A Preview of Season 7B of ‘Fear the Walking Dead’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

One thing that fans of Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead Universe can agree upon, is that first half of season seven of Fear, has featured some of the darkest storytelling to ever grace the entire franchise. A feat the story has accomplished, by plunging us into the worst-case scenario for a zombiepocalypse. Because in addition to the fact that the dead are still returning to life and attacking the living, the poor survivors of the death of death, have also been forced to deal with the realities of nuclear fallout and the wasteland nuclear bombs create… courtesy of Teddy’s decision to envision a horrible new world of his own choosing, one he thankfully will never see come to fruition.
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But alas, the barren fruits of his labor are everywhere to be found and that brought forth some bleak episodes, the kind that saw the harrowing fight for survival break spirits and it even pushed old friends that have been through utter hell together… to turn their backs on one another and prepare to fight each other over what little scraps remain in the remnant of Texas. If anything, it is best to declare this season’s first half a savage vision of the apocalypse. One that rivals George Romero’s own visceral views of the collapse of mankind. But all reflection upon this aside, this level of bleakness and devastation does leave one to wonder exactly what this show is building toward from a storytelling standpoint, and it would seem the show is ready to begin to reveal that to us.

For Sunday will see this series return to the airwaves on AMC and we here at Nerds That Geek were lucky enough to see the first two episodes of the back half of season seven and would like to discuss with you, in a spoiler-free fashion of course, some of what to expect from season 7B and offer our thoughts on what the show is building toward. For there is a tonal shift to be found in these first couple of episodes, the kind where the characters have some genuine moments of inflection regarding their situation and what brought them to such a dark point in their lives. Which brings forth some powerful and moving moments for certain, that appear to be building toward a grand analysis of what is the point of surviving in a wasteland and how does one find hope within it.

Which might in turn lead us out of the darkness, especially when one considers that there is actual beauty to be found in the next two episodes of the show. A move that is surprising for certain since the first half gave us little hope or joy, but it is a move that is definitely welcome. Because these characters have indeed been through hell and deserve something worthwhile at this point and these majestic moments of peace and wonder, only reinforce the possibility that things might get better down the line. But while that might make it appear that the next episodes abandon the horror of this world and just immediately shift toward happy joy-joy feelings, make no mistake about it… this is still a horror series, and the dead are still very much a threat… as is humanity.

If anything, these first two episodes make it inherently clear to the viewer… that the bold nature of season seven isn’t going to cease. In fact, it would appear that the writer’s room of this show is going to go harder and really examine every possible outcome a true disaster would have upon the human psyche and that is going to lead to some stunning storytelling. The kind that will give us plenty to chew upon and well… we here at NTG simply cannot wait for you to see what season 7B has in store for all of you and to geek out with all of you over it, in the coming days, and we hope you swing back here for some extended coverage of season 7B as well. Since we have some interviews with the cast of the show to share with all of you before the show returns from its mid-season hiatus on Sunday, April 17, 2022.

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