Spoilers Fear the Walking Dead - Season 8 - The Final Season

[Morpheus 02]

Fear the Walking Dead
Season 8 / Episode 8 - "Iron Tiger”

NOTES:
Daniel gave voice to one of the most necessary, yet obvious character assessments in the history of Fear the Walking Dead:

"There's something fundamentally wrong with you..."

That right there is the quote of the series! That by itself made me laugh out loud, and give this episode an A!

...aimed right at Madison. Not his old enemy Strand, but Madison. He was correct. Although the recent era showrunners have worked to make Madison a more sympathetic character, the showrunners have also tried to turn her in to Rick Grimes surrogate--a character who carried the weight of his group's problems on his shoulders as a natural leader, thus his selflessness and heroism (with occasional lapses) while dealing with his own burdens made him a compelling, figure. That foundational, inherent heroism was never a part of Madison's character in the early seasons of FTWD. Instead, the various showrunners and writers tried to turn her into the Alpha Survivalist Leader who lacked any believable experiences that would have shaped her into that kind of character. With Madison, she alchemized from a sort of self-interested manipulator to long-suffering fighter (with manipulative traits still lingering), yet there was no proper build up between the two character phases. Now--in the wake of learning the fate of her children--she's all about revenge to the point of using anyone to fulfill that hunger, hence her use of Charlie.

Playing on the guilt of a teenager to act as a breathing time bomb nearly eats the last bit of sympathy one can have for Madison, and it says much that the villain--Troy Otto--called her out on that incredibly immoral string-pulling of a teenager to satisfy every intended victim of her revenge scheme.

Charlie was--at the end of it all--misused as a character; at the end of the previous season, most believed she was on her way out of the world thanks to radiation sickness, but it was a pleasant surprise to see her fully recovered, only to have her--written as someone who wanted to survive--commit suicide to stop what she believes would be the fall of PADRE. It was another, pointless self-sacrifice in the vein of Beth Greene (who stabbed Dawn, knowing it would prompt the officer to do something that would lead to her own death). Charlie's suicide was not built on solid ground, as the audience never witnessed her learning what PADRE was about, or how she came to see the location as something worth protecting. She was just mouthing words, forced into this last half of the series to be a shock death, and unintentionally make Madison appear to be a soulless character few of her former allies (and probably the audience) can tolerate.

Actually, i find this extremely believable. It isn't just child protective services that is completely absent in the Walker world -- it's mental health in general. Even though Nick's sister and Girlfriend forgave her.... this sudden confrontation with Madison has opened up old wounds and unraveled the makeshift healing she's had over the years.

It's also interesting that they actually seemed to have thought this through... so for Madison, the death of Nick is fresh, but even moreso, how he died and who it was that murdered him. Not an accident, not self defense.

Charlie might have never thought this would happen, so it seems realistic that this spiraled her immediately. Also, Charlie, being a child of the apocalypse, is also easily manipulated (or at least had a lot of that in her life, so hard to unprogram from that mentality.

We also compound that with Daniel having had formed a bond with her, but now has her suddenly taken away... it makes her death far more tragic.

Troy claimed Madison was responsible for the death of the mother of his child...but the identity of the woman has not been revealed, or it was so minor a detail during Troy's original run on the series, that she's difficult to recall.

Well, i think it will be a new character we didn't see in the original... it has been literally several years since i last saw it, so i don't even remember the Dam storyline and how it interacted with the Otto Compound. Troy said whoever it was, she saved him from the situation. It seems natural at least on his side, all he has are good feelings for the woman, and the opportunity to become a dad... at least for that short period, has ingrained on him that whatever pain PADRE caused, it actually seems like it could be a "real" motivation for him. Butlike he said, Madison is just icing on the cake. Being able to restore the Otto compound would be huge for him, and have him finally be the success his brother was and his dad wanted him to be.

Great to see Luciana alive and thriving, all things considered. One can only hope she takes a greater part in the final episodes of this series, and does not return to the Troy battle only to die.

I am not sure if we will see her again, or at least in any significant capacity.

We still do not know who Strand was referring to when commenting on the deaths of various raft escapees, but Sarah & Wendell Rabinowitz and Jacob Kessner must be the most likely candidates for being bumped off..

I am still fairly certain that none of them will be mentioned again. We can infer that they died, or maybe they can show up in something in the future. But Fear did a poor job of doing anything with them after their intro... kinda the Chokotay/Ensign KimEnsign Mayweather syndrome.

Next week: The Dwight-centric episode finally airs, and from a few clips in the teaser, things do not look too good for Sherry.

GRADE: C.

A for me.

The issue is that Strand's "help" is always self-serving. For a contrast, Morgan helps people because they need help--not for personal gain. The way this mid-season premiere played out, one can easily say if Strand had no relationship with Frank (or believed there was the chance of a relationship), he would have no moral compass to push him into helping the hotel residents.

And let me comment on some things i didn't get a chance to earlier

Troy is less than a villain, no matter what he's experienced since season 3. TWD-TV universe's greatest villains--The Governor, Negan, the Terminus cannibals, et al., all have terrible experiences in their pre-ZA or early-ZA past, going a long way in shaping the brutal sadists they became by the time the series heroes crossed their paths. Troy was not complex, and is--just a stand-in for an "Americuh" cartoon character (based on his original appearances) .

Initially, i agree with you. but i think this week, they added

And also, theoretically, he could have learned some things over the years to make him stronger. There's a whole 7 years where he had a chance to learn and grow, like Carol did... i didn't have confidence the writers could do anything with it...but after the current episode, i am warming up to hm being an effective antagonist, at least for this short 6 episode ending. Again, it has been years... and while he was clearly not the successor to his dad his brother was, and maybe atthe time he had everything handed to him, i surmise that his survivialist upbringing and memories and comptemplation of why people followed his dad, could have helped Troy. Also, he said this current episode that his band were filled with people who did not get a second chance at their previous situation.. So in a similar way his dad was able to tap into fears (that eventually rang true), Troy might have been able to speak an inspire his band of "losers" to commit to serving him and his cause.

Ehh...in his previous appearance, Dwight had no reservations about describing his relationship with Sherry as disastrous, since they cannot find peace or stay on the same page about anything.

He came out of that from grief of losing his son, who he had just been able to claim as his own, and was about to regain his family. I am hoping they can get a good ending from this.

Good theory. Early on, I too did not like the Madison character, as she--just an ordinary person who was immersed in a world she could never imagine--was written as if she had survival skills that other WD characters (who were not soldiers, ex-soldiers, police officers, et al.) took some time to develop, and yet she managed to survive. On TWD, we witnessed more realistic levels of survivalist growth in regular people such as Carol, Carl, Aaron, Gabriel, and even Eugene--although each had their own unique survivalist journey to take, it did not happen right out of the gates / overnight. Odd thing is, she became a far better character in her last few episodes (leading to her original "death") and has been pretty interesting and believable since her recent return.



Place yourself in her shoes: from the moment she met him, he was either straight up spinning tall tales about himself, or was so duplicitous, that he must have been plotting for his own benefit. Dealing with a person of that nature on any consistent basis would wear down the nerves to the point of becoming intolerant to that person's latest scheme.

Except that at least at the time of the Stadium, they had grown to mutually respect each other. He had also just embraced her in a way she knew he cared about her. She should have given him a minute to regroup, and explain himself. She could have betrayed hi later if she felt it was something really awful, instead of him legitimately trying to start a new good thing.
[/QUOTE]

Its not really established, but its a stretch to think the only tourists to remain were Germans. I'm sure some FTWD fan might argue that the Germans--as tourists who barely speak English--probably felt secure staying around fellow Germans when the outbreak and chaos broke out, since trying to leave / find help would have been very difficult-to-impossible when everyone around them is less than likely to know their language / point them in the right direction.

[/QUOTE]
I am not sure who else was there...maybe other immigrants, but were hotel workers, so instead of everyone learning English, they chose to go with German (as Victor did). But i think what puzzles me more was how they survived as long as they did without Victor, or many other outsiders. i was under the impression that Victor had brought over all the techniques he learned at the tower to help the Hotel thrive.

That would be an incredibly gutsy ending...but I seriously doubt this era of showrunners would ever consider giving the original focus of the series such a tragic, gruesome ending.

Maybe they don't want to do a third suicide now (Dakota, another teenager, also did so, but for diferent reasons), but maybe an "accidental" tragic death to end it all???

Well, talk about contradicting feelings. Last week I complained over the fact they apparently killed Alicia off camera, this week I'm taking issue with the fact that after spending most of the season believing Charlie was dead, we find out she is alive just long enough to see her get killed. Otherwise, not a bad episode.

But i think it was truly tragic, and we have enough history with the characters (if we remember far back enough), that it really meant something. Also the flashbacks, however quick, i think helped bring it home.

Troy said the mother of his child helped him survive his injuries at the dam, which I interpreted as meaning she's a new character, probably someone he met after the showdown at the dam. Though if that's the case, I have no idea how Madison could be responsible for whatever happened to her.

Well, maaaaybe it was being shot by another collector who was also blonde?

Or Madison getting to "learn the trade" messed up being able to get the child, and thought the mom got away too, but didn't?

The timeline seems a little wacky here, where they are ignoring that a huuuuuge part of Texas became a nuclear wasteland, so we will see if they really thought it through and worked it out.

=======
So just 3 more episodes, right? Wonder how they will wrap it all up????

Oh, and one last thought.... speaking of things/people forgotten.... Daniel seems to have miracoulously been healed from his dementia. He's back to "normal", pre-shot by Strand.

The messe dup mind seemed like an interesting storyline...where i thought Daniel was faking it with Virginia, but turned out to be real... but now forgotten... i guess for the better...? Certainly worked out for the story line.

 

[The Wormhole]

So just 3 more episodes, right?

Four episodes, actually. But the last two will air on the same night, the 19th, so three weeks left of the series.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

That right there is the quote of the series! That by itself made me laugh out loud

Well, it was high time someone said that to Madison, and he's been around her since the start of the ZA, so he knows what makes her tick--all of her faults.

Actually, i find this extremely believable. It isn't just child protective services that is completely absent in the Walker world -- it's mental health in general. Even though Nick's sister and Girlfriend forgave her.... this sudden confrontation with Madison has opened up old wounds and unraveled the makeshift healing she's had over the years.

There was no on-screen build-up to Charlie ever being so guilt-ridden that she was considering suicide. As you point out, both Alicia and Luciana forgave Charlie, with the former--the closest to Nick of the two--encouraging her, rather than constantly beating her down (in the psychological sense), or making Charlie feel she was incapable of being forgiven. After overcoming radiation sickness, that would drive many a person to cling to life more than ever before, yet Charlie--again, the teen who made peace about killing Nick--just swallowed Madison's haranguing and with the speed of turning on a light, she was suddenly suicidal. That was a great example of Plot Convenience 101 for the purpose of unearned shock value.

Charlie might have never thought this would happen, so it seems realistic that this spiraled her immediately. Also, Charlie, being a child of the apocalypse, is also easily manipulated (or at least had a lot of that in her life, so hard to unprogram from that mentality.

Regarding manipulation, my issues is more about what that says about Madison (that she would suggest a teen embark on what would only be a suicide mission), than Charlie believing it in addressing your statement above. Judith Grimes was born during the ZA, yet she--despite a couple of reckless moments--turned out to be more level-headed and grounded than Charlie (or many adults, for that matter). For example, she visited and became familiar with Negan, but was not conned by any of his BS-ing, to the point she held him at gunpoint--on two occasions--when he tried to escape, but she was not buying his would-be string-pulling. To that point, I would not say being a child of the ZA (with its lack of formal services) makes children more susceptible to manipulation.

I am not sure if we will see her again, or at least in any significant capacity.

It would be the final nail in the misuse coffin to re-introduce her, give her a backstory as a resistance leader (against old guard PADRE), only to orbit the edges of whatever story is left to tell.

I am still fairly certain that none of them will be mentioned again. We can infer that they died, or maybe they can show up in something in the future. But Fear did a poor job of doing anything with them after their intro... kinda the Chokotay/Ensign KimEnsign Mayweather syndrome.

Probably. If its that bad (as in your Star Trek reference), then Sarah and Wendell would be better off never showing up again, and just letting Strand's comment serve as their off-screen exit.

Again, it has been years... and while he was clearly not the successor to his dad his brother was, and maybe atthe time he had everything handed to him, i surmise that his survivialist upbringing and memories and comptemplation of why people followed his dad, could have helped Troy. Also, he said this current episode that his band were filled with people who did not get a second chance at their previous situation.. So in a similar way his dad was able to tap into fears (that eventually rang true), Troy might have been able to speak an inspire his band of "losers" to commit to serving him and his cause.

His stated motivations are simply to take PADRE from Madison as a revenge move. As of the latest episode, the writers have tried to humanize him by giving him a daughter and the mother of the child (who did not survive), yet he's still not a strong threat. If you recall, it did not take long for The Governor or Negan to prove how dangerous they were / difficult to fight. There's nothing about Troy and his group that hint at that level of malevolence so far, and with only four episodes left (three, if E9 is all about Dwight and Sherry's problems / fate), Troy suddenly becoming someone to fear would seem forced. As of E8, he's not threatening, or a complex character.

 

[Morpheus 02]

Well, it was high time someone said that to Madison, and he's been around her since the start of the ZA, so he knows what makes her tick--all of her faults.



There was no on-screen build-up to Charlie ever being so guilt-ridden that she was considering suicide. As you point out, both Alicia and Luciana forgave Charlie, with the former--the closest to Nick of the two--encouraging her, rather than constantly beating her down (in the psychological sense), or making Charlie feel she was incapable of being forgiven. After overcoming radiation sickness, that would drive many a person to cling to life more than ever before, yet Charlie--again, the teen who made peace about killing Nick--just swallowed Madison's haranguing and with the speed of turning on a light, she was suddenly suicidal. That was a great example of Plot Convenience 101 for the purpose of unearned shock value.

Regarding manipulation, my issues is more about what that says about Madison (that she would suggest a teen embark on what would only be a suicide mission), than Charlie believing it in addressing your statement above. Judith Grimes was born during the ZA, yet she--despite a couple of reckless moments--turned out to be more level-headed and grounded than Charlie (or many adults, for that matter). For example, she visited and became familiar with Negan, but was not conned by any of his BS-ing, to the point she held him at gunpoint--on two occasions--when he tried to escape, but she was not buying his would-be string-pulling. To that point, I would not say being a child of the ZA (with its lack of formal services) makes children more susceptible to manipulation.

You are definitely right on in regards to Madison and manipulation being an issue . I am guessing that it was more than a throwaway line but that it will be part of her concluding arc??




I would say there’s a huge difference between Charlie and Judith


Judith was literally born DURING the apocalypse. And despite the WD crew having several Child Protective Services violations (i.e. child neglect), she was surrounded literally by a community of “good people”, many of whom would tell her the raw truth if she asked questions (which I am sure she did. A lot. And repeatedly if she didn’t like the answer). They prepped her for what to expect, and especially any ex-Saviors as well could explain why, and she would see the sadness in their eyes. So she would be prepared for manipulation. HOWEVER, Negan, despite some hypocrisies and bad behaviors, had a FEW boundaries he was strict about, especially about hurting children. Definitely not physically, but I would suspect also mentally. And also considering that Judith treated him with some respect as a fellow human… Negan sure wouldn’t throw that away, especially after years of isolation otherwise. He grew to love her, so she was actually “safe”from him,

Charlie was 8 or so when it started. Before that, she was probably pretty innocent and trusting…nothing to REALLY worry about. But for a couple of years she was under the influence of “bad” people and programmed to follow. And you are correct…she had people VERY close to Nick reassure her over the years, to help her heal.


But she also was under the impression that Madison had died….so if she had made “peace with Madison”, that was completely undone, as Madison’s wounds would have been as fresh as when the murder had happened. I am not sure how much Luciana ever went back to that, and check in with Charlie on how she was doing. Certainly no therapists around in this part of the Zombie Apocalypse.…I am thinking she rarely spoke of it…. And so Charlie was hit with brand new (or suppressed) guilt, and felt this was her way of making it up….now that Nick’s mom was actually alive, and hurting really bad



I understand what you are coming from In terms of building up the guilt on screen... but considering how short of time they have left to wrap up SEVERAL characters’ arcs (as producers said in an interview), I thought the quick flashbacks, and just the previous history, were enough for me. But Your Mileage May Vary, and really it should been at least 2 episodes….

It would be the final nail in the misuse coffin to re-introduce her, give her a backstory as a resistance leader (against old guard PADRE), only to orbit the edges of whatever story is left to tell.



Probably. If its that bad (as in your Star Trek reference), then Sarah and Wendell would be better off never showing up again, and just letting Strand's comment serve as their off-screen exit.

I agree with your thoughts on Luciana, Wendell and Sarah. We will see…. At least with Luciana, her and Daniel leaving COULD be their end (where they rebuild society on their end), or just a temporary thing, like Dwight and Sherry’s separation. Oh, and I am glad they acknowledged Luciana working on the oil rig previously and using that as an explanation for her now. That made some sense. (A little like how Falcon & Winter Soldier more subtly connected Sam’s previous expierence as a counselor)

His stated motivations are simply to take PADRE from Madison as a revenge move. As of the latest episode, the writers have tried to humanize him by giving him a daughter and the mother of the child (who did not survive), yet he's still not a strong threat. If you recall, it did not take long for The Governor or Negan to prove how dangerous they were / difficult to fight. There's nothing about Troy and his group that hint at that level of malevolence so far, and with only four episodes left (three, if E9 is all about Dwight and Sherry's problems / fate), Troy suddenly becoming someone to fear would seem forced. As of E8, he's not threatening, or a complex character.

Maybe it was backtracking, but Troy stated clearly this episode that his getting revenge on Madison “was icing on the cake”…and he definitely wanted to “enjoy” hurting her… but I think he really does want to have PADRE as the Otto camp 2.0…. like the hotel is the Tower 2.0 (but obviously a BETTER version).

Troy has become a semi-cult leader like his dad… this time with a bunch of people who were rejected by others over the years

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

Fear the Walking Dead
Season 8 / Episode 9 - "Sanctuary”

Dwight I: Dwight returns to his house in Virginia in a state of depression, as he views an old photo of himself with Sherry, and one of his hand-carved chess pieces. He catches a nervous man named Jay trying to squat in the house--with a story about his need for insulin, which was recently stolen by marauders. Dwight feels Jay's story is too close to his own, back when Sherry's sister Tina--a diabetic--was on the run from the Saviors. Jay's insulin supply was only enough to last a week, but he'd rather have that week instead of dying and reanimating. Reluctantly agreeing to help Jay find the men who stole his meds, Dwight learns that the thieves have taken over the Savior's Sanctuary building.

Initially, Dwight refuses to enter the structure, telling Jay about the last time he tried to help someone get insulin, he ended up in the Sanctuary, which ruined the course of his life. Jay recounts the murder of his wife & child at the hands of the Sanctuary's new occupants, and making the leap--courtesy of Plot Convenience--that Dwight returning to the area alone must mean he's lost someone too, possibly a child, concluding that they have no reason to be in the world if they cannot help one another. Dwight agrees to help Jay, sending the man back to his house to wait.

Dwight II: Sneaking into the Sanctuary (while shaking off flashbacks to the Negan era), Dwight finds Jay's stolen meds, makes his way through the furnace area, where he suffers visions of his own mutilation and the death of Dr. Emmett Carson (set up by Dwight to implicate him in Sherry's escape from the Saviors), but is shot in the arm by members of the squatters.

The wounded Dwight manages to returns to his home, where Jay stumbles out...as a walker. After putting the walker down, he collapses, screaming at Daryl for not killing him when he had the chance, rather than spare a most miserable life. Another vehicle pulls up, carrying Sherry, June and Dove, who were attempting to find him.

Sherry / June / Dove (Odessa) I: Sherry sutures Dwight's wound, leaving the man wondering why June--the registered nurse--is not doing the job herself. June's evasive about the "why", but info-dumps the reason the trio needs Dwight to return (Troy / Strand is in charge / Madison dragging others into her personal war, etc.). Dwight is indifferent to June's pleas, his anger rising to the surface at the idea of Sherry fighting for PADRE to honor their son when PADRE's organization was the root cause of Finch's death. Sherry believes some "good" can come from something bad, but Dwight ignores her, saying he will honor Finch in his own way.

Dwight and Company I: The next morning, Dove returns in the truck--with a gunshot wound to the abdomen, the work of men who were looking for the man who "burned" their friend. With no exit wound seen, June stresses (to Dwight) the need to find a place with medical supplies in order to remove the bullet ASAP, before she goes into septic shock, but Dove is inexplicably hostile to June, not wanting her help at all.

The squatters track Dove's truck back to Dwight's house--their bald leader offering to help Dove...in exchange for Dwight, who will burn in the Sanctuary furnace. Dwight's ready to surrender, but Sherry intervenes, setting off a firefight which drives the squatters back long enough for Dwight and Company to speed away to the Sanctuary. Once there, Sherry has her own set of Negan flashbacks (e.g., seeing a discarded birth control test...), leaving June to rouse her out her shaken state to assist in the makeshift surgery. June asks Dwight to perform the surgery, which triggers a freak-out from Dove, who does not trust Dwight, since--in her view--he could not save his own son (nevermind the fact there was no procedure which would have saved Finch...).

Dwight and Company II: The building begins to rattle violently--from armies of walkers pounding on the walls, to the structure finally falling apart; Dwight volunteers to fight off the walkers--alone. Sherry accuses Dwight of being suicidal, but he's reached his limit, feeling Jay's plight brought him back to the Sanctuary, and to reminders his perceived failure in trying to turn bad into good (such as his relationship with Sherry), however, if he clears the walkers, perhaps Dove might stand a chance. The enraged Sherry still believes Dwight is trying to kill himself, so she locks him in his old room, taking on the job with the walkers.

Elsewhere, Dove's health is spiraling, but she demands to know why June will not perform the surgery. June cries that she does not want her actions to be the cause of Dove's death in the way she believes she's responsible for Finch, and Rose--her daughter. Dove spits back at June, admitting she joined the trip to get away from the compromised PADRE--and people like June who "can't get over their own shit"

In the courtyard, Sherry--on her own suicide mission--guns down as many walkers as possible until she's overwhelmed when the weight of walkers brings a fence down on her--trapping Sherry under the increasing walker numbers. Though it all, her mind is battered by memories from the Sanctuary's past.

June frees Dwight, who rescues Sherry (, while June heads back to the makeshift operating room to discover Dove attempting to dig out her bullet, sobbing that she does not trust any of her companions to help her, before the girl passes out. Outside, Dwight susses out Sherry's own death wish, but their finger-pointing session is cut short by the arrival of the squatters...and more walkers.

Dwight and Company III: Walkers pour into every level of the crumbling Sanctuary; Dwight's group find themselves surrounded by the dead and the squatters--with their leader attempting to feed Dwight to the charred friend he killed. Dwight whacks the leader over the head with the same iron Negan once used on Dwight's face, then releases the charred walker to fall on, and begin to devour the leader. Dwight overcomes his past experience with the furnace, guiding the others into the metal structure for safety as the entire roof of the Sanctuary caves in. Dwight is inspired by the security of the furnace to realize that they are all together to prove something good can come from the bad, including June stepping up to perform Dove's surgery.

Hours later, the group emerges from the furnace to stand in the ruins of the Sanctuary; June believes she successfully treated Dove, who now goes by her given name of Odessa. In the corniest moment ever put before FTWD's cameras, Dwight and Sherry see a Finch and taking that as a cue, Dwight decides to return to PADRE for the coming fight--to make it what Finch wanted it to be. Dwight takes one last look at the Sanctuary, no longer haunted by all things Negan.

Strand / PADRE: Two of the German hotel refugees take a struggling, blindfolded little girl down to a PADRE holding cell (decorated to appeal to a little girl) where Strand stands waiting. Strand removes the blindfold, telling the child--Troy's daughter-- that he needs her help to save PADRE (SEE NOTES).

NOTES:
This episode's script continued to have Dwight, Sherry and June (the latter sort of losing a reason to be this season) give the other appreciative nods which played like the writers were trying to convince the viewers of their worth, rather than it being applicable to the characters in-universe.

It appears Dwight and Sherry--despite being away from Virginia for several years--have never exorcised their demons regarding the Negan experience, much like Maggie, but I imagine between the two women, Sherry would not hesitate to kill Negan on the spot, rather than take Maggie's on-again, off-again emotional roller coaster route.

As noted above, several years have passed since Dwight was in Virginia, and the Sanctuary was a functioning location. In fact, by the time of the post-beheading period of The Whisperer arc, the Sanctuary was thoroughly gutted, with leaks in the ceiling and other structural damage making it unfit to live in, yet in the present-day timeline, we see a number of walkers chained to fences with their heads treated with molten lead to prevent enemy attacks. Since we know the Saviors were behind that "walker fortification" program (and the walkers of that era have rotted to dust by now), its far too coincidental to have a new group to employ the exact, same method at the exact, same location.

Dove was presented as the relentless A-type aggressor in defense of PADRE (willing to execute Daniel and the parents), so its a rather night and day turn for her to be so despondent over PADRE's current state, as its still functioning. Above all else, she was merely a plot device to give Dwight a guilt trip about Dove suffering at the hands of enemies he made, which motivated him to return to the Sanctuary once again, and relive his Negan issues.

With Dwight and Sherry moving past their Negan issues, that closes another "loose end", or cuts another thread to the parent series (technically, Morgan returning to Alexandria to find Rick--if that plot is ever explored--keeps a FTWD thread tied to TWD). This only leaves Maggie as the last character still tormented by you-know-who.

Strand kidnapped--or saved--Troy's daughter. This poses a few potential problems: if Strand has not informed his allies that he has the child, he could be double-dealing with Troy for purely selfish reasons (and I would not be shocked if Strand attempted to kill one of the series' heroes to get what he desires, much like he kicked Morgan into walkers aboard the submarine), or this move might trigger Troy to capture and threaten yet another ally, only this time, he will be the one killing the captive--in Governor fashion--instead of a character dying by their own hands.

Next week: Troy comes after his daughter, while Madison--supposedly wandering out in the world--believes she's found the Alicia-walker...again.

GRADE: C+.

 

[The Wormhole]

A nagging thought that I kept dwelling on throughout this episode, if the Sanctuary is functional enough to serve as a base for the gang in this episode, and that gang is apparently doing well enough for themselves, particularly in the medical supplies department, than how did they escape notice of the Commonwealth? The Sanctuary isn't that far from Alexandria, Hilltop and the other communities. They had to have noticed it when they annexed the communities in Walking Dead's final season and noticed a gang operating out of it. I mean, I get this is about Fear's storylines, specifically for this episode Dwight and Sherry's character arcs, but at the same time it does seem kind of odd to arrive in the same general area that the parent show was set and not include any indication its current status.

 

[Morpheus 02]

Fear the Walking Dead
Season 8 / Episode 9 - "Sanctuary”


NOTES:
This episode's script continued to have Dwight, Sherry and June (the latter sort of losing a reason to be this season) give the other appreciative nods which played like the writers were trying to convince the viewers of their worth, rather than it being applicable to the characters in-universe.

It appears Dwight and Sherry--despite being away from Virginia for several years--have never exorcised their demons regarding the Negan experience, much like Maggie, but I imagine between the two women, Sherry would not hesitate to kill Negan on the spot, rather than take Maggie's on-again, off-again emotional roller coaster route.

Really? I felt the opposite. FOr Dwight, they actually gave a good reason why he needed to come back... the trust with the kids.
Also, my understanding that the writers were attempting to close the arcs for all the main characters. So for Sherry and Dwight, their roller coaster ride through the years, which seemed to end in hopelessness.

I think their bouts with depression are realisitic, but also their long relationship and what makes them unique.

Now, i wonder if they gave up on June, and are having her be a part of their family, but a less effecive nurse because of ther injury, so she is basically just exisiting to help people, and Dwight & Sherry (and Dove, apparently) will be there to keep her going as well.

As noted above, several years have passed since Dwight was in Virginia, and the Sanctuary was a functioning location. In fact, by the time of the post-beheading period of The Whisperer arc, the Sanctuary was thoroughly gutted, with leaks in the ceiling and other structural damage making it unfit to live in, yet in the present-day timeline, we see a number of walkers chained to fences with their heads treated with molten lead to prevent enemy attacks. Since we know the Saviors were behind that "walker fortification" program (and the walkers of that era have rotted to dust by now), its far too coincidental to have a new group to employ the exact, same method at the exact, same location.

I think some of those chained up were actually were indeed from the previous era. We don't actually have a time frame of when Walkers actually do rot away. Just the nature of their unnatural ressurrection may mean they could "live" for years, if wind and rain don't tear up their flesh. If they went by previous thoughts, some walkers "hibernate" until they get stimulation of sound or light or touch.

Dove was presented as the relentless A-type aggressor in defense of PADRE (willing to execute Daniel and the parents), so its a rather night and day turn for her to be so despondent over PADRE's current state, as its still functioning. Above all else, she was merely a plot device to give Dwight a guilt trip about Dove suffering at the hands of enemies he made, which motivated him to return to the Sanctuary once again, and relive his Negan issues.

The thing is... her PADRE is no more... the leaders are gone, many of the kids have left. She doesn't know where she fits in anymore. Also, she's a teenager. Trust me, they get emotional and make irrational decisions all the time,

With Dwight and Sherry moving past their Negan issues, that closes another "loose end", or cuts another thread to the parent series (technically, Morgan returning to Alexandria to find Rick--if that plot is ever explored--keeps a FTWD thread tied to TWD). This only leaves Maggie as the last character still tormented by you-know-who.

As i mentioned, this whole season is supposed to wrap up arcs of the main characters.

Despite Scott Gimple being an alleged "Chief Creative Officer" of the whole franchise, it feels like they have been purposely trying to cut off all the series from each other...kind of an anti-Marvel-interconnectedness. Daryl and Dead City have both distanced themselves from the plot resolutons in the main series in favor of setting up essentially separate series, almost like Superman & Lois from the Arrowverse that spawned it.

Strand kidnapped--or saved--Troy's daughter. This poses a few potential problems: if Strand has not informed his allies that he has the child, he could be double-dealing with Troy for purely selfish reasons (and I would not be shocked if Strand attempted to kill one of the series' heroes to get what he desires, much like he kicked Morgan into walkers aboard the submarine), or this move might trigger Troy to capture and threaten yet another ally, only this time, he will be the one killing the captive--in Governor fashion--instead of a character dying by their own hands.

Next week: Troy comes after his daughter, while Madison--supposedly wandering out in the world--believes she's found the Alicia-walker...again.

GRADE: C+.

I give this at least a B+. This season has surprisingly pleased me, and feel like it's a decent end to the show, and fixed some of the mess from the previous season.

A nagging thought that I kept dwelling on throughout this episode, if the Sanctuary is functional enough to serve as a base for the gang in this episode, and that gang is apparently doing well enough for themselves, particularly in the medical supplies department, than how did they escape notice of the Commonwealth? The Sanctuary isn't that far from Alexandria, Hilltop and the other communities. They had to have noticed it when they annexed the communities in Walking Dead's final season and noticed a gang operating out of it. I mean, I get this is about Fear's storylines, specifically for this episode Dwight and Sherry's character arcs, but at the same time it does seem kind of odd to arrive in the same general area that the parent show was set and not include any indication its current status.

I think most of the Saviors left the Sanctuary at the end of the war, so it was pretty much abandoned. The kinda showed that, at least in regards to the people, on the Main Show. I think there was a small group of Savior loyalists that became wanderers, and i l believe Carol wiped them out.

People who left probably didn't feel like lugging medical equipment, as they were going to wander , and would rather carry water and food.

The COmmonwealth had interrogated Eugene and his group, so I assume the Commonwealth knew of the status of the Sanctuary, and didn't think it was worth the effort. Also, bythen, there was already a lot of dilapadation.

But yeah, a stone's throw from ALexandria, so they could have visited. But they only focused on characters of the current shows, Darryl and Negan (who weren't filming there). I think it was to save their budget (which might have been drastically cut).

The excuse for Dwight is that he is a hated man in those parts, especially with Darryl (who he didn't know had left...or whatever time they are in, might still be around). So it wouldn't be worth it for him to go back. When Dwight said he was going home, apparently Sherry understood it was their home before they joined the Sanctuary. The had left their because of the insulin need,, and once in the sanctuary, they were trapped.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

Really? I felt the opposite. FOr Dwight, they actually gave a good reason why he needed to come back... the trust with the kids.

But Dwight was aware of the trust he built with the kids, but that was not enough to keep him around, especially after the death of Finch and the collapse of his marriage. His personal tragedies were justification enough for Dwight to disappear, not caring about PADRE, when it was directly responsible for his life falling apart. For that reason, he should have walked off into the sunset, similar to Morgan (only in Morgan's case, he resolved longstanding issues, motivating him to return home).

Now, i wonder if they gave up on June, and are having her be a part of their family, but a less effecive nurse because of ther injury, so she is basically just exisiting to help people, and Dwight & Sherry (and Dove, apparently) will be there to keep her going as well.

I viewed that as June running out of a plot; she appeared to exist only due to her connection to father and son Dorie, their deaths, and very briefly, her hermit-like fear of leaving the bunker in the aftermath of Teddy's missile strikes. Since that time, she's sort of been dragging along in misery, yet said misery was not defined well enough to build her once-interesting character.

I think some of those chained up were actually were indeed from the previous era. We don't actually have a time frame of when Walkers actually do rot away. Just the nature of their unnatural ressurrection may mean they could "live" for years, if wind and rain don't tear up their flesh. If they went by previous thoughts, some walkers "hibernate" until they get stimulation of sound or light or touch.

Walkers are organic material like anything else, and as TWD TV franchise has displayed time and again, Walkers do deteriorate over time: think back to TWD's pilot, where Rick came across Hannah (the "Bicycle Girl"), and how advanced her state of decomposition had been compared to her condition when she died not long into the start of the ZA, as seen in the webisode, "Torn Apart". If decomposition happens that quickly, there's no way the lead-headed Walkers at the Sanctuary would still be flexible, active creatures, or did not die off altogether, considering its been more than a decade since the defeat of the Saviors.

Moreover, once the Saviors were defeated, I believe the lead-headed Walkers were killed by Rick's group.

The thing is... her PADRE is no more... the leaders are gone, many of the kids have left. She doesn't know where she fits in anymore. Also, she's a teenager. Trust me, they get emotional and make irrational decisions all the time,

I think the real reason is the showrunners wanted to build Dove into a character of significance, considering how often she was involved in the conflicts with Morgan, Daniel, et al., so they needed to attach her to semi-"legacy" characters (Dwight and Sherry) to give her purpose, now that Shrike is dead. Still waiting for that to pay off, with only three episodes left.

The Commonwealth had interrogated Eugene and his group, so I assume the Commonwealth knew of the status of the Sanctuary, and didn't think it was worth the effort. Also, bythen, there was already a lot of dilapadation.

I assumed the same--and believed the location was so far off, it would not be worth the Commonwealth's resources to invest in a wrecked industrial building.

 

[Morpheus 02]

I wanted to give my quick and dirty review of the latest episode, but we the comprehensive one from @TREK_GOD_1

I would give this episode a solid A- at least, for all the twists and turns....now, this is more of the episode within itself.... as it ties into the finale, that might change.

So One big glaring thing for me was that once again, they have an obviously older actress for what should be a 6-7 old child. It sticks out at me because i have a 12 year old girl, and Annabelle Rose as Tracy is also the same age, and certainly sounds more like my daughter now, than 5 years ago. The same with Zoey Merchant as Mo, who is 13

However, that is like "Darmok" in TNG... an obvious "glaring mistake" can easily be forgiven because it serves the episode/show very well. IN this specific case once again the actress gives a strong performance that, if we ignore what the age should be, and just go with a young but smart kid, actually works quite well.

I felt like the Victor we saw here was truly a "wiser" one that the mess we got from the Tower season. yes, he's "scheming", but like we were seeing in the Virginia arc, he was doing it for a greater good.

And also great callback that Victor knows his way around a boat to be able to get the life raft off while shutting down the boat for a minute.

Also, very funny that Madison tells Daniel there is something fundementally wrong with him -- nice clap back from when he said that to Madison...which this episode kinda proves both are right.


So we have an Alicia "semi-cult" suddenly dropped in...still no sign of actual Alicia, though apparently she survived...but off screen. And then apparently was killed (but we just have people saying that she died... no one has definitively seen the body... so maybe a last episode surprise?)

Now, how did the cult get the SWAT vehicle? I forgot the fate of it...or at least when did we last see it? In one way, a nice tie in to wrap things up....but trying to remember if that was just thrown in, or if it makes sense.

I wonder if they had meant for the actress (Alycia) to return, but couldn't get her, so they pivoted instead.

So weird that the 2 hour finale is here. I was surprised how much i liked this 2nd half...i was expecting a disaster, but we will see.

Anyone else watching the show? As i said, i think it's actually a good wrap up, so far, but wondering how the finale will pan out.

 

[The Wormhole]

Enjoyable episode, though probably another by-product of a shorter than usual season it did feel like they crammed a lot into it that usually would probably be spread over two episodes or something. Strand had a few good one-liners in this episode, mostly towards the beginning.

Now, how did the cult get the SWAT vehicle? I forgot the fate of it...or at least when did we last see it? In one way, a nice tie in to wrap things up....but trying to remember if that was just thrown in, or if it makes sense.

Alicia found it in her last episode, so it seems reasonable her cult would have it now.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

Fear the Walking Dead
Season 8 / Episode 10 - "Keeping Her Alive”

Strand I: Dwight, June, Sherry, Odessa and others return to PADRE, and immediately get into a war of words with Strand over his unauthorized authority and most importantly, holding Tracy (Troy's daughter) as a bargaining chip preventing Troy's group from attacking. Strand tries to sell the "I've changed" line, which is countered by June, who reminds him of all of the people he killed while running The Tower. June's group ignore Strand's claim of wanting to build PADRE into what Alicia wanted it to be, instead demanding he hand over Tracy--and himself as the only way to settle the conflict, which Frank has to accept.

Strand II: Aboard a PADRE boat, Strand and Troy's daughter--both bound bicker with each other, and with June--the latter radioing Troy to get him to promise he will not attempt to take over PADRE. The moment Troy agrees to the terms, Strand removes Tracy's blindfold, telling her to look in the direction of PADRE island, using the girl's knowledge as leverage to prevent June from handing him--and Tracy over (hoping June's group will fear Tracy will reveal PADRE's location to her father). Tracy jumps overboard, and in the chaos, Strand frees himself, pulls out a random cable (which disables the boat), and jumps overboard.

Swimming to another island, Strand saves Tracy from Walkers, and takes notice of the St. Christopher necklace she's wearing--recalling how he gave a similar necklace to Alicia...

Strand III: Needing help, Strand locates a venting Madison, pleading with her to help keep Tracy out of the hands of June and Company. Madison is initially disinterested, until Strand suggests Tracy knows where Alicia is, thanks to her possessing the necklace. Madison is beside herself with anger with Strand after Tracy informs her that Strand was the one who let her see the location of PADRE, with his ulterior motive to save his own skin. Madison only agrees to help if she can find Alicia.

Strand IV: At one of Luciana's truck stops, Strand and Madison hotwire a vehicle, but are intercepted by a none-too-pleased Luciana and Daniel. To protect her people, Luciana's willing to take Tracy by force, if returning her to Troy ends the threat of violence. Daniel whispers that they cannot be sure Strand and/or Madison may have already made some deal with Troy, so he will join Madison's search to suss out the truth, under the pretense that he's helping because he knows how it feels to lose a daughter.

On the road, Tracy--blunt as ever--taunts Daniel by telling him Ofelia died because she tried to poison a large number of people; Daniel counters by recounting how Ofelia died trying to save Troy's own settlement from the Walker herd guided there by her "lunatic" father. Strand--analyzing the conversation--charges Daniel with only being there to kill Tracy to make Troy feel what its like to lose a daughter. Pulling a gun on Daniel and Madison, Strand tries to wrest Tracy from the truck, but Daniel slaps his hand away, as Madison speeds off, sending Strand tumbling out of the truck.

A disoriented Strand is nearly overwhelmed by Walkers when he's saved by the guns of a familiar SWAT van, and its three female occupants: their leader--Ada--wearing a metal claw weapon similar to the one once fashioned by Alicia. It turns out that a decade ago, Ada and her father were rejected by Strand while he ruled The Tower; her father fell ill and died, but not before Alicia rescued Ada and other survivors. Strand feels guilty for the decision that killed Ada's father, yet Ada did not hesitate to save him, after all, its what Alicia would have done--the inspirational ideology for the trio. Ada adds that Alicia's fever broke, but she does not know when she died, or if Troy murdered her...but she blames Otto for killing others in her group.

Luciana I: Strand radios Troy, filling him in on Tracy's abduction, and offering to help Otto (cutting time down as he access to a functioning vehicle) if he learns where Tracy might have taken her kidnappers. Troy--distrustful as one would expect--does not accept Strand's offer, explaining that his group will have soon have transportation of their own...meaning the vehicles at Luciana's truck stop. Otto and his men face off against Luciana, the latter simply wanting no part of Troy's war, but Troy threatens to kill her group if she does not stand down. Unwise move, as Troy discovers she allowed him to walk freely into the truck stop, where they're surrounded by her group, and Dwight, Sherry, June, Frank and others among PADRE's fighting population.

Although Luciana issues an ultimatum regarding the safety of Tracy, Troy, feeling he has one more hand to play, radios Strand about finding the girl within earshot of Luciana's group, the implications effectively removing the teeth from Luciana's bargaining chip, leaving only kind of resolution...

Madison / Daniel / Tracy I: Directed by Tracy, Madison and Daniel arrive at a path filled with Walkers stuck on a sheet of ice; Tracy claims the reanimated Alicia is among the throng of Walkers, but Daniel is unconvinced, warning Madison to give up the search. Tracy points to a one-armed, long-haired Walker, identifying it as Alicia; Madison is overcome with sadness as she remembers various moments with her daughter..until she realizes the creature isn't Alicia. At that moment, Tracy pushes Madison into the creature, tries to run off, but she's held by Daniel. Breaking free of the Walker, Madison learns why Tracy tried to kill her: the Walker was Tracy's mother, who once listened to mother and daughter Clark's "No one's gone until they're gone" and somehow--although its never explained--it led to the woman's death.

This bit of in-universe history is supposed to shake Madison and Daniel out of their wayward method of resolving personal tragedy (SEE NOTES), but it does not work, with Daniel wanting to use Tracy to get to Troy, while Madison prefers to kill the child, as she knows the location of PADRE. Tracy blurts out that Alicia was killed at a mansion near Fort Worth, which earns Madison's best "don't-give-a-fuck" attitude as a fed-up Daniel ties Tracy to a tree, while Madison pushes a Walker toward its captive meal.

Strand, Ada and her companions show up (making the restless Walkers break free of their frozen bonds), trying to invoke Alicia's name to break Madison out of her murderous mindset, which gives the frightened Tracy the time needed to free herself of her bonds, and run off into the woods. Ada recruits her team to help defend PADRE if Madison does not risk her life trying to re-capture the child.

Luciana II: Ada's group transports Strand, Madison and Daniel to Luciana's truck stop--and the aftermath of a bloody gunfight. Luciana states most of Troy's men were killed, but their suicidal behavior--for those who seemingly wanted to create a new home at PADRE--was inexplicable. Madison chimes in, believing Troy's aim is to repeat the same scorched earth action he used against his own settlement.

Madison II: Madison sees only one way to save PADRE, but she will undertake that mission alone. Despite Strand's please to help Madison--and prevent her from continuing to go down a path that would change her forever (citing Madison's desire to murder Tracy), she holds everyone off at gunpoint, commandeering the SWAT van for a final showdown with Troy--and to find Alicia's Walker (NOTES).

NOTES:
Fear the Walking Dead's many showrunners / producers have drained the battery of the "Alicia/Walker" idea until its lost all energy & meaning, even if--by some ZA miracle--Alicia/Walker was still stumbling around. More importantly, after more than a decade since Alicia was last seen by her former companions, even if her SWAT van followers worked with/around her for a time (long enough to see her fever had passed), surely the Walker virus would have claimed her life long ago--before Troy arrived in the general area. Then again, how would Troy know Alicia had been in the areas surrounding the nuclear wasteland, and if any of his party recognized that kind of devastation, why would they press forward into a potentially lethal area--other than this sub-plot being the ever-busy result of Plot Convenience 101?

Whether Alycia Debnam-Carey returns to the series as a living version of Alicia or not (the jury's still out about the chances of that happening), the showrunners have tried too hard to turn Alicia Clark into The Legend of Alicia Clark, close to being some quasi-religious figure just about everyone living in that part of the country has or had some life-saving, life redefining connection to her, when her actions or intentions--in the grand scheme of things--were not much different than the various schemes of characters such as Morgan, she was not doing anything we did not see

Cringe-worthy scene of the episode: Madison playing rock music as she kills several walkers. Was that supposed to be a "badass" scene?

Not certain if the following was intentional, but the tense exchange between June and Strand presented as June not just criticizing Victor for jumping into yet another new identity, but due to an underlying jab at his never being a "real" parent--possibly judging the course of his life:

June: "Maybe you'd know how badly a parent would fight for their kid, if you were doing more than playing father to Klaus!"

This is not necessarily June being homophobic in general (she's never expressed that kind of belief before), yet her line could be read as her mocking the idea of Strand referring to himself as Klaus' father for that reason. I wonder if the showrunners thought about the delivery of that line and its unintended interpretation.

Madison is heading off--alone--to face Troy. As much as the showrunners have tried to make this conflict into another Rick vs The Governor blood feud, as noted in an earlier review, Troy was and remains a weak villain. Whatever the showrunners believed they were creating with Troy Otto (or his family), it never materialized into some formidable threat, which has been a serious problem with FTWD. Aside from one-and-done threats here and there, overall, you'd be hard-pressed to list one handful of characters who were truly memorable as antagonists. Its as though the various series writers (and showrunners) lacked the creativity and heart to "go there" with horrifying, believably nuanced villains. Hell, even the Terminus cannibals--as short as their arc had been--had that in spades over most FTWD villains. Perhaps that is one of the reasons Fear the Walking Dead did not run as long as its parent series.

Next week: Only two episodes left in the series.

GRADE: B.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

Fear the Walking Dead
Season 8 / Episode 11 - "The Road Ahead”

Troy and The Gang I: During the night, Troy's minions use loud music to lead every Walker they find toward the shores near PADRE island. Nearby, Russell loads the bound Walker of Tracy's mother into the back of Troy's truck for a special purpose.

As Troy and Tracy drive toward their destination (slow enough to lead a pack of walkers), Tracy questions the reason her Walker-mother will be used to kill Madison (SEE NOTES). Tracy examines the St. Christopher necklace, informing Troy that Strand said it once belonged to Alicia. Troy writes off Strand's belief by telling Tracy her mother was the one who gave her the necklace. Suddenly, the truck tires hit a trip-wire, sending a large cut log slamming into the truck with such force, the truck flips down an embankment, crashing into a tree.

Come sunrise, Tracy manages to crawl from the truck, but Troy finds he's been impaled through his left shoulder by a branch--and he cannot break the branch to set himself free. A choked-up Tracy initially refuses to leave Troy, despite his careful push for Tracy to survive so that their plans for PADRE will have meaning. Tracy breaks down, giving Troy her St.Christopher necklace for luck, then runs off--dodging Walkers--to find Russell...

Madison I: Madison brings the SWAT van to a stop to debate with Strand (on the walkie) about her need to kill Troy, so PADRE can be what Alicia envisioned. Strand warns her that she may not stop with Troy, referring to his own, similar path at the Tower, where he committed one terrible thing after another to keep it safe, but it transformed him into the very thing people needed to be protected from. Before she can respond, she discovers Tracy in the van (trying to radio Russell), learns Troy's location, and despite the child's fearful pleas for Madison to give Troy a second chance, Madison zip-ties Tracy to the seat, notifies Strand where to find the van, and heads off to kill Troy.

Troy and The Gang II: Believing he's close to a death by Walkers, Troy walkies Russell, asking him to make sure Tracy has a home at PADRE, but Russell's promise is interrupted by Madison, who sledgehammers the Walkers, saving Troy's life...only for a free Troy to attack Madison, dragging her to his wife-Walker, named Serena. Madison drives Troy back by twisting the branch still lodged in his shoulder, while killing the Serena-Walker, triggering an anguished cry from Troy, who tells Madison why the Serena-Walker was supposed to kill her. Threatened with execution, Troy cryptically states it was Alicia's own philosophy that led to her death.

Feeling he's holding the cards to negotiate, Troy offers to tell Madison where the Walker herd is headed, only if he's allowed to bury his Walker-wife & see Tracy again, so he can pass on some unstated message. By the numbers, Troy buries his wife, and recounts how his wife had been bit, but Alicia--responding to SOS--saved her life. As a result of Alicia's generosity, Troy's wife tried to emulate her rescuer, answering a call for help, only for Serena to be robbed and mortally wounded by a group of men. Troy promised his dying wife she would never let their daughter hurt the way Serena did--to never believe the things Alicia put into Serena's head, which led to her death.

Madison II: As Madison is distracted by a Walker, Troy hits her with a shovel, running off...but triggers another trip-wire which sends him falling into a pit trap. Madison only has moments to gloat before she's knocked out by Crane (yeah, I forgot he existed, too), zip-tied to Troy and taken aboard a tug boat, where the deposed Crane blames Madison for Shrike's death, and spills his plan to take PADRE back.

Crane offers Troy and Tracy a place to live at PADRE if Otto calls off the Walker herd. Getting no Troy is not in a negotiating mood, which angers Crane--now deciding to force Troy to the herd at gunpoint. Along the way, Crane's truck is intercepted by Daniel and Luciana, who kill all except Crane, who manages to escape. Luciana & Daniel plan to kill Troy, but Madison steps in, explaining they need him to find the herd, which Troy adds will not be found in time to stop 5,000 Walkers from taking PADRE, unless he directs them to the creatures. An angry Daniel has to swallow the situation.

With Luciana and Daniel branching off to join Strand, Madison and Troy head to find the herd, but are ambushed by Crane, who forces the Not-As-Charismatic-As-The-Classic Defiant Ones to risk crossing a rotted rope bridge strung across a body of swampy water and quicksand...filled with Walkers. Crane cuts one of the bridge supports, dumping the duo into the swamp--where they slowly sink. Standing on the shoreline, Cranes uses this time to justify his method of running PADRE, starting with a flashback to the time he--and his sister--rescued Madison from the burning stadium thanks to learning what kind of a person she was (ideologically speaking), which made her ripe for PADRE exploitation. That said, he rubs salt in her woulds, adding that it was Madison's beliefs which led to the death of her children. Enraged, Madison yells out to Walkers, attracting them to Crane, who quickly runs out of bullets, and is soon taken down and devoured by a group of the dead (SEE NOTES).

Madison and Troy sink into the swamp waters, and things go dark for both...

The heroes I: Madison and Troy find themselves back on shore, rescued by Strand, Daniel, Luciana, June, Dwight and Sherry. Technically speaking, Strand explains that Troy (now reunited with Tracy) was the one who saved Madison, a fact leaving Clark perplexed by the very "un-Troy" act. Troy infodumps the backstory about Serena having a purpose, and how he--while sinking in the swamp--saw nothing of the sort in Madison's eyes, hence his saving her, in order to give her a chance (based on a promise he once made--and broke--with his wife). Daniel flat out calls Troy a liar, but Madison's willing to give him a chance to prove himself by leading the group to the Walker herd.

Madison III: Troy's men continue to draw their legion of Walkers to one of the shores leading to PADRE island; pulling up in the SWAT van, Madison warns Tory's men to take cover, just as the vehicle's guns mow down rows of the dead, but leaves dozens to be led away by Odessa and other PADRE members.

June stresses the need to get Madison back to PADRE, as she needs immediate care for aspirating swamp water.

Since Troy lived up his word, Strand argues in favor of letting him go to PADRE, which Daniel laughs off as Strand wanting to feel good about himself. At the end of it all, Troy's fate is left in Madison's hands.

Troy promises to be honest with Tracy going forward, but she's just happy they're together, and he lived up to the promise of finding a home. Madison calls Tracy away so she can speak to Troy privately; carrying Alicia's skeleton / blade hand, she listens to Troy asking her to believe he's worthy of a second chance, only to be answered by Madison stabbing Troy in the chest...witnessed by a screaming Tracy.

Madison finally agrees that giving second chances is the belief system that killed Alicia, concluding that her violent act is the way they (PADRE) will survive. In his dying moments, Troy confesses that Tracy is not his child...but Alicia's, which he took from her body (to make up for what he lost) as she died before giving birth. Madison breaks down in disbelief, but yells out to Tracy, who disappeared into the wilderness a moment after hearing Troy's confession...

NOTES:

Tracy wondered why her Walker-mother was being used for revenge against Madison...say, what?? In just the previous episode, it was Tracy who pushed Madison into her Walker-mother for the same purpose: to make Madison pay. Either the poor kid suffers from selective memory, or that's an issue for FTWD's writers.

Troy Otto dies and drops a "shocking" secret on Madison, but his death had no impact whatsoever, not only due to Troy being a weak villain from the start, but his reappearance was all a pile of unlikely coincidences, from his being in the general area Alicia covered in her travels, to his wife being saved by Alicia, to Alicia gifting the St. Christopher medallion, and so on. Instead of the series creating another Big Bad that challenges the heroes to their core, and/or is a gross inversion of normality (e.g., Negan, The Governor, the Terminus cannibals, et al.), the showrunners could not let go of their apparent obsession with digging the knife in the Right Wing Boogeyman / survivalist stereotype in the form of Troy Otto (and the memory of his family). That's not a compelling adversary, but a single-panel political cartoon--and a bad one at that.

Adding Weak Villain Insult to Weak Villain Injury, Ben Krennick (aka "Crane") makes a final appearance as a man with no plan to recapture PADRE. He's only there so the Not-As-CharismaticAs-The-Classic Defiant Ones (Madison and Troy) would need to rely on each other to survive. That's all. No growth. No character arc to complete. Just an annoying, would-be somehting-or-other.

TWD's Pamela Milton was not the strongest villain a series would end with, but her control issues and ruthless, relentless nature still delivered a better series finale villain than Troy Otto.

Oh, what the-- Tracy is the heretofore unmentioned child of Alicia? This was such an 11th Hour, forced connection to "savior" Alicia, that the series should be retitled (for the second time this episode) Fear All My Children. In the showrunners' neverending attempts to add depth to Madison's character, she now has to live with the "guilt" of killing Discount Adversary Troy Otto--who raised her only biological connection to her daughter...oh, and saved Madison's life, which makes her seem like an ungrateful ass.

For Tracy's part, with no parental figure left, and her newfound granny the one who killed said parental figure, I can imagine the series finale will pit the child against Madison, where the former finds a convenient gun, and threatens to kill Madison, but somehow comes to her senses before pulling the trigger. Or, Madison--after aspirating swamp water in this episode--sings one last Hymn for Alicia before dying from pneumonia, which inspires the child to back down, and serve as the physical legacy of Alicia and her wishes.

Madison said, "People like you and me are no longer in this world", which sounded like a tease that she might meet her end in the series finale, only she could have been referring to the condition of her lungs.

Next week: Fear the Walking Dead's series finale.

GRADE: C+.

 

[Morpheus 02]

Fear the Walking Dead
Season 8 / Episode 11 - "The Road Ahead”


NOTES:

Tracy wondered why her Walker-mother was being used for revenge against Madison...say, what?? In just the previous episode, it was Tracy who pushed Madison into her Walker-mother for the same purpose: to make Madison pay. Either the poor kid suffers from selective memory, or that's an issue for FTWD's writers.

This and the finale had a feel of being put together last minute.... a whole lot of seemingly random stuff, bad editing, etc.

Troy Otto dies and drops a "shocking" secret on Madison, but his death had no impact whatsoever, not only due to Troy being a weak villain from the start, but his reappearance was all a pile of unlikely coincidences, from his being in the general area Alicia covered in her travels, to his wife being saved by Alicia, to Alicia gifting the St. Christopher medallion, and so on. Instead of the series creating another Big Bad that challenges the heroes to their core, and/or is a gross inversion of normality (e.g., Negan, The Governor, the Terminus cannibals, et al.), the showrunners could not let go of their apparent obsession with digging the knife in the Right Wing Boogeyman / survivalist stereotype in the form of Troy Otto (and the memory of his family). That's not a compelling adversary, but a single-panel political cartoon--and a bad one at that.

I don't quite agree, here...i mean, yeah, Troy finding ALicia , and in a non radioactive area.... yeah, that is incredible coincidence.... but once Alicia connected to Serena, the passing on of the medallion at that point is reasonable.... i might be merging the episodes, so i will wait to comment more on that situation.

But i don't know about the Right WIng Boogeyman thing... this was more general revenge, and misdirected anger. I thought they actually humanized Troy very well, this episode, but did so waaaaay too late to maximize the shock of it, and really make Madison's decision really seem evil.

And i will wait for your next writing to talk about the other obsession they seem to have.

Adding Weak Villain Insult to Weak Villain Injury, Ben Krennick (aka "Crane") makes a final appearance as a man with no plan to recapture PADRE. He's only there so the Not-As-CharismaticAs-The-Classic Defiant Ones (Madison and Troy) would need to rely on each other to survive. That's all. No growth. No character arc to complete. Just an annoying, would-be somehting-or-other.

[Sarcasm] I think the producers of Fear saw your comments on Troy and said "Hold My Beer". I mean, during the Padre season, he was incredibly useless as a partner to Shrike, who actually seemed dangerous. WHat exactly did Crane do to make PADRE work or truly lead it???

TWD's Pamela Milton was not the strongest villain a series would end with, but her control issues and ruthless, relentless nature still delivered a better series finale villain than Troy Otto.

Oh, what the-- Tracy is the heretofore unmentioned child of Alicia? This was such an 11th Hour, forced connection to "savior" Alicia, that the series should be retitled (for the second time this episode) Fear All My Children. In the showrunners' neverending attempts to add depth to Madison's character, she now has to live with the "guilt" of killing Discount Adversary Troy Otto--who raised her only biological connection to her daughter...oh, and saved Madison's life, which makes her seem like an ungrateful ass.

Don't forget "There is something fundementally wrong with you, Madison".

And yeah....ungrateful for sure.... sure, don't fully trust him....but murder him?? And in front of his daughter??

For Tracy's part, with no parental figure left, and her newfound granny the one who killed said parental figure, I can imagine the series finale will pit the child against Madison, where the former finds a convenient gun, and threatens to kill Madison, but somehow comes to her senses before pulling the trigger. Or, Madison--after aspirating swamp water in this episode--sings one last Hymn for Alicia before dying from pneumonia, which inspires the child to back down, and serve as the physical legacy of Alicia and her wishes.

Can't wait for your response to what actually happens...

Madison said, "People like you and me are no longer in this world", which sounded like a tease that she might meet her end in the series finale, only she could have been referring to the condition of her lungs.

Next week: Fear the Walking Dead's series finale.

So you don't get the finale on AMC+???

OK...I will wait to comment on that....but yeah, we got some stuff to talk about!

GRADE: C+.

I guess i would give it a B- ... definitely a disappointment compared to the rest of the season (parts 1 and 2)

Now, i read about a week or so ago... that the initial plan from the previous showrunner was to show Madison go from protagonist to antihero and end with her as a villain....love to see your thoughts on this.

 

[The Wormhole]

Well, that was, something anyway. The two episodes (yes, I'll be commenting on both) got really annoyingly repetitive, first with the constant attempts to kill Troy only for Troy to say "wait, you can't kill me because I have valuable information." Then someone, be it Madison, Strand or Daniel or whoever will point out rather truthfully "we can't trust anything you say" but hear him out anyway, leading to Troy betraying them anyway only to get caught and do this whole dance all over. Then we also had the matter of a bunch of shocking revelations that completely re-contextualized aspects of the show only to have them almost instantly walked back on with "yeah, that's not quite exactly what happened." I got to be honest, much of these final two episodes were annoying and frustrating.

Spoiler: Final Scene

In spite of all that though, I will say the ending of the finale actually was pretty good, and it is nice to see Alicia is in fact alive and well after all.

As an episode, the finale was rather meh. But, the episode's ending is a decent enough way to end the series on.

And so ends Fear the Walking Dead. It certainly had its flaws and I would not call it a perfect show. But all the same it kept my attention and provided some entertainment value the past eight years anyway. There are certainly better shows on television, but this was an enjoyable ride to experience and in some ways, you could say this show basically defined my thirties, in that I was thirty when it premiered and I am thirty-eight now as it ends. I bid this show farewell.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

Fear the Walking Dead
Season 8 / Episode 12 - "The Road Ahead” - SERIES FINALE

Madison / Tracy I: Madison finds Tracy hiding in a hollow log, but as one would expect, the child does not want anything to do with the woman who murdered her father. Tracy argues Madison did not change as Troy implied she would, but with no options for survival, Tracy reluctantly accompanies Madison, returning to the gas station, where Madison holds Luciana at gunpoint, attempting to force her to drive them across the country to find the last assumed location of Alicia.

Madison's hijacking stunt is short-lived, as Daniel, Strand, and the "Three Alicias" show up. Madison fires a round of her gun to make the others back off, but it serves to attract Walkers to the station, forcing the entire group to barricade themselves in the garage.

PADRE I: Russell mocks the group as they watch a barge filled with Walkers inch its way toward the island. Despite June reminding Russell they had a truce with Troy, Russell rejects the notion of a truce, since Troy was murdered. Aboard the barge, the lone Troy loyalist releases the Walkers into the waters, where the creatures make their way to the outskirts of PADRE. Dwight mobilizes everyone to retreat inside, close the gates and prepare for what's coming.

Madison / Tracy II: In the garage, Daniel blames Madison for getting everyone into yet another terrible situation. Strand radios PADRE, where Russell promises to have his men lead the Walkers away in exchange for his freedom--and Tracy. Strand seems eager to make this trade, but Madison will not allow it, saying Tracy (still believing the girl is her granddaughter) is all she has left. Russell admits that's not necessarily true, recounting the incident where Troy believed he mortally wounded Alicia; Russell and his men found no sign of Alicia, but lied to Troy, saying she died and reanimated. Although uncertain, Madison refuses to hand over Tracy; as a result, Russell's men launch RPGs at PADRE's walls--the idea being to force the survivors out.

Strand--overhearing the RPG blasts--opens the garage door in a panic...

PADRE II: Dwight rallies the survivors into position, sending Odessa to fire flares to one side of the property as a lure for the Walkers, so the others can clear a path the the dock. Opening one entrance, the group cuts down Walkers, with Dwight using Russell as live bait to distract them from the living.

Madison / Tracy III: The group managed to kill the Walkers, prompting the eager Strand to call for an immediate evacuation back to PADRE. Daniel--enraged at being snared by the machinations of Strand and Madison yet again, tears into both:

Daniel: "This is the last time you put in danger what's left of my family to save yours!"
Strand: "Daniel, you would do the same thing if you knew Luciana was on that island."
Daniel: "Hey--I know what you're doing, Victor Strand...I know your game. You're pursuing this self-serving crusade to help you feel better about all the rotten things that you've done!"
Strand: "You think that's what this is about? The parts of me that you hate are the things that you don't like about yourself!"
Daniel: "You're a psychiatrist now, Mister Con-Man? EVERY single person I care for and lost, somehow you and you (pointing at Strand & Madison) were a part of it!"
Madison: "We have all lost people, Daniel."
Daniel: "I was thinking about Los Angeles the other day--and i'm so sorry I let your husband into my barbershop, because ever since I did, EVERYTHING has been bad luck for me!"
Madison: "WHAT HAVE YOU EVER DONE FOR US? And you know what? I am sorry WE let you into our home!"
Strand: "I''m sorry I let you onto my boat!"

Daniel spreads some bitter icing on Madison's cake with:

Daniel (to Madison): "I don't know if Alicia's alive, but wherever she is, she's better off without you!"
Daniel (to Tracy): "Let her go. They had the right idea. Run as far away from these people as you can, because YOU (to Madison) --are losing your mind, and YOU (turning to Strand) you're a selfish, pathological liar that would've gotten Luciana and myself killed just like EVERY SINGLE PERSON I EVER CARED FOR!!" (SEE NOTES)

Madison and Strand have no response to Daniel's parting truth fusillade.

Frank radios Strand about the impending fall of PADRE; Strand and the "Three Alicias" prepare to head for the docks, but Madison refuses to go, citing her poor shape for a fight, and her continued visions of her children--her reason to find Alicia. Strand bitterly accuses Madison of teaching Tracy survival by avoidance.

Madison / Tracy IV: Left alone, Tracy asks Madison why it was important for Alicia to believe things could be different, which segues into Madison talking about shooting her abusive father, all to protect her mother. Madison adds she tried to build a place where her kids would feel safe, but she only placed them in danger--the price of giving people hope. Tracy uses this guilt session to shoot Madison. Tracy is puzzled why Madison laughs as she lay mortally wounded; Madison tells the girl her act means she finally understands, and asks her to find Alicia.

PADRE II: The next morning, piles of Walkers litter the island. Elsewhere, Tracy finds the reanimated Troy, professes her love for him before shooting him. As Tracy buries her father, she's approached by Strand, who tells the child she's yet to learn what's worth fighting for (SEE NOTES). Strand recounts how Madison survived the gunshot, because the bullet was blocked by a magazine she had in her breast pocket..and in that magazine was the St. Christopher necklace--Alicia's necklace. Madison found her way to the island, and in parallel actions to "No One's Gone" (S4, E8), Madison used flares to lure the army of Walkers down into the prison complex, where she knocked the valves from the oxygen tanks, locked herself in a cell, tossed a flare into the hall filled with pure oxygen, which ignited--blowing the Walkers apart.

Strand presumed Madison died in the explosion, leading a distraught Tracy (thinking she has no one left) to hold Strand off at gunpoint, as she runs into the nighttime wilderness.

The Big Reunion: Sometime later, a cleaned-up Tracy watches over a motionless Madison. Fearing Madison died and will reanimate, Tracy readies her gun, until Madison wakes up. Tracy explains she found Madison in the prison rubble, and thanks to Troy's field training, she administered antibiotics to Clark, ending her lung infection. Tracy goes on to admit she returned because Madison (as her only family) is all she has left.

As Madison apologizes for killing Troy, they're approached by a hooded figure asking only to be allowed to bury her mother. The hooded figure turns out to be Alicia. Madison embraces her long-lost daughter, scarcely believing she's real.

Alicia had been informed that the PADRE group was saved by a woman named Madison, which Alicia found difficult to believe. Madison credits Alicia's daughter with saving her life, but Alicia confusedly stares at her mother, saying she never had a child. Alicia confirms Serena was Tracy's mother, with Tracy concluding that in Troy's dying breath, he lied about Tracy's parentage because he saw how hard Madison fought for her kids, so he'd expect her to fight as hard for Tracy if she believed the girl was her grandchild.

The Split Up: Madison, Alicia and Tracy observe the survivors (the name players, that is) converge on the highway in the SWAT van & two PADRE 18-wheelers. The trio notice that the "P" of the PADRE signage on every truck has been covered by the letter "M"--as a tribute to Madison (SEE NOTES). With PADRE destroyed, all players decide to go their separate ways, but set up repeater stations to stay in touch:

• Dwight and Sherry intend to take the bulk of the PADRE kids with them, but Dwight has a little surprise announcement: he's returning to the Sanctuary, as its defensible, and has usable streets. Given her past there, Sherry is unsure about his plan, referencing how she nearly lost him due to his experiences there. Despite Sherry's stiffening posture, she does not want to be separated from her husband ever again, so its off to Virginia. Its anyone's guess if the means they will ever have a cameo on any of the WD spin-offs.
• Daniel apologizes to Strand for saving his family with the Abigail, admitting that there were parts of himself he did not like, and projected that to the distasteful traits he saw in Strand. In German, Daniel expresses his well wishes. Luciana, Daniel and others go their own way...but not before Skidmark walks up to an elated Daniel (who asks no questions about how that was even possible).
• June plans to return to John Dorie's cabin in Texas, to see someone that region. For no reason at all, Odessa chooses to join June, as she now has a desire to be trained in medicine, thanks to how June helped her.
  
• In the cab of his truck, Strand spots a flower and note addressed to him--the message obviously having meaning for him. As Frank and Klaus join him, Strand looks in his side view mirror to see Madison, Alicia and Tracy waiting to be seen, before they walk away. Shocked and heartened that his only real friends in the ZA are still alive, he drives off to parts unknown.

The Clarks and the Kid go back to the beginning: Madison believes the others will be better off if the others (with the exception of Strand) think she's dead (to avoid giving them a reason to stop believing). Inexplicably, Madison decides to return to Los Angeles. As Alicia points out, LA was bombed, but Madison believes there will be people in the area who need their help. With Tracy in tow, the trio drive off, back to the place where the series began (SEE NOTES).


NOTES:

Series Wrap Up:
Fear the Walking Dead is in the history books--reaching its end after eight, often uneven seasons--some fantastic, others just spinning its wheels. Looking back at the entire series, one can see how desperate the various showrunners were to expand the franchise and create new icons, which never worked at all. Some characters had interesting, though wishy-washy arcs (Strand & Madison at the top of that list), but most were just there to be there, ultimately the victim of one the cardinal errors of screenwriting: do not create characters who are absorbed by the story, instead of driving / participating in it.

The Walking Dead's best seasons did not create with a ton of made-for-TV-characters with identities more in line with showrunners wanting to sort of remake the concept over with characters that would not have been introduced on the parent series at any point in its run, or one might say, if The Walking Dead launched with Fear's core characters instead of those based on the comic (and made-for-TV Daryl Dixon), the WD TV adaptation would have died in its first or second season.

Fear reached its nadir during the fourth season, where Frank Dillane (Nick Clark) decided he no longer wanted to be on the zombie series, concurrent with his character was spinning his wheels, really going nowhere, while series lead Kim Dickens (Madison Clark) was written out of the show--ironically at a point where she was finally appealing after being a character misfire almost from the start. The two departures that season--and the need to infuse Fear with creative adrenaline in the form of the popular Morgan Jones character--was the undeniable evidence that FTWD's creators / showrunners failed to turn Madison Clark into a Walking Dead heroic icon--essentially, the West Coast Rick Grimes.

Characters--as opposed to setting--were the heart of Fear the Walking Dead's issues; if anyone ever wanted to expose the core problems of a series with no real heroes in it, they would need to look no further than the Daniel vs Madison and Strand argument in this episode. A recap:

Daniel: "This is the last time you put in danger what's left of my family to save yours!"
Strand: "Daniel, you would do the same thing if you knew Luciana was on that island."
Daniel: "Hey--I know what you're doing, Victor Strand...I know your game. You're pursuing this self-serving crusade to help you feel better about all the rotten things that you've done!"
Strand: "You think that's what this is about? The parts of me that you hate are the things that you don't like about yourself!"
Daniel: "You're a psychiatrist now, Mister Con-Man? EVERY single person I care for and lost, somehow you and you (pointing at Strand & Madison) were a part of it!"
Madison: "We have all lost people, Daniel."
Daniel: "I was thinking about Los Angeles the other day--and i'm so sorry I let your husband into my barbershop, because ever since I did, EVERYTHING has been bad luck for me!"
Madison: "WHAT HAVE YOU EVER DONE FOR US? And you know what? I am sorry WE let you into our home!"
Strand: "I''m sorry I let you onto my boat!"
Daniel: "I don't know if Alicia's alive, but wherever she is, she's better off without you!"
Daniel (to Tracy): "Let her go. They had the right idea. Run as far away from these people as you can, because YOU (to Madison) --are losing your mind, and YOU (turning to Strand) you're a selfish, pathological liar that would've gotten Luciana and myself killed just like EVERY SINGLE PERSON I EVER CARED FOR!!"

It's amazing that it took eight seasons for characters to finally unload exactly what many amongst the viewers were thinking all along. This is more than writers thinking, "they're dysfunctional, and that's how we get drama out of them". No, this is a series that was never going to reach the peaks of it parent series because the three of the four main characters--Madison, Strand and Daniel--are largely unlikable.

During the course of earlier seasons, I would defend Strand from some fellow viewers who were always advocating for his death (while Daniel always drank gallons of Haterade anytime he was around Strand), while ignoring the ill-behavior of other characters, but the moment he attempted to kick Morgan into Walkers aboard the sub ("USS Pennsylvania": S6, E15), and from there, he lied his way into the Tower, where he played mass murdering dictator, the point where he was the textbook pariah, and utterly irredeemable, and as far as i'm concerned, he ended the series that way, as he was still manipulating situations all for his own interests--just as Daniel had pointed out over the past two episodes.

Plot Convenience 101-to-Infinity:

• Skidmark the cat is alive. Bull. The average outdoor cat lives--on average--2 to 5 years, thanks to harsh environmental conditions, predators, struggling to find consistent nourishment, the elements, etc. Skidmark was an outdoor cat--and living in conditions where food sources (at least those discarded by humans) were scant at best, thanks to the devastation to prominent human dwelling caused by the ZA. That, and its been more than a decade (in-universe) since the cat was last seen, so just how did Alicia (wandering around the American midwest & south) just happen to come across this cat--and recognize him as Skidmark?

Improbable Dilemma:

• PADRE overrun by Walkers. PADRE's reason to be was not only in establishing the beginning of new communities, but secure communities protected by trained, military personnel, which Shrike and Crane would carry on after their takeover. In the wake of the overthrow of Crane, most of PADRE's trained population--along with a number of experienced survivors--resided on the island, which was more than enough of a fighting force to handle the Walkers. But like the worst of George Romero's zombie movies, the living forget they have the advantage of thought and just topple to Walkers (see: the Army's quick defeat in season one's Los Angeles scenes). After eight years of watching the long-timers devise near-endless ways of killing Walkers, when the PADRE arc needed to come to an end, suddenly, shambling, rotted Walkers work like a functioning army.
  
• Some might suggest the PADRE buildings were compromised beyond habitability by the RPGs which hit a couple of areas of the structure, but TWD's prison was hit by RPGs (by the Governor's men in "Welcome to the Tombs", S3, E16), but the heroes managed to remain and thrive there after the attack. That, and unlike the prison, PADRE also trained its members in fire control, so the threat of everything going up in blazes should not even be a thing.

Forced Nostalgia:

• John Dorie's guns; during the overblown Walker attack on PADRE, June brings out a box (from...?) containing her husband's six-shooters, then hands them to Odessa to use. As noted in the Improbable Dilemma section, PADRE was founded as a military new community / installation and they had more weapons than residents. When Madison, et al., took control of the settlement, Crane and his few supporters did not run off with the weapons, so June and the rest had more firepower than they'd ever need against the Walkers, yet the writers tried to make viewers believe that she had to break out John's magical sidearms as if that was to signal a "Uh-oh, the Walkers are fucked now!" moment. Anything special about John's guns was John's unique talent, not the guns, yet its played as if the guns were special. At the end of it all, it was yet another sign that the June character outlived her usefulness long ago, and the writers needed the nostalgic reference to a dead character to give her a point of interest.

Fighting for--what?

• Throughout this series finale, and heard in several episodes of the past three seasons, various characters have repeatedly made vague references to what they're fighting for / what's worth fighting for. Its all a contradictory mess, as in this episode alone, Madison and others come to the realization that fighting to build either a new safe haven or something akin to the old world will get you killed, yet her parting belief in regard to her now former companions is that they fight to build the same kind of life she tried to for her kids.
• Further, Strand tells Tracy she does not know (yet) what she's fighting for. Okay, the child is fighting to simply survive, and if Strand was referring to the people (and their plans) saved by Madison in the prison chamber, then that particular kind of fighting is common to everyone. Adding to that, Strand--with his own family--were trying to live like the old world at the hotel and its likely they will attempt to secure a lifestyle like that again, but wait--we were told seeking / fighting for that kind of life can get you killed, so...
  
• The "fighting" for business stems from writers & showrunners consciously creating a large group of characters who seem to live for no greater meaning (very Kirkman-esque). Ultimately, most were just wild, clawing and scratching for an incredibly undefined, purposeless life with thin speeches about a fight that has no greater life goal (since they are beyond the point of fighting for basic survival needs of food, clothing, etc.).

So, that's it. It will be some time before I ever revisit the series, and even that would a case of picking random episodes, while caring not a whit about following season arcs. To be honest, The Walking Dead's two spin-off shows--Dead City and Daryl Dixon--easily surpass the majority of Fear's run in terms of character development, plots that have weight and originality. That says much about the arguably conscious rejection (on the part of all behind FTWD) of what made the parent series one of the 21st century's biggest TV phenomenons, while the key spinoff merely presented as an accent to TV-WD in general.

Next week: There is no "next week" for Fear the Walking Dead. At this point, consider that the greatest gift the showrunners can give their viewers.

GRADE: C.

 

[Roundabout]

@TREK_GOD_1, you get an A for writing all those recaps. Good job.

----------

Tracy practically stole the show, and not in a good way, imo. She was basically a plot device. Tracy's words and actions largely drove the plot in the finale. But the character was a freaking whippersnapper. She was way too mature for her age.

Tracy took up plenty of screentime.

The writers even resorted to the "I am your father" trope, sorta. But in the end, I'm glad Tracy didn't turn out to be Alicia daughter. That would have been overdoing it. Besides when was Alicia ever pregnant? That would have required an incredible retconning.

Speaking of Alicia, she didn't look any worse for wear. She looked good, for that I was happy to see. Alicia was my favorite FTWD character. But her return at the end seemed very contrived and anticlimatic.

I was surprised how subdued Alicia was, especially during that very last scene. I got the impression that Alycia Debnam-Carey was just going through the motions, as though she returned to the show strictly as a favor to the showrunners. That wasn't actually the behind-the-scenes situation, from what I read; nevertheless, that is what it seemed like to me.



The series had an interesting start. But over time, it often seemed like a cheap and weak imitation of TWD, even importing TWD characters like Morgan and Dwight. The series meandered from one thing to another, like how walkers moved about aimlessly.

I have to say that FTWD had a fitting ending though. The focus was back on the three (four, if you throw in Alicia) remaining original characters. We were reminded of the barbershop and yachting days.

It was fitting that they each went their own way. There was still lingering bitterness, particularly with Daniel against Madison and Victor. I guess they realized they would be dysfunctional if they stayed together, and they were more likely to find happiness and peace apart from one another.

Another year and another WD series has concluded.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

@TREK_GOD_1, you get an A for writing all those recaps. Good job.

Thank you.

Tracy practically stole the show, and not in a good way, imo. She was basically a plot device. Tracy's words and actions largely drove the plot in the finale. But the character was a freaking whippersnapper. She was way too mature for her age.

Agreed; she was making observations far above her intellectual capacity and lack of life experience. In many ways, she was reminiscent of the way old TV sitcoms would write child characters to act or speak at a level beyond their years because its funny and strange. A survival horror drama did not need that kind of character.

Besides when was Alicia ever pregnant? That would have required an incredible retconning.

Never--as far as I can recall. I do not believe she ever said she was pregnant. Then again, in-universe, the pregnancy story was created by Troy and Madison bought it hook, line and sinker as intended.

Speaking of Alicia, she didn't look any worse for wear. She looked good, for that I was happy to see. Alicia was my favorite FTWD character. But her return at the end seemed very contrived and anticlimatic.

While it was nice to see mother and daughter reunite--two of the original characters who were the first focal point of the series--yes, Alicia showing up at the exact period of time all FTWD characters were riding off into the sunset felt like the worst textbook example of Plot Convenience 101. One might ask where she was during the entire PADRE arc, since she was well, and not tracking Troy and his group which would have been the excuse for Alicia being in the general area of PADRE. Nope, she just waltzes back into the series, and now the Clarks and Tracy are heading toward the wasteland that was Los Angeles, which makes absolutely no sense at all, other than to pull some hamfisted "complete circle" crap.

[quote[I was surprised how subdued Alicia was, especially during that very last scene. I got the impression that Alycia Debnam-Carey was just going through the motions, as though she returned to the show strictly as a favor to the showrunners. That wasn't actually the behind-the-scenes situation, from what I read; nevertheless, that is what it seemed like to me.[/quote]

Well, Debnam-Carey wanted to leave the series for greener career pastures, so emotionally, she was prepared to leave Fear the Walking Dead behind her. Asking her back for a glorified cameo could not inspire a performance one would have expected during the family reunion scenes. Debnam-Carey was just there, and again, it was nice to see mother and daughter together again, you just know it will take all of four seconds of the forthcoming Rick Grimes-reunites-with-Michonne-and-Daryl scenes to render the Clark reuinion as emotionally satisfying as watching a Walker chew on paint chips.

The series had an interesting start. But over time, it often seemed like a cheap and weak imitation of TWD, even importing TWD characters like Morgan and Dwight. The series meandered from one thing to another, like how walkers moved about aimlessly.

Part of the reason is that FTWD was--in many ways--designed to upend the kind of characters introduced on the parent series, only in many cases, FTWD's characters felt forced, because no character introduction felt natural; from the moment every member of the Clark family was introduced, the script was leading the viewers into thinking they mattered, when their behavior or status had not been earned yet, as opposed to the numerous journeys and hardships TWD's characters had to endure to earn a main character / heroic status.

It was fitting that they each went their own way. There was still lingering bitterness, particularly with Daniel against Madison and Victor. I guess they realized they would be dysfunctional if they stayed together, and they were more likely to find happiness and peace apart from one another.

...which was the final nail in the dysfunctional coffin of the series. Some characters had their moments over the eight seasons, but watching them part ways--presumably never to be seen in a TV-WD production ever again--did not leave me longing for any of them to return.

Another year and another WD series has concluded.

Yep. Thankfully, the miniseries are keeping the true spirit and strengths of the WD franchise alive.

 

[Morpheus 02]

Fear the Walking Dead
Season 8 / Episode 12 - "The Road Ahead” - SERIES FINALE



NOTES:

Series Wrap Up:
Fear the Walking Dead is in the history books--reaching its end after eight, often uneven seasons--some fantastic, others just spinning its wheels. Looking back at the entire series, one can see how desperate the various showrunners were to expand the franchise and create new icons, which never worked at all. Some characters had interesting, though wishy-washy arcs (Strand & Madison at the top of that list), but most were just there to be there, ultimately the victim of one the cardinal errors of screenwriting: do not create characters who are absorbed by the story, instead of driving / participating in it.

The Walking Dead's best seasons did not create with a ton of made-for-TV-characters with identities more in line with showrunners wanting to sort of remake the concept over with characters that would not have been introduced on the parent series at any point in its run, or one might say, if The Walking Dead launched with Fear's core characters instead of those based on the comic (and made-for-TV Daryl Dixon), the WD TV adaptation would have died in its first or second season.

Fear reached its nadir during the fourth season, where Frank Dillane (Nick Clark) decided he no longer wanted to be on the zombie series, concurrent with his character was spinning his wheels, really going nowhere, while series lead Kim Dickens (Madison Clark) was written out of the show--ironically at a point where she was finally appealing after being a character misfire almost from the start. The two departures that season--and the need to infuse Fear with creative adrenaline in the form of the popular Morgan Jones character--was the undeniable evidence that FTWD's creators / showrunners failed to turn Madison Clark into a Walking Dead heroic icon--essentially, the West Coast Rick Grimes.

Yeah, i agree that Madison failed to be a good central protagonist.... but part was writing, but i feel like part of it was Kim DIckens acting as well.

I really felt that the first 2 seasons with Morgan were actually quite good....but when John Dorrie was killed... THAT was the beginning of the end.

Characters--as opposed to setting--were the heart of Fear the Walking Dead's issues; if anyone ever wanted to expose the core problems of a series with no real heroes in it, they would need to look no further than the Daniel vs Madison and Strand argument in this episode. A recap:

Daniel: "This is the last time you put in danger what's left of my family to save yours!"
Strand: "Daniel, you would do the same thing if you knew Luciana was on that island."
Daniel: "Hey--I know what you're doing, Victor Strand...I know your game. You're pursuing this self-serving crusade to help you feel better about all the rotten things that you've done!"
Strand: "You think that's what this is about? The parts of me that you hate are the things that you don't like about yourself!"
Daniel: "You're a psychiatrist now, Mister Con-Man? EVERY single person I care for and lost, somehow you and you (pointing at Strand & Madison) were a part of it!"
Madison: "We have all lost people, Daniel."
Daniel: "I was thinking about Los Angeles the other day--and i'm so sorry I let your husband into my barbershop, because ever since I did, EVERYTHING has been bad luck for me!"
Madison: "WHAT HAVE YOU EVER DONE FOR US? And you know what? I am sorry WE let you into our home!"
Strand: "I''m sorry I let you onto my boat!"
Daniel: "I don't know if Alicia's alive, but wherever she is, she's better off without you!"
Daniel (to Tracy): "Let her go. They had the right idea. Run as far away from these people as you can, because YOU (to Madison) --are losing your mind, and YOU (turning to Strand) you're a selfish, pathological liar that would've gotten Luciana and myself killed just like EVERY SINGLE PERSON I EVER CARED FOR!!"

It's amazing that it took eight seasons for characters to finally unload exactly what many amongst the viewers were thinking all along. This is more than writers thinking, "they're dysfunctional, and that's how we get drama out of them". No, this is a series that was never going to reach the peaks of it parent series because the three of the four main characters--Madison, Strand and Daniel--are largely unlikable.

During the course of earlier seasons, I would defend Strand from some fellow viewers who were always advocating for his death (while Daniel always drank gallons of Haterade anytime he was around Strand), while ignoring the ill-behavior of other characters, but the moment he attempted to kick Morgan into Walkers aboard the sub ("USS Pennsylvania": S6, E15), and from there, he lied his way into the Tower, where he played mass murdering dictator, the point where he was the textbook pariah, and utterly irredeemable, and as far as i'm concerned, he ended the series that way, as he was still manipulating situations all for his own interests--just as Daniel had pointed out over the past two episodes.

Plot Convenience 101-to-Infinity:

• Skidmark the cat is alive. Bull. The average outdoor cat lives--on average--2 to 5 years, thanks to harsh environmental conditions, predators, struggling to find consistent nourishment, the elements, etc. Skidmark was an outdoor cat--and living in conditions where food sources (at least those discarded by humans) were scant at best, thanks to the devastation to prominent human dwelling caused by the ZA. That, and its been more than a decade (in-universe) since the cat was last seen, so just how did Alicia (wandering around the American midwest & south) just happen to come across this cat--and recognize him as Skidmark?

In a world where the dead rise unless their brain is destroyed.... i can give that one a pass...at least for me.

Being a Trek fan, it means we have to justify the paradoxes and errors in the shows we watch.
So my rationale is simply that Alicia found a cat that looked like Skidmark, and friendly to people It's not like there's an actual actor there to make it too weird.

Improbable Dilemma:

• PADRE overrun by Walkers. PADRE's reason to be was not only in establishing the beginning of new communities, but secure communities protected by trained, military personnel, which Shrike and Crane would carry on after their takeover. In the wake of the overthrow of Crane, most of PADRE's trained population--along with a number of experienced survivors--resided on the island, which was more than enough of a fighting force to handle the Walkers. But like the worst of George Romero's zombie movies, the living forget they have the advantage of thought and just topple to Walkers (see: the Army's quick defeat in season one's Los Angeles scenes). After eight years of watching the long-timers devise near-endless ways of killing Walkers, when the PADRE arc needed to come to an end, suddenly, shambling, rotted Walkers work like a functioning army.
  
• Some might suggest the PADRE buildings were compromised beyond habitability by the RPGs which hit a couple of areas of the structure, but TWD's prison was hit by RPGs (by the Governor's men in "Welcome to the Tombs", S3, E16), but the heroes managed to remain and thrive there after the attack. That, and unlike the prison, PADRE also trained its members in fire control, so the threat of everything going up in blazes should not even be a thing.

Were there really any soldiers left? The flashback seemed to make sound like all the adults died.... but yeah, yet ANOTHEr safeplace destroyed on purpose...especially this late into the apocalypse? Sounds like World Beyond.... i guess that's the source of new dead, but really takes away humanity's chances of survival.

Forced Nostalgia:

• John Dorie's guns; during the overblown Walker attack on PADRE, June brings out a box (from...?) containing her husband's six-shooters, then hands them to Odessa to use. As noted in the Improbable Dilemma section, PADRE was founded as a military new community / installation and they had more weapons than residents. When Madison, et al., took control of the settlement, Crane and his few supporters did not run off with the weapons, so June and the rest had more firepower than they'd ever need against the Walkers, yet the writers tried to make viewers believe that she had to break out John's magical sidearms as if that was to signal a "Uh-oh, the Walkers are fucked now!" moment. Anything special about John's guns was John's unique talent, not the guns, yet its played as if the guns were special. At the end of it all, it was yet another sign that the June character outlived her usefulness long ago, and the writers needed the nostalgic reference to a dead character to give her a point of interest.

I am OK with the guns.... it's one of the few symbols the show could really claim.

Fighting for--what?

• Throughout this series finale, and heard in several episodes of the past three seasons, various characters have repeatedly made vague references to what they're fighting for / what's worth fighting for. Its all a contradictory mess, as in this episode alone, Madison and others come to the realization that fighting to build either a new safe haven or something akin to the old world will get you killed, yet her parting belief in regard to her now former companions is that they fight to build the same kind of life she tried to for her kids.
• Further, Strand tells Tracy she does not know (yet) what she's fighting for. Okay, the child is fighting to simply survive, and if Strand was referring to the people (and their plans) saved by Madison in the prison chamber, then that particular kind of fighting is common to everyone. Adding to that, Strand--with his own family--were trying to live like the old world at the hotel and its likely they will attempt to secure a lifestyle like that again, but wait--we were told seeking / fighting for that kind of life can get you killed, so...
  
• The "fighting" for business stems from writers & showrunners consciously creating a large group of characters who seem to live for no greater meaning (very Kirkman-esque). Ultimately, most were just wild, clawing and scratching for an incredibly undefined, purposeless life with thin speeches about a fight that has no greater life goal (since they are beyond the point of fighting for basic survival needs of food, clothing, etc.).

So, that's it. It will be some time before I ever revisit the series, and even that would a case of picking random episodes, while caring not a whit about following season arcs. To be honest, The Walking Dead's two spin-off shows--Dead City and Daryl Dixon--easily surpass the majority of Fear's run in terms of character development, plots that have weight and originality. That says much about the arguably conscious rejection (on the part of all behind FTWD) of what made the parent series one of the 21st century's biggest TV phenomenons, while the key spinoff merely presented as an accent to TV-WD in general.

Next week: There is no "next week" for Fear the Walking Dead. At this point, consider that the greatest gift the showrunners can give their viewers.

GRADE: C.

@TREK_GOD_1, you get an A for writing all those recaps. Good job.

I am going to have to disagree with you on that. I give it a A+

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Tracy practically stole the show, and not in a good way, imo. She was basically a plot device. Tracy's words and actions largely drove the plot in the finale. But the character was a freaking whippersnapper. She was way too mature for her age.

Tracy took up plenty of screentime.

The writers even resorted to the "I am your father" trope, sorta. But in the end, I'm glad Tracy didn't turn out to be Alicia daughter. That would have been overdoing it. Besides when was Alicia ever pregnant? That would have required an incredible retconning.

It was the same problem as Mo... both were actually around 12 when they acted their scenes, and certainly didn't sound like 8 year olds (I have a 12 year old). But i am willing to give this a pass, because i felt the actresses were for their role (if we allowed them to be 12 instead of what should be been 8)

And for Alicia...at best, she could have had a 6 year old (ALicia could have been pregnant by her boyfriend who was killed by Strand, theoretically)

But i totally get what you are saying on these points.

Speaking of Alicia, she didn't look any worse for wear. She looked good, for that I was happy to see. Alicia was my favorite FTWD character. But her return at the end seemed very contrived and anticlimatic.

I was surprised how subdued Alicia was, especially during that very last scene. I got the impression that Alycia Debnam-Carey was just going through the motions, as though she returned to the show strictly as a favor to the showrunners. That wasn't actually the behind-the-scenes situation, from what I read; nevertheless, that is what it seemed like to me.

Yeah.... it didn't feel natural... but it was better than John Dorrie & Father being so close to each other and yet NEVER meeting up.

But is suspect that they weren't expecting this season to be the last...i think they were expecting Madison's return to be bigger than it was. So this is why we ifeel this ending felt so forced.

The series had an interesting start. But over time, it often seemed like a cheap and weak imitation of TWD, even importing TWD characters like Morgan and Dwight. The series meandered from one thing to another, like how walkers moved about aimlessly.

I have to say that FTWD had a fitting ending though. The focus was back on the three (four, if you throw in Alicia) remaining original characters. We were reminded of the barbershop and yachting days.

It was fitting that they each went their own way. There was still lingering bitterness, particularly with Daniel against Madison and Victor. I guess they realized they would be dysfunctional if they stayed together, and they were more likely to find happiness and peace apart from one another.

Another year and another WD series has concluded.

Yeah, they did pack quite a bit in this last season, and i agree...i appreciate the callbacks to the history of Fear.

Thank you.



Agreed; she was making observations far above her intellectual capacity and lack of life experience. In many ways, she was reminiscent of the way old TV sitcoms would write child characters to act or speak at a level beyond their years because its funny and strange. A survival horror drama did not need that kind of character.

I think this was more because the situations required a more mature character for the conflict to work. If the characters were supposed to be 12, i think most of us wouldn't be bothered by the age of the acrtesses...and in fact praise them for doing a good job in the role they were given. I predict both could have some successful acting careers

Never--as far as I can recall. I do not believe she ever said she was pregnant. Then again, in-universe, the pregnancy story was created by Troy and Madison bought it hook, line and sinker as intended.



While it was nice to see mother and daughter reunite--two of the original characters who were the first focal point of the series--yes, Alicia showing up at the exact period of time all FTWD characters were riding off into the sunset felt like the worst textbook example of Plot Convenience 101. One might ask where she was during the entire PADRE arc, since she was well, and not tracking Troy and his group which would have been the excuse for Alicia being in the general area of PADRE. Nope, she just waltzes back into the series, and now the Clarks and Tracy are heading toward the wasteland that was Los Angeles, which makes absolutely no sense at all, other than to pull some hamfisted "complete circle" crap.

[quote[I was surprised how subdued Alicia was, especially during that very last scene. I got the impression that Alycia Debnam-Carey was just going through the motions, as though she returned to the show strictly as a favor to the showrunners. That wasn't actually the behind-the-scenes situation, from what I read; nevertheless, that is what it seemed like to me.

Well, Debnam-Carey wanted to leave the series for greener career pastures, so emotionally, she was prepared to leave Fear the Walking Dead behind her. Asking her back for a glorified cameo could not inspire a performance one would have expected during the family reunion scenes. Debnam-Carey was just there, and again, it was nice to see mother and daughter together again, you just know it will take all of four seconds of the forthcoming Rick Grimes-reunites-with-Michonne-and-Daryl scenes to render the Clark reuinion as emotionally satisfying as watching a Walker chew on paint chips.

[/QUOTE]
Yeah, i agree with that astute observation --- just a few months (maybe) before we can officially make that statement, but i think your prediction will be correct.

Part of the reason is that FTWD was--in many ways--designed to upend the kind of characters introduced on the parent series, only in many cases, FTWD's characters felt forced, because no character introduction felt natural; from the moment every member of the Clark family was introduced, the script was leading the viewers into thinking they mattered, when their behavior or status had not been earned yet, as opposed to the numerous journeys and hardships TWD's characters had to endure to earn a main character / heroic status.



...which was the final nail in the dysfunctional coffin of the series. Some characters had their moments over the eight seasons, but watching them part ways--presumably never to be seen in a TV-WD production ever again--did not leave me longing for any of them to return.



Yep. Thankfully, the miniseries are keeping the true spirit and strengths of the WD franchise alive.

I dunno... so far, the current spinoffs make me feel like they are just trying to squeeze the last bit of money from a formerly successful franchise, with actors who haven't been able to find other roles tha they ought be getting post-TWD.

We will see soon.....



=====

Hey, did we want to post a list of characters and talk about their journey over the course of the show?


And a couple of other points i wanted to discuss:

Strand

Daniel had dementia during the Virginia arc...which i thought was a ruse to go undercover, but a surprising reveal during that story. But instead of doing something hard an dealing with how you would deal with someone with dementia during the Zombie Apocalypse, Daniel was all healed and back to normal.... which made for some great lines by Rueben Blades.

Strand was ruined during the Tower arc... during the Virginia arc, he was the con man but using it to save his friends (though willing to kill non-friends). They had set up something interesting when he introduced himself to Howard as Morgan Jones....but then they immediately took it back, which ruined a potentially good storyline.

The final season

Also, that final season felt a little like the 4 th seasons of Earth FInal COnflict and Andromeda... 2 series that started out well, but had a part that was just plain awful, but their 4thseason felt like they were getting back to what made them great....but didn't quite get a chance to get there.

People/ideas that were dropped


The first was Alex, the main character of what i think the very first of TWD franchise's webisodes.... she appeared ina couple episodes

Chris & Travis --- seemed like a quick wipe of that family. (Did CLiff CUrtis really think AVatar was worth dropping out of a TV series?)

Sarah & Wendell and the Rabbi.... they didn't get much when they were actually there, but man, they just dropped 'em like Richie Cunningham's Older brother.

they kinda / sorta introduced the CRM, but then never went back.... even though Scott Gimple is allegedly Chief Creative Officer, it felt like he never took his knowledge of all the ongoing series and helping tying it together.

Oh, and the fate of Tobias.

 

[Morpheus 02]

@TREK_GOD_1 were you interested doing a final review of the series overall?? (Or anyone else??)

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

@TREK_GOD_1 were you interested doing a final review of the series overall?? (Or anyone else??)

I'm not certain; in the series finale review, I sort of touched on the series and its changes, but I had not considered going into a comprehensive series overview. Perhaps i'll consider it, after the Rick/Michonne series airs, and I see how the flagship character of TWD-TV franchise is handled after not being in a production for so long.