Fear The Walking Dead 2021 AMC Film Holdings LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Fear The Walking Dead gets worse every season. It is difficult to believe how the show's creators manage this feat. They prove that things can be more cheesy and contrived than you thought.
Episode 1 was okay. It had its moments. Although it was uneven, Strand was still entertaining (minus his silly military uniform). It wasn't the best episode, but I don't think it was bad.
Episode 2 was the worst episode of the entire series. Morgan and Grace were caught up in a ridiculous series of events while trying unsuccessfully to escape the nuclear submarine that they'd been living in since Teddys nuclear bombs fell.
Episode 3 may be the most horrible episode yet, if that's even possible. This episode centers around June and John Dorie Sr., who hid in Teddy's bunker at the last minute of Season 6.
This particular pairing continues to bother my. It was a clever bit of plotting by June to meet her deceased husband's estranged father just days after his death. They are now in a bunker together, waiting for the day when they can reemerge.
Everything is fine at first. June and John play like gangbusters in the bunker, playing house, and counting down the days to their departure. It looks like they will have to wait for the radiation to go down for an entire year, but the radiation has already gone down by that time.
We finally feel like we have some control over our time and can confidently say that Strand was able to build a community within 100 days. Morgan, however, has spent his time building magical submarine cars.
We discover that John Dorie Sr., an alcoholic, is a bad one. Since the end of the apocalypse, he has been drinking half a bottle per day of whiskey. But the real mystery is how he was able to obtain so much. He must have continued to drink this much even though June didn't notice that they were getting together.
(What's up with the obsession of current showrunners with alcohol? It's bizarre.
I believe he continued to drink at this rate, which isn't even that high for an alcoholic. Once he has finished the sauce, some shelves have fallen over, breaking all of the bottles, he experiences delirium tremens. This is a severe side effect many people feel when they quit drinking alcohol.
This is a logistical problem. Is it really possible to assume that Dorie Sr. had enough alcohol to last three months on half a bottle per day? This is 45 fifths of an alcoholic drink. He would have been drinking much less alcohol and wouldn't have had such severe side effects.
It doesn't matter. Let's just accept it.
Jenna Elfman plays June. Keith Carradine portrays John Dorie Sr. 2021 AMC Film Holdings LLC. All Rights Reserved.
John and June discover Teddy's secret laboratory behind the broken shelving unit. This is where he embalmed all the women he murdered back when Dorie was investigating the case. This triggers old memories, even if they weren't stirred by Teddy running past them. John begins to experience hallucinations due to alcohol withdrawal and old memories. This episode's title is Cindy Hawkins.
Dorie Sr. begins to have hallucinations and withdraws from alcohol. He hears the voices of the girls outside the bunker, and he goes to investigate. The outside scene is grim. There is radioactive fog everywhere. Everything is colored by the yellowish light that isn't day, but isn't night. He finds the zombie corpses Teddy and Dakota among the barren trees that dot the landscape. He finds that Dakota is a zombie and Teddy is alive. It's poetic that he killed the girl who had murdered his son.
It looks completely fake. It almost looks like a set. It could be a stylistic choice, or it could just be plain bad. There are many shots through the gas mask. We also get shots of Dories' eyes inside the gas mask. Finally, we see a wider view of the entire set. He sees Cindy, but she becomes a zombie. Just in time, June arrives and captures the gas mask before it bites John.
They then see the radiation-suit-clad scavengers, who are all standing there in awe. This is both silly and silly. How did they appear at such a moment? Another ridiculous coincidence, perfect timing, and perfectly placed threat. Just like last week's bounty hunter brother, this is another absurd coincidence.
The entire show is based on absurd coincidences, gimmicks, and overpowered walkie talkies.
Dorie Sr. and June continue to have hallucinations and engage in poorly written dialogue while the bad guys try to infiltrate. Dorie holds June down so that she doesn't follow him out. He has more hallucinations, and one of the bad guys gets past him in the bunker. The other guy points his gun at June, then waits for John to get back and shoot him.
John manages to get out of his haze and rescue June. Then they discover Cindy Hawkins' body, which is buried in the wall. John fulfills his promise of peace to her (probably long-dead?) parents, and everything is fine with the world.
Except for the cave-in, and both are knocked unconscious.
Strand's Tower is where they awaken later. Strand and his friends heard Dorie on the radio, and came to their rescue. Strand offers Dorie a drink, but he declines. This is about as far as the show gets in terms of character development/arc. Dorie, however, is furious at Strand and says something along the lines of "How could we live together with you after what your did to Morgan!" Because Dorie loves Morgan, but hates Strand. That's how the show wants everyone feel. Despite Strand being a better leader and Morgan leading everyone towards, as Strand says, death.
They decide to stay, influenced in part by the crowd of zombies outside the tower. However, Strands people seem to be able come and go as they please.
Morgan is seen standing outside the fallen bunker. Morgan, like Morgan, heard their pleas over the radio and decided to rescue them. Although he cannot escape the submarine, he can quickly rush to save people. Strand's voice suddenly rings out from the other end of the walkie-talkie as he tries to reach them. Morgan asks him to find them. He says they're not there. Tell me, or else! Strand responds:
You are such a bore. Let's do this every night so you can get me to sleep.
Keith Carradine portrays John Dorie Sr. 2021 AMC Film Holdings LLC. All Rights Reserved.
It almost makes up the entire episode. This is the show's best episode in four seasons. It's because it tells the truth. Morgan is a boring character. Morgan used to be an interesting character, but he's become Goody Two Shoes Morgan so often that it's almost unbearable. The writers wanted us to sympathize and believe that Strand is the bad guy, but I'm all for Strand. He has already proven that he is better than Morgan at this.
Morgan is told by he wants to save the planet and people. But he will only save those people he feels he can. Strand is wrong, or is this just another attempt to make Strand look bad? The same attitude was shared by Michonne and Rick, the survivors. The Alexandrians were also there before Rick's group arrived. They did not allow anyone to enter any of these communities. They have all been careful and selective. Strand is doing the exact same.
Morgan tells Strand that he should help others, but that if Strand does wrong to anyone, he will love hell.
Strand smiles and says, "Bring it!" Yes, Team Strand.
I don't know what to say. Poor dialogue, fake sets, and silly hallucinations are just a few of the many examples of bad dialogue. There is also a lot of silly melodrama. Another episode was focused on a few characters. This show isn't boring because of how ridiculous and silly it is. You just have to enjoy it, laugh, and then let it flow over you.
I've been yelled at for repeating the same thing about this show over and over. It's because we keep making the same mistakes over and over. I would love to whistle a new tune. Fear The Walking Dead can't rise to the occasion.
Below is my video review.
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