Fear the Walking Dead 1.04: Not Fade Away
Meaghan Oppenheimer
Kari Skogland
For many, this felt like a much-needed shift in focus and direction for the series’ first season. To some degree, this is true, yet I didn’t come away with the sense that the series had turned a corner. Many of the same issues remain; the only change was the face of the “enemy”, and even that feels bland compared to what might have been explored.
I hope the military occupation and presence continues into the second season, because this has a lot of potential in terms of dark territory. Questions of trust are at the heart of any survival scenario, and shouldn’t be tossed aside too quickly. On the other hand, it’s not going to eliminate one of the main criticisms of the show thus far: the fact that the growing zombie apocalypse is largely taking place off-screen.
Meanwhile, I have to give credit to the fact that the writers aren’t letting Nick off the hook in terms of his addiction too quickly. It makes it somewhat difficult to sympathize with him, but this is where the audience’s knowledge of what is really happening can get in the way. The characters have some small idea how bad it really is, but they are still struggling through the realization that things aren’t going to just go back to the way they were before. A lot of the characters are running from that in some fashion or another, and for Nick, immersing himself in addiction again is a realistic response.
None of which changes the fact that it was cathartic to see Madison beat the crap out of Nick, because who didn’t wish they could reach into the television screen and do just that? And he was taken away by the military as a potential risk at the end, which is hard to argue. The military may be acting like they are keeping everything under control, but reality is a different story. In the absence of information on how the situation is escalating, anyone who might be a risk has to be quarantined. It’s cruel from the family’s perspective, but it’s survival.
The question is: just how far are they going in the name of survival? Because Madison’s sojourn behind the lines strongly suggests that the military is killing innocent people in the name of “restoring order”, and that does not bode well for Nick or anyone in the families that should decide to resist the status quo. It’s easy to see why Travis is taking a passive stance for now, but that has its dangers as well; he’s pulling back so far that he’s not seeing how those around him are falling apart.
That may change, now that Travis has seen what is really happening with his own eyes. But how much can really change? My concern is that the remaining two episodes will be all about rescuing Nick and escaping the military’s control, and that just seems too easy and too predictable. I want to see this story take a completely unexpected turn and get a little ugly, and while there are hints of that looming on the horizon, it’s taking forever to get there.
- Nick’s addiction isn’t getting ignored as I feared it would
- The military occupation has potential
- I remain concern that potential will remain untapped
Flaco_Jones
CONCURRING OPINION