Fear the Walking Dead: So Close, Yet So Far

I may be saying this a bit preemptively, but I'm going to say it anyways...I told you so. This second episode was great! Unfortunately, there were 19% less viewers this week, which kind of sucks, but you know what. This show is clearly not for everyone. I have a feeling that this show is going to be to The Walking Dead, what Caprica was to Battlestar Galactica; both amazing shows in the same universe but very different styles. (Rob French, a producer of BSG actually was one of the producers on this episode). Anyways, now we get into the spoiler territory.

In episode 2, we get to see a lot more of the societal impacts of this disease. I guess we focus more on society's reaction to the unknown. There are shootings, there are riots due to the shootings. And no one is talking about it. The scenes regarding police shooting an unarmed man ring almost too true for me and they made me feel very uneasy. That, however, is what a good piece of writing is supposed to do. Challenge you. Put a mirror up and say "LOOK AT WHAT'S REALLY GOING ON AROUND YOU!" And I think that this episode really succeeds in this. 

The part that really made me cringe was the moment a walker came around the ambulance and a police over said "Stop right there", and a few seconds afterwards, shoots the walker woman in the chest and in the head. I know what you're all thinking "It was a walker"...but you have to ask yourself, does the policewoman in this scene know that? This is the beginning of the outbreak. Would all the police officers know that there's a disease that reanimates the dead, causing them to eat human flesh? Does the government know what's happening yet they just have told society? Is that why the police are so ready to shoot, and why police officers are stocking up on supplies? I don't know. It can be looked at in a bunch of different ways, but let's move on. The thing that I found most interesting about this episode is the relationship dynamics that we are starting to witness. As someone who loves to over analyze stuff, lets get pretentious. 

My favorite character in this episode was Alicia (the daughter). I know what you're thinking, Madison (the mom) did the butt kicking and walker smashing, she was clearly the best. But I disagree. It's the zombie apocalypse. We know that people will have to bash in a few heads to survive. What we do not expect people to have during the apocalypse is compassion. And we see compassion within Alicia.

Throughout the episode you see Alicia struggling with choosing her boyfriend (who has been bitten) or her brother (who is going through heroin withdrawals). If you want to get overly analytical...Both men can become zombies, Matt (her boyfriend) will become a zombie. He's been bitten. That's inescapable. Nick (her brother) on the other hand has a chance. He is struggling with a heroin addiction and he can very easily become a metaphorical zombie. She reluctantly chose her brother, but it shows Alicia's true colors and her alliances. This action alone changes the entire perspective you have of Alicia and her familial relationships. Ultimately, this shows that Alicia is forgiving and compassionate; two traits that unfortunately in horror shows / movies don't lead to a happy ending for characters.

In any typical horror show, Alicia would be the first to go, but we all know that Kirkman doesn't give us what is expected. So I expect to be surprised moving forward, and that the will continue to get better! TOLD YOU SO!

Fear the Walking Dead: Pilot

I have seen quite a few bad reviews of the pilot episode of Fear the Walking Dead, and I have to disagree with all of them. I think that this episode was amazing! But before we get into it, I will let you know that there will be SPOILERS! SPOILER ALERT!!!

First off, I noticed that this spin off series is shot very differently than The Walking Dead. It seems to be more of a nod to your traditional horror film. It's not attempting to copy the formula from the original walking dead, but they do have a few nods to it (particularly, the first scene of the episode). I think this is the exact right way for them to approach this show, allow the show to develop it's own style, themes, and feel. Don't simply regurgitate the same crap that you already know will work!

Secondly, I saw Variety say "replace the annoying teenagers with some non-clichéd characters we can actually root for." I think that is a RIDICULOUS! How can you not be routing for Nick!? Nick is a junkie and something tells me that we are going to witness something amazing from this character. I will forecast that we will see a man get his life back in the midst of all the horror that there is in the world! We're going to see Nick become the Phoenix, or the redemption story.

If you want to get pretentious about this episode, you can already start to see this when you look at his interaction with Cal (his dealer). In the hospital Nick says he wants to get clean and then you see him slowly start to slip into routines that will lead him back down the road of addiction. Then when everything between him and Cal goes down, you see Nicky upset having shot his dealer/friend. Next Nick turns to his family, not because he wants to get help, but seemingly out of fear. Then Cal Attacks his family. When Nick gets behind the wheel of the truck you notice he hesitates, but then you see a subtle change in his face and you see him make a realization. That his family is more important. In my overly analytical eyes, when he runs over Cal, he is showing that he is choosing his family over drugs.

Also, how can anyone be judging the characters already!? Do I need to remind everyone how no one liked Daryl when he first showed up. He was a racist jerk. Now look at him! If he were to be killed off, there would be riots...or I would at least be afraid of the possibility of riots. 

Third, COME ON! It's the first freaking episode. Of course it's not going to be flawless. It's going to go through growing pains and have to discover what it will be and who the characters will be throughout the next two seasons. Give it time to grow and learn to love it. Shows typically don't come out and blow you away on the first episode. I will say that I was a huge fan of it and I cannot wait for the next one.