‘Fear the Walking Dead’ Season 4 Episode 9 Recap: “People Like Us”

Fear the Walking Dead Season 4 Episode 9 Recap
Garret Dillahunt as John Dorie, Jenna Elfman as June and Maggie Grace as Althea in ‘Fear the Walking Dead’ season 4 episode 9 (Photo by Ryan Green/AMC)

When AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead returns for the second half of season four it’s with a scene of hurricane-force winds literally tossing walkers into the sky. Season four episode nine titled “People Like Us” catches up with the survivors as Morgan considers a return to Alexandria while Victor turns to wine to make it through the zombie apocalypse.

Season four episode nine finds Morgan (Lennie James) takes out walkers, searching his body for supplies. He finds items including protein bars and canned goods, and uses a walkie-talkie to check in with Al (Maggie Grace). Morgan and Al talk like old friends, and he admits he’s ready to head home. He asks if she’ll drive him.

Next, Morgan pays a visit to Naomi/Laura/June (Jenna Elfman) and John (Garret Dillahunt). John’s moving slowly but seems in good spirits overall. They’ve made their home in a school bus, but Morgan wants them to go with him to Virginia. Morgan’s decided he never should have left Alexandria, Virginia, in the first place. John doesn’t think his body’s up to the trip and he reveals he’s thinking of taking June and Charlie back to his cabin. His cabin’s far but it’s definitely not “Virginia far.”

Morgan lets his friends know he’s leaving tomorrow. He hopes John will change his mind. “I appreciate the offer. I do. But, I think I’ve got everything I need right here,” replies John.

Victor (Colman Domingo) has taken over a gorgeous home complete with an extensive wine cellar. Morgan searches the house for Luciana (Danay Garcia) and finds her relaxing on pillows on the floor, listening to music on the record player. He lets her know he’s about to embark on a road trip with Al.

Victor chuckles about the idea of taking off on another trip and Luciana is adamant she’s never getting inside Al’s van again. They don’t want to go out among the walkers and are comfortable staying put where it’s relatively safe.

Morgan asks about Alicia and Victor explains she prefers not to live in the main house.

Morgan finds Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey) outside at the fence line staking walkers. He found notes with requests for help in the room where she was sleeping, and he offers to help her in any way he can. She reveals she doesn’t know who wrote the notes but that she’s been finding them attached to the walkers. She keeps attracting the walkers to the fence in hopes of learning more info about the person who needs help.

Morgan tells her his plans to head back to Virginia and says she should join him. “I think it would be good for you and I think you could do a lot of good there,” says Morgan. Alicia doesn’t want to leave because she needs to help whoever it is that’s reaching out through the walkers. Morgan tells her she has until the morning to change her mind.

Back at the bus, June tends to John’s wounds. They chat about fishing and then June confesses she heard John say he wants to return to the cabin. He admits it’s just an idea he had. As they talk they hear a walker down by the river. It’s about to attack Charlie when Al saves the day.

A walker’s made its way into Victor and Luciana’s house and is on the verge of attacking Luciana when Victor grabs it. Luciana’s listening to her music and has no idea Victor’s killing a walker with a wine bottle. He decides it’s time to find the breach in the fence.

June tries to get Charlie to talk about almost being attacked by a walker, but she remains silent. Apparently, Charlie rarely speaks.

John, June, and Al watch walkers floating by in the river and John admits that only happens when something is wrong upstream. Al volunteers to check it out with June since she isn’t leaving with Morgan until the next morning.

Morgan’s back at his place packing up when Alicia interrupts with the news she’s figured out where the person is who needs help. The note was tacked to the dead with a bolt from a nearby lumber mill.

Morgan and Alicia head out, knowing the lumber mill is most likely overrun with walkers.

June and Al are forced to temporarily stop the van when they come upon a large tree placed across the road. Near it is a box of supplies with a note on the lid that reads: “Take what you need. Leave what you don’t. See you further on up the road.” (The items are the ones taken by Morgan off of the walkers he killed.)

Al, of course, wants to get footage before they continue their trip.

While they’re walking, June asks what John said about her during his video interview. Al confirms people talked about Naomi and Laura, but no one mentioned a “June.”

Morgan wonders what will happen after they rescue these people. Alicia doesn’t know why he cares, given that he’s leaving tomorrow. Morgan explains he left his old group without even saying goodbye, and they don’t even know if he’s alive at this point. He also reveals he left right after his friend told him he’d find his way back to people. He wants to let his friend know he was right. “I think he deserves to know, because he was,” says Morgan.

A walker approaches with another note, ending their conversation.

Victor and Luciana fix the fence, satisfied it’ll work to keep the walkers out. Luciana admits she doesn’t know what’s left or what to fight for, and Victor confesses he’s been asking the same questions. However, he’s going to drink wine while he considers the answers.

Fear the Walking Dead Season 4 Episode 9 Recap
Alycia Debnam-Carey as Alicia Clark and Lennie James as Morgan Jones in ‘Fear the Walking Dead’ season 4 episode 9 (Photo by Ryan Green/AMC)

Morgan and Alicia arrive at the lumber yard and Alicia wants to rush right in. Morgan advises her they should be cautious, but Alicia doesn’t listen.

John’s killing time waiting for June to return by creating a Scrabble game board and pieces. Charlie, still not talking, agrees to play. John says back in the day he didn’t talk much either, and that bad things ate away at him. He says that by telling June what he did and how he feels, it allowed him to forgive himself. Charlie listens and it seems she’s about to speak but then doesn’t.

John leaves her for a few minutes to go kill a walker and while he’s gone, Charlie packs her backpack and takes off.

John heads over to Victor’s place and asks for his help searching for Charlie. John is physically incapable of doing it on his own and Victor reminds him he doesn’t care for Charlie. “What makes you think I would help? She shot my friend,” says Victor. John isn’t about to give up and considers that Victor owes him since he took a bullet to the gut.

Victor finally agrees, but John needs to drive since Victor’s consumed a considerable amount of wine.

Back at the lumber yard, Alicia and Morgan enter the main building and see walkers surrounding a closed door. Together Morgan and Alicia devise a plan to lure the walkers outside. They smash them with a load of lumber before heading back inside to rescue the note writer.

Alicia opens the door only to discover the note writer has turned into a walker. Alicia’s devastated. She believes her mom would have reached the man in time, but she failed. She recalls being out looking for people for a long time – something she was good at. “I’ve got a lot to make up for,” says Alicia. “I do, too,” replies Morgan.

Morgan thinks Alicia’s sleeping in the greenhouse and searching for lost people so she has an excuse to run away. He believes she should be there to help Victor and Luciana, just like her mother would. She reminds him he’s leaving when he should actually stay there for them.

Al is taping walkers in the river when June asks to speak to her without the camera rolling. June says John fell in love with Laura but that’s not the real her. She feared everything and ran away. That’s who she is and now if they return to the cabin, John will realize she’s not the Laura he remembers.

Al reminds her that who she is today is the woman nursing John back to health. She’s not the person she was before. Al, who is reluctant to give advice, helps June figure things out. As they talk, they spot a flock of birds in the sky. June is certain they need to return home quickly.

John drives while Victor drinks wine. Victor checks out buildings they pass but there’s no sign of Charlie. John tells Victor he hopes to return to his cabin after things are sorted out, and Victor wonders what they’ll do after that.

Morgan and Alicia head back but now it’s pouring rain. Morgan realizes they need to find a safe place to take cover, but Alicia stubbornly insists she’s fine on her own.

Luciana’s listening to her records when she hears thunder. A noise in the other room sets her on edge and she picks up a gun to find out what’s happening. She spots Charlie and gives chase. Luciana catches up with her, but Charlie escapes the house without saying a word.

After Charlie leaves, Luciana discovers Charlie returned The Little Prince book. Luciana takes off running trying to catch up with Charlie.

June radios John telling him a storm’s coming. They lose contact as Al almost loses control of her armored van. Al can’t drive in 100 mph wind and as they try and figure out what to do a walker lands on their windshield. Soon the van’s being pelted by walkers driven into the air by the hurricane-force winds.

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