Pillar of Salt (Fear the Walking Dead)

"Pillar of Salt" is the twelfth episode of the second season, and the 18th episode overall of the post-apocalyptic horror television series Fear the Walking Dead, which aired on AMC on September 18, 2016.

This episode marks the final appearance of Griselda Salazar (Patricia Reyes Spíndola), seen in a flashback sequence, who died at the end of the first season. Ofelia Salazar (Mercedes Mason) returns after briefly disappearing at the end of the ninth episode "Los Muertos".

Plot
Ofelia, having escaped the hotel, goes out on her own and heads back to the United States. With the infected removed from the hotel grounds, the hotel survivors begin fortifying and repairing the building. However, Strand is stabbed by Ilene the mother of Oscar's wife Jessica. The wound is not serious, though it requires medicine to be treated. Madison and Elena head to Tijuana to obtain the medicine. In Tijuana, Nick and Luciana are awoken by news that one of the community's scouts, Francisco, has deserted with his family. With the community losing scouts at an increasing rate, Alejandro is worried the community might collapse, and forbids anybody from leaving, even for supply runs. Nick is concerned since they were supposed to trade their medicine to the bandits, who will most likely attack the community if they don't get what they want. At the bandit warehouse, Madison and Elena arrive to trade, where she overhears the bandits interrogating Francisco. Madison overhears them describe Nick's appearance and tries to find out where he is with no success. Nick patrols the perimeter and spots the bandits scouting the community from a distance. Upon returning to the hotel, Madison turns on the hotel lights against everybody's wishes in hopes of attracting Nick's attention, though Alicia convinces her to respect Nick's decision to choose death over their family, despite becoming upset about Madison not appearing to care about her decision to stick with the group. Madison shuts off the lights, but not before Travis, now alone, sees them.

Reception
"Pillar of Salt" received positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it garnered a 71% rating, with an average score of 5.72/10 based on 14 reviews. The site consensus currently reads, ""Pillar of Salt" is a solidly assembled collection of character arcs and moving parts, but Fear the Walking Dead remains in need of some fresh plots to sustain long-term interest."

Matt Fowler of IGN gave "Pillar of Salt" a 6.9/10.0 rating stating; "Ofelia's flashbacks (featuring the return of actress Patricia Reyes Spíndola) were the most appealing aspects of "Pillar of Salt," which felt too much like it was forcing a collision between separate story threads."

Ratings
"Pillar of Salt" was seen by 3.62 million viewers in the United States on its original air date, slightly above the previous episodes rating of 3.40 million.