Fear and Loathing in New Vegas

Fear and Loathing in New Vegas
Series	The Stand
Season	1
Episode	5
Air date	January 14, 2020
Writer	Jill Killington & Knate Lee
Director	Chris Fisher
Episode guide
Previous	The House of the Dead
Next	The Vigil

Fear and Loathing in New Vegas is the fifth episode of CBS All Access miniseries, The Stand. It aired on January 14, 2020.

Synopsis

In Las Vegas, Dayna tries to get close to Flagg. In Boulder, Stu and Frannie have Harold to dinner.

Plot

Dayna Jurgens, who was recruited by the committee presiding over Boulder to infiltrate the rival survivor community in Las Vegas and learn as much as she can about them and the mysterious Randall Flagg, works to keep the power running in Sin City. After asking around about Flagg, Dayna is approached by Julie Lawry. True to Flagg's word, Lloyd has come a long way since resorting to cannibalism while locked away and forgotten in prison. Now Flagg's righthand man, Lloyd is revered by the survivors in Vegas as a celebrity. Tom Cullen has also successfully infiltrated Vegas, recruited to work in the gladiatorial arenas as clean-up crew while Flagg and his associates engage in debauchery.

Teddy Weizak's body is discovered. Stuart Redman suspects it was suicide while Larry Underwood believes that Teddy's death is linked to Flagg. Nadine Cross and her young accomplice Harold Lauder begin to have their own doubts in their sinister mission to kill Boulder's committee. Nadine recalls nearly entering a relationship with Larry while en route to Boulder and expresses resentment in a telepathic communication to Flagg for abandoning her to Harold. Harold feels that Nadine killing Teddy crossed the line and accepts an invitation from Frannie Goldsmith to catch up with her and Stu over dinner, with Frannie revealing the invite is a means to get Harold out of his house while Larry secretly investigates for clues if the teenager murdered Teddy.

Mother Abagail hints to Nadine that she is aware that she is a double agent working for Flagg. As Frannie and Stu wine and dine Harold, Larry quietly breaks into Harold's home and is intercepted by Nadine, who makes one last offer to romance him, secretly hoping this will save her from the dark destiny Flagg has planned for her. Realizing someone is in his home, Harold abruptly leaves dinner and nearly discovers Larry, but has his suspicions confirmed when he notices the chessboard in his bedroom has been slightly disturbed.

After being detected by Flagg, Dayna passes on a handwritten note to Tom to flee back to Boulder, unaware he can't read. As Dayna meets with Flagg in his penthouse suite, the Dark Man reveals he was aware of Dayna's journey all along, noting that her fellow spy Judge Farris is approaching Vegas through a desert in the north but that he cannot foresee who the third spy is. Realizing there are limits to Flagg's powers, Dayna stabs him in the neck with a pair of scissors. He survives and taunts her before she kills herself rather than be forcibly turned by him as he watches in visible frustration. Back in Boulder, Abagail prays for repentance and falls gravely ill after seeing a vision of a wolf, with Harold and Nadine watching eagerly as the community falls into chaos from the news.

The Boulder ruling committee's plans to learn more about Randall Flagg and Las Vegas are quickly backfiring, with Flagg well aware of the plot against him and his community. However, Frannie and Larry have unwittingly pushed Lloyd and Nadine closer to Flagg's cause, with God's apparent displeasure in their actions taking a physical toll on Mother Abagail. But while Flagg has managed to stay one step ahead of his opponents all along, Tom continues to elude his detection and his influence is shown not to be absolute as spies like Dayna avoid his total control.

Cast

Starring

• James Marsden as Stu Redman
• Amber Heard as Nadine Cross
• Jovan Adepo as Larry Underwood
• Odessa Young as Frannie Goldsmith
• Owen Teague as Harold Lauder
• Henry Zaga as Nick Andros
• Brad William Henke as Tom Cullen
• Nat Wolff as Lloyd Henreid
• Irene Bedard as Ray Brentner
• Alexander Skarsgård as Randall Flagg
• Whoopi Goldberg as Mother Abagail Freemantle

Guest Starring

• Natalie Martinez as Dayna Jurgens
• Katherine McNamara as Julie Lawry
• Fiona Dourif as Rat Woman
• Eion Bailey as Teddy Weizak
• Gabrielle Rose as Judge Harris
• Nicholas Lea as Norris Ridgewick

Co-Starring

• Mark Gibbon as Burly Guard #1
• Shadi Jahns as Bookie
• Arkie Kandola as Foreman
• Angela Moore as Female Clerk
• Lisa Neptuno as Neighbor
• Hugo Raymundo as Bo
• Seth Whittaker as Burly Guard

Gallery

Photos

Trivia

• The original title was "Suspicious Minds" which-in turn references the Elvis Presley song of the same name that was heard in this episode.

Production

Featured Music

• "That Old Black Magic" by Louis Prima & Keely Smith (over the aerial montage from the Hoover Dam to Las Vegas).
• "It's Not Unusual" by Tom Jones (while Dayna gets introduced to Lloyd and Julie).
• "Lick It Up" by KISS (gladiatorial central casino).
• "Suspicious Minds" by Elvis Presley (as Dayna ascends and visits the penthouse).
• "Don't Fear the Reaper" by Blue Öyster Cult (over the closing credits). Lyrics from this song are quoted in the opening pages of the original novel. The song is also used in the 1994 miniseries.