What We Become

"What We Become" is the eighth and final episode of season one and the eighth episode of the show overall.

Description
As the group mourns the loss of a loved one, Blake must come face-to-face with his demons and make a terrible decision.

Flashback
The episode opens on a shot of Blake's eyes opening. He wakes up in his room in his old home. A voice can be heard calling him down. Cut to him shoving food in his mouth as his mother hurries him along. She kisses him on the cheek and wishes him a good day at school. In the background, the television talks about riots occurring throughout the world due to "some new virus", but none of them notice. Blake's father then appears from the living room, asking if he's ready, and the two leave.

In the car, Brian attempts to make small talk with his son, which Blake laughs off. While gazing out the window, he notices a few people shambling along the road, presumably zombies. Blake's father confesses that he's worried about him, stating that he doesn't "know what you wanna do with your life. You're a good kid, Blake, and I'm sure that whatever you decide to do, you'll-" but his sentence is cut off when a car crashes into Brian's side of the car.

Present-day
Claire bursts into the common room, calling out Maeve's name. Chloe and Charlie follow closely behind as she begins checking all the bedrooms. Still reeling from Frank's death, Charlie leans against a wall and shakily sips on some water. He then looks at Chloe and asks "if he really has Maeve, why not kill her?", to which she shakes her head slowly. Claire returns, saying that "she's not here."

Blake and Joely open the doors to the canteen, Blake points his gun in front of him, Frank's blood still on his hands, as they search the room. When it turns up empty, Blake sits down in one of the chairs, shaking his head as he looks at his hands. Wordlessly, Joely wraps her arms around him.

Later, they all meet up at the courtyard. Claire asks if they found anything, to which Blake shakes his head and concludes that "Cain must've left the school with her." She then tells them that they "have to go after them, then. Right?" But Charlie tells them that "it'll be sunset soon. We can't go out there at night." Claire tells them "to hell with that, my sister's out there with a murderer!" Through gritted teeth, Blake agrees with Charlie, saying "we'll start searching first thing in the morning." Claire immediately begins to argue, but Blake interrupts her, saying that "I want to go after him right now, believe me. But I am not going to risk any more lives for his sake."

Part Two
As the sun sets, the group stands over the fresh grave holding Frank's body. Joely, tearful, starts speaking slowly. She says that "Frank was a good person. He was never changed by this world, no matter how hard it tried. He was kind and sweet, but he was also strong and determined. He didn't want us to kill Cain, not because he didn't think he deserved it, but because...because he was good. Too good for this world." The others begin to leave after a few moments, Charlie stays for a second, patting the mound of dirt solemnly. Joely starts to leave, but stays when she notices Blake, who doesn't move. She stands next to him and takes his hand in her's.

"It's my fault," he proclaims, telling her that "if I had just made a decision...if I'd've done something, then Frank would be alive. Maeve would be here." Tears start forming in his eyes as he continues talking, saying "What kind of leader am I? Cain was right, I couldn't make the right choices. I couldn't do what needed to be done." Joely tells him to stop, and that he "couldn't have known what he was going to do."

"I could still have stopped it," is all he can reply.

Claire lies awake in bed, staring at the ceiling with a blank expression on her face. Next to her, Chloe turns over to face her. She reaches out and turns Claire's head to face her, telling her "we're gonna find her." She then tells Chloe that she "should have gone after her when she ran away." Chloe tells her not to blame herself, but she says "how can I not?"

The next morning, everyone gathers their weapons while Blake gives a speech, telling them that "We're going to be going out into groups. Do not go anywhere alone. Do not go anywhere too risky. Maeve is our main focus, here, so if it's between Cain and her, you go for her." As everyone stands at the gate, preparing to leave, Blake asks Chloe to stay behind. When she resists, he tells her he "needs [her] to watch over the school while we're away. Plus, I want to leave the decision about Tim up to you." He tells her that he's "still not sure if killing Cain was the right decision, but at least you made one when I couldn't." Before Chloe can say anything, he opens the gate and the others head out.

Part Three
Blake and Claire walk down a road, their weapons out. After a moment of awkward silence, Blake tells her that he's sorry for making her wait until day. Glumly, she says she understands. He confesses that he "sometimes wonder[s] if you'd have been better off if you left that day that herd passed through, but she tells him that "we probably would've been dead by sunset. I don't always agree with you, but...you're infuriatingly right sometimes." Blake gives a small smile.

As they leave an abandoned shop, Charlie tells Joely that it "doesn't feel like Frank's gone, y'know?" to which Joely agrees, saying that "he'd kill me if he knew I told you this, but I used to tutor him. I helped him with maths. He hated it, but that's how we became friends." Charlie laughs a little, but his smile fades when he sees a dead infected on the ground up the street. He points it out and the two investigate, finding a small hole in its skull. Charlie kneels down to look at it and suddenly, Cain hits Joely with a rock, knocking her out. Charlie whirls around, only just managing to miss his next attack. He swings at Cain with his knife wildly, who easily dodges and tackles him to the ground. Behind them, a group of infected emerges from inside a building, drawn by the sound of the fighting.

Cain forces Charlie down, telling him he doesn't "wanna kill you, just Floyd," but he doesn't listen and continues struggling against him. Charlie then manages to knee him in the groin, causing him to loosen his grip and allowing Charlie to push him off. The infected take Cain by surprise, but he manages to fight them off and kill them.

Cain turns to Charlie, who starts laughing. Puzzled, Cain looks down, seeing a bite mark on his forearm. "Doesn't matter," Cain says, looking back at Charlie. "Tell Blake to come to the supermarket. Alone. If he doesn't, I'll make sure the last thing I do is kill the kid." He then runs off. Charlie's smile fades.

Back at the school, Chloe enters the changing rooms. Tim sits up straight and tells her he "heard about what happened to that Frank guy. I liked him, he was nice." She places a chair in front of him and says "I'm just going to ask you outright. Should I kill you?" After a moment, Tim asks if this is "some kind of test? I don't want to die, but...I don't know."

Chloe raises her eyebrows. "You don't know?" Tim looks up at her and says that "those guys I was with...they were good guys. I knew them before, but when the shit went down...they changed. They did some...terrible things, and I just let them do it. I mean, what does that make me? Maybe you should kill me." Chloe watches him for a moment, then gets up and leaves.

Blake and Claire leave another shop and begin heading down the street, only to be called by Charlie, who helps a bleeding Joely walk. Blake rushes to her and takes her head in his hands, asking what happened. She says "Cain happened." Charlie then tells them what happened and Blake immediately tells them to go back to the school, saying "I'll handle him. I'll get Maeve back." Joely grabs his hand before he goes, standing up and telling him that "he'll kill you," but he tells her that "I have to face him. It's me he wants, not Maeve. I have to do what'll keep everyone safe." He then turns and leaves.

Part Four
Blake slowly makes his way to the supermarket, the determination plain on his face. Soon he stands at the entrance, taking the gun from his pocket, checking it, and putting it back in. He creeps inside, the lack of windows making it eerily dark inside. Tony's body, mangled and decaying, still lays where he fell. Blake calls out Cain's name, telling him to come out. From somewhere in the shop, Cain tells him that "this is where it all started, really. When those guys attacked and you tried to stop me from killing them, I knew it'd end up being you or me." Then, Cain appears from the shadows, dragging a chair with Maeve tied up with him. Black streaks climb up his veins and he looks feverish. "I'll admit, you made us last longer than I thought you would." He turns the chair so that Maeve faces him, her eyes are wide and panicked. "But like I said, sooner or later, someone's going to die because of you. And look what happened. Frank's dead! If you'd just stayed dead..."

Suddenly, Blake pulls the gun from his pocket, but Cain's reactions are too fast and his slaps it away. He tackles Blake to the floor and wraps his hands around his throat, screaming "DIE" and spraying saliva over his face. Blake punches and kicks, but Cain doesn't budge until he digs his nails into his bite wound. Cain screams and Blake kicks him off, gasping for air. He sees the gun on the floor and crawls for it, but Cain grabs him by the ankles and drags him backwards. He turns him over and pulls a knife from Blake's belt. He tries to block the blade, but only manages to direct it into his shoulder. Blake cries out in pain and Cain pulls it out, going for a killing blow.

Cain lets out a cry and drops the knife. He twists around, revealing a knife in his back and Joely stood a few feet away, the blood on her head has dried. Cain can only say "bitch!" before going for her. Blake stumbles to his feet and grabs the gun just as Cain manages to grab Joely. Panting, Cain tells him he "won't do it. You're too weak, Floyd. You...you can't become what I've become." He throws Joely to the floor. "Come on, then. If you're so fucking strong. If you're like me"—he pounds his chest—"You'll be able to—" Blake shoots, cutting Cain off. It hits him in the throat and he collapses to the floor, a surprised expression on his face.

Part Five
The sound rings in Blake's ears and he barely notices Joely shaking him, telling him "we have to go." Next to her, Maeve stands freely, rubbing her wrists. She takes his head in her hands and tells him "every infected for miles will have heard the shot, we need to go." She pulls him up and they walk out. Moments later, a few zombies stroll in. The camera zooms in on Cain's face. Now dead, he faces the exit, the infected can be seen approaching in the reflection of his eyes.

Blake, Joely, and Maeve approach the gates, where Claire and the others—including a now freed Tim—wait. Maeve rushes to her sister and they embrace. Blake and Joely stay back to talk. He asks her if he's "a bad person," but she denies it, telling him that she "know[s] what you're thinking, and no, you aren't like him. You aren't perfect, but you're better than him, okay?" He then kisses her and the two of them enter the school. As Charlie closes the gate, he asks Blake if everything is okay, to which he answers "yeah. We are, now."

Flash-forward
Sometime in the future, a devastated Blake kneels on the ground, rain pouring around him. He looks down at something and repeatedly cries "No! No! No!" before the screen cuts to black.

Trivia

 * Last appearance of Maria Floyd (alive)
 * Last appearance of Brian Floyd (alive)
 * Last appearance of Tony (body)
 * Last appearance of Cain Fletcher
 * This is the first episode to incorporate flashbacks and flash-forwards.
 * This is the second-longest episode of the season, being an hour and fifteen minutes long.