Last week’s episode of “Fear the Walking Dead” broke the record for all-time basic cable ratings premiere. When you have a great story and a talented cast, you break records. Kudos to Robert Kirkman and Dave Erickson and the fine cast on a great job. Last week’s episode showed us just how easy it is for an apocalypse to start right under our very noses. This week, Travis has to find his son, Chris and Nick has to fight his demons.
All Clear
The school principle is checking the hallways to make sure all the students have left. He calls ‘all clear’ on his walkie. Those words strike a sense of foreboding to us loyal fans of “The Walking Dead” because when the proverbial dog doo hits the fan, there is no such thing as an “All Clear.”
While Alicia heads over to Matt’s home, Travis, Maddy and Nick are heading home. Travis can’t reach his son. Chris is on a bus and ignoring dad’s calls. Yes, my little zombie snacks, even during an apocalypse we have to deal with teenage angst.
Nick might be going through drug withdrawal, but this kid is smart. He’s probably watched a lot of zombie movies because he knows something isn’t right and he notices that nothing is being said on the car radio. Why? Could the government be purposely keeping its citizens it the dark? No, my little zombie snacks. It’s worse than any government cover-up. It’s plain and simple ignorance. This is America and we can take care of any situation, right? Hurricane Katrina, Super storm Sandy and the recent Ebola scare proved us unprepared.
Alicia arrives at Matt’s home and suspects a break-in. What she finds is a very sick boyfriend. He’s coughing and has a fever. She calls mom. When her family arrives, Travis examines Matt and finds the bite wounds. Matt never says what happened, but he knows that he’s a goner. He tells Alicia to go home with her parents. Travis wonders if Matt will become like Calvin. Matt is left alone to wait for his parents, whom I’m guessing will be his first meal.
Clueless Suburbia
Nick wants to warn the neighbors across the street about the dangers, but life goes on and so do birthday parties. Little Gladys might wonder why her party guests haven’t arrived yet, but Maddy talks to them. Will they listen? Will they head out to the desert like Maddy and Travis plan on doing, or will they wait patiently for guests that never show up?
Going to the desert isn’t such a bad idea. The last place you want to be during a zombie apocalypse is in the city; too many people. The Zombie Squad has a list of supplies you’ll need to squirrel away now for when the time to bug-in or bug-out arrives and I wrote about this here and here.
Nick’s withdrawal from drugs won’t be pretty and with no doctor in sight, Maddy only has one place to find drugs. If you’re thinking pharmacy, you’re wrong. She heads back to school where she bumps into Tobias. He wants his knife back. Tobias, like Nick, knows what’s happening even though the adults don’t want to admit it. Drugs! One of the items that the Zombie Squad strongly suggests that you hoard is your prescription medications. Make sure you have at least a month’s supply on hand because that old ticker of yours needs to keep on ticking as you make your way to a safe place
While Alicia’s plans to visit Matt are put on hold when Nick goes through a seizure, Chris is in the middle of a protest against police brutality. Travis and his ex-wife go searching for their clueless son. The people are rioting because they thought the police killed an unarmed man. What they don’t realize is that man isn’t going to stay dead for long. I’m pretty sure that the officers of the LAPD have no idea what is going on either. The news from the top hasn’t reached them yet, so they turn their focus on the rioters.
Travis, Lisa and Chris make their way to a nearby barbershop as the rioters begin to panic and LAPD’s finest storm troopers march on the looters. Does anyone notice the dead girl stumbling their way? If you think looting is bad during a protest, wait until the apocalypse knocks on your front door.
Conclusion
Robert Kirkman has had the convenience of time: his comic book, and the five years of “The Walking Dead” television series on AMC, to get this show down right. I respect him as a fellow writer and, I respect him for daring to create a world that is, to most people, distasteful or uneasy to watch. On the premiere of “Fear the Walking Dead,” the ratings went through the roof. I think the ratings are going to continue staying up in the stratosphere. It’s freaking great!
Maddy and Tobias were smart to collect canned food from the school cafeteria. Food and water supplies will be worth more than cash during an apocalypse. Maddy got her first look at what this virus does to her friends. She had to kill her boss with the fire extinguisher when Tobias’s knife couldn’t penetrate Artie’s skull. Later when Alicia hears the screams of the neighbors across the street, Maddy prevents Alicia from saving Gladys. It was already too late.
Across town, Travis and his family are waiting for a chance to make it to the desert. For now, they are safe with Daniel (Reuben Blades) his wife Griselda (Patricia Reyes Spindola) and their daughter, Ofelia (Mercedes Mason). Griselda prays, but prayers won’t help you survive this apocalypse, my little zombie snacks. You’ll need to prepare… now!
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