Fear the Walking Dead 2.13: Date of Death
Brian Buckner
Christoph Schrewe
Continuing some of the pacing issues that have
plagued Fear the Walking Dead since
its mid-season return, this episode takes a great deal of time to explore the
breakdown of Travis’ relationship with Chris.
Sadly, the most shocking moment of the episode is telegraphed from the
very beginning, so instead of generating tension, the slow and methodical path
to that event feels endless.
At the heart of the episode is the divide
between Travis, who clings to his principles so tightly that he can barely
adapt to the world he has found himself in, and Chris, who is embracing the
worst aspects of that world with terrible pragmatism. Unfortunately, neither of them are
particularly dynamic characters, and Travis’ brooding reduces the moral and
philosophical conflict to staring blankly at the dirt as events spiral out of
his control.
Chris has been going down this path for a long
time, culminating in his departure from the rest of the family at
mid-season. In a better world, this
would be the last time we have to deal with Chris at all, but something tells
me that he will be forced to experience something that will bring him back (at
least theoretically) from the abyss. And
this is disheartening, because we all know that it will be explored over the
course of a couple episodes at a pace that would allow paint to dry by
comparison.
Who didn’t see what Brandon was going to do to
James? And yet they stretched it out far
too long, leaving very little time for Chris’ inevitable split from his
father. And since the beginning of the
episode revealed that Travis was alone when he showed up with the other 17
people trying to get past the hotel gates (far fewer than the sound design
suggested), there was very little tension for the audience. We knew Chris wasn’t around, and the reason
why was staring everyone in the face. It
could have been handled in half the time with more impact, especially if the
consequences could be given more exploration at similar speed.
Meanwhile, Maddie follows up her stellar job at
parenting with Alicia by deciding that now is the time to reveal the truth
about Alicia’s father and his death.
Sorry, but Maddie isn’t doing it for Alicia’s sake, she’s trying to
salve her own conscience. What exactly
is Alicia supposed to gain from this revelation? What good does it serve? It really only serves Maddie’s interests, and
that does not do much to endear the character to the audience.
It’s also worth noting that there is no chemistry between Travis and Maddie at this point, no matter how much they say a lot of the right things. Travis fled because Chris was his priority and it seems likely that he never would have returned if Chris was still at his side. Similarly, Maddie is so fixated on Nick that Travis and Alicia still seem like they run a distant second and third (and not necessarily in that order) in her eyes. The fractures that were present at the start of the series, if manageable, have widened considerably. How that will play into the events of the finale remains to be seen.
- Well the musical score was nice in a lot of places
- Maddie’s decisions in this episode continue to be self-serving
- The events at the ranch are utterly predictable and take far too long to play out
Flaco_Jones
CONCURRING OPINION