‘Fear the Walking Dead’ Shambles Along with Episode Three
By Teresa Lobos
“The Dog,” episode three of Fear the Walking Dead, aired last night after AMC made us wait an extra week between episodes. Thus far, the main complaint about the show has been that it’s a little slower moving than the freshly undead. So, did the show pick up the pace for last night’s episode? Only slightly.
**spoilers ahead**
After last week’s teaser promo, I was expecting a little more action and less mid-range family drama, but alas! That’s not to say it was all bad… behind all the lens flare, there was some good stuff in there. The background action gave us a bit of that classic “mass hysteria leads to accelerated destruction during a zombie apocalypse” that is an integral part of the modern zombie mythos. The zombie presence was still subtle, which adds a wonderfully ominous atmosphere since we all know where this is going to end up.
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There’s also some pretty good creepy moments when a couple of wayward zombies find themselves in close proximity to Madison and co. First, we get Travis coming home to find a zombie-fied neighbor chewing on the dog, attack ensues and Daniel (the only one who seems to know what to do with a zombie) shoots the thing in the head. Next, Alicia has a close brush with another undead neighbor, but manages to escape with a little help from Chris and lots of teenage girl screeching. Of course, during all this people still aren’t really freaking out like they should. Let’s just explain this away by saying they’re all in shock and move on…
One of my favorite moments occurred towards the end of the episode when Madison confronts zombie Susan. They stand, staring at each other through the fence; one reaching for tasty brains, one struggling with inner conflict, trying to muster up the courage to whack Susan in the head with a hammer. It’s one of those moments where we know Madison gets what’s happening but is trying to adjust her conscience to the situation. Then stupid Travis comes up and is all, “wah, don’t do it, she might be able to be saved.” So dumb, Travis. So dumb.
Of course, undead Susan comes up again five minutes later when she tries to bite her recently returned husband and is promptly shot by the incoming military. Hurray! The military! We’re saved! Right? Right? Bueller?
The verdict? Despite its decent moments, episode three was pretty glacially paced for a six episode season. I’m still not sold on the show but there’s enough there that I’ll keep watching. Tune in next week when I review episode four when Travis (probably) gets everyone killed. So dumb, Travis. So dumb.
What did you guys think of the episode? Will Travis’s pea-sized brain attract any kind of zombie interest? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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