Impressions: Fear The Walking Dead
Impressions: Fear The Walking Dead
I should begin this article by letting everyone know up front that I love zombies and the idea of a zombie apocalypse. The idea of civilization crashing down around us, being stripped of everything we have come to rely on, handling the stress of family and friends dying, and resorting to primal states in order to see the light of the next day. Admittedly I am a bit of a dark person(both in skin tone and in settings) so keep this in mind when I talk abotu this series.
Fear the Walking Dead is a spinoff of the wildly popular AMC tv show The Walking Dead which is currently coming onto it’s 6th season. When the Walking Dead started, it began in the mid west during a established apocalypse: everyone was in camps, society was destroyed, food and water was scared etc. Fear the Walking Dead takes place days before the collapse of the civilized world where the undead can only be found online and in hushed rumors. It is only a six episode series, just like how The Walking Dead was in their first season, but is Fear the Walking Dead good?
The answers is hell yes.
One of the reasons I enjoy Fear the Walking Dead is because of the location chosen for the setting. In this series the apocalypse arrives in Los Angeles, California. This is already a drastic change from the rural and wide open midwest, instead of animals, plants, and forests the new survivors face the harsh, man made cities that are often cramped and filled to the brim with people. The positive aspect of this is that technology and modern conveniences are readily available, food can be found in established stores in the beginning and shelter is all around them. The bad news is that there is a shit ton of people and surviving long term in the city is not feasible. This new setting offers so many possibilities that will add to the story, it was a great choice in my opinion.
Another aspect of the show that I enjoy is the fact that a majority of the characters are Hispanic. I apologize for throwing down the race card but we just don’t see too many latinos with lead roles in series that are of great quality. Often times if there is a Hispanic character, they will be drenched in stereotypes whether it’s a latin heart throb, a cholo, or a pregnant/ignorant young mother. Instead, in Fear the Walking dead we get a single divorced mother who is a great mom that works to support her family and also attends night school to obtain a better future. The son, Chris is a social activist while also being very studious and loyal to his loved one. There is another family that work a barber shop who have the common sense to shut down their store and barricade themselves before the situation gets worse during rioting and still find it in their heart to bring in some of the main characters. These characteristics are each unique and so human that you consider them more as people than latinos which is what shows should be aiming towards more often than not. I give them major kudos for this.
The zombies themselves feel real to me in terms of how zombies would act if freshly turned. They are strong, durable, and relentless; these are traits that the walking dead’s walkers do not have because so much time has passed that their flesh has become brittle and their strength has left them. These new zombies down quite a bit to take down as shown in the second episode of Fear the Walking Dead when a character encounters his first walker, pulls out a knife, stabs the zombies and pushes it back then looks on in horror at how quickly it recovers and strikes at him. It took a few good swings of a fire hydrant in order to overcome the undead and in my opinion this is appropriate.
The main characters have complicated relationships with one another that draws you, as a viewer, in and makes you feel for them. The father is divorced and re-married as he has to juggle both his ex wife and son with his new wife and her kids, he loves them all but is stressed by the situation he is in. His ex wife is content with their relationship but loves her son who wants nothing to do with the dad because of his new family. His new wife is mother to a disgruntled teenage daughter and a son with drug addiction, she loves her family but is at a breaking point with her issues. All of this creates a storm of drama that continues to suck you in and make you want to know more about everything.
All in all, I am loving Fear the Walking Dead and fully believe it is on the fast track to being another hit series on AMC. Although their competitor’s may be bitter about this, us fans are loving every second of it and can not wait for more!
Chicano | Fighting/Writing for Diversity | DM since 08 | Anime Lover | Site: https://www.thegeeklyfe.com | info@thegeeklyfe.com | http://twitch.tv/that_deangelo | https://linktr.ee/deangelomurillo
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