Spoilers Fear the Walking Dead - Season 7

For season 11 of Walking Dead anyway, there was a report back around September that the viewing figures on AMC+ were "record breaking." My personal opinion, Fear will get a season 8, if for no other reason then because with both Walking Dead and World Beyond ending this season, they'll want to keep Fear around as an "old guard" show to be a companion to the new spin-offs that are coming.

 

I became a bit fan of Dwight and Sherry last season, and I really liked what they did with them here. While their methods as The Dark Horses were pretty brutal, it was nice to see that they were still trying to do the right thing and be good people, in their own way.
I'm assuming Wendell must actually be in The Tower, since Strand told them he was, and he didn't really have any reason to lie to them about who was there.
This was the first I've ever seen Aisha Tyler in a dramatic role, and she was great. Mickey is definitely going to be a nice addition to the cast.
Damn, if it wasn't obvious before that Strand has gone off the deep end to full on villainy, he definitely proved it again last night.
After all the build up, it will be interesting to see what Padre actually is, because with this being a Walking Dead show, I could see it going several ways, a real safe place, a BS trap, or it'll already be wiped out by the time they find it.
Still no sign of Alycia, which is starting to make me think there is going to be some kind of big twist or shocking reveal when we finally find out what she's been up to.

I was just looking around on Wikipedia, and it turns out there actually is a Padre Island off the coast of Texas, so I'm wondering if that might be the "Padre" that they keep talking about in Fear.

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikka...e-walking-dead-final-season-/?sh=1e5795e4f42f
Mercy killing recommended for fear.

 

Or not, since the show has been great the last few seasons.

 

I was waiting for my wife to catch up with Fear with me, but she has gven up on the show... that ending kinda hurt.

So i am slowly making my way back (I am caught up with World Beyond...anyone watching? Especially with Jadis now on???)

So I am watching # 3 (CIndy Hawkins) as I type. I apologize, but hope to get caught up soon, and respond to current events.

Yeah, Strand has always been shady...but in a calculating, strategic way. Not in a mustache-twirling style.

For example, his joining Virginia's rangers... classic Strand in infiltrating the enemy ... but you felt some actual concern for his "family" . This just felt like he jumped off the edge

Splitting up the characters adds drama and danger to the chance of their surviving; that worked so well in 4B of TWD, with four stories taking place after the fall of the prison. It gave characters the necessary time to express their own despair and face threats without extra characters becoming a distraction to personal stories.[/QUOTE]

Z Nation is basically the Legends of Tomorrow zobie genre (yet Z Nation has surprisingly good acting/characters you actually care about).

Regarding splitting up the cast ... it is fine for ONE season, but it feels like rinse and repeat...but below i will explain why i understand why this "works" for this particular season

I am surprised no one has mentioned that seems filmed SPECIFICALLY due to COvid. Having a split cast with minimal interactions...certainly seems COvid-safe (as you can).

I wonder if the nuclear holocaust was always a part of the plan, or if Covid switched that ending last minute.

Speaking of Z-Nation... the whole survival in a nuclear holocaust thing DOES feel like Z Nation... kinda magnifying the fantasy part of the dead rising to eat people to such a degree that it's crazy (i.e. doesn't fit in with TWD orginal world).

Definitely there are some great acting... not quite sure if A+is quite the grade i would give. But the newer cast have been great picks. Fear could have succeeeded better had these guys been there from the get-go

 

The writers said the moment they put they decided to feature a submarine in the season 6 premiere, they knew season 6 would end with the sub launching a nuke.

 

From the start, Strand has always been a survivalist no matter the cost to anyone else. He's still that, only he now lives for the obsession of proving Morgan's way was wrong. Beyond his conflict with Morgan, then what? He (and Howard) are such cutthroats that one has to wonder what they're getting out of housing all of those people...aside from free labor?

Agreed; when it launched, I recall many viewers writing FTWD off as unnecessary, with a group of very unlikable actors/characters. Historically, any TV series cleaning house of so many of the original characters was usually a negative, but its worked to great degrees here, with the only remaining characters (Alicia, Strand & Daniel) being the strongest actually serving the story, and not being there just to be "Not-The-Walking-Dead-You-Were-Expecting" that the series had been in its early seasons.

 

I've always found Strand to be a repulsive, yet interesting, character. When most shows stick to cliched black-and-white tropes, he always stood out as nearly pure gray. I don't much care for his Idi Amin impersonation this season. There is a shade of Strand's original gray in there, but he's gone and drank his own Kool-aide now and is no better than the sociopath bullies that have plagued all versions of this show since the beginning. I kind of wish Negan would go to Texas and kick Strand's ass now.

 

Fear the Walking Dead
Season 7 / Episode 6 - "Reclamation"

The episode jumps around in time, with videotaped flashbacks of Althea being interviewed (by Isabelle), and the point where Morgan tracked down Althea to videotape a message.

Althea: Althea is on the run from members of the CRM, who are searching for Isabelle (aka "Ground 17")--presumably to kill her for some knowledge she possesses. Althea has been monitoring their transmissions, trying to stay one step ahead of the group, as she tries to reach Isabelle. Morgan (with Grace at a rendezvous point) were trying to rescue Althea, but the latter's evasive behavior has only led the deeper into CRM territory.

Morgan probes for answers about why Althea left their group, and if it was about someone, instead of something, but the woman either refuses to answer or makes more vague statements, asking Morgan to return to the sub before its too late.

The CRM seems to know their every move, proven as they intercept Morgan and Althea at the rendezvous point. While hiding from gunfire, Althea opens up (somewhat), admitting the Reclamation team will kill anyone who knew of their existence--including the pilot who rescued their friends. Morgan tried his best to bring her back into the fold, reminding her that he's only out finding/helping people thanks to the effect of Althea's interview questions. Moments later, they are rescued by Grace in her armored car, but its makeshift gas tank is damaged by gunfire.

Grace volunteers to help Althea find Isabelle, noting that if not for what Althea did for Morgan, she might not have met him at all.

Deciding to find weapons & gas, Althea sends Morgan and Grace to a CRM helicopter, only to discover she sent them on a partial wild goose chase (gas, but no weapons). Meanwhile, Althea returned to an old home she found with Isabelle, telling Morgan that she will take care of the Reclamation team, even if it she dies in the process. Finding a 19th century cannon on display, she gets it to work with stones, and prepares for what could be her last stand. Althea contacts the Reclamation team, promising to give them a map marking off several of their locations--in exchange for an interview and her camera. Speaking of the camera, it was Morgan who took it, hoping that without it, Althea would lose her motivation to continue running away.

Later, the Reclamation team informs Althea they are not going to meet her....because they're holding Morgan & Grace at gunpoint, threatening to kill both of Althea does not reveal Isabelle's location Morgan & Grace have to beg Althea to tell the CRM-ers what they want to know to save their own lives (SEE NOTES). With a distraction, Morgan fights off his would-be killer, allowing Grace the time to fire up the SWAT van, rescue Morgan and flee from CRM-ers, racing to Althea's location.

On the road, Grace confirms she does see Mo as their daughter, something Morgan believed he would never hear from her.

As night falls, the SWAT van is followed and passed by the CRM helicopter, with the Reclamation team making their way to the old house. Once the SWAT van shows up, there's a minor standoff between Althea and the CRM-ers, finally ending as Morgan lights the cannon's fuse, with the resultant blast ripping the CRM-ers apart.

The next day, Morgan gets his interview with Althea, who is--as you might have guessed--reluctant to go into detail about Isabelle, or the woman's location. Leaving on foot (and followed by Morgan), Althea finds the Reclamation team's helicopter, learning that they have located Isabelle. Morgan follows and questions Althea--whether she using the BS of "chasing the story" out of fear for finding Isabelle--or herself. He explains that if she's in this world, she's a part of the story, and is glad he was a part of hers. She expresses the same sentiment, then flies the helicopter to Isabelle's cabin, where the two are finally reunited.
Isabelle does not appear to be particularly worried that the CRM-ers are only days away from finding her. In the end, Isabelle agrees to let Althea back into her life, knowing that they might be captured or killed by the CRM (SEE NOTES).

Morgan: Morgan is justifiably irritated with Althea's secretive crap; in season six, instead of staying with her friends to help in the Teddy situation, she ran off leaving them to a grim fate with no end. Now, she's still up the same game, which--by all rights--should lead Morgan and Company to never fully trust Althea.

NOTES:

Althea repeatedly warns Morgan that he does not know what the CRM-ers are capable of, but the counter to that is what's the worst they can do? Kill? Torture? At this point, Morgan has faced attempts on his life (on both sides of the country) and being at ground zero of a nuclear missile strike. It would have been good for the writers to have Morgan list his experiences as being far greater (in the negative sense) than Althea's consistently vague warning.

Next week, Little Mo falls ill to an ear infection, leading Moran and Grace to seek help from Strand (or specifically June). I can only imagine how Strand might force Morgan into some dark deal in exchange for the baby's recovery...

Althea comes across the still-walking corpse of Teddy's right-hand man, Riley (the one spray-painted by Wes in the season 6 finale).

So, with Althea and Isabelle on the run--and the CRM-ers believing her old friends know what they should not, the list of enemies just continues to grow this season, and in TV-WD land, you know what that usually leads to.

GRADE: A+.

 

Wsh they would have shown something, like Wendell lookingout the window or something, just to confirm it.

WOw! I didn't recognize it was her! She seeme dto have gained weight (in a healthy way).

Also, she looks really young... i was confused by Dwight talkng about how he grew up watching her and her husband, when she seemd like just like 5 years older than him. But looking u Aisha Tyler's age... that seems "realistic" now.

Just wondering if this episode was someone's pent-up dream of fusing pro wrestling and the zombie apocalypse???

Good questions...thanks for the insight. And since Padre means Father... maybe something else?

Well, Strand , when he killed Alycia's new boyfriend, it was implied she was alive, and i guess leading her own community? I am not sure what is going on... other than erhaps the actress couldn't make it to filming due to Covid restrictions (which this whole season has a definite feel of)

The author of the Forbes article has a point aout Strand , and as @137th Gebirg has detailed...i too do not like this new strand of Strand. I rewatched that last few minutes of the season finale...and it felt like they suddenly added a scene...where he first introduced himself as Morgan (which would have made an interesting next step), but then suddenly became.. ta-da.... Evl Victor! I could have believed it more, AFTER the progress he made.

But the Forbes author is several years too late in his "mercy killing" statement. I am not sure if they figured out World Beyond was trash after the first few episodes, but THAT sudden 2 season news seemed like a mercy kllling, and just wondring if TWD ending is more because the starts are finding more work, in a world beyond Walking Dead (pun intended).

I think @TREK_GOD_1 had said that Howard has become a villain....i am not quite sure about that yet. I think he has definitely become more confident, and that Strand has given the man A LOT of respect, so he feels more free to be a leader. If i am not istaken, we haven't seen him really kill anyone yet. Yeah, but a bit of a jerk, but not super cruel just yet. But we shall see where this goes.

Al has seemed like such a random character at times (and the trust issue is duly noted)… but between what Morgan emphasized about her helping him connect to our current set of characters, and Dwight being reunited with Sherry mainly because of Al’s crazy side trip…. I sense an episode where at least Morgan, Dwight & Sherry will passionately want to help her, possibly brining her back to the group? And such an adventure would “feel right”.

What “worse” things could the CRM do? I am assuming you have NOT watched World Beyond? I am assuming you might not mind…but SPOLIER ALERT, the CRM wiped out “Campus Colony” and Omaha, numbering 100,000 formerly live people. Now, that is about 5 years in the future. But I assume they have “practiced” such genocide on smaller surviving villages over the years. So it wouldn’t hurt Morgan physically, but most certainly mentally/emotionally, if he were the cause of such brutality ( I think we saw that to a degree in his war with Virginia; also, did his new colony get wiped out by a bomb? Or are there survivors somewhere?).

Speaking of World Beyond (part 1) – so do we think the producers of both shows have coordinated their writing regarding the CRM, and that what happens in Fear is set so that the 2 shows have a natural progression, as opposed to seemingly random writing?


Speaking of World Beyond (part 2) – so IS ANYONE WATCHING WORLD BEYOND? Some spoilers … Jadis is there, as a seeming substitute for Julia Ormond’s character (both are effective)… they have hinted at how Jadis became a part of CRM, but wondering how that TRULY firs in from TWD and the upcoming Rick Movies? Just 2 episodes left… so a possible severe blow to the CRM is about to happen….maybe explaining why they have no presence in TWD right now?

I am confused... so even with Al's "irrational" behavior, you would still say thi sis A+? I agree , this has been a strong season, but I would say more in the A- to A range.

Oh, and i just realized what bothers me a bit of this season....it feels like a repeat of the Virgnia arc, in that Morgan is going around, "collecting" his new "familY" --AGAIN. So it feels a bit rinse-andrepeat, but i can forgive due to Covid circumstances.

 

I meant what can the CRM do Morgan personally that he should take Althea's warning seriously? Morgan's wife became a walker, and in turn, she killed their son, he had a bout of insanity (TWD - S4), has been beaten, shot, left for walker-bait (by Virginia and Strand), had his friend murdered by a psychotic teenager (Dakota killing Dorie) and more things I've probably forgotten. Adding all his experiences up, one would give Morgan the psychological edge against the CRM crew.

Probably--and meant to sort of have events all come together in some sort of time-jump storyline.

Anne...or Jadis being part of the CRM. Hmm...is she an opportunist who will work with anyone (as you recall, she struck deals with the Saviors), or laying the groundwork for hurting them from within?

Her irrational behavior builds drama / frustration for Morgan, who tirelessly tried to get her to stop being secretive, but she was tight-lipped right to the end. His struggles with her being untrustworthy was fascinating to watch, as it appears every week, his attempts to find positivity are tested (e.g., it was Grace earlier in the season).

Aren't all WD series a bit like that (building the group)? On TWD, the original group absorbed the Greene family, and eventually Tyreese and Sasha, Bob, Father Gabriel, Noah, et al.

 

Aisha directed last year's episode 'J.D.', the one that introduced Keith Carradine as John Dorie Senior. I happened to watch that episode on DVD over the weekend. In the commentary track, she talked about being a huge 'Walking Dead' fan and she sprinkled little nods/homages/easter eggs to previous episodes throughout the show. She also mentioned that the last four episodes of last season, starting with 'J.D.' up through 'The Beginning' were filmed in January 2021, just before the Texas Ice Storm that brought everything to a halt and that they were all freezing while filming.

 

Fear the Walking Dead
Season 7 / Episode 7 - "The Portrait"

Strand: The episode opens with Strand sitting for a portrait, and downing one glass of liquor after another; he asks that the artist paint him as he sees himself--the man who founded the Tower. As this goes on (over the course of several sittings), Howard wheels in a portable phone for Strand to take calls from outsiders begging to live in the Tower. No matter what kind of valuable skills some of the people use as a sales pitch (which Howard questions), Strand rejects everyone, arguing that he's not checking off a list of skills, but going on his instinct / ability to read people, which has made the Tower what it is today.

Morgan calls the Tower, asking for June's help with Baby Mo, who is sick--but he does not know the cause. Strand rejects his request.

Something about the portrait disturbs Strand (who hears the intensifying growl of walkers as he stares at his portrait), triggering him to fling the painting from the roof, telling the artist to be glad she was not tossed over. The painting is trampled by the moat of walkers. Strand is increasingly pissy that no one sees him, and in an out of nowhere change of heart, orders Howard to let Morgan in.

Later, Morgan observes Strand's wall of walker Polaroids, and exchanges survivor names with Strand, with all either with Morgan or living in the Tower...except the still missing Alicia. June concludes Baby Mo's problem is an ear infection that can be remedied with antibiotics. Morgan questions June's decision to live in the Tower, asking if lending her services to Strand is any different than what Virginia offered. June believes she can make things work inside, instead of running off in the wild, which--she believes--is what killed John (well, Dakota being an amoral brat played a significant part in John's fate).

Strand needs Morgan to do something for him--and its not a request, but a demand, if Morgan ever wants to see Mo again. Swallowing his anger, Morgan accepts whatever unspoken task Strand needs him to undertake. Walkers are catapulted at Strand's office, with one--filled with explosives--crashing through. Strand acts fast, kicking it out before it explodes on a lower level. Panicking Howard runs in, announcing that the attack came from...

Arno and the Stalkers: Arno calls the Tower again and again, pleading for his people to be admitted, only to be rejected by Strand. Arno warns that if his people are not admitted, he will launch more walkers...only they will be the creatures he's stuffed with radioactive materials from the warhead, to either destroy the Tower outright, or make what remains uninhabitable.

Morgan pleads with Strand, asking him for a walkie and weapons he can use to pick off the Stalkers, arguing that he has a daughter in the Tower, so he has a legitimate reason to help Strand. Strand still refuses to accept Morgan's help, and suddenly falls ill, grabbing his throat before passing out.

Strand sends Dorie (rifle) and Wendell (spotter) to the roof to scope out the Stalkers, but cannot fire on them and risk the "nuked out" walkers detonating.

Inside, Strand is barely able to stand, and ends up vomiting some sort of blue bile, which June identifies Methylene Blue (which the rangers found when she asked them to find Prussian Blue for radiation sickness), which can be toxic if ingested in high doses. Strand now believes he's been poisoned and demands the questioning of all newcomers. Chaos breaks out as...

...Dorie suggests using his negotiating skills to talk down the Stalkers, but is cut off by Howard, who blames Dorie for failing to talk down Teddy.

...Morgan continues to ask for a walkie to alert Grace and deal with the situation, which Strand angrily rejects as if Morgan was asserting an authority he does not have...

...Wendell yells at Strand for sending his sister away...

Strand is so paranoid that he burns every bridge he has, even telling Howard that his being with Strand from the start means nothing (regarding trust), and that he can only rely on his own instincts. He finally agrees to let Morgan attempt to reach the now bomb-damaged armory to retrieve a walkie...only if he leaves Mo with Strand. As expected, Morgan does not accept the demand...until forced to at gunpoint. Morgan threatens Strand's life--in the even anything happens to Mo; Strand acknowledges Morgan's threat, adding that Morgan should not make him do anything that leads to Strand hurting Mo.

Morgan and Strand: Making their way to the elevator shaft, the men can see straight down to another entrance leading to the armory. Morgan warns Strand that if anything happens to Mo, what the Stalkers are ding will be nothing compared to the severity of his own vengeance.

Morgan uses the cables to lower himself to the entrance, avoiding fresh walkers along the way; Strand goes into a bit of reflection as he speaks to Mo, saying the universe gave her to Morgan, while it gave him the Tower, with both trying to save what they love.

Morgan worries that Strand might die / turn, so he gives Strand an ultimatum--lower Mo to him, or he does not move. Strand complies, but not before telling Mo not to walk the world alone. Once Morgan has Mo, Strand calls out, asking Morgan to find Alicia because he believes Alicia would not want him to find her.

Morgan returns (after contacting Grace) as June treats Strand for dehydration; she feels he's probably over the poisoning, but warns him to never use her medical skill to get what he wants. Morgan thinks he can find Alicia, but its up to Strand to make the Tower a place she would want to live in. As Strand accepts Morgan giving him a hand up, he notices a blue tint on Morgan's thumb and instantly assumes it was Morgan who gave him the Methylene Blue dose; Morgan slams Strand to the ground (holding him near the elevator shaft) denying he would do such a thing--then admits Strand deserved it for leaving others to die out in the wasteland. The fight is stopped by Howard holding Morgan at gunpoint, and he's taken to the rooftop to be tossed over the edge.

Grace: Thinking quickly, Grace offers to help Strand with the radioactive walkers and other issues if he spares Morgan, allows Baby Mo to stay and grants her entrance into the Tower. Initially, Strand wants to reject the offer, until Howard--once again--has to convince him to take the sensible route, adding that killing Morgan will make him a martyr--a myth that would outlive the man (essentially implying that a martyr creates more enemies to fight in his honor). Grace tells Morgan (soon to be exiled from the Tower) she made the deal with Strand for their family. Before Morgan can promise to find his way back to Grace & Mo, Strand hangs up the phone, saying Morgan will not--but has nothing to worry about, since he can provide them with everything Morgan could not (food, shelter and security).

Strand: The dictator has the oil painting retrieved and hung on a wall. Now that its been defaced by the walkers, the smeared, torn image finally represents the man Strand believes himself to be. To Howard's confusion, Strand asks him to bring Baby Mo to him, after all, she should get to know....her father....

Stalkers' Camp: By nightfall, Morgan is still on road, making his way back to the sub, when he senses the presence of people in the darkness. Calling them out, he's soon approached by several armed Stalkers, who stop once a duo on horseback ride up, who turn out to be Dwight and Sherry. Although the couple and Morgan are glad to see the other survived Teddy's missile launch, Dwight & Sherry ask Morgan to go their camp to meet the leader they've worked with for a couple of weeks. Apprehensive, Morgan still travels to a large campsite filled with survivors...many of them armed. Morgan assumes their leader is "Arno," but is corrected: their leader is a woman. The leader emerges from a tent, stares a bit at Morgan, then removes her gas mask, revealing Alicia, which brings a smile to Morgan's face, as he believed Alicia died. Happy reunions aside, Alicia asks Morgan for his help.

Before they can go into details, guards spot a group of walkers approaching the perimeter of the camp...only these are Arno's walkers, with their stomachs stuffed with materials from the warhead. Morgan warns the guards not to shoot, but they ignore him, fire and their bullets detonate the "nuked" walkers, instantly sending a wave of radioactive gas over the camp....

NOTES:
Next episode: a flashback to how Alicia survived in the hotel bunker, and the true meaning of P.A.D.R.E.....

Strand's back and forth psychological issues drive this episode, most notably, his desire to be seen as he sees himself, and his not so pleasant memories about his father. With Strand taking custody of Baby Mo--calling himself her father, it can only be a matter of time before Grace cannot take it anymore. She's determined to never lose another child, so we should see how far she can go to retrieve Baby Mo...and poison the leadership structure of the Tower.

Speaking of poison, just about everyone who watched this episode assumed Howard was responsible for tainting Strand's food, but even after all of his dehumanizing "boss" crap, he has remained a loyal and violent lackey up to this point.

This was the strongest episode yet, with tensions and excellent character moments running high from so many directions and no easy "outs" just to wrap episodes or arcs. This is such a fantastic series.

GRADE: A++.

 

Wait - did this episode come out early? They usually drop on Sunday. Or am I off by a week?

 

New episodes air on AMC+ earlier in the week, while the broadcast version airs on the traditional Sunday evening slot.

 

I haven't watched last weekend's episode, but I did have a quick response to this,

I follow Alycia Dabnem Carey on Instagram, and she had been posting stuff from when she went home to Australia a while back, so I've been wondering if she couldn't get back to Texas in for the beginning of the season.

 

I also don't have amc+, so I will wait till Monday for the current episode.
I think you are right...we didn't get the vaccine till late spring, and I know there have been different restrictions. My neighbor from Belize said that country was relatively unaffected by Covid until tourists from Texas came...

The first episode made it seem like Strand vs. ALICIA. I am wondering of that storyline shifted to Morgan (which is why it seems like a repeat of last season, where they didn't intend to).

We have had several episodes without a hint of Alicia's community...we will we even see it in this first half?

 

Not a repeat, but a natural build-up, as it was Morgan who rejected Virginia's group (and was nearly killed for doing that) and wanted to build the community at the dam site, while Strand worked his way into Virginia's group, buying into it all, whether that was genuine or merely opportunistic on his part. As seen in S6, their conflict escalated, notably over the fate of Virginia, and the entire sub incident, so what we're seeing in S7 is a believable progression.

Yes.

 

Just a short little FYI for everybody, AMC+ is offering a black Friday deal where you can get a year of the service for $1.99 a month/$23.88 a year for the annual plan. I got it, there are about 5 or 6 series on there I want to watch, so I figured what the hell.

 

This is by far the worst season of any walking dead show ever. By far. What's the budget now, $200 for the season?