A Preview of Season Seven of ‘Fear the Walking Dead’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

There was a time, the 1980s to be specific, when the pop culture landscape was transformed by two horrifying apocalyptic scenarios. One involved a glimpse into a world where the dead returned to the life and walked the earth as the dominant new species and the other… pondered upon what our world would look like if someone decided to push the big red button and let nuclear warheads rain down upon humanity, and it makes sense as to why these concepts changed horror and pop culture forever. Because they really did offer up brave and bold visions of the end, the kind that informed storytellers everywhere to take chances and hold nothing back, because doing that would allow for powerful stories to come to life and that is precisely why George Romero’s Day of the Dead is regarded as a masterpiece and why The Day After and Threads are fawned over to this day since they influenced a new generation of powerhouse stories.

But what is truly fascinating about these two polarizing genres of storytelling… is that no one really ever bothered to combine the two in a quality manner. As though creative minds understood that doing so might be too much for audiences to bear since the fear factor would be so high. But as horror continues to evolve and grow bolder in the 21st Century, the time has clearly come to put those two worlds together and see what a combined zombie and nuclear apocalypse can bring to the table storytelling wise, and it just so happens that the first real quality merging of these two genres is about to come to fruition on our television screens. For this is the new world of Fear the Walking Dead, since season seven shows us the aftermath of Teddy’s desire to rain down nukes upon the gulf coast and well, we here at Nerds That Geek got an advance look at season seven and we thought it would be worthwhile to share what you can expect from this merger in a spoiler-free fashion.

Simply because, spoiling any aspect of this would be rude and insulting. for this is a season of storytelling that you need to experience firsthand, because it is genuinely terrifying through and through. After all, there really is something awful about seeing the living dead roaming about a nuclear wasteland. One that is silent and dead and desolate and devoid of hope and really the first element about this new season that catches you off guard and leaves you uncomfortable… is that the story does showcase the genuine difficulties that would come with living in this kind of environment. Because now the struggle is twofold since one has to fight the danger of radiation poisoning, alongside fighting the dead and that leads to some harrowing moments for certain. The kind that genuinely make you squirm in your seat as you worry and wonder if one wrong choice will mean the end for characters that have fought so hard to make it this far. 

Speaking of those characters, they also face some incredible challenges in this new world outside of the physical dangers. Because something that isn’t showcased enough in either zombie or nuclear fiction, is the long-lasting psychological impact that such an environment would have upon the survivors of either. Because in no way would facing walking corpses be easy psychologically, nor would looking out a window to see the haze and result of nuclear fallout and that is addressed in this new season and that adds a terrifying new fold to an already scary set of scenarios. For we really see firsthand the mental impact of seeing this part of the world be laid to waste and how that and the double threat of the dead, can transform a person’s mind in a negative manner,. Giving life to some powerful moments for certain, the kind that utterly suck you in, since you’re hoping that good people can overcome the fear and hopelessness that has infested their mind. 

If anything, this really is the most ambitious season of this series to date and that is saying something. Since this is a saga that has made some bold moves for years on end now. But here it would seem that Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg won’t be happy until they create a zombie story that is as bleak as Romero’s work and boy, are they getting close. Because this one is dark and hopeless and full of incredible surprises that will definitely leave us talking for days on end and thankfully, you don’t have to wait long to experience this bold new corner of The Walking Dead Universe. For Fear the Walking Dead returns to the airwaves on October 17, 2021, at 9 p.m. EST/8 p.m. CST or you can see new episodes a week early on AMC+ and well… we here at NTG cannot wait for this premiere and this season. Because year seven… is going to be something quite special.

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