Fear the Walking Dead ‘Pilot’ Episode Review- What’d You Think?
After striking undead gold with the first “Walking Dead” series, AMC set off to find a way to capitalize on that success and double down on it. Thus a new series was born. A series that, having been unburdened by the comic book series that spawned the original show, could explore any number of infinite possibilities. Taking this exciting new opportunity Robert Kirkman decided to explore the early stages of the zombie outbreak in a whole new setting: Los Angeles. Is this fresh take on the zombie apocalypse off to a running start or is it shambling out of the gate?
“Fear the Walking Dead”, for now, centers on a family of characters struggling to deal with a non-zombie crisis. Travis (Cliff Curtis) is the step-father caught between two families: his adopted family with new wife Madison (Kim Dickens) and his previous family which includes a son that wants nothing to do with him. However, Travis’ new family isn’t all sunshines and roses either. His step-daughter Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey) is dismissive and distant while his step-son Nick (Frank Dillane) is a crack addict. All of this drama comes to a head when Nick emerges from a crack den claiming that people were eating each other.
The thing about “Fear the Walking Dead” is that it’s a slow build to the zombie apocalypse. A good majority of the first episode centers solely on Travis and his family as they deal with Nick’s addiction. However, slowly the characters begin to realize that something else might be going on. Whether it’s horrifying footage of a man surviving a police shooting or the paranoid rantings of a student who believes the government is hiding something. The show definitely lets you know that a zombie outbreak is right around the corner, but first we have to contend with this family’s issues. And that turns out to be just as much of a struggle for the viewer as it is for the family.
I fully expected the first episode to be a slow burn and I actually hoped that it would be a couple of episodes before we really saw a zombie, so don’t take this as me complaining about a lack of action. I went in fully expecting that. However, I did expect some interesting character development to keep things afloat. Unfortunately, I didn’t find the various plotlines surrounding the family to be at all unique or interesting. Travis and Madison sort of meander through the episode contemplating what to do about Nick and looking very concerned about YouTube videos while their daughter counts the days before she can leave her family behind. Until the last few minutes I never felt a sense of true urgency driving the plot forward.
That being said, I do have to say that the most engaging character was Nick. Through the episode his character struggles with what he saw in the crack den, wondering if it was real or if his mind is truly damaged. Frank Dillane gave a pretty compelling performance that made me feel something for Nick, something no other character was really able to do.
Thankfully this is just a pilot episode and many pilots struggle with trying to introduce characters. Hopefully, with the six episodes we have this season, the show will be able to provide compelling plots that’ll give each character a strong personality or voice. So far, though, I think the best thing “Fear the Walking Dead” has going for it is the potential to deliver on something truly unique.
What’d you think? Did you like it? Let us know down below!
