Fear The Walking Dead focuses on what happened before and during the early days of the zombie outbreak that currently is impacting our favorite crew on The Walking Dead.
Season one showed a family going through their own trial and tribulations, all while this outbreak was in it’s early stages. The season concluded with Madison Clark (Kim Dickens) and Travis Manawa (Cliff Curtis) and their families outrunning the viruses and arriving at a yacht owned by Victor Strand.
At times, season one of Fear could be frustrating, as we the audience know more than our characters. We know that a zombie headshot results in death and that walkers are not to be trusted. We are going along this journey with new characters and season two shows us what it would be like to live within this newly apocalyptic world.
Season two opens with Madison surrounded by explosions and on the beach front outside Victor’s home. Madison is with the rest of her family and friends. Victor is commanding the yacht. The group is attacked by fresh walkers. They are still struggling with how to kill the zombies, using rocks and physical force to fight back.
Madison and the group prepare to board the yacht and evacuate the beach. On the trip out to the yacht, Chris Manawa has one of the best walker kills so far in this series, killing a walker with the propeller of their dingy. It’s in this moment that the group realizes the world they used to know, is far behind them.
As the yacht pulls away, we see the city completely engulfed in flames and being destroyed.
On board the yacht, Chris is dealing with the death of his mother, Alicia Clark (Alycia Debnam-Carey) is listening to radio channels that are still transmitting emergency protocols. She hears that there is no possibility for rescue, by land, sea or air. Over the radio channels, Clark intercepts someone else who is transmitting on the same frequency and starts to hear their story of how they are surviving. The two start trading stories about “where they were when the world ended” and the individual on the other end of the line keeps asking probing questions about their situation and supplies.
Victor confronts Alicia about the radio transmissions and wants to know what information she has provided. Victor explains the rules of the boat, the rules are simple, “it’s my boat.” According to Victor, everyone needs to contribute on the boat and if they cannot do that, they can’t compromise their situation. Nick Clark wonders what he can bring to this group. Victor adds that Nick (Frank Dillane) brings a sense of fearlessness.
They are confronted with coming upon a group of stranded individuals out on the ocean. Madison’s first instinct is to help them, while Victor wants to continue on their path and not help anyone other than themselves. “We have to stay away from other people, we have to stay away from other boats,” explains Victor to Madison. “If I have to stop the boat, it is to drop people off not pick them up.”
Madison and Victor continue to work through their strained and new relationship. She extends a heartfelt offer to Victor saying that he can rest, they will not through him overboard.
Travis and Madison are processing the loss of civilization and letting go of that world. Madison has decided that she cannot focus on what they left behind, their neighbors and friends, instead she has to focus on moving forward. Travis is having a harder time coming to grips with reality.
Daniel Salazar (Rubén Blades) seems to be taking to life on the water, he has already started fishing and providing. Daniel speaks with Travis, saying that what he did regarding his ex-wife was mercy and needed. “If it is the end of the world, it’s already over,” says Daniel to Madison. The two are curious as to why Victor will not sleep, trust is still unestablished within the new group of survivors.
The group prepares to say goodbye to Liza Ortiz, and hold a proper service for her, when they are clear and out to sea. Chris continues to process what happened to his mother and can’t come to terms with her death.
In an attempt to create a sense of normalcy, the entire group sits down to dinner on the yacht. Completely with well prepared food and drinks. Chris doesn’t sit down to dinner and instead jumps overboard, Nick immediately jumps in after him. While Nick is swimming, he comes in close contact with a walker in the water. Another group on the water had come under attack, leaving not many, if any survivors. Nick swims over to the wreckage. It’s unclear if this additional group was attack by walkers or other humans.
Victor finds out that the group is being tracked by another boat, possibly the group that left behind such wreckage, damage and death. (One thing is for sure, we know it’s not Negan).
This presents a new challenge for our group of survivors, the fact that the threat isn’t just the dead amongst them, it’s the living as well.
Fear is a completely different show compared to The Walking Dead. This is a story that focuses on a family dynamics and relationship when put to the ultimate test, the world ending. For fans of this world, it’s worth sticking around and seeing what happens in the early days when the world completely fell apart.
Fear The Walking Dead airs Sunday nights 9pm on AMC.