There is no doubt that I could not comprehend the mess of Fear The Walking Dead’s seventh season that amounted to nothing. The payoff to that supposed “war” between Strand and Alicia gave us one of the worst episodes in the series last year and I’ve had it up to here with its awful storytelling.
Then, AMC announced that the eighth season of Fear The Walking Dead will be it’s final one with 12 episodes instead of the usual 16. I had little to no expectations watching the first three episodes. But I will admit, it is miles better than whatever garbage that was produced last year.
The narrative flow was simplified and the anthology format was replaced with a new format, allowing the plot to breathe and allowing the story to flow more fluidly. It is notable that the focus in episode one was on Mo, Morgan, and Madison, but in episode two, the focus was switched to Dwight, Sherry, and June while still carrying over important details about PADRE into the next episode, as opposed to completely forgetting about it as if nothing had happened.
Speaking about PADRE, the origin is told early on this season of Fear The Walking Dead and it gives a unique point of view on their end on why they capture children. I still do not agree with this convoluted idea of PADRE, but at least there is a story behind it with an interesting twist.
The standout episode so far is the second one. This is not the same June as we are used to anymore as she has a complete change in character. Also to note, this episode felt like a mini-movie from the way it was produced as compared to other episodes of Fear The Walking Dead. If I can sum it up in a few words, it is Predator with a tiny spice of walkers.
While I like the story so far, the dialogue is still an issue. Mo is the worst offender of this as she talks too much of the Gimple-esque narrative about the future and what her purpose is. This went on far too long to the point that I was annoyed and could not suspend my disbelief on her whenever she was faced with a tough situation. However, her and Morgan’s scenes are really great. But I wish there was more time to develop the Mo character because it feels like she belongs on World Beyond rather than Fear The Walking Dead.
Overall, this is a great start to Fear The Walking Dead and I hope that it keeps up the momentum. Stay tuned for my weekly recaps of the final season of Fear The Walking Dead.
