there because she'd fed a bunch of church parishioners poison communion wafers.

The survivors go marching one by one... Image: AMC

Celia, you see, had an interesting perspective on death and the dead still among them — they weren't quite dead in her eyes. So much so that when the gang delivered news of her son Luis' death, she didn't even really seem bothered. He'd find his way back, she said.

She believed the same to be true of Thomas, who was dying after being bitten. That whole situation was obviously very heartbreaking for Strand, who spent a good portion of the episode by his lovers' bedside as he passed.

At first, Strand promised Thomas that he'd follow him into the next phase of life — er, afterlife — so that he wouldn't have to zombie it up all alone.

He changed his mind, though, and ended up shooting Thomas in the head so he could have peace. That decision will likely not sit well with Celia, who was proud of Strand for making that sacrifice for her son and has strong feelings about offing the dead.

Overall, it's a time of massive instability for many. Chris, Celia and even Daniel are all dealing with their own mental issues. The question is: Which one of them will be the first to crack? Or will it be someone we don't seem coming?

Spare parts:

"How do you say asshole in Spanish?" "You don't. You grin and bear it."

I loved the scene when Madison walked in on Strand and Thomas chatting in the bed. It was such an intimate moment, and I feel like it helped Madison see Strand as a person. I hope it grows their bond because these are two awesome characters that really should be on the same side.

"It's always Jesus." — Nick, being duped by Ophelia.

Poor puppies.

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