I’m pretty sure I’ve read somewhere on a social media meme (probably with a minion picture) that we can be our own worst enemies and it’s true. As a species we’ve evolved to wonderful and miraculous state of being to completely ignore our instincts and make a choice we know is wrong for the dumbest reasons imaginable. We’ve certainly seen a few cases of that on Fear the Walking Dead these past 6 weeks (mostly from Madison) but this week that gets taken even further with consequences that will change everything on this 2 part season finale.
Wrath – Ofelia reaches the US border but finds more than she expected. Nick tries bargain with Marco to save the colony but an attack is imminent. When Derek and Brandon show up at the Hotel implying Chris has died Madison fears how Travis will react.... she was right to.
North – With Travis set of be exiled from the hotel Madison and Alicia leave with him. The attack on the colony by Marco and the vastly expanded supermarket gang arrives but not before Nick and Luciana lead its people away safely.
So after sailing us south of the border this season is finally concluding with a double episode. In terms of being a two part event it comes in a standard format. The first part mainly builds and sets up for the bigger events in the second. Wrath still comes with its moments though. It delivers the goriest and most graphic minute all season via a sudden walker incident at Nick’s colony. Anyone a bit squeamish over facial injuries in particular is advised to keep a cushion and/or partner’s chest handy for eye shielding. The big payoff of the first episode and the titular wrath comes from Travis’s reunion with Brandon and Derek. Making them out to be dicks earlier in episode serves the later events well. It makes us feel less guilty when Travis gets his ground and pound on, as well as really grinding in how remorseless the pair is once the truth is revealed. You could argue that the beat down sequence goes on a bit too long but at the same time we know via the recent episodes just how Travis feels on the subject of Chris and his guilt so an overreaction seems very in character. Although it’s the second episode and consequences for Travis that really makes things interesting. By Madison’s own rules from a few episodes back about inter group violence, Travis must now be exiled from the group. It’s very well written to be such a mirroring of the prior incident giving Madison not a leg to stand on in his defence; Ilene was also enraged over the death of her child when she stabbed Strand. If she was punished, Travis must face be also. The added events to make things a bit more dramatic feel very forced for little gain. The group was going to leave anyway. Did they really need an incident just to move it forward a few hours?
As for the attack on the colony this comes as something of an anti-climax. With the weeks of tension and build up we should be form of action set piece in the attack, even if not on the Governor Vs Prison scale. While the twists we receive are interesting and the aerial camerawork of the mass group looks good we can’t help feel a little bit engañado (that’s right, I’ve found Google translate) over the results as the battle becomes a no contest. Thankfully before the attack we do get some much better moments at the colony revolving around Luciana and Alejandro as the group’s core value of faith is in danger of crumbling. Even though we know their faith in Alejandro’s immunity was based on a lie his final speech to group shows just how little actually mattered. Ultimately the truth lies where people believe it and it was having something to believe in that united these people rather than the specific context. Nick and Luciana move into the new positions of leadership and responsibility well as they lead the group away.
Contrary to expectations and despite a few close calls these final episodes still keep the character separation going into the next season rather than making them one big happy family again. It looks likely that Nick and Ofelia will be seeing each other soon as they both appear to make the same new friends. Travis and Madison learn that Nick headed north to the border so it seems likely they’ll find each other in the first half of season 3 (confirmed to air next year). As for Stand the jury is out on whether we’ll see him again. On the one hand he’s still breathing and forming coherent sentences so we should never rule out a comeback but at the same time why would they? His personal storyline is over having found his lover, lost them and now more or less got over yet. He’s still an interesting, resourceful and unique character on screen and overall I’d still like to see him return but the writers might not want to give him a new story arc. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Overall this does not feel as a big a finale as last season’s military camp escape. It does feel like the end of a chapter with everyone moving on and despite Tijuana’s charms it’s still probably better to keep this the show moving into different locations (hell, if they’re meant to the main show cast someday they have a lot of ground to cover). Considering the series in retrospect it started well, wavered towards its mid-season but finished much stronger. It still feels like it’s worth watching for giving Walking Dead fans such a different take on the familiar setting. Or if nothing else it’s still your methedrone fix while Daryl and Michone are on summer break. Either way that’s all your Fear for this year folks.