REVIEW: FEAR THE WALKING DEAD – S1 EP6 “The Good Man”
“You’ll see what doing the right things gets you.”
What happens when your faith in the world around you, in the systems designed to protect you on a societal and even familial level give way? What is left to cling to? To believe in? Those circumstances can make even the noblest of intentions and actions have deadly consequences when the safety net that we all rely on suddenly disappears.
“The Good Man”, the final episode of the first season of Fear the Walking Dead, opens with Los Angeles in darkness with small pockets of the city on fire. The grid has collapsed leaving the city powerless in more ways than one. Society has begun to crumble and there appears to be no way back to civilization. The military has abandoned the community and Travis, Madison and Daniel prepare to evacuate their home to rescue Griselda, Liza and Nick who have been taken to the military compound.
For fans of The Walking Dead franchise who’ve been clamouring for more walkers and zombie action this episode did not disappoint. There was enough walker mayhem to rival an episode of The Walking Dead, while maintaining the tone that has been set by Fear all season long.
This was the episode where Cliff Curtis (Travis) was given the chance to shine. Up until this point Travis had established a distinct moral code that was often at odds with the world as it changed under the outbreak. His unyielding optimism and his fight to be the patriarch, maintaining order in a world increasingly filled with chaos, finally reached a point where even he couldn’t escape the realities that lay before him. The final moments of the episode are Travis’ baptism from the world he has left behind and into the one that now awaits him. “The Good Man” gave Curtis the opportunity to let loose on several levels to deliver one of the strongest performances of the season.
Overall the first season of Fear the Walking Dead was a success on many fronts. It served to establish the narrative gap that existed in the original series between Rick Grimes’ injury before the outbreak and the post apocalyptic world he awoke to. Fear also established a new set of characters and scenarios to help broaden The Walking Dead mythology beyond Grimes’ storyline. Compelling characters and a glimmer of hope for their uncertain future gives Season 2 a chance to build upon the strong foundation that the first 6 episodes have established so far.
There are still several questions heading into Season 2. Who is Strand? Will Abigail be able to help Madison and the rest of the survivors? How do Strand and Daniel know so much about the walkers? There is also the web series Fear the Walking Dead: Flight 462 to keep audiences engaged during Fear’s hiatus and the current season of The Walking Dead.
