Captive (Fear the Walking Dead)


"Captive" is the fifth episode of the second season, and the 11th episode overall of the post-apocalyptic horror television series Fear the Walking Dead, which aired on AMC on May 8, 2016.
This episode marked the final appearance of Michelle Ang as Alex from the webisodes. Ang only appeared in two episodes credited as a series regular.

Plot

The group plans to use the hostage as bait to get back Travis and Alicia. Alicia attempts to befriend Jack and find her way home on her own, while Travis is locked in a cell. Chris is left to watch over the hostage and he ends up shooting him in the face, killing him. He tells Madison the boy was turning, but she is worried that he is becoming unhinged. Travis sees Alex with Jack's group, and she admits to him that she gave up information on them when she was found. Madison is able to obtain Travis' release, by trading him for the now turned brother of the leader, and they escape in the mayhem. Alicia breaks free from Jack, and goes with Travis and Madison back to the yacht.

Reception

"Captive" received negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it garnered a 46% rating, with an average score of 6.71/10 based on 13 reviews. The site consensus reads, ""Captive" is an unbalanced episode rife with uneventful chatter and bad character decisions, ending a brief storyline that feels pointless and incomplete."
Matt Fowler of IGN gave "Captive" a 7.0/10.0 rating stating; ""Captive" had an exciting premise and held a lot of promise, but it never quite came together like it should have. Alicia should have been allowed to do more to facilitate her own escape/rescue and the goofy hooded zombie plan only seems to work - well - because the show wanted it to work. Also, at this point, Chris needs to get towed behind the Abigail on a raft. Still, I enjoyed Madison and Daniel taking control of the situation and just heading into a big conflict against superior forces because they had no other choice."

Ratings

"Captive" was seen by 4.41 million viewers in the United States on its original air date, below the previous episodes rating of 4.80 million.