AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead
7×04: “Breathe With Me”
Directed by Tara Nicole Weyr
Written by Nazrin Choudhury & David Johnson

* For a recap & review of 7×03, click here.
* For a recap & review of 7×05, click here.
Sarah’s in a place she doesn’t recognise. She soon finds herself confronted with a walker and struggles to grab a gun, only to get saved by Al. Luckily Sarah’s other pals are there, including Wes, Daniel, Luciana, and Charlie, too. They all wonder why a zombie got through and Daniel admits he isn’t sure if he left the gate open. The friends tell Sarah they’ve reached an old fort turned into a B&B. They had a rough landing when they touched down, resulting in Sarah’s injuries. She finds out that Wendell isn’t there with them and they haven’t heard from him since splitting up. All they’ve been able to find is Wendell’s hat. Sarah wants to rush out and look for her brother, however, she doesn’t realise how bad it is outside. She won’t accept that Wendell’s lost or dead until she knows for herself.

So Sarah spends her days using binoculars and calling out for Wendell over the radio, hoping against all odds that her brother’s out there and safe. All of a sudden she gets a call from Morgan over the radio. She hears about the baby and that Morgan’s obviously safe with Grace. She tells him about being with the others and she gives him their location, though she explains a warhead’s likely leaking nearby making the area dangerous. But then they lose their connection, and Sarah realises her radio’s dead. It’s then she spots a search and rescue vehicle on a nearby road, and inside is Rufus, Morgan’s dog. We know who’s been with Rufus, and who used to be the owner of Rufus before Morgan.
Josiah turns up to hold Sarah at gunpoint. Uh oh. Sarah isn’t backing down. Problem is, Josiah won’t back down, either. They’re interrupted by a walker and this nearly gives Sarah the opportunity to grab Josiah’s gun. Sadly, he gets the jump on her. Although he also knows about Wendell. Could these two work together? Sarah wants to find her brother badly, but bad enough to sell Morgan out? Hmm. A dangerous situation.
Sarah does call Morgan, so it looks like things may be heating up. Will she double cross Josiah? There’s no way Sarah will actually sell Morgan out to Josiah, right?! Right now, Sarah and Josiah form an uneasy alliance for the moment. She sets up to look for Wendell before she’ll agree to meet with Morgan. If anything, Josiah’s a good tracker, and Rufus is “a cadaver dog” which is quite convenient. Though if Rufus does find Wendell it’s very likely the latter will be dead. Interesting to see how Josiah buries all the dead he kills, claiming it’s because they ought to be shown proper respect. Sarah doesn’t believe all that since Josiah’s carrying Emile’s dead head in a box. These two definitely don’t see eye-to-eye, on anything.

Soon, Rufus is barking to alert his people while some guy’s letting a bunch of walkers loose to get the dog. Josiah puts a stop to it, confronting the man and his travelling truck full of zombies. He and Sarah have a look through the truck: no Wendell. Now Josiah orders the driver to strip down. The guy takes off several layers and Josiah has Rufus sniff through them; the dog finds a bandana with “Wendell‘s scent on it.” Josiah urges the man to show him and Sarah where he found the bandana. The guy brings them to a barn full of herded walkers, but, again, no Wendell.
Sarah does find the bloody, smashed up remnants of her brother’s wheelchair. She’s about to freak out on the walker collector when the guy lets a stable of walkers free, managing to slip free while Sarah and Josiah are busy with the dead. Sarah gets to the vehicle and tries to drive out of there without Josiah, but he manages to get in before she escapes. She tries her best to toss him out and it doesn’t work, sending them flying over a cliff crashing to the ground below.

When Sarah and Josiah come to they see they’re only “fifty feet from an open warhead.” They’re also surrounded by zombies. Sarah’s near a panic attack, so Josiah attempts to calm her down. He’s sure they’re fucked and they should probably call Morgan. The irony! Josiah recounts his time as a park ranger doing search and rescue, and now he’s the one who needs rescuing. So Sarah calls for Morgan over the radio, hoping she’ll reach her friend. She also thinks Josiah isn’t a killer, that it’s only grief pushing him to want to kill Morgan. She says grief’s what made her try to leave him behind back at the barn. The longer they can’t reach Morgan the more troubling their situation gets, so Josiah and Sarah decide to make a proactive move, fighting back the horde surrounding the vehicle.
Josiah and Sarah are surprised when Morgan arrives to help them out. But that also pits Josiah against Morgan in a brutal fight. When Josiah gets the upper hand he pulls out his brother’s zombified head, intending on letting Emile eat Morgan. In the struggle, Rufus gets bit by Emile and Sarah puts an end to the zombie head. A sad ending. All Josiah can do is nurse Rufus and his wounds. He feels awful for what he’s done, so he also knows he has to put Rufus out of his misery. He realises the error of his ways and what it has brought about. Sarah tells Morgan and Josiah about when she was born, how she and her brother became brothers: she was having trouble breathing as a baby, born premature, and only breathed correctly when placed next to another baby born that day, little Wendell. This scene made me cry, especially ending with Rufus being buried.

Eventually, Morgan takes Sarah and Josiah to see the big complex where Victor’s creating a new society. Sarah hopes that maybe Wendell’s been taken in, just like June and John Sr. They’re all soon found by Howard and held at gunpoint, and Victor himself isn’t fr. Strand wants to have a little chat while Sarah only wants to know about her brother. He claims Wendell’s already there and doing quite well. He also doesn’t think Sarah’s worthy of being accepted into their community; same goes for Josiah. All that power’s continuing to go to Strand’s head. He does anything he can to humiliate Morgan while acting like a saviour to others. He offers Sarah a place in his community, but she refuses, and she asks Victor not to tell Wendell she came for fear her brother might leave to go find her. A brutally tough decision that leaves Sarah near another panic attack.
Morgan and Sarah leave together while Josiah goes his own way for now.
What about the walker collector on the road?
There are more of them, and they’ve found the open warhead.