I hate to start my review with a groan-worthy nautical pun, but it appears as though Fear the Walking Dead is making a major course-correction with its second season. There are still some problem spots, and the basic bedrock of the show might be fundamentally flawed, but two episodes in to this season, and FTWD is a smarter, more competent show.
Part of that is due to the change in scenery – the Abigail, Strand’s yacht, is a novel setting (well, unless you’ve read World War Z), and shooting at sea gives FTWD many opportunities to turn itself into one of the prettiest shows on the air. Look, for instance, at that gorgeous opening shot, of the walkers shambling out of the surf. The shot itself, and the show’s new setting, call to mind the work of George A. Romero – call this season Ship of the Dead, if you like. The ocean brings with it new challenges and advantages, and it’s a smart way to let the show distance itself from The Walking Dead. On the sea, Fear the Walking Dead can really establish its open-air aesthetic that it began flirting with last season.
So this all sounds pretty positive, what are the problem spots I mentioned? Well, FTWD is at heart a family drama, and this family, the Manawas, is pretty annoying. Maddie has seemingly come down with Lori Grimes syndrome (Kim Dickens deserves better), the show is going out of its way to make Nick a romantic hero (he waxes poetic about starshine!), and the less said about Chris, the better. At least the new family they meet on Catrina Island seems more tolerable, but like everything about this franchise, there’s a dark underbelly.
And that’s another problem, not just with Fear the Walking Dead but with its parent show as well. Both shows want so badly to believe in the concept of goodness in the face of evil and despair, and they want their audiences to think the same. They are not, at their core, nihilistic. But they make such convincing arguments not to trust anyone. When has that ever worked out? Last season on FTWD everyone blindly trusted the military and got screwed over; on The Walking Dead it’s happened even more frequently, with Woodbury, the CDC, and Terminus. Both shows need to realize that they can’t have it both ways. The Walking Dead has basically thrown in the towel, narratively speaking, and seems openly contemptuous of its audiences. But – and I never thought I’d say this after the show’s underwhelming debut season – there is hope for Fear the Walking Dead.
There are some predictable elements to the group’s stay on Catrina Island – for instance, Chris becomes the requisite character who finds too much pleasure in killing walkers, and the setting itself is reminiscent of Herschel Greene’s farm, right down to the father’s beard. But it’s a smart move from a storytelling standpoint to get the group off of the Abigail in episode two, before the boat setting became overused.
Director Adam Davidson, a veteran of FTWD, is able to achieve a sense of both desperation and tranquility, unease mixed with comfort, in the scenes on the island, which is no easy feat. Travis has a beer with a man who is later revealed to have poison for his whole family. The island itself is within walking distance of a tourist town filled with potentially hundreds of walkers. And, most interestingly, details are teased out regarding Strand and what exactly his intentions are. It’s no secret that Strand is the show’s best character, due in part to Colman Domingo’s delivery of all his lines: part demonic, part mellifluous. He’s given the group no reason not to trust him, but can you really blame them for being unsure?
Fear the Walking Dead still has some work to do. But “We All Fall Down” was a huge step in the right direction. Keep in mind that we’re only eight episodes into the show, so there’s still a chance that this could become the brutal, cerebral zombie show that The Walking Dead came close to being a few seasons ago.
A Few Thoughts
- I loved the casual way that San Diego’s fate was revealed. “The military burned it down.”
- After playing black, Arab, Latino, Indian, and almost every other conceivable race, Fear the Walking Dead might the first time that Cliff Curtis has been allowed to be Maori! Here’s a handy supercut.
- The funniest thing about this show is that Atticus Ross gets credit for composing the opening theme song – a 10-second sting of ambient noise.
- Overall, I like the structure of season two (what we’ve seen so far): the zombie road trip story. I picture the group going up and down the coast, meeting colorful characters, almost none of whom will turn out to be good guys. People went to shit, like, right away on this show. There’s still cell service, for Christ’s sake.
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