"Here to Help" - the 5th season premiere of Fear the Walking Dead airs tonight. The teased crossover character from The Walking Dead is supposed to appear in this episode.
Fear the Walking Dead - Season 5 discussion and spoilers.
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Fear the Walking Dead
Season 5 / Episode 1: "Here to Help"
Morgan: Okay, helping people is a noble mission, but not when your resources--namely your own group--are limited, you have to pick your battles carefully. One would think with everything Morgan has faced (with the living) since the start of the zombie apocalypse, that he would not think running around helping strangers in parts unknown would be a wise move.
Yeah, his "why do anything" discussion with Alicia is at the heart of surviving in the ZA, but again, that does not include being so hopeful that it gets you killed.
Alicia: Alicia discovering that they've crashed in an area marked "High Radiation Area" Yikes. I hope that does not become a new threat...but it makes sense, with power plants, dump sites and related locations no longer contained. Still, I would hate to see the characters suffer from radiation poisoning with no prayer of receiving treatment.
Alicia falling back into a purposeless, depressing view was--at least--a nod to the fact that it has not been too long since she lost the last of her family, and needs something to finally go right in her life.
Althea: I wondered who was piloting the plane. This has to lead to another backstory--and a skill that will come into play at some point in the future..
At last--she admits her tapes have not helped anyone...then she risks her life (and the others) trying to uncover the mystery associated with the characters in the strange protective outfits. Somewhere along the way, the showrunners have to stop thinking Althea being stupid/bull-headed is on an even playing field with heroism.
Strand: Althea once knew/interviewed Daniel? I knew Daniel would haunt FTWD again, but his connection to Althea was a bit shocking. I'm ready for their final conflict, as Daniel is an incredibly annoying character.
June and John Dorie: June's speech was a bit too hopeful. Never a good thing in this franchise.
Luciana: Almost thought she was going to be an early casualty. Glad that was not the case.
Logan: He's slightly sinister, but the denim factory was his place, so he's not exactly out of line in wanting to reclaim what was his. Sending the heroes out on a wild goose chase was a crappy, dangerous thing to do, but he did say he did not want conflict. For the moment, anyway...
NOTES: So, like the parent series, FTWD now has narration in the opening. Needless to say, the series bears little resemblance to the Clark family era. If Alicia and Strand were not on the show, you could consider this an entirely new series.
"Growlers" - yet another name for the dead.
GRADE:C+. The implications of the costumed threats and the mystery surrounding the children kept this episode from being a poor premiere.
Season 5 / Episode 1: "Here to Help"
Morgan: Okay, helping people is a noble mission, but not when your resources--namely your own group--are limited, you have to pick your battles carefully. One would think with everything Morgan has faced (with the living) since the start of the zombie apocalypse, that he would not think running around helping strangers in parts unknown would be a wise move.
Yeah, his "why do anything" discussion with Alicia is at the heart of surviving in the ZA, but again, that does not include being so hopeful that it gets you killed.
Alicia: Alicia discovering that they've crashed in an area marked "High Radiation Area" Yikes. I hope that does not become a new threat...but it makes sense, with power plants, dump sites and related locations no longer contained. Still, I would hate to see the characters suffer from radiation poisoning with no prayer of receiving treatment.
Alicia falling back into a purposeless, depressing view was--at least--a nod to the fact that it has not been too long since she lost the last of her family, and needs something to finally go right in her life.
Althea: I wondered who was piloting the plane. This has to lead to another backstory--and a skill that will come into play at some point in the future..
At last--she admits her tapes have not helped anyone...then she risks her life (and the others) trying to uncover the mystery associated with the characters in the strange protective outfits. Somewhere along the way, the showrunners have to stop thinking Althea being stupid/bull-headed is on an even playing field with heroism.
Strand: Althea once knew/interviewed Daniel? I knew Daniel would haunt FTWD again, but his connection to Althea was a bit shocking. I'm ready for their final conflict, as Daniel is an incredibly annoying character.
June and John Dorie: June's speech was a bit too hopeful. Never a good thing in this franchise.
Luciana: Almost thought she was going to be an early casualty. Glad that was not the case.
Logan: He's slightly sinister, but the denim factory was his place, so he's not exactly out of line in wanting to reclaim what was his. Sending the heroes out on a wild goose chase was a crappy, dangerous thing to do, but he did say he did not want conflict. For the moment, anyway...
NOTES: So, like the parent series, FTWD now has narration in the opening. Needless to say, the series bears little resemblance to the Clark family era. If Alicia and Strand were not on the show, you could consider this an entirely new series.
"Growlers" - yet another name for the dead.
GRADE:C+. The implications of the costumed threats and the mystery surrounding the children kept this episode from being a poor premiere.
The episode was a bit slow getting going, and kind of confusing. I actually needed Talking Dead afterwards to clear some stuff up. Though by the end it was really starting to get interesting only to abruptly end. Also, the show seems to be stuck in a bit of a rut in terms of Morgan declaring "we help people because it's the right thing to do" despite often voiced doubts expressed by everyone else in the group and new characters proclaiming "that's just crazy."
We've got some interesting story threads set up, such as who is running things in the new region Morgan and Gang have arrived in that is marking their territory with Walkers chained up serving as roadblocks on the highway with severed Walker heads hanging from the trees. The soldiers in the body armour are a potentially interesting element, especially since according to Talking Dead the symbol on the documents Al took off soldier Walker is the same symbol that was on Rick's helicopter in Walking Dead. Daniel Salazar's return, though expected because of the online news and the trailer for the season was still an unexpected moment which made me smile.
So far Logan isn't making much of an impression. I mean, I like that rather then having another evil group that wants Our Heroes stuff we get someone trying to avoid conflict who just wants what's his back, but it is rather hard to take someone seriously when they're claiming their property is "legally theirs" in a post-apocalyptic world.
The kids are also kind of meh. Not really much there, kids forced by circumstances to grow up ahead of their ages who are fearful and suspicious of Our Heroes who will likely end up becoming allies as the season progresses.
The show really needs to find something to do with Luciana, who is once again seriously wounded and spends most of the episode laying down and is likely to spend the next few episodes recuperating and operating in a reduced capacity. Ever since the storyline she was introduced in the second half of season 2 she's had no meaningful purpose on the show at all.
We've got some interesting story threads set up, such as who is running things in the new region Morgan and Gang have arrived in that is marking their territory with Walkers chained up serving as roadblocks on the highway with severed Walker heads hanging from the trees. The soldiers in the body armour are a potentially interesting element, especially since according to Talking Dead the symbol on the documents Al took off soldier Walker is the same symbol that was on Rick's helicopter in Walking Dead. Daniel Salazar's return, though expected because of the online news and the trailer for the season was still an unexpected moment which made me smile.
So far Logan isn't making much of an impression. I mean, I like that rather then having another evil group that wants Our Heroes stuff we get someone trying to avoid conflict who just wants what's his back, but it is rather hard to take someone seriously when they're claiming their property is "legally theirs" in a post-apocalyptic world.
The kids are also kind of meh. Not really much there, kids forced by circumstances to grow up ahead of their ages who are fearful and suspicious of Our Heroes who will likely end up becoming allies as the season progresses.
The show really needs to find something to do with Luciana, who is once again seriously wounded and spends most of the episode laying down and is likely to spend the next few episodes recuperating and operating in a reduced capacity. Ever since the storyline she was introduced in the second half of season 2 she's had no meaningful purpose on the show at all.
I think the debate has to play out; obviously, Morgan is still reacting from the positive treatment he received from Eastman, and modified to the extremes of thinking everyone can be saved, so the series cannot have a group of free-thinking adults (and one kid) just accept Morgan's crusade as their own, no questions asked.
That's an interesting point; now that FTWD is several years behind TWD, we may be seeing the origin of Jadis's group--perhaps how expansive they were, and/or did they start out as a malevolent force, or turn that way by the time Jadis and her scavengers set up shop in Virginia. On TWD, they're still a group that kidnaps people based on a personality/threat assessment, so for all we know, some of the FTWD group might end up as members of the group, only to be revealed in the forthcoming Rick Grimes movies.
Agreed. I like the original idea of Luciana, but for some time, she only existed as a girlfriend / survivor of a laughably weak / easy-to-Red-Shirt community. She needs a purpose of her own, before she becomes the kind of screenwriting fifth wheel that characters such as TWD's Noah or Tara (until her final season and a half).
Hey, Max Headroom survived the Zombie Apocalypse. It's always good to see Matt Frewer in anything, but I have to wonder where this is headed. He's not exactly Negan-- just a guy who wanted his factory back, even if he is kind of an asshole. I mean, he could have easily negotiated with Morgan.
In any case, this is an interesting beginning to the season, especially given that it started off with a plane crash. I don't know if flying a plane that's been sitting around without maintenance for five years was such a smart idea, but it made for a dynamic opening. And now we've got radiation signs, guys in protective gear, and Zombie fences complete with hanging Zombie heads. Those clicking teeth were spooky.
I hope Luciana doesn't die, but I'm kind of resigned to the inevitable. Most cast members don't last very long in the Zombie Apocalypse.
In any case, this is an interesting beginning to the season, especially given that it started off with a plane crash. I don't know if flying a plane that's been sitting around without maintenance for five years was such a smart idea, but it made for a dynamic opening. And now we've got radiation signs, guys in protective gear, and Zombie fences complete with hanging Zombie heads. Those clicking teeth were spooky.
I hope Luciana doesn't die, but I'm kind of resigned to the inevitable. Most cast members don't last very long in the Zombie Apocalypse.
This was a good start to the season. I like the fact that they aren't presenting Logan as another Alpha/Negan style psycho, but instead a guy who has a fairly resonible motivation, he just went about it in a pretty nasty way.
Definitely some interesting stuff set up where they crashed their plane. The guys in the protective suits are definitely intriguing, and the severed heads in the tree is pretty damn creepy.
I like the fact that their main goal is trying to help people.
Definitely some interesting stuff set up where they crashed their plane. The guys in the protective suits are definitely intriguing, and the severed heads in the tree is pretty damn creepy.
I like the fact that their main goal is trying to help people.
one of the things i was disapponted about was that our heroes apparently haven't helped anyone. I hope that they said some have run away will come back -- but in a good way (i.e. the people were grateful when they realized it was NOT a trap).
And i believe they said there will be a tie-in to the Rick movies...so i guess this is it? (The guys in the futuristic suits)... now didn't that soldier Ally found.. he looked very FRESHLY dead right?
Alicia REALLY looked like Frank Dillaine in this episode...hope they play brother & sister in a different setting (and different accent)
And i believe they said there will be a tie-in to the Rick movies...so i guess this is it? (The guys in the futuristic suits)... now didn't that soldier Ally found.. he looked very FRESHLY dead right?
Alicia REALLY looked like Frank Dillaine in this episode...hope they play brother & sister in a different setting (and different accent)
Yeah, with Morgan saying that they haven't really had the chance to help anyone (or at least not very many) I kind of wonder, why bother staying in the Texas region? Why not go back to Alexandria where he and his gang can become part of a thriving society where they can probably acquire the means to extend the range they want to help people? I know the real world reason is because they want to keep the two shows separate and Walking Dead is now six years ahead of Fear with nothing indicating Morgan ever returned and brought new friends with him in the interim six years. But in-universe there doesn't seem to be much of an in-universe reason for Morgan and gang to stick around in Texas, especially now that they've lost their factory.
He appeared to be "fresh"; with the tease of radiation poisoning, I would guess that the soldier died due to that--or perhaps someone trying to do something about the problem, but its taken a turn for the worse.
Yeah, I would never stay in a climate so harsh as Texas, and being a massive state, there would be no end of the stream of dangerous human groups roaming in-country and from south of its border, all trying to scavenge the large number of resources a state like that would offer. It would be a state of neverending war or terror attacks. They would have been better off just about anywhere than Texas.
They need a purpose to live, and "helping people" is not a first priority, but a luxury. Unless they have a secure base of operations, they are just as vulnerable as those they seek to help, so it cancels out Morgan's mission as pointless and dangerous.
Fear the Walking Dead
Season 5 / Episode 2: "The Hurt That Will Happen"
Morgan: Morgan removing his wedding ring--I suppose this stands as a major event, as he has never taken it off, even during his brush with insanity. So, he was honoring the memory of his wife/marriage for years, explaining why he never tried to explore a relationship with anyone else. Now that he removed the ring, that could be a crack in the door to looking for someone else....
Alicia: So, it turns out she's in a mode that's a cross between Morgan's "Clear" phase and Rick's violent "protect everyone" period from seasons 4A through 6. It seems to be short-lived....until something bad happens, then I suspect she will go off the rails for awhile.
Grace: So, her exposition dump finally provides clarity to the issue of how long nuclear reactors could be maintained in the ZA world with limited staffing and resources. Now, this begs the question about the spread of radiation if every reactor in the U.S. eventually suffered a meltdown, and how safe are any areas in the country...
Since Althea's abductors were wearing protective clothing/armor, they could be aware of the radiation problem, but are not truly protected, which might explain the armored dead man Althea found in 5.1
Strand and Daniel: What is Daniel's purpose at this point? To be a nagging threat to Strand? To give Strand more of a plot of his own now that Madison is no longer around to be his "other half" / challenge to his struggles to change?
This Daniel matter has to reach some sort of conclusion, as he just sent an unarmed Strand out on the road..probably hoping he dies. Who would continue to put up with that?
June and John Dorie: No big plot drivers for either, but there was a nice personal moment between the two.
Luciana: The accordion bit. Not that i' a fan of accordion music, but her mentioning a desire to play the instrument sounds like the kind of character moment that should pay off in the future, which could mean she will be around for some time.
NOTES: You would think that anyone in a post-apocalyptic world would run like the wind at the idea that a reactor meltdown occurred / radiation poisoning was a problem in the area, but this group? Ehhh….
GRADE: B. Solid character moments and world building with the radiation sub-plot and the mystery of the severed head warnings.
Season 5 / Episode 2: "The Hurt That Will Happen"
Morgan: Morgan removing his wedding ring--I suppose this stands as a major event, as he has never taken it off, even during his brush with insanity. So, he was honoring the memory of his wife/marriage for years, explaining why he never tried to explore a relationship with anyone else. Now that he removed the ring, that could be a crack in the door to looking for someone else....
Alicia: So, it turns out she's in a mode that's a cross between Morgan's "Clear" phase and Rick's violent "protect everyone" period from seasons 4A through 6. It seems to be short-lived....until something bad happens, then I suspect she will go off the rails for awhile.
Grace: So, her exposition dump finally provides clarity to the issue of how long nuclear reactors could be maintained in the ZA world with limited staffing and resources. Now, this begs the question about the spread of radiation if every reactor in the U.S. eventually suffered a meltdown, and how safe are any areas in the country...
Since Althea's abductors were wearing protective clothing/armor, they could be aware of the radiation problem, but are not truly protected, which might explain the armored dead man Althea found in 5.1
Strand and Daniel: What is Daniel's purpose at this point? To be a nagging threat to Strand? To give Strand more of a plot of his own now that Madison is no longer around to be his "other half" / challenge to his struggles to change?
This Daniel matter has to reach some sort of conclusion, as he just sent an unarmed Strand out on the road..probably hoping he dies. Who would continue to put up with that?
June and John Dorie: No big plot drivers for either, but there was a nice personal moment between the two.
Luciana: The accordion bit. Not that i' a fan of accordion music, but her mentioning a desire to play the instrument sounds like the kind of character moment that should pay off in the future, which could mean she will be around for some time.
NOTES: You would think that anyone in a post-apocalyptic world would run like the wind at the idea that a reactor meltdown occurred / radiation poisoning was a problem in the area, but this group? Ehhh….
GRADE: B. Solid character moments and world building with the radiation sub-plot and the mystery of the severed head warnings.
I like the partnership they seem to be developing between Morgan and Alicia, which was a highlight of the episode. The radioactive Walkers don't seem to be living up to the hype from all the pre-season buzz about "we're totally doing Nuclear Walkers this season just you wait and see." Okay, so they got boils on their faces and you can't get up close to one, but since apparently over half of them have already been dealt with, aside from taking a toll on their bullet supply, I'm not sure what else this is going to mean for the show.
Daniel and Strand's stuff feels unfinished but predictable. I somehow get the feeling that at some point in the coming episodes, Daniel will have a change of heart, or perhaps Strand somehow proves himself, which leads to Daniel relenting and flying to the rescue of the others. The bit with the cat at the start was amusing.
The severed hanging Walker heads is certainly setting itself up to be one of the more intriguing plots of the season. It'll be interesting to see where that is going.
Daniel and Strand's stuff feels unfinished but predictable. I somehow get the feeling that at some point in the coming episodes, Daniel will have a change of heart, or perhaps Strand somehow proves himself, which leads to Daniel relenting and flying to the rescue of the others. The bit with the cat at the start was amusing.
The severed hanging Walker heads is certainly setting itself up to be one of the more intriguing plots of the season. It'll be interesting to see where that is going.
A couple of thoughts on the latest episode...
I understand that Grace was a little foolish in keeping up the reactors at full power for as long as she did...though i think it may have helped several people. But it seems weird that they didn't have some kind of sht down procedure that she could have done.
And i don't think radiation killed the guy in the armor .. he looked waaaay to fresh & "clean"
Luciana & the accordion... sounds like they were tryign to do the Henny Youngman joke
i assume Daniel will have more storyline...if not, it was a wasteful cameo. But...maybe he will be their "savior"...perhaps have had contact with the mysterious people hanging heads
This show, though, feels like it's grasping at straws.... like over the WInter break someone realized "Hey guys.. this whole helping people thing. Umm, we can't actually do a season of stories with it".
Hipe they aren't getting rid of Morgan's stick permanently... they 've done a good job of erasing Alicia's family past...now just relying on "Clear" for his past?
I understand that Grace was a little foolish in keeping up the reactors at full power for as long as she did...though i think it may have helped several people. But it seems weird that they didn't have some kind of sht down procedure that she could have done.
And i don't think radiation killed the guy in the armor .. he looked waaaay to fresh & "clean"
Luciana & the accordion... sounds like they were tryign to do the Henny Youngman joke
i assume Daniel will have more storyline...if not, it was a wasteful cameo. But...maybe he will be their "savior"...perhaps have had contact with the mysterious people hanging heads
This show, though, feels like it's grasping at straws.... like over the WInter break someone realized "Hey guys.. this whole helping people thing. Umm, we can't actually do a season of stories with it".
Hipe they aren't getting rid of Morgan's stick permanently... they 've done a good job of erasing Alicia's family past...now just relying on "Clear" for his past?
"Say, doc, will I be able to play the accordion?" 
I got a kick out of Luciana on drugs, especially Morgan's bafflement at their radio conversation. Well, her close call with the Walkers wasn't that funny, but at least they didn't get in and overrun the place.
So Karen Davis is working alone, apparently, so the people in the black armor are a separate group. What's their deal? And are they responsible for the clicking Zombie heads, or is there yet something else going on in this neck of the woods? The kids from the last episode seemed to fear somebody or something. Karen Davis is supposed to be a regular, so I assume she'll be back soon, despite her alleged death sentence from radiation.
That was a strange encounter between Strand and Salazar. Now Luciana thinks the plane is on the way, but Strand is just hoofing it back to wherever on his own, leaving them in the lurch. I wonder if Salazar will show up on his own to help Alicia and Luciana, bypassing Strand altogether, since he seems to think he's a Jonah.
So there's a lot of balls in the air so far this year: Max Headroom, Karen Davis, the Men in Black, the clicking Zombie heads, Salazar, the new kids on the block, and the nuclear reactor may still be in danger of melting down. And Morgan lost his stick.
I got a kick out of Luciana on drugs, especially Morgan's bafflement at their radio conversation. Well, her close call with the Walkers wasn't that funny, but at least they didn't get in and overrun the place.So Karen Davis is working alone, apparently, so the people in the black armor are a separate group. What's their deal? And are they responsible for the clicking Zombie heads, or is there yet something else going on in this neck of the woods? The kids from the last episode seemed to fear somebody or something. Karen Davis is supposed to be a regular, so I assume she'll be back soon, despite her alleged death sentence from radiation.
That was a strange encounter between Strand and Salazar. Now Luciana thinks the plane is on the way, but Strand is just hoofing it back to wherever on his own, leaving them in the lurch. I wonder if Salazar will show up on his own to help Alicia and Luciana, bypassing Strand altogether, since he seems to think he's a Jonah.
So there's a lot of balls in the air so far this year: Max Headroom, Karen Davis, the Men in Black, the clicking Zombie heads, Salazar, the new kids on the block, and the nuclear reactor may still be in danger of melting down. And Morgan lost his stick.
I suspect the hanging heads are a completely different group. The black armour guys strike me as more of a professional outfit, military or at least paramilitary. I don't see them going in for such primitive scare tactics when their own presence is intimidating enough. Plus they have aircraft and a confirmed presence in Texas and Virginia, so if they wanted to keep people away from them, they could do a better job than hanging severed Walker heads from trees and billboards. The severed heads are likely the work of some local hooligan trying to establish cred for him/herself who will in time be revealed to Morgan and gang. Actually, based on some of the casting information released about this season,
I suspect the severed heads will be the work of Troy from the Ranch back in season 3.
By the way ...wher ein Texas are they approximately?
I have a fan fic in my head that a coalition of people from texas to North Dakota have a series of trade routes...so things like crude oil goes down to Texas for refinement and food is exchanged as well as other materials.
Even if the mystery group is in Texas, the state is big enough to have another player in the game.
Also, did every at the ranch REALLY die (except for the leader & his assistant)? Is it possible there were survivors from them and/or the ranch
I have a fan fic in my head that a coalition of people from texas to North Dakota have a series of trade routes...so things like crude oil goes down to Texas for refinement and food is exchanged as well as other materials.
Even if the mystery group is in Texas, the state is big enough to have another player in the game.
Also, did every at the ranch REALLY die (except for the leader & his assistant)? Is it possible there were survivors from them and/or the ranch
That's pretty much what I was thinking. I think the Clickers are related to whoever the kids were afraid of.
Oh, that's interesting.
I thought they were clearly killed?
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