Fear the Walking Dead

[calsnowskier]

I was really hoping this show would focus more on the outbreak and setting...a widely known urban setting.



It has really done neither so far. The likable character is the old Mexican guy. The rest, annoy the fuck out of me!?

I think that one of the reasons that the original worked so well was because we had a clear lead from ep 1 that we could focus on. This allowed the other characters to rise up slowly and establish themselves. This show just threw everyone at you at once with no clear lead. With out an anchor character, there is no single path for the audience to stay on while the story gets dull for an ep or two.

 

[beardown07]

I think that one of the reasons that the original worked so well was because we had a clear lead from ep 1 that we could focus on. This allowed the other characters to rise up slowly and establish themselves. This show just threw everyone at you at once with no clear lead. With out an anchor character, there is no single path for the audience to stay on while the story gets dull for an ep or two.

I think you are absolutely right. There STILL isn't real a protagonist of the show yet IMO!? They seem to be rushing shit too!? I mean, aren't they only a couple of weeks in? The radio true love relationship, the pirates and their "leader" that no one wants to fuck with, the getting on the boat in the first place...like you said, thrown all at once, it seems.

If it really is just a couple of weeks in, it would still just be chaos IMO. There wouldn't be pirate leaders with fear-based servants en sech.

Just seems like they are trying to get to season 6, in 2 seasons.

 

[mr.hockey4242]

I think you are absolutely right. There STILL isn't real a protagonist of the show yet IMO!? They seem to be rushing shit too!? I mean, aren't they only a couple of weeks in? The radio true love relationship, the pirates and their "leader" that no one wants to fuck with, the getting on the boat in the first place...like you said, thrown all at once, it seems.

If it really is just a couple of weeks in, it would still just be chaos IMO. There wouldn't be pirate leaders with fear-based servants en sech.

Just seems like they are trying to get to season 6, in 2 seasons.

Seems like Nick is being set up as the main protagonist as of now.

 

[calsnowskier]

Seems like Nick is being set up as the main protagonist as of now.

But the fact that we are half way through S2, and we still do not know, is a problem.

 

[calsnowskier]

Further, by this point in the original show, we had already lost...

Jim (major)
Ed (major)
Amy (major)
Jenner
Jacqui (major)
Sophia (major)
Otis

In Fear, we have lost...

Elizabeth (major)
Griselda (major)
Calvin
Principal Obama (Art)
Others who no one cared about

The original had the feel of "anyone can die at any moment" because we knew the story was BASICALLY about Rick. We cared about the other characters, but they were expendable.

In Fear, we have no idea what the story is about (the writers fault) so we dont really care who dies, yet we dont really have the sense that anyone can die at any moment. The writers have no cajones.

Do we really expect an episode like 3.3 in this show (Laurie and T-Dog dying in the same ep)?

 

[mr.hockey4242]

But the fact that we are half way through S2, and we still do not know, is a problem.

But I feel like we kinda do.

I mean they have pretty much molded him into the perfect character to get behind. Best actor, flawed but not afraid, isn't a moron, will pull his weight and then some, and doesn't contribute to the drama and teenage angst. I think this season has seen Nick kinda become the main especially in terms of "most safe". Also, seems like the actor is being saved for the Talking Dead finale(doesnt mean a ton but still)

And I also think the character development has been pretty underrated. A lot of them still kinda suck but they are at least getting development. Travis will always kinda be blah and Madison is stupid so its tough having the two parents both suck but Chris and Alica are both coming around to "interesting" especially Mopey.

 

[calsnowskier]

But I feel like we kinda do.

I mean they have pretty much molded him into the perfect character to get behind. Best actor, flawed but not afraid, isn't a moron, will pull his weight and then some, and doesn't contribute to the drama and teenage angst. I think this season has seen Nick kinda become the main especially in terms of "most safe". Also, seems like the actor is being saved for the Talking Dead finale(doesnt mean a ton but still)

And I also think the character development has been pretty underrated. A lot of them still kinda suck but they are at least getting development. Travis will always kinda be blah and Madison is stupid so its tough having the two parents both suck but Chris and Alica are both coming around to "interesting" especially Mopey.

I will agree that for the most part, the character are MUCH more interesting this season.

Nick - I HATED him in S1, now he is actually exciting to watch. While I complain with how "smart" the characters are in regards to living in this world (they dont sweat the walkers anymore - it took Ricks group about 4 seasons to get to that point), They are actually showing HOW Nick is learning (he got smeared with blood, then got caught in a mini-herd and was ignored - he even tested the effectiveness of the camo at the time).

Chris - Was just set-dressing in S1. I didnt care either way. In the first few eps of this season, I hated him. Now he is becoming a bad-ass (too much of a bad-ass?). He is still in the learning process of bad-assery, but it is clear where he is headed.

Alicia - Still stupid, but she is hot. Actually TOO hot for the world we are in now. As they get off the boat and get more into the post ZA world, will her character bring anything to the table without being a made-up hottie?

Madison - Annoying mamma-bear. They better do something with her character soon.

Travis - Annoying twat. Kill him already.

Daniel - Bad-Ass-Mofo. I would like him to get more "into" the group, but his lack of trust actually really works with the character, so I am OK with his slow movement in that regard.

Ophelia - I dont get a sense of how old she is supposed to be. I THOUGHT she was supposed to be late-teens / early 20s in S1, but she seems to be more of an early-30s now. Hard to gauge who she is supposed to be if I cant place here demographic.

Strand - He is the natural leader of the group, but he doesnt want it, nor does the group. It will happen, though.

Alex - She will join up eventually. But she is set up to be too bad-ass right off the bat. I am suspending judgement on her at this point.

Luis - Fodder. I am not even sure he will make it to the compound. Who cares.

Abigail - Too early. I doubt he lasts long either.

Mamma Abigail - She will probably be dead already by the time we get to the compound.

 

[juliansteed]

I think you are absolutely right. There STILL isn't real a protagonist of the show yet IMO!? They seem to be rushing shit too!? I mean, aren't they only a couple of weeks in? The radio true love relationship, the pirates and their "leader" that no one wants to fuck with, the getting on the boat in the first place...like you said, thrown all at once, it seems.

If it really is just a couple of weeks in, it would still just be chaos IMO. There wouldn't be pirate leaders with fear-based servants en sech.

Just seems like they are trying to get to season 6, in 2 seasons.

Are you basing that on facts from all of the apocalypses in the history of mankind (zombie or otherwise)?

I don't think there is really a time frame for how long it would take for people to start turning on each other. Impossible to say really I think anywhere you go it could be different and unpredictable. Just because our main group took a bit longer before they started to experience this regularly doesn't mean that's going to be the norm. Plus I imagine way of life at sea during an apocalypse is a bit different than on land.

 

[juliansteed]

I think this series is really starting to get better. I really enjoyed these last 2 episodes. I really didn't care for the actor that played that Reed character. I thought it his acting was terrible but perhaps that was by design since he was portraying a character that was also trying to act more badass than he actually was. I don't know, either way I found him to be the most annoying part of an otherwise really good episode. On Talking Dead they made reference to the fact that he was some famous pop star from 10 to 15 years ago? I have never heard of him or the song they were referring to.

The hostage exchange thing was kind of cool but kind of silly at the same time. What was the point of the bags over their heads? I mean besides concealing the fact he was a zombie. Normally during a hostage exchange the only purpose that would serve would be so they wouldn't be able to find their way back to where they came from. That hardly seemed relevant in this case, and a handcuffed zombie managed to bite not only one bad guy but 2? But whatever, it's TV and it was something we haven't seen on either show before (but apparently was in the comics?).

 

[OutlawImmortal]

Madison: I don't want you becoming a bad ass!
Nick: Okayyyy Mommmm

 

[jakedog56]

I think this series is really starting to get better. I really enjoyed these last 2 episodes. I really didn't care for the actor that played that Reed character. I thought it his acting was terrible but perhaps that was by design since he was portraying a character that was also trying to act more badass than he actually was. I don't know, either way I found him to be the most annoying part of an otherwise really good episode. On Talking Dead they made reference to the fact that he was some famous pop star from 10 to 15 years ago? I have never heard of him or the song they were referring to.

The hostage exchange thing was kind of cool but kind of silly at the same time. What was the point of the bags over their heads? I mean besides concealing the fact he was a zombie. Normally during a hostage exchange the only purpose that would serve would be so they wouldn't be able to find their way back to where they came from. That hardly seemed relevant in this case, and a handcuffed zombie managed to bite not only one bad guy but 2? But whatever, it's TV and it was something we haven't seen on either show before (but apparently was in the comics?).

Interesting that you really liked the last two episodes but then go onto point out how completely absurd the hostage exchange was. That was actually the part that completely ruined this last episode for me.

Like you stated: The bag on the head = pretty stupid. But they put the bag on the Travis' head also to somehow try to make it look like it was more acceptable/understandable?!?

If they could hae cleaned up the Z a bit to make him look more plausibly alive and put a blindfold and gag on him, then cut it off and push him into the guys all at the same time I might have bought it. As it was, the pirates looked like some really stupid, incompetent douches to get taken out like they did.

I am rooting for a mass character purge killing on this series, Have the Z's come in and slaughter the vast majority of them, and keep only a few alive. I would recommend Strand, Nick, Daniel, and Alex switching sides to team up with them. Then you can bring in some new, more interesting surviviors.

 

[beardown07]

Are you basing that on facts from all of the apocalypses in the history of mankind (zombie or otherwise)?

I don't think there is really a time frame for how long it would take for people to start turning on each other. Impossible to say really I think anywhere you go it could be different and unpredictable. Just because our main group took a bit longer before they started to experience this regularly doesn't mean that's going to be the norm. Plus I imagine way of life at sea during an apocalypse is a bit different than on land.

Ok, well Connor is quite the badass then. Usually, I would think it would take more than 2 weeks to create followers and lore about ones self, but whatever. In 2 weeks, he's established himself as the Governor or Negan? And you don't think that sounds weird? I'm not arguing whether people would be pricks or not, I'm arguing that pecking orders en sech might take some time to play out.

 

[juliansteed]

Interesting that you really liked the last two episodes but then go onto point out how completely absurd the hostage exchange was. That was actually the part that completely ruined this last episode for me.

Like you stated: The bag on the head = pretty stupid. But they put the bag on the Travis' head also to somehow try to make it look like it was more acceptable/understandable?!?

If they could hae cleaned up the Z a bit to make him look more plausibly alive and put a blindfold and gag on him, then cut it off and push him into the guys all at the same time I might have bought it. As it was, the pirates looked like some really stupid, incompetent douches to get taken out like they did.

I am rooting for a mass character purge killing on this series, Have the Z's come in and slaughter the vast majority of them, and keep only a few alive. I would recommend Strand, Nick, Daniel, and Alex switching sides to team up with them. Then you can bring in some new, more interesting surviviors.

Yeah I knew it was silly for the reasons we both mentioned, but at least it was something new that we haven't seen before. I'm willing to just shrug it off for the sake of originality.

I mean ever since the 2nd episode of the main show I've been asking myself why they don't just always cover themselves in zombie guts anytime they go on a dangerous mission. It's pretty stupid of the characters not to do this but it would make for a pretty boring show if that's what they did each time.

 

[juliansteed]

Ok, well Connor is quite the badass then. Usually, I would think it would take more than 2 weeks to create followers and lore about ones self, but whatever. In 2 weeks, he's established himself as the Governor or Negan? And you don't think that sounds weird? I'm not arguing whether people would be pricks or not, I'm arguing that pecking orders en sech might take some time to play out.

I honestly don't know how long it would take, so I'm willing to just roll with it. Again, it's not like we have a real life precedent to refer to. So no I don't think it's weird at all, at least not too weird for a show that is about zombies. He didn't seem to build up the same type of following as those other characters in terms of quantity nor quality anyway. Just my opinion.

 

[lilchi721]

I think this series is really starting to get better. I really enjoyed these last 2 episodes. I really didn't care for the actor that played that Reed character. I thought it his acting was terrible but perhaps that was by design since he was portraying a character that was also trying to act more badass than he actually was. I don't know, either way I found him to be the most annoying part of an otherwise really good episode. On Talking Dead they made reference to the fact that he was some famous pop star from 10 to 15 years ago? I have never heard of him or the song they were referring to.

His name is Jesse McCartney

 

[mr.hockey4242]

I will agree that for the most part, the character are MUCH more interesting this season.

Nick - I HATED him in S1, now he is actually exciting to watch. While I complain with how "smart" the characters are in regards to living in this world (they dont sweat the walkers anymore - it took Ricks group about 4 seasons to get to that point), They are actually showing HOW Nick is learning (he got smeared with blood, then got caught in a mini-herd and was ignored - he even tested the effectiveness of the camo at the time).

Chris - Was just set-dressing in S1. I didnt care either way. In the first few eps of this season, I hated him. Now he is becoming a bad-ass (too much of a bad-ass?). He is still in the learning process of bad-assery, but it is clear where he is headed.

Alicia - Still stupid, but she is hot. Actually TOO hot for the world we are in now. As they get off the boat and get more into the post ZA world, will her character bring anything to the table without being a made-up hottie?

Madison - Annoying mamma-bear. They better do something with her character soon.

Travis - Annoying twat. Kill him already.

Daniel - Bad-Ass-Mofo. I would like him to get more "into" the group, but his lack of trust actually really works with the character, so I am OK with his slow movement in that regard.

Ophelia - I dont get a sense of how old she is supposed to be. I THOUGHT she was supposed to be late-teens / early 20s in S1, but she seems to be more of an early-30s now. Hard to gauge who she is supposed to be if I cant place here demographic.

Strand - He is the natural leader of the group, but he doesnt want it, nor does the group. It will happen, though.

Alex - She will join up eventually. But she is set up to be too bad-ass right off the bat. I am suspending judgement on her at this point.

Luis - Fodder. I am not even sure he will make it to the compound. Who cares.

Abigail - Too early. I doubt he lasts long either.

Mamma Abigail - She will probably be dead already by the time we get to the compound.

I think the one thing Ill give them credit so far is they have written a few really quality characters at least in potential and shown ability to develop some(even if others still suck)

Strand and Daniel were basically great from the start. Nick and Chris have gotten great development, i don't even like Chris yet but its still been a quality transformation they are showing.

Alicia is at least being shown to be competent now. A little manipulative, fought back and jumped off the boat. Not award winning but not a complete waste.

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

Damn good episode tonight.

Lots of stuff shaking out leading to next week's mid season finale..

 

[calsnowskier]

I would have prefered Strand as a grifter instead of this love-lord ghey-boy. But yes. Great episode.

 

[Breed]

Chris needs like 27897543 type of ass whippins. He's that rare dickheaded pussy type, but what's funky like penicillin. Is as far as being dangerously off balance. He's just number 3 on the list. WTF is happening to Daniel and the old Mexican woman needs to be locked up at the least and more likely put down. She's a freakin pandemic by her damn self. Between her and Chris's crazy asses I'm a fan of Madison's and she bugs me out more than Lori did on TWD.

 

[beardown07]

Best episode of the series. Chris does a great job as being annoying af, and making the audience want him to die.