The Fanatic and the Freak

William and Kate try to settle their differences. Edward and Kurt’s conflict comes to a head.

You can read the transcript here.

## **Synopsis**

The episode opens moments before Lloyd Waller, Brenden Trevors and Aldus Paxton arrive at the warehouse. Lloyd and Brenden are continuing their conversation about the community Genna and Mackenzie Brohem were talking about. Both can agree that William Reynes choosing not to believe them was a missed chance. Brenden thinks that if the two recruiters stick around the area--he believes that it's possible William can change his mind. Lloyd continues to be astonished by Brenden's optimism, and Brenden says he's like this because nobody else wants to. The two of them and Aldus then arrive at the warehouse, and Lloyd gets a boost from Aldus in order to reach a window that he climbs through. However, as Lloyd goes to open a door, alarms begin to blare, and down below, a horde of zombies awaits.

Jumping back to the present, Lloyd is desperately hanging onto the railing--until Genna and Mackenzie come to his aid, pulling him up. Out of breath, Lloyd thanks them, before pointing out his other two friends trapped elsewhere. Genna begins digging through her backpack, while Mackenzie worries and is unsure about what to do. After finding a flare gun in her bag, Genna fires it far away from Brenden and Aldus, distracting the horde. Aldus and Brenden take the opportunity and run to safety. When they all get back together, they try looking for a way out of the building. Lloyd points to a window that's partially clear of any zombies--they just need to fight to get to it. After a count of three, the group of them begin pushing towards the window.

Around the back of the warehouse, William and Austin Kingston and searching for a way in, while listening to the maw of the dead inside. After finding a lowered roof low enough to reach with a boost, William asks Austin to boost him up. Austin does so, and William tells him to watch the perimeter while he heads inside. He crawls along the roof, finding, and bursting through a window, landing right next to Lloyd and the others. William sees Genna and Mackenzie, but with the undead still all around, William asks Lloyd to explain fast. Both Lloyd and Brenden tell William that the recruiters had come to their rescue, and Lloyd may have died if it weren't for them. After hearing this, he orders Lloyd and Brenden to climb out through the window first. They do so, and they're followed by the two sisters and Aldus. William, the last one left inside the warehouse, doesn't have the chance to turn around and jump through the windows. He's forced to defend from all angles, keeping the zombies off him. Peering through the window, Brenden sees this, and can't allow himself to sit there. He makes the brave decision to go BACK through the window, running to William, and practically throwing himself at the zombies. With every zombie Brenden takes down, another one sinks its teeth into him. William looks on with shock, before snapping out of it and pulling out his gun, using it to clear the zombies off of Brenden. The two of them then climb through the window, finally escaping the horde. Outside, William shouts at Brenden for doing what he did, stating that it wasn't worth his life. Brenden, full of bite marks, doesn't care, though. With a smile on his face, he tells William that he did it as a "reminder that strangers aren't all that evil".

Soon after, Lloyd and William help Brenden through the woods, gently placing him against a tree. As Brenden sits there, coughing up blood occasionally, he tells Lloyd not to let this blunder get to him, and that he should continue being himself. Brenden then turns his attention to William, telling the man that no matter what anyway tells him, he's not a monster, and that everything he's done is for the sake of his group. However, his only wish is that William reconsider Genna and Mackenzie's proposition, and go see if the community they talk about is real. William apologizes for not listening to Brenden earlier, and promises that he'll make the right choices from here on out in his memory. After one last farewell to his friend, Lloyd turns and walks off. Meanwhile, William takes out his pistol. He and Brenden share some final words, before William shoots him in the head, ensuring he would not turn into a zombie.

Immediately following Molly Massey's death, Edward Remar kills the remaining zombies, allowing a petrified Elliott Rowe to get out of the crane cab. Edward, not bothered by Molly's death one bit, instructs Elliott to go find Solomon Reed and bring him back here, but not to draw any attention to himself; stay composed. As Elliott nervously walks off, Edward picks up Molly's revolver, keeping it for himself.

Elsewhere in the park, Nancy Warner kills a zombified Jose Trivoli. She and Evelyn Nelson don't have a clue on how this could have happened to Jose. Before they can think about it, a bus is seen pulling up nearby.

Kurt Klein steps out of the bus, beginning to make his way over to the group. Waita Mathani, Kyori Hyoteki and Seth Haynes approach, asking him the whereabouts of Shaun Fisher and Robert Nicholas. As the rest of the group gathers around, Kurt, putting on a frown and faking a cry, says that they both died heroes, saving Kurt from a group of zombies. Waita remains untrusting of Kurt, whilst Evelyn thinks that it's best if they join Kurt's group to stay safe. When he sees Landon Kimber in the distance, Kurt drops his act, telling everyone that needed a minute. After making his way over, Kurt listens to Landon tell him that he hasn't seen Edward or Molly in a while.

Elliott manages to find Solomon and brings him back to the sight of Molly's death, where Edward waits. All of them know that it's only a matter of time before Kurt finds this scene. Edward, however, knows that Kurt won't be brave enough to attack Edward in front of everyone without any proof, meaning Edward has time to devise a plan. All Edward asks of Elliott and Solomon is to act casual.

At the church, Ed Anderson sees Lloyd and the others walking up the front path. In William's arms is Brenden's lifeless body, which Ed sees immediately, frowning. Claire Noble and Clyde Rollins step outside as well, along with Jon Matthews and Lolida Windfield. William addresses all of them, explaining what had happened at the warehouse - and Brenden's fate. After some thinking, William has decided that he's going to take the two recruiters up on their offer, as per Brenden's last wish. With no objections to this, Jon says that they'll have Brenden buried, while in the meantime they'll talk with Genna and Mackenzie about their community. Before heading inside, Lolida stops William, apologizing for his rash actions earlier. William shakes his head, telling Lolida that it wasn't him who needed to apologize. He tells Lolida that he is sorry for everything. Nodding in response, Lolida tells William not to lose faith, because he's the one holding the group together.

Out back, Randall Forster and Aldus are busy digging Brenden's grave. Both of them hope that this new community is real, because they've grown tired of being on the road and going at each other's throats.

In the church's office, Kate Bloodstone, William, Jon and the two recruiters are standing around a map. Kate is shocked that William is actually going through with this, but he says it's for the best. Genna and Mackenzie explain that the RV they drove down in won't fit everyone, so they'll need to search for more vehicles. Jon takes charge to go out and look for more vehicles. On his way out of the room, he runs into Layton Zimmers, who was standing outside the room listening in. He shoves Layton aside and continues walking.

After Jon and a team leaves, Kate and Dean Howards are in the office, remarking about how they might finally find the place they've been looking for. Kate says that although she'll never forget the tragedy that occurred in Garden City, it doesn't mean she won't stop looking forward to a chance to finally settle down. Dean grimaces thinking back to Garden City, and says that something like that won't ever happen again, and that things will get better. Kate reminisces about the mall back in Willamette, and how both of them have become better people since then. She knows that Jim Butterman and Owen Gliefield would be proud of him. Kate then says that she's hoping to finally see eye to eye with William, and hopes that she'll be able to talk to him.

Edward, Elliott and Solomon return to the rest of the group, where they're almost immediately spotted by Kurt. Edward is approached and asked by Kurt if he's seen Molly around, but he denies having seen her. Kurt proceeds to point out a bruise on Edward's cheek, but Edward claims to have gotten it fighting zombies. Meanwhile, Carson Burke and Bonnie Harrell notice how pale and scared Elliott looks, and suggest that he go lay down, but he insists that he's okay. After Edward dismisses Kurt and walks off, Kurt goes over to Landon, ordering him to go and find out where Molly is.

Having dispersed from the rest of the group, Edward heads over to the supply wagon, and begins searching through it. Nancy then shows up from the other side of the wagon, curious as to what Edward is doing. With no hesitation, he admits that he's taking back his shotgun, and proceeds to do just that. Nancy worries that she'll get in trouble with Kurt, but Edward assures her she'll be fine, as he'll tell Kurt himself. As their conversation shifts over to the new group at the amusement park, Nancy says that she finds it weird that they've been dying mysteriously. Edward doesn't have a response, and continues rummaging through the wagon, looking for a water bottle. Even after Nancy takes out a water bottle and offers it to him, Edward continues to search through the box for a few seconds, before finally refocusing on Nancy and taking the bottle. He requests one last thing from her: a backpack, which Nancy gives to him. Before Edward leaves, she tells him that whatever he's planning, she hopes it's wise.

On the road, Jon, Clyde, Claire, Daniel Rockwell and Lolida are searching for vehicles. While walking, Clyde reminisces about one of his movies, leading Jon to recall the one and only time he watched one of Clyde's movies - and he hated it so much he wanted to beat Clyde. Chuckling nervously, Clyde asks Jon if they're friends, to which Jon tells him to lighten up because they are. Claire grins, realizing Clyde is afraid of Jon, but he insists that he isn't. Afterwards, Jon stops, turning to Claire, and apologizes for pushing and injuring her during the confrontation with Aidan's group. At the back of the pack, Daniel and Lolida are walking quietly. After a moment, Daniel confesses to Lolida that everything he said about him was right. He says that he was only doing it out of anger, and because Kate and them were putting Lolida, his only friend, in danger. Lolida tells his friend that he was never mad at him, and was just sad that he'd lost his way. He's glad to see Daniel back on the right track, and says that he'd never leave him. With a smile on his face, Daniel says that he'll do better to restrain himself more, and he'll do his best to listen to Lolida.

Jon and the group return to the church having successfully found three working cars. He informs William and Genna about it, and they all agree that it'll be time to leave soon, but not before one more thing.

A little later on, the whole group gathers around outside for Brenden's funeral. After a moment of silence, Mackenzie places a small cross down onto the grave in respect.

Shortly afterwards, William and Lloyd carefully carry Rebecca out of the church and into the back of one of the cars. Lloyd reminds William that this new community has a doctor, and that Rebecca will get the help she needs. William can't believe he rejected their offer initially, and wishes that it hadn't cost somebody their life for him to open his eyes. Lloyd is saddened about Brenden's death, pointing out how positive he was, even in death, and how it reminds him of Kyle Douglass and Bernie Ortan. William tells Lloyd not to think too much about it, and that he should hold onto his humanity, as per Brenden's wish to him.

As William leaves Lloyd, he is greeted by Jon, who informs him that they're all ready to go. Both men can agree that wherever they're going, it'll be better than staying here. Jon tells William that they should still be cautious about this, but he thinks William made the right call by accepting their offer. Thinking back to everything with Jared and Aidan's group, William wonders how different things may have been had he not been so untrusting. Whatever the answer may be, he's happy to finally move on. Before long, the entire group make their way inside the four vehicles, and they drive off towards the supposed community of Worthwood.

At the amusement park, Kurt is brought to the site of Molly's death by Landon. Fuming with rage, Kurt realizes that Edward needs to be dealt with, and quickly. Landon offers to deal with Edward himself, but Kurt, in his furious state, snaps at Landon, saying that he needed to be the one to do it. When Landon asks what his job is, Kurt tells him to go and fetch Leonard Thorne.

After calming down, Kurt swaggers over to an alone Edward, who's fiddling with his water bottle. Kurt, glaring at Edward, asks him to come along with him and Landon to look for Molly. Edward doesn't feel like it, but Kurt threatens Edward to come along - or they'd be having words. He proceeds to snatch the water bottle from his hands, and chugs it down. As Edward watches the crinkled up water bottle hit the ground, he tells Kurt that he'll go, which Kurt is more than happy to hear. When Kurt walks off, a look of satisfaction dawns across Edward's face.

Before leaving, Edward meets with Solomon, who expresses concern about Edward going with Kurt and Landon. Edward is confident that everything is going to be fine, and says that he'll speak with Solomon when he returns.

In a bathroom stall, Elliott vomits into a toilet, before stumbling out and looking at himself in the mirror. He starts to question himself, not able to get over the fact he'd killed Molly. As he staggers out of the bathroom, he bumps into Solomon, who expresses concern over seeing the state of Elliott. Elliott admits that he's not okay, and asks Solomon if he's ever killed someone before. Solomon thinks back to his time fighting Rastas, and tells the story to Elliott. He tells Elliott that he'll eventually get over Molly's death, reminding him that Edward would be dead if it weren't for his actions. Elliott takes in Solomon's words and thanks him, before he walks off to get some rest.

Now traveling to Worthwood, Ed, Layton and Alex Weiss are sitting in one of the cars leading the convoy. When Layton learns that the place they're going is more than 200 miles away, he decides to sing along to a favourite pastime of his, beginning with: "10,000 bottles of milk on the wall". He encourages Ed to join in. As Ed realizes Layton has no intentions of stopping, a look of terror dawns on his face.

Meanwhile in the RV following Ed's car, Kate and Marcus Downes are discussing how nervous it is to actually be going to Worthwood. In the front of the RV, Lloyd jokes with William about his motion sickness.

After leaving the amusement park, Kurt, Landon and Edward travel along the highway 'searching for Molly'. During their walk, Kurt randomly states that he wishes he and Edward could have gotten along better. He says that Molly's 'disappearance' has caused him to realize how much he treasures and cares for the people in his group. Edward goes along with him, stating that he was happy to help look for Molly.

Back with the main group, they've been traveling for over a day now, and we're nearing Worthwood. Genna and Mackenzie, who are at the front of the RV, notice a flare shoot up into the sky nearby. They call over Kate, who agrees with the two sisters that they should check it out to see if somebody needs help. Kate checks in with William first, who ponders over the decision, but ultimately agrees to go and investigate it.

In a small town nearby, Sebastian Dominguez and Tyson Lysaght are standing atop two cars fighting off zombies. They laugh about the situation, seemingly unconcerned about the danger they're in. However, the RV, along with the other cars soon pull up, and the group jump out to help fight the zombies. Genna and Mackenzie immediately recognize the two stranded men as members from their community. They successfully manage to clear the herd of zombies, and afterwards Sebastian thanks them all for the help. He tells Genna that they'll get back to their own car and follow them once they're ready to leave.

Afterwards, Kate heads back into the RV and sees William sitting alone. She seizes the chance to finally sit down and talk with him. William begins by giving a proper apology for all of his reckless calls. Kate then says sorry for defying him and going into Garden City. At the end of her apology, William tells her that everything she did was right, and he'd have done the same thing were the roles reversed, and even says that Kate would probably be a better leader than him. She looks at him in disbelief, and says that even if he thought the leader role wasn't for him, he kept them all alive for a long time, and she knows Jacob and Erin would be proud of him. William hopes she's right, but insists that Kate take leadership of the group. Kate compromises and says that the two of them can work together, and William agrees to it. Kate smiles, sitting back, satisfied to have finally made things right with William.

Late in the evening, Solomon is walking through a section of the amusement park themed like The Wild West. Suddenly, he hears a voice echo out behind him. Turning around, he sees Leonard standing nearby, his face red with anger. He yells at Solomon for being a no good traitor, and says that he's not going to let him walk free. Solomon tries to defuse the situation by telling Leonard that he's being manipulated by Kurt, but Leonard doesn't buy into it. He calls out Solomon as being a 'wendigo', and says that there's only one way to settle this - to kill him. Realizing there was no way out of here, Solomon grips his pistol, and Leonard does the same. In a matter of a second, three gunshots ring out, and Leonard falls to the ground. Solomon holsters his guns and approaches Leonard, who's coughing up blood on the ground. He frowns, telling the dying man that he didn't want to do this. In his last moments, Leonard confesses that his real name isn't Leonard, but before he can say his real name, he dies. Solomon sadly takes out his knife and stabs Leonard in the head, ensuring he wouldn't come back as a zombie. He then goes through Leonard's pockets, finding a name tag with the name scratched out. However, he is able to read one word on the tag: 'Asylum'.

Just off the side of the highway, Kurt, Landon and Edward are searching through a gas station. Edward stands outside, letting the other two men do the work. Kurt is noticeably drenched in sweat, and complains to Edward about not helping. After Edward jests about it, Kurt finally takes his knife out, putting it against Edward's neck and forcing him to drop his shotgun. Landon strolls over, a smile on his face. Kurt begins to reveal that he knows what happened to Molly, and he's ready to finally put Edward down. Edward looks at him, not a hint of concern on his face, as he scolds and angers Kurt. Kurt coughs and wheezes, before regaining his posture and threatening Edward. Edward continues to be unfazed, and mentions how pathetic Kurt is. Furious, Kurt punches Edward square in the nose, but the force causes Kurt to lose his balance and tumble over. On the ground, he breaks into a coughing fit, coughing out greenish-red fluid. Landon stares at Kurt, visibly shaken. As he's distracted, Edward draws Molly's revolver from his back pocket and shoots Landon in his chest. As Landon hits the ground and begins choking on his own blood, Edward approaches Kurt, pointing the revolver at him. He begins to mock Kurt, watching him vomit up a green barf. It's then that Edward reveals that the water Kurt had chugged earlier was laced with poison, thanks to Molly's earlier supply trip. He laughs about Kurt making it so easy for him. Kurt, still coughing up mucus, taunts and berates Edward for using poison, calling him out for being too scared to fight him fairly. Edward cackles, not at all caring about what Kurt has to say. After stomping onto Landon's chest, Edward begins to gloat to Kurt about how he's going to go back to the amusement park and take everything that was once his. Kurt tries responding, but at this point the poison is taking its toll, and Kurt is unable to speak. As Landon stops moving and dies, Edward points the revolver directly at Kurt's head, stating that, "I really wish we could've gotten along better. We'd have been a good team." He proceeds to shoot Kurt in the head, killing him.

Later that night, Solomon returns to the amusement park, where he's greeted by Solomon. They both tell each other about what happened, before they decide to go inform everybody else about the change in leadership.

Minutes later, the entire group gathers around the center of the amusement park, looking up at Edward, who stood on a stage. Edward begins by stating that Kurt and all three of his minions are dead, and he's here to tell them the truth about everything. He states that Kurt didn't care about any of them, and that they were merely an expansion of his ego. He continues, telling the remainder of Shaun's group that their leader, alongside Robert and Jose paid the price because they wouldn't bow before him. Waita is suspicious of Edward, but Nancy backs Edward up, pointing out that Jose's death looked like foul play. With Kurt and his goons out of the picture, Edward asks the group to put their faith in him now, and that he would respect them as long as they showed the same to him. "Kurt's reign of terror is over," he says, "So... here's to a new beginning."

Standing atop a wall, Morris Finkle and Neil Oconnell are on their usual guard duty in the community of Worthwood. The two of them bicker with each other jokingly until Morris mumbles something about Neil's wife seeing another guy. Neil stares at Morris, demanding to know what he was talking about, unaware of the convoy of vehicles rolling up to the community's gates. When Neil and Morris see the familiar faces of Sebastian, Tyson, Genna and Mackenzie stepping out of the cars, they open up the gates. Sebastian directs the vehicles through the gates, while Neil and Morris continue their squabble above. Genna and Mackenzie step into the community just as Police Chief Paul Baird and two of his deputies, Kevin Norton and Cody Wakefield come strolling over. The two sisters explain that they've come back with a new group of people - good people. Kate, William and Jon step out of the vehicles, approaching Paul and the others. The chief asks for the three of them to hand over their weapons before they can go any further. They reluctantly allow themselves to be patted down by the officers, ensuring they were not hiding any weapon of sorts. After the pat down, Paul begins leading Kate, William and Jon over towards the centerpiece of Worthwood: Worthwood Castle.

After a short walk, the three group members are seated in a lobby, with Kevin and Cody guarding the door. Soon, Paul enters the room, explaining to the receptionist, Heather Solis, that Gerald was ready for a one-on-one meeting with the leader. Paul looks around to Kate, William and Jon, waiting to see who was going to come forward as the leader. Kate and Jon both agree that it should be William, and so he gets up and goes with Heather.

Heather leads William up a grand staircase until they arrive at an office. Inside, Gerald Roland is speaking with Roman Stroud, though he dismisses the conversation and respectfully sends him out of the room when William enters. When William and Gerald are alone, they shake hands, and Gerald welcomes him to Worthwood, explaining to him that the castle they're in now dates back centuries. Nodding slowly, William presumes that Gerald and the people here live comfortably. Gerald says that's how it should be, explaining how their community is meant for those who want to live a normal life again, with rules, jobs, safety and security. William continues to question him, asking if it was really better in here than out there. Gerald's response is to simply list everything that this place has: safety, a place to sleep every night, food whenever you need it, and much more. He asks William if he'd rather be in here or outside the walls. William bites his tongue, thinking about the man's words. He admits that his group has been on the road for months now, but he's willing to trust Gerald, and hand over the reins of his group to him, as long as everyone is safe. When William finishes, Gerald asks him what he did before the apocalypse. William's head is flooded with memories of Jacob and their time working, as he tells Gerald he was a biology teacher. Upon learning this information, he asks William if he'd like to teach again, here at Worthwood, because he can. He goes on to talk about his former company, Roland Publishing, and how the only reason he's here now is because he was here hosting an event just before the apocalypse. They started off small, but their community grew fast, and he wants William and his people to join them as well to help them grow stronger. William is believing Gerald more by the second, and is really considering staying here. To convince William, Gerald takes him over to a balcony, where they overlook the entire community. William is stunned as he takes in the view, pointing out how much it reminds him of life before the outbreak. Gerald tells him to believe it, because it's real, and it's going to change everything for him and his people. "Get ready, for a brighter future, and a better life," Gerald says, smiling.

## **Cast**

#### **Starring**

* William Reynes
* Kate Bloodstone
* Randall Forster
* Jon Matthews
* Marcus Downes
* Rebecca Dawson
* Clyde Rollins
* Dean Howards
* Austin Kingston
* Lloyd Waller
* Edward Remar
* Aldus Paxton

#### **Also Starring**

* Ed Anderson
* Claire Noble
* Daniel Rockwell
* Solomon Reed
* Lolida Windfield
* Kurt Klein

#### **Guest Starring**

* Brenden Trevors
* Layton Zimmers
* Alex Weiss
* Landon Kimber
* Bonnie Harrell
* Elliott Rowe
* Carson Burke
* Stanley Peck
* Leonard Thorne
* Nancy Warner
* Genevieve Brohem
* Gerald Roland
* Molly Massey *(Corpse)*

#### **Co-Starring**

* Mackenzie Brohem
* Evelyn Nelson
* Waita Mathani
* Seth Haynes
* Kyori Hyoteki
* Sebastian Dominguez
* Tyson Lysaght
* Morris Finkle
* Neil Oconnell
* Paul Baird
* Cody Wakefield
* Kevin Norton
* Heather Solis
* Roman Stroud
* Jose Trivoli *(Corpse)*

## **Deaths**

* Kurt Klein
* Landon Kimber
* Leonard Thorne
* Brenden Trevors
* Jose Trivoli *(Zombified, Off-Screen)*