It's been quite the season of Fear the Walking Dead thus far. Gone, seemingly forever, are the brooding stories this series featured in year's past, replaced instead with a heavier focus on action and adventure and tense moments and well...it's really been quite the success. An air of danger permeates every single episode now and it's made a couple of stories this season downright exhausting to watch. However, despite this bold new direction for the show...there is one element when it comes to this show that I was hoping to see reappear at some point, it's focus on social commentary.  

After all, the finest zombie stories out there say something about our world and our society, in either heavy handed or simplistic fashion and up until this season, Fear put a solid focus on that brand of storytelling. However, making note of the lack of it in season three is not meant to be a knock against the show. It truly needed a shot in the arm and action and splatter are equally as important in stories such as this, but I have been wondering in the back of my mind, just how awesome it would be to see a little social commentary finds its way into season three and last night's episode, 'Drowning in Water, Burning in Flame' delivered just that, a gripping and adventurous story that also examined our need for revenge, and the distinct need for purpose at the end of the world.

But let's take a look at the revenge parable in this story first, because this episode explored its dynamics in fascinating fashion by way of Madison and Daniel Salazar. Now Madison's story was far more traditional by design because she was on a quest, with the always charming Troy Otto, to find out who shot down the helicopter and murdered her husband and her story served as a reminder that sometimes, an eye for eye brings us peace in our mind, and for Madison, it was imperative at this point to find that kind of peace. Of course, what she found on her quest was far more disturbing, since now we know a rival faction, composed of Native Americans, went after the chopper to send a message to the Ottos to leave their land so it can be reclaimed by this group. But the fact that the story didn't offer up a 'this is right' or 'this is wrong' message to go with her story was intriguing since to a certain extent...we have all been where she's been.  

That same lack of moral expectations was also present in Daniel's story. Since his idea of revenge was to take Strand out for a little journey, with a gun pointed at Victor of course, back to the hotel to find Ofelia. Of course, the audience already knows she's not there, and deep down I think Daniel did as well, but his notion of revenge was to straight up teach Strand a lesson he will never forget. Because as Victor is wont to do, he stuck to his lie, he sold it until the bitter end and while it's sad to see that the hotel has fallen to the dead, those walking corpses helped to force Strand tell the truth for a change, which allowed for Daniel to leave Strand on his own, adding another lesson to this part of the story, in that...no one really cares anymore about Victor's deal making skill set...it's the end of the world and mankind has to uncover a new set of skills when it comes to survival.

Which of course brings us to the other message this episode explored in detail...the need to find purpose at the end of the world. Because clearly, Strand is struggling with such a notion and so did the rest of the Clark family. After all, for the first time since they left Los Angeles, they've had time to breathe and time to process their pain and both brother and sister found themselves at a crossroads. Alicia perhaps saw the tougher path ahead of her because the life she left behind meant more to her than merely surviving for the sake of survival and she spent the entire episode trying to find a purpose or a direction, drifting between drinking with her new buddies and searching desperately for an emotional anchor by way of a hookup with Jake Otto. Granted while the physical intimacy may have been nothing more than release for her, Jake did have wise words to offer her in the wake of their fling and it seems in the end, she's learning to live life and survive at the same time.

Oddly enough, for the first time ever we saw Nick interested in the notion of settling down in this community with Lucia and much of his journey was encouraged by Jeremiah Otto. It would seem Nick and this older gentlemen share a kindred spirit since both of them are addicts who escaped the clutches of their respective poisons and Jeremiah used that spirit to show Nick that sometimes settling down and appreciating what is present before him is not a bad thing and the simple logic he sent Nick's way helped the young man do his best to get Lucia to stay at Broke Jaw Ranch with him and potentially build a life together for a change and while Lucia had none of this and went back to Mexico without Nick, it was quite nice to see the young man grow in a way we've never seen before and even honor his father in the process.

Yet while this sounds suspiciously like a classic episode of the series, have no fear...there was plenty of horror to be found as well. The opening moments of the show with Russell and his zombified wife Martha was both revolting and comical as Martha tried to eat him sans false teeth before Russell shared one last dance with his beloved before putting a bullet in both their brains and what the rival group did with Jeremiah's first survey team was downright disturbing because really...who takes the time to cut away a man's skull and feed his brain to the crows? Our new villain, that's who and their decision to do something like that...was utterly chilling and uncomfortable to say the least. But what matters more, is the fact that the show found a nice way to balance the scares and discomfort with a smarter script and I do hope this trend of combining both elements, continues.

If anything, this was quite the nice little transitional episode. It could have gone the slow route, and provided us a break from the usual carnage but instead, it made us think, it creeped us out and most importantly it set the stage for quite the showdown between the Broke Jaw Ranch and their newfound enemies and when all is said done...I really enjoyed this episode. It was cool to see the story not hand us a scolding or spoon feed us obvious answers to life's little problems, instead it took the time to show how some people deal with them in their own special way, and that's a nice change of pace for this series. Either way, looks like it won't be long before this little conflict spills over into something worse and hopefully the people of Broke Jaw can come together to save what they have...unless of course Troy ruins it...because that guy, is a mess. Until next time.

As the television landscape continues to grow and evolve, a new trend has emerged...the T.V. series based off of a major motion picture. Granted this is nothing new to the business, but as of late they seem to be popping up left and right. Fox introduced Lethal Weapon to the small screen in the last year and their cable spinoff FX has seen plenty of success with Fargo, so it only makes sense for Spike to jump into the foray, and expand upon a modern horror classic by providing us with their own unique adaptation of The Mist. 

Now this is an adaptation that immediately caught my eye simply due to the fact that I'm a huge fan of the source material; the Stephen King novella, and of the 2007 Frank Darabont film adaptation, and considering how perfect and distinctly different those two variations of the story turned out to be, I sat down to watch the 'Pilot' episode of this series, with a myriad of mixed emotions. On the plus side, I certainly had no problem embracing a wild redesign of the story since the film changed up plenty from the written form of the story, but at the same time, my chief concern when I settled in to watch this, was whether or not this new iteration would follow in the footsteps of its predecessors and deliver a visceral and terrifying experience.  

Which means it is time to get down to the million dollar question when it comes to this show, is it a tour de force of terror that holds a flame to the source material? Well...unfortunately, the only appropriate answer to that question, is that only time will tell. Because it's clear now that this version of The Mist wants to accomplish some wildly different things storytelling wise. It truly wants to be a solid character drama, as evidenced by the vast amount of time we spend meeting the main characters and dealing with their respective and at times, disturbing plights before the titular Mist descends upon the small town of Bridgeville, Maine and what is incredibly fascinating about going in this character driven direction, is the fact that the show has only introduced us to a handful of good natured characters, making one wonder if the series is going to focus on redemption as well down the line.

In addition to starting off in a slower and more methodical fashion storytelling wise, I also noticed as the hour played out...that social commentary, a staple of science fiction and horror is going to be prevalent here as well, since the show put a heavy focus on the generational divide that America seems to be currently going through when it comes to morals and values courtesy of Eve's storyline and while that may seem tame when compared to other works in the genre, that was just the beginning. Because in addition to that overreaching theme, the show also explored police brutality and cruelty, teen sex and sexual assault and treating members of the LGBTQ community with the respect they deserve and throwing that many themes into the mix undoubtedly means these storylines are going to rear their head once more as the season progresses along. 

When all is said and done however, I'm legitimately intrigued by this new series. There is some serious potential here to take to us some incredibly dark places with just the character's storylines alone, and once fear settles in things could take a turn for the morbidly fascinating. Plus, it does look like it can deliver when it comes to the gross out factor because the effects are simply notch. Regardless, I'm definitely pressing on. I have to see how this new approach pans out for the series, and that's what makes this pilot a rousing success...it's done just enough to draw us in and make us wonder what possibilities await us and if the powers that be behind the scenes are reeling us in like a proverbial spider into their web, we are going to be in for some horrifying and magnificent treats down the road. Until next time. 

As Fear the Walking Dead continues to reinvent itself in an effort to become a powerhouse dark venture, much like its sister show has turned out to be, the series found itself at quite the crossroads at the end of last week. Because by revealing that Daniel Salazar was alive and well, we knew full well that the next episode was going to be all about him and how he escaped that fire, putting the show in a tough place because it risked outright copying The Walking Dead.

After all we've seen the 'how so and so survived' storyline before in season six of The Walking Dead when we found out how Glenn Rhee escaped a pack of walkers in 'Heads Up', so naturally it would be silly if Fear delivered unto us a similar story, and nothing more. But thankfully, last night's episode, '100' did not fall into that trap, and while it definitely had its moments of familiarity, this story went above and beyond, giving Daniel Salazar a depth we've never seen before and something that he has been in desperate need of on the show, redemption.  

Now, how exactly he managed to escape the Abigail Compound as it burned to the ground we will never quite know, in fact...neither does Daniel for that matter. He simply knows that he awoke, slightly ablaze and high tailed it out of there and in a harrowing sequence of events, we were quickly reminded that the speed with how the world ended made supplies scarce and survival difficult as Daniel struggles to find water and food and the harsh reality that he may never find such important basics helped us see a side of Daniel we've never seen before...because he was completely and utterly afraid early on in this story. He knew the odds, he knew the dead would likely find him and to see such a strong character in pain and in utter terror was downright stunning.

Thankfully however, an act of kindness from a man named Efrain got Daniel everything he needed. There was water to drink and food to eat in Efrain's out of the way sanctuary and he even received critical medical care from a woman named Lola, and while all of this seems like familiar territory, once Daniel healed...we ventured somewhere new. Because faced with the realization that his steel trap mind failed him at the Abigail Compound and with his past still weighing heavy on his soul, we once again saw something new in Daniel...remorse, and seeing as to how Efrain was playing preacher with the dead, absolving them of their sins, Daniel asked for the same level of salvation so he could venture back out into the world and find his daughter with a clean conscience.

Efrain thankfully was happy to oblige, but Daniel's mission to find his daughter took quite the wild turn. Because after an attack in a storm drain by physically superior walkers, and what appears to be Divine intervention, a weak and still healing Daniel collapsed as the storm above him broke and awoke down river at the dam that we were introduced to last week, and in order to remain safe from Dante's wrath, Daniel takes an impromptu job there and tries to maintain a low profile. But an altercation reveals his past life to Dante, who quickly recruits dear Daniel into his personal security squad to help shore up the water he is losing in town and well...the entire sequence that follows was extremely hard to watch.

Because Daniel more or less embodied the whole mantra of being set in one's ways since returning to his enforcer lifestyle was akin to slipping on a pair of comfortable shoes. It was as if he never left his old life behind and he did many great things for Dante, including helping to break Efrain and Lola when his intentions were otherwise and truly...it seemed as though Daniel had given up all hope in this world. Without his daughter or wife present in his life anymore, in his mind, what else was there to live for, so why not go back to the old ways? After all, his brutal skill set had brought him this far, and the blood on his hands was never going away, so a few more drops would mean nothing in the grand scheme of things, right? 

However, it was obvious that there was still some good left within his heart. He did attempt to warn Lola that Dante would stop at nothing to uncover her and Efrain's work to steal water and he did show genuine desire to see them safe, but truly the only way to show that there was any humanity or kindness left within his soul was to save them from certain doom and at the last possible minute, Daniel did just that. He put down Dante and his thugs and freed Lola, Efrain and Strain for that matter and upon saving their lives, he offered his own to Lola in return and she was happy to show the man the mercy he has so desperately been seeking...

When all is said and done however, this turned out to be quite the beautiful tale of redemption. Daniel Salazar is a fan favorite, and a wonderful character to have on the show, so it was such a relief to not only see that he survived the Abigail Compound, but that he finally may have made peace when it comes to the demons that haunt him and hopefully said peace allows for him to find a little faith in regards to Ofelia's chances of survival and he can start the search to find her and put together what little of his family he has left. Either way, this was a wonderful episode, one that was dark and powerful and bold, and kudos to the show for keeping the world authentic by having a majority of the characters this week speak in their native language of Spanish as necessary, and now that Daniel's troubles are behind us, hopefully the entire group can eventually be reunited and we can see all these characters enjoy a fresh start in a strange new world. Until next time.

After last week's powerhouse season three premiere of ​Fear the Walking Dead, wherein we saw the show go to some incredibly dark and powerful places to the point where the series even bid goodbye to a big time lead in Travis, it's safe to say that every single fan of the show was wondering as to whether or not the series was going to continue this downward spiral into darker storytelling and as it turns out the show wasted no time in answering that question...with a resounding yes. 

Because last night's episode, 'TEOTWAWKI', gave us an inside look into the mysterious Broke Jaw Ranch and well...this little oasis of humanity has some serious issues boiling beneath its surface, and all of those issues were revealed by way of giving the characters something they've never had on this show before...a break. After all, ever since the dead began to walk the earth, Madison and her family have in essence been on the run, only spending a handful of days in safe locations. So while it was nice to not see the Clark family on the go, there is a fair chance their safety could be compromised by the problems prevalent in this 'sanctuary.'

One reason the family could find themselves in trouble, is the sheer fact that no one outside of the militia is prepared to deal with the threat that is the living dead. A group of kids made it inherently clear to Alicia that it is up to the men with guns to keep them safe and we all know that in order to survive in this awful world, one has to be prepared to get their hands dirty and considering the fact that these same kids keep a reanimated head they've named 'Geoff' around for their own disturbing brand of entertainment, it is inherently clear that they don't take the threat of the living dead seriously in the slightest and that always leads to trouble.

Not to mention, the people in charge of this strange little place, the Otto family, have issues of their own. Granted we got a taste of those issues in last week's premiere, since it's obvious that Troy's mental health is in question. But this week we learned plenty more about this family, in that the head of the clean, Jeremiah Otto, has always been a true believer in the end of the world, to the point where he sold 'how to survive the end of the world' tapes to the masses to fund Broke Jaw Ranch and while this episode did give us some of his human side in that Troy's mom was an alcoholic and Jeremiah had to deal with the strife that came with that, the man clearly enjoys his status as the Alpha Dog in this place and he truly seems to relish in being viewed as a savior here, and that could cause trouble down the road if someone or something comes to challenge him.

Because Jeremiah, is not a leader, he's a salesman and the only reason he's found some level of respect or is even remotely recognized as the man in charge, is because he was right about the end coming, and he's provided safety to shell shocked people and that's dangerous because they firmly believe he will protect them from anything...and he may not be able to provide that level of safety. What's worse however, is that he seems to have piqued Madison's interest on this place being a true beacon of salvation and considering the fact she's so hellbent on keeping the Clark family here, one has to wonder if Madison has bought what Jeremiah is selling or if she is working a long con to potentially take this place over like she mentioned at the end of last week.

But as a nice break from the Broke Jaw Ranch storyline, the show also took a little time to catch up with Victor Strand, who apparently has contacts just about everywhere since he knew exactly where to go after leaving the hotel...a nearby dam, where he hoped to meet up with an old friend named Dante. Unfortunately the reunion with Dante did not turn out quite the way Strand was hoping for, because after a brief catch up session, Dante was more than happy to show Strand how business is done in the new world and threatens his life all in the hopes of breaking Victor's spirit. As it turns out, Dante sees the end times as a new opportunity to set right old wrongs and since Strand has committed many a sin, Dante will make sure he atones for every last one of them. 

However, not all hope is lost for dear Victor, because in the best surprise of the night, a guardian angel appeared to give Strand water and comfort and that angel turned out to be none other than Daniel Salazar. Yes, the bold and brash father of Ofelia, whom we all thought died in the fire at the Abigail compound is alive and well and somehow he found his way to the same place as Victor and it should be extremely interesting to learn how he survived the fire and what he's been up to after all this time. However, when all is said and done, what truly impressed me about this particular episode, is the sheer fact that Fear the Walking Dead is working hard now to take us on an emotional rollercoaster ride.

After all, there was a genuine sense of danger permeating this episode since the ranch is unfamiliar territory and the episode used that sense of the unknown to its maximum potential. We were worried about Alicia's safety when the kids took her down into their little hangout shelter, and for a moment there it seemed as though Nick would be harmed as well. Regardless, these changes are clearly part of the push to make this series a touch more on the terrifying side and it's working like a charm. My only hope is that the more cerebral nature of the show finds its way back into this season as it progresses. But in the meantime, this is quite the dark beginning to the season, and I am thoroughly impressed with the fact that the show is maintaining this bleak atmosphere and I'm curious to see just how dark season three is going to get. Until next time. 

Over the course of its first two seasons, Fear the Walking Dead has faced some serious criticism. At times it's been cited as being far too slow in its pacing and more often than not, the show continues to take heat for not being anywhere near as bold or as daring as its sister series and I myself have given the show a few jabs here and there when it comes to some disappointing twists and turns when it comes to the development of the characters. 

So when one considers that those complaints have been prevalent for the past two years on the show, it's safe to say that all of us pretty much expected more of the status quo when it came to last night's season three premiere and boy...were we all wrong. Because this two hour, two episode premiere, 'Eye of the Beholder' and 'The New Frontier', delivered unto us a show transformed. Gone were all the slower and drawn out moments we are used to seeing, they were replaced instead with a bevy of action and heart racing scenes filled to the brim with the Infected and to top it all off, a major character death that no one saw coming. But what pleased me the most about this new direction that the show is suddenly headed in, is that it did stay true to one element from the first two seasons that I thoroughly enjoyed, the need to have an overreaching thematic concept to play off of which in this case turned out to be the push to do anything and everything to survive, and the consequences that can come with that. 

In fact, every single character dealt with this concept, including Victor Strand. Who decided to tell his biggest lie to date in order to keep order from slipping into chaos at the hotel he stayed behind in by claiming that he was a doctor to a massive crowd that demanded shelter and health care. It's a lie that he held steadfast to and played out to a tee, providing care to these refugees every step of the way, but it was also a lie that grew to the point where its exposure would become dangerous to everyone who fed into it, leading to Victor's exile from the hotel. But not before a touching moment where he faced off with Ilene, the mother who watched her daughter suffer at the hands of the living dead on her wedding day, and the same mother who stabbed Strand for putting down the resurrected iteration of her baby girl, wherein he and Ilene made peace between one another before she provided him with a fine gift for his exile, a set of wheels, before taking her own life to no longer have to deal with the horrors of this world, and with her unfortunate passing...Strand is on his own once again, back out in the world of the dead, and that's the price he paid for trying to keep the peace and survive another day.

But while Strand's journey provided a fascinating little side story, it truly paled in comparison to the harrowing events that befell Travis and Madison's family. Because their story picked up immediately after the season two finale, and the family was picked up by the armed forces we saw in those final moments and dragged to a nearby military base. In this place we met Troy Otto, a brash and disturbed individual who was conducting his own special brand of experiments on the sick and the dying, or basically anybody he didn't like and sadly, Travis, Nick and Luciana were on his list to toy with. If anything, the early part of this sequence was a beautiful homage to both 28 Days Later and George Romero's Day of the Dead since it featured the idea of a soldier putting special attention upon a pair of healthy women at the end of the world and because of the experiments that were being conducted on the living and the living dead. But once we got past those little shout outs, survival came back into play and that's where one character shined above the rest...Travis. 

Because he was truly a man transformed in this episode. While normally we would expect Travis to try his best to convince a man like Troy to come to a peaceful resolution, this former English teacher only had swift violence on his mind and he managed to orchestrate a thrilling escape, one that put him in an even stickier situation when he left himself behind to ensure Nick and Luciana's escape since Troy's men put Travis into a pit filled to the brim with the living dead. However, Travis wasn't the only one ready and willing to take drastic measures to survive since Madison surprised Troy with a spoon to the eye. Yes, you read that right, she put a spoon in his freaking eye, and was ready and willing to pop his eyeball out, if she couldn't get her family out of this place safely. 

Thankfully, for Troy's sake, a far more amicable Otto named Jake brokers a deal to have the family reunited and after spending a good half season spread all over Mexico, the family is indeed together again. But a tiny herd creates a touch of chaos, putting the family on the road and in the air to reunite at whatever safe heaven the Ottos claim to have and that's when that stunning death arrived out of the blue. Because on the way to what we would later learn is an isolated community known as Broke Jaw Ranch, the helicopter carrying Jake, Alicia, Luci and Travis came under fire, and Travis...well he took a nasty bullet from below, leaving him critically injured to the point where he had no other choice but to fall from the helicopter to his death to keep everyone in that chopper safe from a resurrected shell of himself. So...just like that, a major lead on the show, is gone forever and well, it's safe to say that nothing will ever quite be the same for those that continue on and perhaps that's the sorrowful lesson to be learned here about surviving at any cost, that sometimes the price of surviving...is that you carry the memory of those who did not, with you, forever.

Because Madison did not take the news well, in fact this is the first time in the short run of this series that we've seen her broken and weeping openly and while she and what's left of her family have found refuge at Broke Jaw Ranch, there's still solid reasons for them to keep on fighting and pushing to survive. Because aside from Jake, there's concerns to be had when it comes to this place because it's clear these people are not ready in the slightest to deal with the threat that is the living dead. Especially when one considers that someone close to Jake lost their life because they were unable to handle a pair of walkers. Plus there's the remainder of the Otto family, including the father of the clan, Jeremiah, who created this place ages ago as a refuge to be ready when society collapsed from what he expected to be socio-economic and political reasons, and really, considering their dealings with Troy and that Jeremiah seems to keep an uncomfortable watchful eye over everything, it's hard to say if this family can be trusted. Regardless, Madison is clearly ready to do whatever it takes to make sure what's left of her family survives and who knows what kind of consequences will be waiting for her down the road for that kind of devotion. 

When all is said and done however, in many ways this premiere truly felt like a brand new show and what a fitting thing to say about a show involving the walking dead. This series seems poised to resurrect itself from slow moments and scenes filled with brooding and so far, it's been extremely successful in its endeavor. There's a sense of danger that permeated this entire premiere, and it was simply wonderful to see the living dead return in a big way to play the threat they are meant to play. But most importantly, it's amazing that a show that essentially never kills off its leads while its sister show says goodbye to someone big at least once a year, finally decided to take the plunge and send one of its two top leads into the great beyond. I'm truly impressed, and I'm definitely curious to see what kinds of surprises wait for us as the season chugs along and if this season premiere was any indication as to what we can expect...we are in for a brutal and terrifying season, which is exactly what fans of this show have been waiting for. Until next time.