I stand by what I said last time and believe the Labor Day week off was definitely a death knell for Fear the Walking Dead. Though it needs to finish its six episode season before The Walking Dead premieres next month, it didn’t really earn the week. To put it in other terms, nothing about the previous episode was gripping enough to keep me hooked. But since I already started these recaps, I might as well keep going.
At this crucial point in the middle of the inaugural season, we’re seemingly heading in a direction rather than get stuck in the tropes of the first ten minutes of every zombie movie. We’re finally getting somewhere.
At the end of last episode, Travis, his ex-wife and son ended up in the care of the Salazar family. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately, depending on how you see it) we don’t get to explore this time long as this episode begins with all of them having to leave. It’s a well storyboarded scene as the two families make their way through the riots and the shots are appropriately hectic. There’s even a zombie attack amidst the chaos, and it’s so frantic you can actually feel the two families trying to make sense of it all. While they were running, the chaos leads to Griselda Salazar getting hurt and the Salazar’s decide to stay with Travis while talking of “debts” and the like. This also is one of the reasons I’m starting to hate Cliff Curtis’ Travis as a character. The fact he doesn’t suggest taking in the Salazars after they helped him is pretty petty. Also, I’m not really sure what to think of the Salazar family yet. It’s pretty neat that a Latino family is at the forefront of one of these shows, but I don’t like how typical they’ve become.
Ruben Blades’ Daniel is headstrong and stuck in this standard Latino ideology that one doesn’t do something without owing something in return. I’m not exactly confident that the series can explore it well, but it’s at least some sort of characterization. I just hope he branches out from the typical image he’s given right now. It seems so since he judges Travis as weak. And as much as Madison has annoyed me in previous episodes, her arc has been the most compelling thus far (and I thought the drug addict Nick would provide more entertainment). As The Walking Dead deals with people surviving in the apocalypse, Fear wants to watch how these people will slowly change. And if Fear is smart, it’ll only focus on that stuff. As much as I love watching failing societies, I love watching people crumble under it. As Madison realizes that, illness or not, these dead people are still dangerous, she just might the decision to be active.
That’s the overall direction this season: activity vs. inactivity. Characters bicker as to whether or not they need to find a better shelter, Travis refuses to actually put down a zombie (which might lead to a well deserved death) and accept the world is ending, Madison is just trying to keep her family together, Daniel wants to stay and take care of his family while the others march to their deaths, Nick has to decide whether or not to pursue drugs, Alycia finds out more and more about the new world, parts of the city are rioting while the suburban area seems to live life as usual, and all of this is just fantastic…until the ending.
You see, Fear the Walking Dead throws all of this away and introduces the military as they come in and literally save the day. I don’t know where any of this is going, but it put a literal stop to all of the forward momentum the episode had going for it. I’ve had enough of these crooked military stories.
Final Thoughts:
- When you find out why this episode is titled “The Dog,” you’ll be as sad as I was.
- Travis somehow thinks the zombies are sick even after watching one get run over multiple times a few episodes ago. I just don’t get it. Also he’s staunchly opposed to guns. Either the show’s setting up for a big downfall or his character’s going to go through one of those “dark turns.”
- The same person has directed the three episodes so far, that’s probably why there’s a welcome feeling of consistency.
- You’re probably wondering why the episode took a few seconds to focus on a plane flying over, but someone on that plane will be joining season 2. AMC’s planning some mini-episode detailing all of that.
