Mike continues his weekly review of FTWD. Beware: blood inside.
Just two episodes in, Fear The Walking Dead did what
a show attempting to build momentum should never do: take a week off. It's unclear how this will affect viewership
not only for this episode but also the
series going forward. But while it's
becoming more and more clear with each episode that FTWD is never going
to be that action and gore-packed show people were hoping for, it's beginning
to show flashes of being something quite interesting in its own right.
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| "Don't you bitches know who I am?" |
As far as the action goes, sorry, still not a whole lot
happening here. Our characters converge
at Madison's house (despite a critical injury to one of them) and begin to plot
their next move. That's pretty much the
entirety of what happens. This didn’t do
a lot for the overall tension of the show, but it allowed for a few quite
interesting smaller moments. It also
gives FTWD a chance to display a heart that at times feels missing from
the original Walking Dead that fueled some of that show's most harrowing
moments. Another place where FTWD shines
is its cinematography. TWD is
awash in dark, earthy colors that draw attention to the wilderness where much
of the show takes place. The color
palette of FTWD is much brighter, better showcasing a recognizable world
being spun into turmoil. This results in
some beautiful, memorable shots that drive this changing world home for the
viewer.
As for the cast of characters, most still seem a bit
bland. However, barber Daniel Salazar
(veteran actor Ruben Blades) is beginning to emerge as one of the more
interesting characters, despite not appearing until the second episode. While most of the characters seem a bit
confused (and to the viewer, even a bit naive, which leads one to wonder if the
characters in this world even know what zombies are), Daniel's stubbornness
begins to come off a bit as toughness in this episode. Based on some dialogue and a few situations
in this episode, he clearly made himself the character to watch, for a number
of reasons.
It's a bit relieving for those who've been with Fear The
Walking Dead since episode one to finally see some interesting
world-building and character development.
Hopefully waiting until the third episode to do this doesn’t backfire on
the show and hurt any chances it has to grow its audience. There is still a lot of room for improvement
here, particularly in making the lead characters more compelling and keeping
the tension elevated. But this episode
was a much-needed step in the right direction, with an ending that could
potentially be a game changer based on previews for next week's episode. Perhaps Fear The Walking Dead is
finally starting to live up to its potential, better late than never.
Score
- Mike Stec
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