Photo Credit: Richard Foreman, Jr/AMC
There’s plenty to love about the first half of Fear The Walking Dead’s Season 4. There’s also plenty to dislike.
The first half of Fear The Walking Dead season 4 is officially in the books. We lost Nick. We lost Madison. There are two originals from season 1 left. The handful of remaining characters are demoralized and on the road again but at least they seem to be on the same page for once.
The back half of Season 4 looks to be quite different from what we’ve seen already (please, oh please, no more convoluted time jumping!)
Until then, let’s go over some positives and negatives for what we’ve seen so far.
Lennie James as Morgan Jones, Garret Dillahunt as John, Maggie Grace as Althea – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 4, Episode 3 – Photo Credit: Richard Foreman, Jr/AMC
POSITIVE — The New Characters
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Fear took a one-year time jump from the last time we saw the Clark family and friend (Strand). Everyone survived the dam incident at the end of season 3, with the exception of possibly Daniel Salazar. No mention’s been made of him on the show.
Nick also relocated Luci, somehow, but the show didn’t really care to delve too far into the past. There was a lot of jumping around through time, so even more flashbacks would be too much. Instead, Fear The Walking Dead focused heavily on a new storyline.
Perhaps the biggest plus of the first half of season 4 had to be the new characters. We were introduced to a gunslinger with a heart of gold, John Dorie (Garrett Dillahunt). S.W.A.T. van driving and obsessive journalist wannabe, Althea (Maggie Grace). Sketchy, flighty, former nurse, Naomi… or Laura… or June (Jenna Elfman). Hope they stick with June since that’s John’s favorite month, and so us fans don’t have to guess anymore.
I enjoyed these new additions and I’m glad they all made it out alive, too. John is a huge fan favorite, Al still has plenty of stories to be told, and June’s mysteriousness definitely kept viewers on their toes during the first eight episodes.
Also have to mention Morgan (Lennie James), who has been a welcome inclusion to the show. I like tranquil, kindhearted, moral Morgan opposed to the crazed, hallucinating Morgan.
I did enjoy Mel (Kevin Zegers), the leader of the Vultures — until Alicia brutally murdered him. Maybe people (including me) will come around to Charlie, but for now, I’m sure there’s still plenty of hard feelings against her for, you know, killing a fan favorite.
It’s the new characters that make me most excited to tune in to the future of Fear.
Kim Dickens as Madison Clark – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 4, Episode 2 – Photo Credit: Richard Foreman, Jr/AMC
NEGATIVE — Killing off Madison Clark
I’m not a huge Madison fan. Never have been. That doesn’t mean this was a good move.
The problem here isn’t that the writers offed two main characters within one half of a season, but the way they did it. Yes, Madison went out heroically saving her children, which totally makes sense for her strong, caring character. However, the show had been teasing her death since the season’s third episode.
Because of the hints that she had died before Morgan came across the stadium survivors, there was little suspense. Few words were spoken during her death scene. Only a few last words. She deserved more. We deserved more.
Madison led the horde of walkers away from her friends and family, but it was their own faults for letting that many undead surround their car to the point where they got stuck.
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Although the main character of Fear The Walking Dead has never been consistent (Madison, Nick, Travis), I would say that Madison was the most prominent character of the show. Although her death will have a major impact on the next half of the season, I can’t help feeling that this may have been a very, very risky decision.
I also wanted to see some Madison-Morgan interactions, Madison’s reaction to losing Nick, Madison to show up on The Walking Dead to meet Rick Grimes, Madison as Alpha (okay, now I’m just reaching, but it would’ve been a great twist). If they just had to kill her off, at least make it the Season finale. Oh well.
What was most bothersome?
Kim Dickens loved playing this character and she really owned it. Unlike Frank Dillane (Nick) who wanted to leave the show, Dickens was heartbroken that new writers Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg chose to write Madison off. Plenty of fans share her feelings.
Jenna Elfman as Naomi, Kim Dickens as Madison Clark – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 4, Episode 2 – Photo Credit: Richard Foreman, Jr/AMC
POSITIVE — The First 5 Episodes
Season 4 got off to a brilliant start and kept its momentum all the way up to episode 5, “Laura.”
There were many positives to get excited about: Morgan ditching out on the horrors of his past to find a new friend in John, the mystery of the Vultures and their numbered flags draped around the area, the potential plot twist of having the original characters from past seasons as antagonists. Their ambush on Morgan, John, and Al on the road at the end of the premier was quite unexpected.
The first two episodes were very good. Even the creative decision to change the cinematography from bright and colorful in the past scenes, to gray and gloomy in the present was a nice touch.
It was all fun, intriguing television.
The introduction of the Vultures felt fresh and kept things interesting. Although Mel didn’t turn out to be a very threatening villain, he was charismatic during the first 5 episodes before we realized he’s a big coward.
I’m a bit disappointed that the Vultures were killed off so fast. From their laid-back nature to the flamboyant way they dressed (not to mention playing frisbee in the parking lot), it was all pretty funny. Unlike The Walking Dead, “villainous” characters do not last very long on Fear.
“Laura” was an especially fantastic episode. Finding out how John and June’s relationship began and how they parted was gripping to watch. In my opinion, it was one of the best episodes of this entire show. One of the reasons being how well acted and written it was.
While the leaps through time weren’t my favorite form of storytelling, I found myself not minding it as much in the first couple of episodes.
During this roll of excellent T.V., each passing week made me excited to write, read, and talk about the show.
NEGATIVE — The Last 3 Episodes
All the great early episodes we received in season 4 soon led to a negative. The last three episodes kind of lost me.
As the story wrapped up and finally tied together the timelines, something felt like it was missing. Maybe the jumping through past and present exhausted itself. Maybe it’s because the Madison death wasn’t satisfying. Maybe it was because John was bleeding out for all three episodes when he was arguably the star of the season.
It really felt like a dip in overall quality from what was shaping up to be a stellar season. As soon as Alicia’s bullet passed through John’s chest, the show began to plummet.
Remember the climax of episode 6? Alicia, Strand, and Luci come face to face with the Vultures, both groups ready to settle their blood feud. June shows up at the very end. A very cool twist, by the way!
Then Alicia snaps. She shoots at her and a gun battle ensues — except the Vultures, who have the other group heavily outnumbered, get defeated in a clean sweep. There are no Vulture survivors (besides Charlie), and zero casualties for the opposition.
Were Mel and his group just horrible marksman or was it a convenient way to write them out of the show? They weren’t the greatest adversaries, but the Vultures deserved a better exit.
The June twist was good until we found out it was all just a misunderstanding. For some reason she doesn’t travel with the Vultures, she just shows up to their meetings on her own agenda. Why doesn’t she just run away from them like she does everyone else? I’m sure she wanted to after seeing how pathetic they were in a gunfight.
The Diamond settlers versus the Vultures conclusion was less than stellar. The first five episodes got my hopes up too high and it resulted in some disappointment.
Frank Dillane as Nick Clark, Colman Domingo as Victor Strand, Danay Garcia as Luciana, Alycia Debnam-Carey as Alicia Clark – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 4, Episode 3 – Photo Credit: Richard Foreman, Jr/AMC
POSITIVE — Nick Clark’s Death
Nick Clark fans, don’t get angry with me. I didn’t want him to die.
I feel very similar about Nick’s character as I do to Madison’s (I prefer Nick). It didn’t bother me that we had to lose them both. Madison’s death just wasn’t done well, as I pointed out already. Unlike Nick’s death, which felt much more dramatic.
First of all, it came out of absolutely nowhere. If you saw it coming, you are either a prophet or you’re friends with Frank Dillane. It was equal to the shock factor that some had to feel when Travis was shot out of the helicopter in season 3.
Second, the build-up in episode 3 was good. Morgan continuously warned him. “It’s not going to work out how you think.” Blinded by rage, Nick wouldn’t listen. He killed in revenge and was then killed in revenge.
Fans were crushed by Nick’s death. As someone who’s been spectating Nick’s tragic journey since the very first episode of Fear, I was left staring at a TV screen with a dropped jaw. Did that really happen? Whether I liked it or not, I had to appreciate the way the writers did it. Especially because their hands were forced.
Also worth noting, Nick’s death impacted the characters much more than Madison’s. Morgan actually got to meet him and tried his best to save him. This came full circle when he finally got Alicia to put an end to her lust for blood against anyone she felt wronged her. She chose peace… It just took her a while.
It was emotional, it was surprising, and didn’t feel nearly as forced as Madison’s. This is how you do a death scene.
Alycia Debnam-Carey as Alicia Clark, Danay Garcia as Luciana – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 4, Episode 3 – Photo Credit: Richard Foreman, Jr/AMC
NEGATIVE — A Few Of The Characters Decisions
A lot of nonsense happened just to move the plot along. I wasn’t a fan of it.
Alicia — Alicia understandably wanted to slaughter the Vultures for what they did to her mother, her brother, and her home. She really wanted June dead and it was just a misunderstanding, but Alicia seemed confident that she was directly responsible for Madison’s death, enough to almost kill John by accident.
Then she killed Mel, who tried to tip them off about his brother’s attack in the first place.
Alicia just believed everyone was guilty and was definitely seeing red, but her actions almost got everyone (including herself) killed a dozen times.
Regarding Madison’s death: When you have a car, don’t let it sit put when what seems like thousands of walkers are coming to surround you. If Alicia drives the car, no one has to sacrifice themselves.
June — June was continuously lying, running off, joining different groups, etc. It made me wonder where her true loyalty lied. Turns out she doesn’t really know.
She lost her daughter and got her last group killed. Staying put and getting to know others is not safe in her mind, Then why join the Vultures, who are responsible for killing everyone at the Diamond. Also, why show up with her new haircut, looking like she’s been part of the Vultures the entire time? She had me fooled.
Ennis — Ennis is Mel’s brother. The real antagonist of the first eight episodes. His intentions are never explained but it was clear he was evil to the core. Okay, so he wanted to take the stadium, but in the end, he only killed a bunch of innocent people for no reason and got next to nothing in return (besides maybe some sadistic pleasure).
The bigger problem with Ennis is why, in episode 3, he completely disregards Nick’s attempts on his life. Morgan warns him and he laughs. He sees Nick coming right for him and he laughs even more. This is a person whose mother he killed, whose friends he killed, and whose home he destroyed.
There are no laws in this world anymore. Why wouldn’t he be serious about killing you? And then Nick did kill him. The antlers death was cool, though.
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The Vultures — Sorry, I still can’t get over how terrible of shots they are.
Maybe I’m getting carried away. Perhaps you felt differently and completely understood everyone’s decisions. I just love this show and enjoy talking about it. Can’t wait till the shows return in August.