Shock death and a surprise return in Fear The Walking Dead

FEAR The Walking Dead Episode 12 is called My Brother’s Keeper and offers us a surprise return, a shock death — and a whole heap of zombies.

FEAR The Walking Dead Episode 12 is called My Brother’s Keeper and offers us a surprise return, a shock death — and a whole heap of zombies.

If you haven’t watched it yet then watch out, because we have a heap of spoilers ahead!

What happened the last time somone ignored a spoiler alert ... The Infected come to visit

Last episode saw Madison and Walker leave the ranch to find water, leaving Crazy Dog, Ofelia, Jake, Alicia and Nick to keep the peace between the warring factions.

Surprisingly, that seemed to work, in that nobody had killed anybody yet.

But that had to end.

We start off with Troy, who is wandering the wasteland after being exiled by Madison and Walker. He’s gone madder than ever but, despite being stabbed twice through the hand, seems to have a) avoided infection and b) is able to use it with no more drama than a little bandage.

That plot armour must be working well.

Troy is back to work his magic in Fear the Walking Dead.

Anyway, having eaten a snake, he discovers an old outpost, thus proving how stupid it was to exile him when he knows the surrounding area.

It looks like he’s about to blow his own brains out (he’d have to be a good shot) when he hears the unmistakeable sound of zombies.

That’s too good an opportunity to waste, obviously, when you’re madder than a bunch of snakes in a sack full of itching powder.

Back at the ranch, Jake wants to leave with Alicia and find another ranch full of Doomsday Preppers. Like that’s going to end any better ... but it does give us a hint of what a fourth season might be about.

Still, it really does sound like a terrible apocalypse. Either you’re a flesh-eating zombie or stuck on some compound with a bunch of racist Doomsday Prepper nutbags.

Nick, meanwhile, it haunted by murdering Jake and Troy’s father. And then Troy turns up with a cryptic warning of Bad Things Coming.

Instead of killing the mad bastard, Nick lets him go and instead heads off with Jake the next morning to look for Troy.

Jake and Nick are heading for trouble.

We know that isn’t going to end well and, sure enough, Troy has lured the zombie horde towards the ranch to “cleanse” it.

Paging the guys in white coats!

One wrestle later and Troy is begging his brother to kill him, before cunningly getting Nick to confess that he killed their father.

Jake still wants to blow Troy’s head off, which seems like a brilliant idea but Nick stops him — and then the zombies descend to bite Jake. Having caused this disaster, Nick then chops Jake’s arm off and they try and get him back to the ranch in time.

Only the zombies beat them there first.

What follows is one of the more bizarre FTWD sequences. I can’t help but be reminded of how well sister show The Walking Dead handled the giant herd that attacked Alexandria in season six. That storyline was brilliant.

But, to be fair, maybe these ranchers aren’t so good at fighting zombies.

Instead of using guns, they try to use motorhomes and a variety of hand weapons to hold the zombies back. When that, unsurprisingly, goes belly-up, then they try to hide in the cellar.

Several people get chomped but Alicia, Crazy Dog and Ofelia remembered to put on their plot armour and skip merrily through the zombie horde to safety.

Alicia should have brought moer bullets but at least she remembered the plot armour.

This leaves everyone trapped, with only Nick, Troy and Jake left outside to save them.

Except ... Troy has bled to death. That leaves Nick and Troy, who’s bananas, to save the ranch and redeem themselves.

Are you thinking what I’m thinking B2 ...

Fear The Walking Dead continues on Foxtel’s FX Channel every Monday.