"Sleigh Ride" is the sixteenth and final episode of the third season of the

post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; ast ...

horror

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

'' Fear the Walking Dead'', which aired on

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

on October 15, 2017 along with the previous episode; " Things Bad Begun".

Plot

Hiding together, tensions rise between Nick and Madison over Troy's murder and her growing ruthlessness. Proctor John arrives at the dam with Alicia, displeased that Strand wasn't fully able to deliver on their deal; Alicia bargains for Madison's safety. Strand is helping Madison and Nick escape when Lola attacks the Proctors and is killed. For their duplicity John decides to kill all four, starting with Alicia as a mercy. Nick uses the detonator in a standoff, threatening to blow up the dam. Madison, Alicia and Strand escape on a boat. The Proctors begin to move on Nick who receives unexpected help from Walker and Crazy Dog who snipe from a nearby hilltop and Daniel who fights his way across the dam. Nick detonates the explosives, blowing a hole in the dam and the boat is carried through by the current. Nick and Daniel escape while Madison swims to shore alone.

Production

This is the last episode for a departing

Dave Erickson Dave Erickson is an American television writer and producer best known for co-creating '' Fear the Walking Dead'' with Robert Kirkman, for which he was showrunner until the end of the third season; he stepped down in order to make more shows for ...

as a showrunner. This marks the final appearance of

Kim Dickens Kimberly Jan Dickens (born June 18, 1965) is an American actress. Her film debut was in the 1995 comedy film ''Palookaville''. Dickens played lead roles in the films '' Truth or Consequences, N.M.'' (1997), ''Zero Effect'' (1998) and '' Mercury R ...

as Madison alive in the present (since her appearances in season 4 are only flashbacks) until her return in season 7. This is also the final season to have

Paul Haslinger Paul Haslinger (born 11 December 1962) is an Austrian musician and composer. He lives and works in Los Angeles, California. Life and career Early life Haslinger was born and raised in Linz, Austria. He attended high school at Kollegium Alois ...

as the composer of the series as he is replaced the following season by Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans. This season is the last to feature the original '' Fear the Walking Dead'' logo, which was redesigned for the next season's semi-reboot.

Casting

This episode marks the final appearance of several characters. It is the last appearance Lola Guerrero (

Lisandra Tena Lisandra Tena is an American actress, best known for her role as Lola Guerrero on the AMC horror drama series '' Fear the Walking Dead''. Career In 2017, she joined the cast of '' Fear the Walking Dead'' in the series regular role of Lola Guerr ...

), who was killed during the episode. It is the last appearance of Qaletaqa Walker (

Michael Greyeyes Michael Greyeyes (born June 4, 1967) (Muskeg Lake Cree Nation) is an Indigenous Canadian actor, dancer, choreographer, director, and educator. In 1996, Greyeyes portrayed Crazy Horse in the television film ''Crazy Horse''. In 2018, Greyeyes port ...

), who manages to survive. This episode also marks the last appearance of several characters who died earlier in the season and appear in one of Madison's dreams, including

Travis Manawa Travis Manawa is a fictional character in the first three seasons of the television series '' Fear the Walking Dead'' portrayed by Cliff Curtis. The character is a former English teacher who is dealing with the fallout in addition to a divorce an ...

(

Cliff Curtis Clifford Vivian Devon Curtis (born 27 July 1968) is a New Zealand actor. His film credits include '' Once Were Warriors'' (1994), ''Three Kings'' (1999), ''Training Day'' (2001), '' Whale Rider'' (2002), ''Collateral Damage'' (2002), '' Sunshin ...

Jeremiah Otto The following is a list of characters from '' Fear the Walking Dead'', a television series that is a companion series and prequel to '' The Walking Dead'', which is based on the comic book series of the same name. Cast Main cast Rec ...

(

Dayton Callie Dayton Callie (born 1946) is an American actor, best known for playing Charlie Utter on HBO's '' Deadwood'', former Police Chief Wayne Unser on '' Sons of Anarchy'', and Jeremiah Otto on AMC's '' Fear the Walking Dead''. He has also voiced ...

) and

Jake Otto The following is a list of characters from '' Fear the Walking Dead'', a television series that is a companion series and prequel to '' The Walking Dead'', which is based on the comic book series of the same name. Cast Main cast Rec ...

(

Sam Underwood Sam Lewis Underwood (born 4 August 1987) is an English actor who portrayed the twins Luke and Mark Gray in the Fox thriller drama ''The Following'', Jake Otto in the AMC series '' Fear the Walking Dead'' (2017), and Adam Carrington in The CW se ...

Reception

"Sleigh Ride", received critical acclaim from critics. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, "Sleigh Ride" garnered a perfect 100% rating, with an average score of 8.0/10 based on 7 reviews. In a joint review along with the season finale episode, "Things Bad Begun", Matt Fowler of

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

gave "Sleigh Ride" an 8/10 rating, stating; "Some of the interpersonal moments didn't quite feel right in Fear the Walking Dead's Season 3 close-out, but using the dam as the centerpiece for the endgame, while also introducing a new villain into the mix, made for an exciting finale - even if Madison's haunting dreams were the only thing that resonated emotionally."

Ratings

The episode was seen by 2.23 million viewers in the United States on its original air date, the same amount of ratings as the previous episodes.

References

{{Fear the Walking Dead 2017 American television episodes Fear the Walking Dead (season 3) episodes Television episodes directed by Andrew Bernstein (director)