Grotesque (Fear the Walking Dead)

"Grotesque" is the eighth episode and mid-season premiere, and the 14th episode overall of the second season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series Fear the Walking Dead, which aired on AMC on August 21, 2016.

This episode marks the first appearance of Danay Garcia (Luciana Galvez).

Plot
Nick wanders off on his own towards Tijuana, but on the way he is attacked by another survivor and forced to leave behind his supplies. When he tries to scavenge abandoned cars for supplies, he is attacked by bandits and gets lost in the wilderness as he flees. When he tries to get some sleep, he is attacked by a pair of feral dogs and bitten in the leg. However, Nick is saved when a pack of walkers arrives and devours the dogs. The walkers are then drawn away by the sounds of car horns and gunfire, giving Nick an opportunity to escape. He then blends in with the walker pack as it makes its way to Tijuana. The previous group of bandits then arrives and begins to kill the walkers, but one of them flees when the other two are eaten. Nick eventually passes out due to his wound and malnourishment. A group of survivors observe Nick, but their leader, Luciana, opts not to help him. During this ordeal, Nick has several flashbacks to his time with his girlfriend in rehab for their drug addictions. It is there where he expresses his frustration at his father's lack of attention to him. He is later visited by Madison, who tells him that his father died in a car crash. During the last flashback, at the church during the opening scenes of the first episode of the series, Nick wakes to find his girlfriend, zombified, eating another drug addict. Nick then regains consciousness and manages to limp his way to Tijuana. He encounters Luciana's group, who take him to their community to be treated.

Reception
"Grotesque" received mostly positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it garnered an 87% rating, with an average score of 7.17/10 based on 15 reviews. The site consensus reads, " "Grotesque" periodically meanders, but it doesn't dim the tension of a key character's journey in the series' first solo arc episode."

Matt Fowler of IGN gave "Grotesque" an 8/10 rating stating; "Though "Grotesque" introduced us to a few new characters and brought us into a new community, it was really about spending some quality time with Nick and getting into his headspace a little more. And it worked. It wasn't exactly riveting stuff, but it did show us that this series stands a better chance of dusting itself off now that the ensemble's been split up."

Ratings
"Grotesque" was seen by 3.86 million viewers in the United States on its original air date, below the previous episodes rating of 4.39 million.