ThisFear the Walking Deadarticle contains spoilers.
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Pilot
1.
When Nick finds her, Gloria is busy eating the face of a fellow addict.
This is exactly the kind of gore fans ofTWDhave tuned in to see, andFTWDhappily obliges.
This scene down by the river with Nicks drug dealer, Calvin, is a well-staged set piece.
Not only does Calvin seem to survive being shot, he survives being rammed by a pick-up trucktwice.
Hes in terrible shape by this point, with flesh peeled away here, a broken bone protruding there.
And yet he still keeps coming.
Whatever this infection is, its a game-changer.
So Close, Yet So Far
3.
Madison, Tobias, and Principal Costa.
This is a very tense scene in thehigh school.
There, they grapple with a freshly turned Artie, who is school principal and Madisons friend.
Not only is she battling a zombie, shes forced to kill her friend.
Whats notable about this is how hard it is to bring Artie down.
Hes as strong as any grown man might be.
His skull isnt soft, or his muscles atrophied.
It takes several good whacks with a fire extinguisher before Madison is able to finally bring Artie down.
This is savage stuff, especially for people who have never killed before.
But this attack ramps the tension up considerably by making it personal.
Juxtaposing the attack with a safe haven like a school is especially effective.
Soon, no place, and no one, will be safe.
The Dog
4.
Zombies attack in the midst of the rioting and no one notices the real horror unfolding before their eyes.
For now, the real danger is other humans, whether its the rioters themselves or the encroaching authorities.
This is the real beginning of the end, this almost immediate lawlessness.
This is also an important scene because it brings together the Manawa and Salazar families.
Sisters of Mercy Hospital.
With Griselda injured, Travis heads for the nearest hospital.
This is the beginning of the quarantine.
The sick are everywhere, and soon, there wont be any getting out of town.
Can I borrow a cup of brains?
At three episodes in,FTWDfinally takes the gloves off and gives us its first grisly zombie kill.
), but Danny is a no-nonsense man whos no stranger to violence, as well soon learn.
Time to consider the moral and ethical ramifications of killing the sick.
In this case, Travis talks Madison out of caving in their neighbors head with a ball-peen hammer.
As well see later in the season, Travis still sees the dead as human.
Hes right to a point, but Danny sees their morality as weakness.
Not Fade Away
8.
Some of this seasons better moments dont involve zombies.
One such scene is about Nick, who as we know is trying to kick a serious drug habit.
Of course, the opposite is true.
Sure, he doesnt need the pills because hes been sneaking into a neighbors house to steal his morphine.
This speaks to Nicks clear-headedness and resourcefulness, two qualities that would help anyone survive the apocalypse.
But it also speaks tothe depths hell sink to for his next fix.
Cobalt
9.
Travis is pressured by Moyers to take down a zombie.
He cant do it, though.
To him, shes not a monster.
Instead, he sees a human with a nameKimberly.
We saw this samestrong sense of morality come in to play with Madisons neighbor, Susan.
Our introduction to the mysterious, tuxedo-clad Strand, who is under quarantine.
Hes putting his honey-toned voice to work on Doug Thompson, breaking him down a bit at a time.
All just by talking about insurance.
He ultimately reduces him to a blubbering mess.
Exploits his weakness, destroys him.
Colman Domingo is a commanding presence, and he is fantastic in this scene.
The Good Man
11.
Seeing LA burn in the pre-title scene.
For all intents,TWDis set in the post-apocalypse.
Rick wakes up from a two-month coma to find the world in ruins around him.
Even better is the moody music playing as the camera slowly pans over the citys devastation.
One ofFTWDs strengths is its knack for creating atmosphere.
Which leads to the next moment on the list: the dead invade the base.
Danny becomes the Pied Piper of LA.
This is the first time were seeing an actual zombie horde on the show, and its massive.
Considering this is the finale,FTWDneeds to finally deliver what fans ofTWDhave come to see.
Thankfully,FTWDcommits in a big way.
Its always worth arguing that Danny Salazar directly contributed to the spread of the outbreak by freeing the infected.
Nick and Strands last stand.
Locked doors, advancing dead, no more bullets.
Its not dramatic, its poignant.
Nick has caused his mother enough pain, and now its time to let him go.
Its logical that violence is part of the territory for a zombie show.
Sometimes the violence is gratuitous, sometimes not.
We know that to survive an apocalypse, one cannot be weak.
OnFTWD, their analog is obviously Travis, who we know as the non-violent key in.
This triggers something in Travis, who basically beats Andy to a bloody pulp.
Which brings us to:
15.
She knows firsthand that the infection itself will kill her, that she will become one of the infected.
This is the last thing she wants.
Travis shoots her in the head, essentially saving her from unloving death.
But this act of mercy is what finally breaks him.
Honorable Mentions
The soldier whos been bitten and is denied from entering the evac chopper.
He knows hes infected and immediately takes his life by beheading himself with the choppers tail rotor.
Quick and effectiveand very bloody.
Nick very much reminded me of Heath Ledgers Joker inThe Dark Knight.
Both characters are free spirits in a way, living for and in the moment.
Im not saying Nick is a psychopath, but he can see the folly in everyones lives.
(The Good Man)
