Close Your Eyes (Fear the Walking Dead)


"Close Your Eyes" is the tenth episode of the fourth season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series Fear the Walking Dead, which aired on AMC on August 19, 2018 in the United States.
This episode marks the final appearance of Kim Dickens and Frank Dillane, who both died earlier in the season, they briefly appear in a flashback in this episode through archive footage from the first half of the season.

Plot

Alicia takes refuge in a house to escape the storm. She kills the dead Infected family and puts their bodies outside. She hears an intruder in the house, which is Charlie, who locks herself in an upstairs bedroom. Alicia guilts Charlie about killing Nick, telling her she'll have to live with it for the rest of her life, which brings Charlie to tears. Alicia orders Charlie to help her hammer the window shutters closed, but stops once the noise begins to attract more Infected. Back inside, Alicia discovers Charlie has a gun, which Alicia keeps. The two eat dinner, and Charlie asks Alicia many questions about her past. The storm begins to intensify and a window shatters. They flee to the basement, which has flooded, and debris collapses on the basement door, trapping them. They try to escape through the exterior doors, but it's locked from the outside. Believing they will soon drown, Charlie begs Alicia to kill her so she will not turn like her parents did. Alicia contemplates it, but refuses. Suddenly, an Infected impaled on a tree branch above falls and breaks the lock, allowing them to escape. They drive to the mansion to look for Strand and Luciana, but the house is empty and in ruins. They also discover John and June's bus overturned on the bridge, and Alicia wonders if they are all dead.

Reception

"Close Your Eyes" received very positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, "Close Your Eyes" has garnered a perfect 100% rating with an average score of 8.75/10 based on 10 reviews.
Alycia Debnam-Carey's performance was lauded by critics. Laura Bradley of Vanity Fair stated the episode was Debnam-Carey’s most powerful performance yet, one that proved Alicia still has a lot of story left.

Ratings

The episode was seen by 1.86 million viewers in the United States on its original air date, slightly below the previous episodes ratings of 1.88 million viewers.