Brother's Keeper

Troy lives off the land while continuing to write in his journal. He finds a grenade launcher and is inspired to gather the Walkers. He warns Nick that the ranch will be destroyed. Nick and Jake find him and that he intends to use the launcher to drive the herd to the ranch. He fires and Jake holds Troy at gunpoint but hesitates on learning that Nick killed their father and Alicia kept it secret. Jake is bitten and dies following an amputation.

The Nation and the ranchers build a wall of trailers and RVs is hoped to turn the herd but if fails and they all evacuate to the bunker-like pantry.

The twelfth episode of "Fear the Walking Dead" Season 3, titled "Brother's Keeper," offers a profound exploration of familial bonds, sacrifice, and the devastating impact of isolation in a post-apocalyptic world. This episode centers around the character of Troy Otto and his spiraling descent into madness, which serves as the catalyst for one of the season's most intense and heart-wrenching conflicts.

At the outset, "Brother's Keeper" revisits Troy, exiled and alone, struggling with the demons of his past and the harsh realities of his present. His loneliness and mental instability are palpable, evoking a sense of impending doom. The episode cleverly builds suspense as viewers witness Troy's transformation from a solitary figure into a force of chaos. He orchestrates a massive walker attack on the Broke Jaw Ranch by leading a horde towards it, a desperate and twisted attempt to reclaim some semblance of control or perhaps to punish those he feels have wronged him.

The emotional crux of the episode is the complex relationship between the Otto brothers. Jake's attempts to reason with Troy and bring him back from the brink highlight the theme of brotherly duty versus moral responsibility. Their confrontation on the hilltop, overlooking the approaching horde, is both tense and poignant, emphasizing the tragic disconnect between Troy's unhinged motivations and Jake's desperate hope for redemption. This culminates in a shocking moment when Jake is bitten, forcing Alicia to amputate his arm in a futile attempt to save him-a scene that is graphic, distressing, and a stark representation of the brutal choices that characters must make to survive.

The final act of "Brother's Keeper" sees the ranch's defenses overwhelmed by the walker horde, leading to a chaotic and desperate battle for survival. This sequence is not only gripping but also showcases the culmination of the community's internal divisions and the external threats they face. Alicia's leadership during the crisis, her decisive actions to protect the community, and her ultimate realization of the futility of their situation are powerfully portrayed, marking significant character growth and setting the stage for future challenges.

The 3rd season of Fear The Walking Dead continues to get better and better, it's rather impressive how good this season is.

We see how the actions of a certain character in this episode can lead to total destruction and cause a spin on the rest of the season.

10/10.

After a rough and dull first season, this series is actually picking up a blazing pace with a very interesting story line. They got rid of a few characters, changed directions, and is very well on it's way of being better than the Walking Dead itself. This season alone, I haven't seen an episode that is not worth watching twice. They have no problem sacrificing main characters to satisfy the audience blood lust. With that being said, TWD needs to take notes or find and see why the spin off is doing better than the main show.

Great episode. had a classic twd feel to it. I loved it.

Troy's psychosis, hate for his father, and exile from the ranch leads him to put everyone in danger. Nick, Alicia, and Jake attempt to save the ranch while Madison is away looking for water.

The beginning of the story starts out with Troy surviving in the wasteland, but just when he is ready to give up, he sees a horde of walkers and decides to lead them towards the ranch with explosions made with supplies he found at another homestead. I have a tough time believing that Madison and Taqa thought it was a good idea to exile him in the previous episode, especially when they didn't take him very far and knowing how dangerous and mentally unstable he is. Part of good storytelling is that the actions of the characters have to be believable in their universe. Even if I had never knew about the lessons learned in TWD about the dangers of exiling someone, I would still believe that Madison and Taqa should have known better, it's obvious, especially with someone like Troy.

Troy sneaks back to the ranch at dark, and tells Nick that something big is coming and that he wants Jake to see. Nick waits until morning to tell Jake, and Jake has a good idea of where Troy might be, so they go to look for him. Before finding him, they see a huge dust cloud from the horde of walkers that Troy has put on a path towards the ranch. They see him shooting an explosive, guiding the horde, and confront him. Jake knows he will never change, but Nick wants to talk to him instead due to his guilt and empathy for Troy, as he wrongly thinks that he and Troy are a lot alike.

This is when the writing gets really sloppy - when Jake is getting ready to kill his brother, Nick kicks Jake away, down a hill, where he gets bit by a walker. I can believe that Nick tried to prevent Jake from killing Troy, but when he gets bit by a walker in the arm, Nick gets a machete ready to cut off his arm, but before taking action, he wastes time asking Troy how long it will take for the infection to set in, and Troy doesn't answer so he keeps wasting more time asking- this is not believable, because if Nick knows enough that cutting off his arm could save him, then why ask about how long it will take? What's the point? To remind the audience that Troy did research on this stuff? Then awhile later Jake dies, and turns due to Troy waiting to put a knife in his head, and I have no idea why Nick wouldn't do it, I guess because he thought it was family who should do that. But if Nick thinks this way, then why did he butt in and stop Jake from killing Troy beforehand? Like I said, sloppy writing. Also, it's hard to believe the show killed Jake off, and even more so due to the fact that before writing this review, I have seen the following episodes which leads me to believe that Jake was just a throw away character.

The writing gets worse, when the horde reaches the ranch. If you have seen TWD, then you know what I mean. And I'm taking into consideration the fact that I know more than FTWD characters do because I've seen TWD. Out of all the residents at the ranch, even the 'soldiers', not one of them thought to try shooting guns to guide the horde away. They did have the good idea to line up the RV's, like Rick's group did in Alexandria, but they all just stood behind the wall of RV's with their guns in their hands. You'd think that the writers would at least add a variation to this scene. And everyone followed Alicia's instructions to go to the storage room / cellar, not one person freaked out and tried to run away like you'd think they would because these people at the ranch, except for the 'soldiers', have not had to deal with many walkers at all, especially a herd. Then inside the storage room, everyone was just too calm, especially for people who have never seen a huge herd of walkers.

This series is getting much better, and I do not want to see it go downhill like TWD did. It has so much potential, and it's disappointing to see the storytelling, plot, and character continuity suffer.