SPOILER! If you did not watch tonight's episode of Fear The Walking Dead entitled "So Close, Yet So Far" do not read any further!
What did you think of this week's episode? Talk the walk. Walker 2
"When civilization ends, it ends fast." No truer words have been spoken and tonight's episode captured the essence of fear and panic that would realistically occur during an end of the world event. There was mass confusion, looting, power outages, and destruction throughout the episode but it did not overwhelm it. I felt that the writing of tonight's episode is once again to be applauded. I thought that the portrayal of the government's response to the outbreak was spot on especially in light of recent current events involving police brutality and injustice. The crowd's protest of the police was brilliant because it highlights the general public's confusion of the virus and its conflation as yet another racist and/or classist assault plaguing society. In addition, tonight's episode was heavily nuanced in levels that The Walking Dead often isn't. The symbolism of The Walking Dead is mostly straight forward, whereas on Fear The Walking Dead it is often hidden. For example, the woman clutching the crucifix in the barber shop towards the end of the episode is indicative of what happens when people are scared and don't understand. Religion is a means to make sense of the wickedness that exists in the world. It's what people cling onto and it gives them hope that things will eventually get better. These nuances of the government and religion is only heightened with the show's slow pace. Even though I took issue with this last week, I feel that it works for Fear The Walking Dead because even though the world as we know it is ending quickly for the characters, the suspense of not knowing, of being kept in the dark happens gradually, which only intensifies the horrors of what is about to occur. Fear The Walking Dead has a cinematic feel that is typical of the horror genre because as a viewer, you don't want to turn away, you want to know what is going to happen next, even if there are aspects of the show that one has not yet bought into.
Which brings me to why I feel conflicted about the show as a whole. I'm finding it really difficult to buy into these characters. I can honestly say that the only characters I truly care about is Madison and her drug addict son. The show has yet to prove that Travis can carry this show in the same manner that Rick does on The Walking Dead. I thoroughly enjoyed the scene in which Madison was forced to kill the principal of the school where she worked because it began to unravel her mental state as she begins her decent into the unknown world that she and her family are about to inherit. I also thought it was ingenious to parallel the symptoms of the virus with that of withdrawal from drug addiction because it only reinforces how much people do not yet understand regarding the virus. Having said all this, why is the daughter being kept in the dark about what's happening? This will not end well for her because there's nothing worse than not knowing. It makes people panic more and do stupid things. Conversely, knowing too much can be just as detrimental. Just look at Tobias, the show's resident zombie know-it-all, who is trying to make it on his own. He's definitely not long for this world, because as we know strength is often built in numbers. This brings me to my final point, Fear The Walking Dead is clearly a horror show, so why do the writers insist on splitting up the characters? I know the intent is to build suspense, but I'm so over this trope. Let's hope that the characters will soon be reunited so that they can face the walkers together.
Unfortunately, we are going to have to wait two weeks to find out what is going to happen next for our L.A. crew as AMC is undoubtably worried that people will tune out due to the upcoming Labor Day holiday. I think this is a programming mistake since the show is so new and moves much much slower than The Walking Dead. Hopefully viewers won't tune out. I for one will continue as I'm interested in how the show continues to handle the end of civilization as we know it.
Which brings me to why I feel conflicted about the show as a whole. I'm finding it really difficult to buy into these characters. I can honestly say that the only characters I truly care about is Madison and her drug addict son. The show has yet to prove that Travis can carry this show in the same manner that Rick does on The Walking Dead. I thoroughly enjoyed the scene in which Madison was forced to kill the principal of the school where she worked because it began to unravel her mental state as she begins her decent into the unknown world that she and her family are about to inherit. I also thought it was ingenious to parallel the symptoms of the virus with that of withdrawal from drug addiction because it only reinforces how much people do not yet understand regarding the virus. Having said all this, why is the daughter being kept in the dark about what's happening? This will not end well for her because there's nothing worse than not knowing. It makes people panic more and do stupid things. Conversely, knowing too much can be just as detrimental. Just look at Tobias, the show's resident zombie know-it-all, who is trying to make it on his own. He's definitely not long for this world, because as we know strength is often built in numbers. This brings me to my final point, Fear The Walking Dead is clearly a horror show, so why do the writers insist on splitting up the characters? I know the intent is to build suspense, but I'm so over this trope. Let's hope that the characters will soon be reunited so that they can face the walkers together.
Unfortunately, we are going to have to wait two weeks to find out what is going to happen next for our L.A. crew as AMC is undoubtably worried that people will tune out due to the upcoming Labor Day holiday. I think this is a programming mistake since the show is so new and moves much much slower than The Walking Dead. Hopefully viewers won't tune out. I for one will continue as I'm interested in how the show continues to handle the end of civilization as we know it.
What did you think of this week's episode? Talk the walk. Walker 2