Fresh off its record breaking debut episode, AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead picked up where it left off last week with last night’s episode, “So Close, Yet So Far”. After being introduced to the main players in the pilot episode with a dash of zombie mayhem here and there, “So Close…” maintained the slow burn pacing of the first episode while shedding some light on how the beginning of the zombie apocalypse effected the denizens of Los Angeles.
After narrowly escaping a zombie attack at the end of last week’s episode, Travis, Madison and Nick are planning their own version of escape from L.A. as they race back home to collect Alicia and get the hell out of dodge. Unfortunately, the best laid plans of those planning to escape a zombie attack often go astray and the group becomes trapped in the city while the world around them continues to disintergrate. Apparently cell service is one of the victims of the zombie apocalypse.
While the pacing of Fear the Walking Dead’s pilot was an issue for some reviewers and fans, it works well at this point in the series. We’re only two episodes in and as I mentioned last week, since it’s essentially an origin story for the Walking Dead TV universe, having zombie mayhem every couple of minutes doesn’t make sense. While its big brother can revel in zombie slugfests, Fear the Walking Dead plays off our knowledge of what is to come for the protagonists and that provides the tension. Fear relies on old school suspense to drive the narrative. The viewer already knows the perils that the characters are about to face and that their decisions (even those that make us roll our eyes) will put them directly in danger. And that’s one reason why Fear the Walking Dead works. It doesn’t have to be The Walking Dead and by setting a different tone can be something new all on its own.
That’s not to say that “So Close…” didn’t have it’s share of thrills or violence. What is apparent, at least for the beginning of the first season, is that the zombies are a part of this world but not its focus. It’s the breakdown of society and how people will react that is the focus of the show so far. The rumors surrounding the illness sweeping across the city and social outrage at how people are treated makes L.A. a perfect setting. The public unrest on the show echoes real world events in L.A.’s past and it’s easy to substitute “fear surrounding a zombie apocalypse” with any of the reasons L.A. has previously seen itself torn apart.
The emotional toll of the situation begins to wear on some of the leads. Decisions are made that pits their morals against their will survive. There is no going back for some characters and the end of the episode features a powerful “What would you do?” scenario. All of our actions have consequences and it will be interesting to see what the fallout of some characters’ decisions will be in next week’s episode.
