Sumith Prasad
The ninth episode of AMC’s post-apocalyptic series ‘Fear the Walking Dead’ season 7, titled ‘Follow Me,’ follows Alicia’s encounter with a deaf pianist named Paul. To a perplexed Alicia, Paul explains that he saved her from a nearby barn. While she explains to him that she has to leave and find her friends, Arno arrives at Paul’s house in search of her. Realizing that his guest is in grave danger, Paul extends his help to her, which paves the way for life-threatening consequences. The episode ends with significant revelations concerning the fate of the survivors. On that note, let us decode the same for you! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Fear the Walking Dead Season 7 Episode 9 Recap
‘Follow Me’ begins with Alicia dreaming of Senator Vazquez as she leads her followers to PADRE. Instead of revealing the location of the alleged haven, the dead senator tries to bite her, making her wake up. She realizes that she is at a stranger’s house and encounters Paul, who informs her that he saved her from a barn. Meanwhile, Arno arrives at the house and searches to find Alicia, who hides under Paul’s piano. After his departure, Alicia explains to Paul that Arno wants her dead for risking several lives for her pursuit of PADRE.
Paul talks to Alicia about how his wife Rowan died during the nuclear blast. Realizing that he is struggling with loneliness, she invites him to join her and her group. They visit a nearby concert hall and come across Arno and his soldiers, who try to force Alicia into a van full of walkers to kill her. However, Alicia and Paul succeed in escaping from the scene after shooting at Arno’s palm. Paul agrees to join Alicia but he wants to see the end of Arno first.
Paul invites the enemies to his house and starts playing music loudly to attract the walkers. Arno and his soldiers kill several walkers and manage to fight Paul and Alicia. Paul gets shot in between the fight and he asks his guest to escape without him. Even though she decides against leaving him alone, Paul convinces her that he cannot accompany her with the little life left in him. For Alicia to escape, Paul distracts and stalls Arno, who eventually kills the pianist.
Fear the Walking Dead Season 7 Episode 9 Ending: Why is Alicia Going Back to the Bunker?
When Alicia wakes up at Paul’s house, she suffers from the distress of knowing that she sacrificed several lives in search of PADRE, which she couldn’t even find with the dead Senator Vazquez. The dreams of the senator further add to her mental agony as she confronts the truth that her efforts to lead her followers to safety were nothing but futile. However, Paul influences Alicia to approach her dreams in a different dimension. According to the pianist, Vazquez’s corpse is a personification of her aspiration to safeguard her people than an actual walker who could guide her to a sanctuary.
The conversation with Paul helps Alicia to realize that PADRE symbolizes her ambition to protect her people, which can still materialize if she manages to conquer the Tower upon defeating Strand. However, she needs a larger army to fight the battle. So, she decides to leave for the bunker to retrieve a transmitter that might help her enlarge her army to wage the war against Strand. She talks about her decision with Morgan and asks him to look after her group in her absence.
Alicia knows that there will be survivors who seek a haven like the Tower. The transmitter from the bunker is expected to help her contact these survivors and convince them to join her to seize the control of the Tower from Strand. The prospects of safety from the walkers, hostile survivors, and the aftereffects of the nuclear blast may tempt the other like-minded survivors to join Alicia, if only she has a way to communicate with them. Thus, Alicia is setting out to find the transmitter from the bunker irrespective of the dangers that await her along the way, including Arno.
Is Arno Dead or Alive? What are His Plans?
Arno is alive. Upon escaping from Arno and his soldiers, Paul understands that he should be annihilated for Alicia to have a safe return to her group. The pianist’s plan nearly succeeds when the walkers arrive in waves at his house and attack the Stalkers and their leader. Arno gets nearly bitten but he manages to escape from the clutches of a walker before he gets infected. After killing Paul, he escapes from the house without getting harmed by the rest of the walkers. He starts the return journey without any of his soldiers, who get killed at Paul’s house, except Sage.
In between their journey, Arno and Sage come across an enormous herd of walkers. After witnessing the biters, Arno understands that a secure establishment is a necessity. He and Sage discuss the need of conquering the Tower for themselves. Even though Alicia’s attempts to find PADRE have cost several lives, Arno knows that her intentions were — and are — valid. As much as he wants to kill her, the leader of the Stalkers is aware that Alicia is right about finding a place to protect the survivors, which may turn out to be the only way to survive.
These realizations influence him to plan for seizing the Tower. We may see Arno, Alicia, and Strand battling each other for the authority of Strand’s unparalleled refuge. Arno may continue his pursuit to kill Alicia and possibly start fighting her force to reduce opposition. Strand, who is forced to prepare for a war against Alicia, may encounter Arno as another severe threat.
Read More: Who is the Masked Girl in FTWD? What is the Meaning of Alicia’s Dreams?
