By Dustin Rowles | TV | September 20, 2023 |
By Dustin Rowles | TV | September 20, 2023 |
Fear the Walking Dead premiered with 6 episodes in 2015. It was initially intended to depict the early days of the zombie outbreak, but this approach proved disastrous because it resembled every other zombie movie, albeit stretched over six episodes. In season two, then-showrunner Dave Erickson decided to take the show out to sea with water zombies, which also failed miserably. However, Fear found its footing in season three when the series introduced the Ottos, a group of MAGA ranchers who were conducting experiments on the zombies.
That season concluded with Madison Clark, the nominal lead of the series, killing Troy Otto. Subsequently, Dave Erickson left the series, and he was succeeded by Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg. They delivered an exceptional half-season of television that culminated in the death of Madison Clark (Kim Dickens), the nominal lead of the series. Madison’s daughter, Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey), assumed the role of lead alongside Morgan Jones (Lennie James), who transitioned from The Walking Dead.
Following this, Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg produced a season-and-a-half of bad television, followed by another half-season of excellence, and then another season and-a-half of terrible television, concluding with Alicia’s death at the end of the 7th season. In the eighth season, Madison Clark unexpectedly returns to the series despite her absence for all of the previous four seasons. The midseason finale of the 8th season saw Morgan leave the series and embark on an unknown journey, presumably to one of The Walking Dead spin-offs.
This brings us to the final eight episodes, where Madison Clark once again assumes the lead. She is set to reunite with her old friend Victor Strand, who had been a villain throughout the seventh season and was absent during the eighth season due to Colman Domingo’s being too good for Fear the Walking Dead.
In the trailer, there are two things to note: 1) Troy Otto, who was killed at the end of the third season, has returned (that’s him in the header. Looks good for someone who had his head bashed in), and 2) Madison is searching for her daughter, who died at the end of the previous season. While it may seem implausible for Alicia to return, considering what happened with Troy and Madison, we can’t rule it out.
You can watch the final episodes when they premiere on October 22nd. If you are a Max subscriber, you can access the first seven seasons there. I recommend against it. If you prefer a condensed viewing of Fear the Walking Dead, consider watching seasons 1, 3, 4A, 6A, 7B, and Season 8. You’re welcome.