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EPISODE 6: The Good Man
THE HOOK: Daniel’s zombie army makes for quite the diversion as he and the group infiltrate the compound in hopes of saving their families.
The following contains MAJOR SPOILERS, so I don’t recommend reading this if you haven’t watched this episode
THE LOWDOWN: So there it is, six up and six down, and although it wasn’t quite what we all wanted or expected, at the very least it ends on a high note. That said, there were still plenty of ridiculous moves made on all fronts, the biggest by far being the release of two thousand zombies from the chained up stadium. Suddenly, I picture Dr. Evil with a puzzled expression going, “Riiiiiiight.” On the one hand, I guess there really was no other way to create pandemonium among the guards—blowing up a building wouldn’t have cut it, and I can’t think of too many other options open to them, but damn, those zombies are crowding into the same place you’re all going, guys, right on your asses at that. Nobody else saw this as a gigantic monkey wrench getting lobbed into the escape plan? And speaking of the guards, I guess all the sharp shooters ran away because the guys that were left (and there were quite a few) couldn’t shoot for dick.
The other botched part of the plan was Travis letting their hostage go. I know, I know, it may well have been inhuman to straight out shoot him, but what the hell did Travis think was going to happen? This is crunch time. Sure, the info dude gave him was legit, but letting him go was still a huge risk that came back to bite them. So, about that. For being a ‘maze’, they navigated the compound pretty well, coming together at just the right time to save Nick and Strand (cough, cough, bullshit), but I’ll let that slide. The army dudes stealing the car ended up feeling like useless filler as it in no way hindered their escape, but it was funny watching Chris try to protect Alicia. I did like the scene with the good doctor, as, basically, karma judo chopped her in the face. That’s what you get, baby, that’s what you get. But back to the botched plan, why in hell did soldier boy risk his ass for petty revenge? Seriously, guy? What a pile of nonsense. Oh, and how long were they in that compound anyway? It was night when they went in, and day when they came out.
I like Strand, he’s a cool character, and though I have no problem with how things worked out, I would like to think that if I were in that situation, I would have questioned him just a bit more. Strand, “What’s the plan?” Madison, “We go east, to the desert. Why, you have a better idea?” Strand, “Yeah, we go west, I have a place on the water.” And done! Just like that, west it is! I mean, again, I have no problem with them all shacking up in his Bruce Wayne vacation house, but the decision felt a little rushed to me. Nick says he saved his life, but did he? Or did he just use him? Bottom line, dude was locked up for God knows why, and you know absolutely nothing about him, yet you’re willing to put the lives of your family in his hands without so much as a small game of twenty questions? It’s the end of the world guys, people lie to get out of situations like, I don’t know, being locked in a cage. The time for ‘blind trust’ is over. You’d think they’d have figured that out by now.
FEAR THE WALKING DEAD SEASON 1’s finale was satisfying in the way that it actually felt like things were happening—seeing all those walkers helped put things back into focus. The one thing that was making me angry is that it looked like everyone was coming out of this unscathed. Ironically, Liza’s the one who gets bit. Now stop me if I’m wrong, but she’s easily one of the most unlikable characters and removing her (and only her) felt a tad cheap. I’m not trying to be bloodthirsty, but nobody gives a rat’s ass about Liza taking a bullet, we wrote her off the second she jumped ship and went to the compound. I’m not too angry about it, but it made me raise an eyebrow and shake my head. All in all, I enjoyed FEAR THE WALKING DEAD for what it is, but as I said in my first review, having played the Telltale games, I was hoping for something more. Being green-lit for a second season gives them the chance at redemption, but judging by the responses to this column, winning back the fans will be an uphill battle. Good luck, guys.
PARRALLEL CONNECTIONS: Seeing the sky view of the straightaway to Strand’s house made me think of Rick’s lone horseback ride into town.
BLOOD AND GORE: There was plenty of zombie munching tonight, along with gunshots, face beatings and corpse burning. It actually felt like The Walking Dead.
COOLEST SCENE: : Seeing Travis lose it when he realizes letting his prisoner go had repercussions. Yes, I’ve been giving the guy a hard time (and rightfully so), but tonight he came back and beat the bejesus out of our little army friend and then had to put a bullet in his ex-wife. My only hope is it all hardens him for round two.
FINAL VERDICT:
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