Title: Fear the Walking Dead “Ouroboros”
Network: AMC
Air Date: April 24th, 2016
Genre: Serial Drama, Horror
Despite some wide spanning criticism of this season to date of Fear the Walking Dead, I’ve remained a supporter. When it comes to TV shows and movies, I really focus on the entertainment value as opposed to examining every episode like it was a project for my “Film as Lit” class. I can’t stand the “Oh we’ve seen this before” argument, especially when it’s come to this show. People said the new Star Wars movie was a photocopy of Episode IV and look how much money that raked in. And I can almost guarantee every single reviewer that complains about Fear the Walking Dead doing everything the Walking Dead has already done… went and saw Star Wars. Yes, the show has zombies and yes for simple minded individuals such as myself, that attracts me to the show regardless of the plot line. I will, however, say “Ouroboros” is the first episode so far that really irked me.
This week’s episode of Fear the Walking Dead had way too many predictable moments… even for me. On top of that, one of my favorite characters, Daniel, seemingly left me dumbfounded as to his choices when he observes the horde of walkers… errrr… infected coming over the hill. Daniel has always been portrayed as a survivor, with that being that much more apparent in this season. To me he is similar to Rick in the later seasons of the Walking Dead, perhaps just not as cocky. He has experience, he is cautious, he protects his own and he knows to trust no one. This guy is smart and someone you would most certainly want on your side in the apocalypse. However, when the horde of infected come over the hill what does he do? Does he run immediately to the boat with everyone in tow? No…Instead he draws out his handgun and proceeds to aim at the very large group coming over the hill. We know the infected have to be hit in the head to be killed. Most handguns on a civilian level are going to be capped out at 15 rounds in a magazine. What on earth was Daniel hoping to accomplish drawing the gun at that range with only one magazine in the gun?
In terms of predictable moments…really where do you start? Oh, look there’s luggage over there on shore and we desperately need supplies. Let’s let all the kids go to shore and search for supplies…but we’ll send an adult just in case something goes wrong (hint hint wink wink). Alright now that we’re on shore, everyone stay where I can see you. I wonder just who may wander off here and get stuck in some predicament. Then a short time later Nick hears one of the infected and of course goes to investigate. Oh look, the infected guy is stuck in this pit area with an unstable looking dirt rim, I better stand on it to get a better look. These moments were just frustrating all around but…the episode was not a total loss and one powerful scene stuck with me.
The scene with Chris scoping out the wreckage of the plane was by far one of the most powerful scenes of Fear the Walking Dead so far, and a huge moment for the character. Chis has been trying to get his footing since the first episode after the loss of his mother. In last week’s episode, we did see him begin to come into his own a little with helping dispatch the infected at a fence line with intense looks of malice. When Chris came across that survivor who clearly had no hope of being saved, he was faced with an absolutely brutal choice. Do I kill this man or do I let him die on his own? The thing is, this man wanted to die…he was ready to die. Chris saw that and understood it, but it wasn’t as if he has a handgun or some tool to do the deed quickly. Chris had a heavy blunt metal object and that’s it. He gives it two hard swings against the man’s skull in an attempt to save him from his pain. The man was still alive and looked at him with a look that made me cover my mouth while sitting in my chair watching. It was a very gut-wrenching moment for the viewers and for Chris as a character.
Strand comes clean with his plan to Madison about their destination and eventually the rest of the group. The question of “Why weren’t we just told this in the beginning” is such an important one but it was only touched on briefly. This is one I’m hoping will come up more as the season progresses. We were also briefly introduced to two characters that seemingly left the episode as quickly as they came in thanks to Strand, which provokes a death stare from Madison. While Madison understands the group needs Strand now, she is becoming much more aware of just how cold-hearted he is and that could be a problem for everyone else. Nick also uncovers the secret to masking themselves from the infected…which is covering oneself in remnants of the infected. I’m anxious to see if this very useful tool gets explored to a greater extent than we saw in the Walking Dead.
This week’s episode of Fear the Walking Dead really fell short of my expectations but the scene with Chris is really what saved the whole episode for me. Don’t get me wrong. I like the show so far and if you’re able to put aside the Walking Dead, the show becomes that much more enjoyable. What did you think of this week’s episode? Is the show to similar to the Walking Dead? Be sure to let us know in the comments below and check back for future updates.
- Characters: Chris has such a powerful scene here while Daniel frustrates
- Cinematography: Powerful when Chris is in the plane
- Story: Look luggage on land with no infected around…what could go wrong?
- Acting: Emotional scene with Chris and Strand further shows just how cold he can be
[review]
