"The Walking Dead": Any fans here?

[Japanfan]

I am now officially hate-watching Fear the Walking Dead. I hate the characters, I hate the bad writing, I hate the cheap production values that prevent us from seeing anything interesting but allow us to watch two stupid teenagers trash a house, I hate that writers still think that torture is an effective way to get information and at this point, why would the soldier withhold information?

I don't hate it, but vastly prefer TWD. Agree that the house wrecking scene was a waste of screen time.

I thought Mr. El Salvadore explained why he did not trust the soldier and thought it necessary to torture him. If you don't torture someone you don't trust, you have no way of knowing whether they telling the truth or telling all that they know. He did stop short of killing the solider and did stop at stop point - though Mr. Salvadore did for sure become kind of creepy.

The character that bothers me the most is I-can't-shoot-a-gun-to-defend-my-own-life Travis. He hasn't figured out that there are zombies out there where the soldiers go, and gets out of the car anyway?

 

[AliasJohnDoe]

Fear The Walking Dead: Flight 462 web series to begin in October.
http://www.ew.com/article/2015/09/28/fear-walking-dead-flight-462-web-series-october

Plus Norman Reedus discusses Season 6 of The Walking Dead.

 

[PeterG]

Bummer. Only one more episode. I love this show. Maybe I'm just tired of the other set of characters but I'm liking this show better, even if we only get a distant zombie shot every so often. Some of the characters are dumb and shallow but there is interesting depth in a couple of them - more so than the original.

I'm loving the show too. Maybe better than The Walking Dead. I'm loving how we're getting to see the "in-between" story of how everything went to Hell. And how unprepared civilization is for a zombie apocalypse. Do none of these people watch TV and then run to FSU to post about the hour of whatever they just watched?? Last week and this week both had a sense of dread (but not over-poweringly so) of how everything is sliding into the shi**er. And we all know that even worse is about to come. The organization of the military and the hospital (should I put hospital in quotation marks?) will probably combust soon and it's going to be a free-for-all. It's interesting about how angry everyone is (and not that I disagree with them), but soon they're going to wish they could go back to that fenced neighbourhood with the military protection. I'm expecting wild times ahead. Hold on folks!

 

[PrincessLeppard]

I'm loving the show too. Maybe better than The Walking Dead. I'm loving how we're getting to see the "in-between" story of how everything went to Hell.

But we aren't. That's what we were promised, but that hasn't happened. We went from Madison killing the principal to skipping nine days into the future when they've all been locked up in the suburbs.

 

[rfisher]

Yeah, the only lesson I've learned is don't give up your guns because those who have them have the upper hand. Mr. Salazar is wise. Rick, Daryl and Carol would approve. Some of the little family group are doomed. Some I hope sooner rather than later.

 

[Marco]

I can accept dumb characters, but I can't accept all dumb characters. Why have a series when even the main characters are so dumb that I WANT them to get bitten?

You sort of expect the teenagers to be wild and uncontrollable. You sort of expect the military to withhold information and be ruthless to maintain order. But you don't expect the major characters to be so freaking useless on every single thing. They do not lead. They do not inspire. They cause frustration. Why?

It's been 5 out of 6 episodes and still the show is going nowhere. I give up.

 

[Japanfan]

I can accept dumb characters, but I can't accept all dumb characters. Why have a series when even the main characters are so dumb that I WANT them to get bitten?

You sort of expect the teenagers to be wild and uncontrollable. You sort of expect the military to withhold information and be ruthless to maintain order. But you don't expect the major characters to be so freaking useless on every single thing. They do not lead. They do not inspire. They cause frustration. Why?

To be fair, the acting on FTWD isn't great and the cast just does not compare to the cast of TWD.

And they seem dumb because they have not been informed of what's going on. They don't know the extent of the epidemic, and may well have been hanging on to the belief that's it is being contained and everything will return to normal. The forced removal of people with health risks received a reaction of alarm and fear, and soldier guy has told them what's coming down in the morning, so there's the wake-up call. Things are about to turn very bad. Presumably our primary characters will escape, having been warned, and be introduced to the reality of the apocalypse,

 

[Marco]

To be fair, the acting on FTWD isn't great and the cast just does not compare to the cast of TWD.

And they seem dumb because they have not been informed of what's going on. They don't know the extent of the epidemic, and may well have been hanging on to the belief that's it is being contained and everything will return to normal. The forced removal of people with health risks received a reaction of alarm and fear, and soldier guy has told them what's coming down in the morning, so there's the wake-up call. Things are about to turn very bad. Presumably our primary characters will escape, having been warned, and be introduced to the reality of the apocalypse,

Agree. That's part of it. But it's dumb enough that they weren't traumatized to see the dead walking after being hit by a car, eating a dog, not falling down after being shot, etc. If they were ordinary civilians, they should be scared to death. But no, they decided to sneak out. Or ask to go out. They saw things but still weren't scared. And they never did anything strong. So are they supposed to be strong leaders in an apocalypse, or plain civilians?

And also, they never followed through on things. Travis and Maddi found out things but didn't tell others. They didn't even tell their own kids. They didn't know to close the doors when they had been guarding from intruders all night long. Maddi sneaked out and saw things but then nothing happened afterwards. Alicia probably figured out that Susan committed suicide and turned but didn't tell others. How can they demand information from others when they didn't even share information within themselves? They all thought they saw flashes from across town but nothing came out of that. Nothing else is happening to the Tobias line. Nothing else is happening to the fat guy who got scared and asked to talk to Travis. Where is this show heading?!

 

[susan6]

Nothing else is happening to the Tobias line.

It looks like Tobias might be back on the web series....looking at the link upthread on "Flight 462", that's Tobias in the picture, right?

 

[PeterG]

It's interesting to see how in opposition the posts here are from one poster to another. Lots of posts about how the show wasn't moving fast enough. And then when they jumped ahead nine days, the show had moved too fast.

There's also posts about why aren't these people doing this or that, etc. But when they do take action, they are called reckless or unintelligent. It's like people experiencing a zombie apocalypse for the first time in their lives just can't win!!

 

[PrincessLeppard]

To me, it's that these people never communicate. So when Maddie is going to kill the zombified neighbor Susan and Travis is all "no, she's sick," why didn't Maddie say, "Hey, loser, I had to bash the principal's brains out with a fire extinguisher because he tried to eat me." But no, she just gives him the hammer. And then the military blows Susan away.

I also hope during the zombie apocalypse that I am able to sit calmly at my dining room table and sip coffee. Even after I've bashed out someone's brains.

 

[Marco]

It's interesting to see how in opposition the posts here are from one poster to another. Lots of posts about how the show wasn't moving fast enough. And then when they jumped ahead nine days, the show had moved too fast.

I think it's because everyone expected the show to be about how people would react when they first saw zombies and when they eventually got overwhelmed. Like the final minutes of episode 1, Maddie and Tobias running into zombie Principal; the whole military intervention, the riot, etc. Those are all great ideas that should have been expanded. Instead, they never showed how Travis and Maddie handled the zombie which Nick ran over with a car and stood back up or how they felt about it; they never warned their kids about zombies; they never showed other people first finding out about zombies; they never showed how the military handled or contained the situation (I am assuming lots of casualties); they never showed what the military told them when they ring-fenced the area and how the whole neighbourhood reacted; - only that they were suddenly assured that they were safe. Where's the fear when you call yourself "Fear the Walking Dead"? The show skipped over all the important stuff which it was supposed to cover, and instead spent time on Nick's addiction, and how the two families clash, when these things happen with or without zombies anyway.

There's also posts about why aren't these people doing this or that, etc. But when they do take action, they are called reckless or unintelligent. It's like people experiencing a zombie apocalypse for the first time in their lives just can't win!!

Because they were, in fact, reckless and unintelligent, or unreasonable. I think it's fair to assume most of the ordinary people would be scared sh!tless and stayed somewhere safe when they already encountered dangerous things out there and the situation actually required military intervention. It would make sense to demand answers. But not sharing intelligence (pun intended) among themselves and sneaking out just doesn't make sense when you don't know what happened. For a second I thought Maddie could be the hero - you know, giving Susan mercy and ignoring instructions from authorities in order to seek out the truth and protecting her family, and eventually leading the group - but no, Maddie was still throwing tantrums at others over her own problematic son. And Travis isn't any better. Forget about zombies. It isn't about believing whether they are sick or turned. it's about protecting yourself and your family. Even if it is just a human being attacking you and wanting to bite your face off, you know, after eating a dog to death right in front of you, you want to strike back. But no, put the gun down, you know.

I guess I just have so much expectation for the show, to me both the story and the characters are very off.

 

[Japanfan]

I thought tonight's conclusion wasn't bad, actually, but am really looking forward to the return of the TWD in just one week.

 

[halffull]

FTWD for me was just ok. Will give it another chance for another season but I can take it or leave it.
Very excited for Season 6 of TWD though can't wait to see what's in store for Rick and the gang this season!

 

[AliasJohnDoe]

Fear The Walking Dead: Flight 462 Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X832Ti_7WjA

 

[Marco]

For me, the season finale of FTWD is almost another episode of TWD. They skipped all the fear and headed straight to the apocalypse.

Some of what I was looking for didn't happen:

- Alicia telling everyone what she read from Susan's letter (presumably her suicide note - indicating that all dead people turn, whether bit or not)

- People finding out that once you get bit, you turn (i.e. the transition from "just a disease" to zombie apocalypse)

- People finding out that hitting the zombie head is the money shot

- People finding out that sound attracts attention of the zombies

- what happened with the mirror reflection thing that they saw from the rooftop

- what happened to Tobias

Glad to see Travis finally man up though, after he was stupid enough to let the soldier go.

 

[PeterG]

You wanted zombies? YOU GOT ZOMBIES!!! You wanted violent Travis? YOU GOT VIOLENT TRAVIS!!! Everyone's dreams are coming true!

I thought tonight's conclusion wasn't bad, actually, but am really looking forward to the return of the TWD in just one week.

I really liked that things ended with some calmness. Well...until Liza got shot in the head... But at least they are in a zombie-free zone (for now) and can rest up a bit before deciding what to do next.

For me, the season finale of FTWD is almost another episode of TWD. They skipped all the fear and headed straight to the apocalypse.

By fear, do you mean the missing nine days where people get more scared as each day passes? I think this group was able to skip most of that as their neighbourhood was fenced off and they had some safety...at least temporarily.

- People finding out that once you get bit, you turn (i.e. the transition from "just a disease" to zombie apocalypse)

- People finding out that hitting the zombie head is the money shot

- People finding out that sound attracts attention of the zombies

Didn't the action characters took in this episode show that they know all of these things? Liza talked about how now that she's bit, she will die, but "come back..." We saw the group kill zombies this episode a number of times by bashing them in the head. And Daniel admonished Travis in the underground parking lot for being too loud as it would attract "them".

- what happened with the mirror reflection thing that they saw from the rooftop

- what happened to Tobias

It will be interesting to see if anything comes from the "mirror people". Not sure if that's something that needs to be explored, maybe the purpose of seeing the light of that mirror was for everyone to be aware that there are other people out there when the military said there was not. So they knew to doubt the military more than they had already.

As for Tobias, I wonder if he'll be like Morgan in The Walking Dead, somebody who we come across in a future season of the series. That might also happen with the doctor at the "hospital" who "is lost" as Maddie said. And Strand as well, if he goes off on his own.

 

[Japanfan]

You wanted zombies? YOU GOT ZOMBIES!!! You wanted violent Travis? YOU GOT VIOLENT TRAVIS!!! Everyone's dreams are coming true!

zombie-free zone (for now) and can rest up a bit before deciding what to do next.

One problem for me is that I'm finding it a hard to believe that the group would actually let a herd of zombies into their neighbourhood, basically guaranteeing that many of their neighbours would be infected and turn. They are just 'ordinary folk' and mostly 'good people' with the exception of Mr. El Salvadore and Strand, who IMO are actually the most interesting people in the show.

I don't think they are anywhere near the point of inhumanity needed to sacrifice so many lives for their own survival. In TWD it takes the characters a long time to become willing to even sacrifice their human enemies. Even after several years I can't imagine that Rick and crew would do the same. Now that they are part of the Alexandria community, I don't think they would sacrifice all the residents who are not part of their long-standing group in order to ensure their own survival.

Had I been the writers, I would have written their escape differently.

 

[AliasJohnDoe]

I hope they end up on the luxury yacht for awhile in season 2. Something we haven't seen yet. They can explore small islands. You know other people are going to try and pirate it. I'd also like to see what it's like on an aircraft carrier.

 

[Marco]

By fear, do you mean the missing nine days where people get more scared as each day passes? I think this group was able to skip most of that as their neighbourhood was fenced off and they had some safety...at least temporarily.

That's exactly what I wanted from the show and exactly what's missing from it. My belief/ expectation was that this show was going to be different to the original in that it would portray how people deal with the initial zombie outbreak, both physically and emotionally. Instead, they skipped all that.

Didn't the action characters took in this episode show that they know all of these things? Liza talked about how now that she's bit, she will die, but "come back..." We saw the group kill zombies this episode a number of times by bashing them in the head. And Daniel admonished Travis in the underground parking lot for being too loud as it would attract "them".

Exactly. But the show never showed how they came to know about these things, even though these things are so fundamental to learning about zombies.

The show is called Fear The Walking Dead. But they skipped all the fear and learning about zombies, instead focusing on what they fear and learn about themselves and those around them. After 6 episodes, they are already where TWD was at season 1 in terms of the apocalypse.

Maybe all along they have been trying to create a spinoff whereas I was fully expected a pre-quel. Honestly, I enjoy this finale in the same way I enjoyed TWD, but the whole season never really delivered what it promised.

Right now I really enjoy Z Nation because the characters are reasonable yet they manage to create some brilliant ideas when it comes to zombies.

 

[Japanfan]

The show is called Fear The Walking Dead. But they skipped all the fear and learning about zombies, instead focusing on what they fear and learn about themselves and those around them. After 6 episodes, they are already where TWD was at season 1 in terms of the apocalypse.

It's not clear to me that FTWD is yet at the same point where TWD started. Flashbacks in TWD show huge traffic pile ups with people on the run. The roads in the last episode of FTWD are mostly empty. People in the neighbourhood that Travis and co. fled are still living life as normal (we saw a family having dinner, a guy walking his dog).

But now that the military has retreated, things are going to go very bad, very fast. Especially given that Travis. and co. have opened the gates.

Right now I really enjoy Z Nation because the characters are reasonable yet they manage to create some brilliant ideas when it comes to zombies.

Yes, we've had meth zombies, nuclear zombies, and phyto-zombies.

Even so, I find Z Nation rather intolerable to watch. It's just so bad. . .which may be why I watch it - that and we had no series to watch the past two months. On top of that the budget is so low that half the time it looks like it was shot all in black and white. I have wondered numerous times whether the bad actors in the show actually tell their kids what they did at work today.

Especially the woman who plays the Cassandra zombie mutant. Has she changed out of those awful hot pants yet?

And I think they keep playing the same soundtrack over and over again. The parody of the Western has gotten really tiresome.

 

[snoopy]

The show after Ftwd said that no they aren't at the point yet were Rick wakes up in a coma.

I think this show didn't portray some of the things Marco mentioned (getting but turns you) because the audience already knows those things.

The guy on the talking dead said they wanted this to be a family drama who walked into a zombie apocalypse.

 

[PeterG]

One problem for me is that I'm finding it a hard to believe that the group would actually let a herd of zombies into their neighbourhood, basically guaranteeing that many of their neighbours would be infected and turn. They are just 'ordinary folk' and mostly 'good people' with the exception of Mr. El Salvadore and Strand, who IMO are actually the most interesting people in the show.

Up until this last episode, the soldiers were stationed at the gate to the neighbourhood, weren't they? So when everyone drove to the gate and...nobody was there, I was confused. Salazar hits three buttons, then the gate opens. I assume it would have been just as easy once the cars drove through, he walked back to those buttons, pressed them again so that the gate slowly closed while he walked out again. A writer's error. Maybe Salazar doesn't care about those in the neighbourhood, but everyone else should have to some degree, as it was where they had all lived for a while.

Then when the zombies all show up as everyone proceeds to the military post...my thought was, "what punctual zombies!!" And no comments here about Salazar freeing them all from the stadium? Dude is a psycho and needs to be taken out!!

I hope they end up on the luxury yacht for awhile in season 2. Something we haven't seen yet. They can explore small islands. You know other people are going to try and pirate it. I'd also like to see what it's like on an aircraft carrier.

The clip of the first airline episode posted above made me wonder if the final shot of the ocean for this episode was meant to signify that the plane was going to crash into the ocean...and maybe our FTWD'ers would be on the yacht and save some of them in an upcoming episode? I also wondered if that final shot scanning the ocean was going to reveal a bunch of zombies swimming towards our beachhouse friends...

Glad to see Travis finally man up though, after he was stupid enough to let the soldier go.

I thought the stupid thing to do was to torture the soldier so that he would have reason to seek out revenge. And the soldier was stupid for not giving up information right away when he knew Salazar was desperate to find his wife. So to me, Travis was the least stupid of the three. Travis kept trying to hang onto his humanity. But when Travis tackled the wounded solider, the eight other people there could have grabbed the gun and decided what to do. Instead they all stood and watched Travis punch the crap out of the wounded guy. If you want him dead, it might be quicker to use his gun, don'tchathink? Writer's error again.

 

[AliasJohnDoe]

^^I don't think zombies can swim, but maybe float (with some partially eaten by sharks). If the zombies were in the ocean, they could be washed up onto the beach like debris. Probably all bloated but still able to move, like the water-bloated zombie in the well on Herchel's farm from season 2?

 

[Japanfan]

Up until this last episode, the soldiers were stationed at the gate to the neighbourhood, weren't they? So when everyone drove to the gate and...nobody was there, I was confused.

The solider let it be known that the military was evacuating - so possibly it was a process that occurred in stages and the ones at the gate had already left.

The clip of the first airline episode posted above made me wonder if the final shot of the ocean for this episode was meant to signify that the plane was going to crash into the ocean...and maybe our FTWD'ers would be on the yacht and save some of them in an upcoming episode? I also wondered if that final shot scanning the ocean was going to reveal a bunch of zombies swimming towards our beachhouse friends...

I took it more as the deception of the ocean being so normal - and free of zombies.

 

[rfisher]

^^I don't think zombies can swim, but maybe float (with some partially eaten by sharks). If the zombies were in the ocean, they could be washed up onto the beach like debris. Probably all bloated but still able to move, like the water-bloated zombie in the well on Herchel's farm from season 2?

I have visions of Sharknado 4: Zombie sharks. Who become zombies after being bitten by the zombies in the oceans.

 

[Marco]

Salazar hits three buttons, then the gate opens. I assume it would have been just as easy once the cars drove through, he walked back to those buttons, pressed them again so that the gate slowly closed while he walked out again. A writer's error. Maybe Salazar doesn't care about those in the neighbourhood, but everyone else should have to some degree, as it was where they had all lived for a while.

I was thinking the same thing. Then again, just because it wasn't shown doesn't mean it wasn't done. Remember Maddie and Alicia left the door to their own home open when they went to Susan's to grab the rifle? And when they prepared to leave the neighbourhood, someone said maybe they should warn the neighbours - to which Maddie said no, they did nothing when the military took Nick away (or to that effect). So I have no idea whether this was just not shown, accidentally not done, or intentionally not done.

Then when the zombies all show up as everyone proceeds to the military post...my thought was, "what punctual zombies!!" And no comments here about Salazar freeing them all from the stadium? Dude is a psycho and needs to be taken out!!

These were freshly turned zombies, and newly let out of the stadium. Wouldn't they be running rather fast? And while Salazar's way of distracting the soldier guards at the gate was dramatic, it wasn't quite unrealistic - as the herd would likely go after him first of all and he was in no way able to cruise and chit chat with the guards like that!

I thought the stupid thing to do was to torture the soldier so that he would have reason to seek out revenge. And the soldier was stupid for not giving up information right away when he knew Salazar was desperate to find his wife. So to me, Travis was the least stupid of the three. Travis kept trying to hang onto his humanity. But when Travis tackled the wounded solider, the eight other people there could have grabbed the gun and decided what to do. Instead they all stood and watched Travis punch the crap out of the wounded guy. If you want him dead, it might be quicker to use his gun, don'tchathink? Writer's error again.

I agree about the soldier being somewhat stupid, as Salazar obviously knew what he was doing, so there's no point in keeping his lips sealed. I don't think what Salazar did was stupid - he knew exactly what he was doing and got what he wanted to know. And given he already did what he did, Travis was stupid to let him go.

Maybe it's just me - but if I were the soldier, who already knew so much, when I got released, I would immediately get out of there, maybe join the evacuating troops, instead of seeking revenge. I mean, he couldn't even aim properly. Is revenge more important than life?

 

[PrincessLeppard]

I'm afraid to start ranting about the finale; I may never stop. Leaving the gate open, not warning the family with kids (because no one helped your junkie kid against armed soldiers? Lame.) deliberately unleashing 2000 zombies to rescue your wife with the rotting foot (you had to know that wouldn't end well, right?) and then Liza, one of only three characters I give a shit about (the others being Tobias and the doctor, who probably took herself out with the cow bolt thing) dies in the rescue attempt (due to the 2000 zombies you unleashed) - I HATE YOU PEOPLE.

Anyway. Anyone watched the one minute webisode on the plane? That one minute was more compelling than all six episodes of this show.

One more rant: wtf was up with the long final pan over the water? I thought maybe we were going to see zombie pirates. But instead we got...water. Lots and lots of water.

 

[Marco]

LOL! I think Salazar lost his humanity much quicker than anyone else, especially when his wife was in danger. It wasn't the right thing to do, but it was the right thing to do if he wanted to rescue his wife.

 

[PeterG]

The show after Ftwd said that no they aren't at the point yet were Rick wakes up in a coma.

I think this show didn't portray some of the things Marco mentioned (getting but turns you) because the audience already knows those things.

The guy on the talking dead said they wanted this to be a family drama who walked into a zombie apocalypse.

For some reason I have in my head that Rick was in a coma for 30 days. Not sure if that is accurate or not. With FTWD, we had a day or two of "the turning", then nine skipped days and then a few current days. So about two weeks have been covered so far.

I agree that some things may have been skipped because the people making this show assume the audience thinks characters have dealt with these matters off-camera. But if they had better writers, they could have covered so many of the things we are griping about. Skipping nine days ahead was a major error. What's their rush? Plus everybody in that fenced community must have dealt with a few zombies. They could have shown those scenes so that fans rabid for zombies would have something to chew on...

I like the idea of a family walking into a zombie apocalypse. But the producers should have hired uber-fans to be screaming at the writing staff, "but you gotta show us.................."

I was thinking the same thing. Then again, just because it wasn't shown doesn't mean it wasn't done. Remember Maddie and Alicia left the door to their own home open when they went to Susan's to grab the rifle? And when they prepared to leave the neighbourhood, someone said maybe they should warn the neighbours - to which Maddie said no, they did nothing when the military took Nick away (or to that effect).

I took that to be a comment about two choices. 1. Alert everyone and leave altogether, to which the military would know what would know what was going on and would then shoot everyone, with very few of anyone at all surviving, and 2. How do we gamble with our own plan to save our loved ones versus saving the lives of acquaintances...who stood by idly as our family was attacked?

These were freshly turned zombies, and newly let out of the stadium. Wouldn't they be running rather fast?

Aren't all zombies...dead people? So by their very nature...will always be slow? Corpses are just kinda like that...

Maybe it's just me - but if I were the soldier, who already knew so much, when I got released, I would immediately get out of there, maybe join the evacuating troops, instead of seeking revenge. I mean, he couldn't even aim properly. Is revenge more important than life?

I agree, hadn't they shown that soldier to be rather level-headed compared to some of the other soldiers? Another writer's error. He would have been a good character to show up in a future season of the show. And maybe get revenge when he was healthy again. Instead, the writers went for a quick/cheap thrill.