‘Fear the Walking Dead’ Recap: ‘The Beginning’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the season six finale of ‘Fear the Walking Dead’.
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For the most part, the horror genre operates on a ‘rollercoaster’ edict. Wherein scary stories take us on quite the emotional ride, one complete with incredibly intense and horrifying sequences. The kind that that genuinely make our skin crawl or our faces cringe, before slowing things down for a little while. So that our hearts can stop pounding in our chests and we can take a moment to process the horrors we’ve just seen and their potential meaning as well, if applicable. If anything, going this route does help to make horror a safe and fun experience since we feel exhilarated once the story has come to its harrowing close and we can enjoy that high for as long as we so choose, before returning to the routine of our everyday lives.

But there was mention of the fact, that this is not a true constant within the genre and that’s because some creative minds in this genre, really want us to go on a powerful and terrifying emotional experience. One where we are left in a petrified and unsettled place when the story comes to a close. All because it held nothing back and did not give us that all-important processing break and one such series that is starting to dabble in this kind of intense territory is Fear the Walking Dead. Because the last episode put us on the edge of our seats by plunging us into the darkness and unknown ugly that can only come forth from a submarine that is full of the dead and it also ended in quite the sour manner, with Teddy enjoying some measure of success in his plans to bathe the gulf coast in a baptismal, nuclear fire.

However, while that was quite the wild ride, the show wasn’t quite done with ramping up the intensity and putting us in quite the uncomfortable place. For the series six finale of this storied saga was nothing short of a waking nightmare, one where danger hung heavy over just about every single second and that made ‘The Beginning’ quite the harrowing tale. For it saw every single one of our heroes, scrambling to figure out how to handle their potential final moments on this earth before the mushroom clouds began to spring up all around them and well… that led to some heartbreaking and stunning moments for certain. The kind that saw Morgan Jones and his beloved Grace ponder upon ending their own lives rather than risk soaking up more radiation than their bodies could handle, and they weren’t the only ones ready to just… accept fate. Since Dwight and Sherry were ready to just settle in and sip a beer and eat some pretzels while the sky lit up with nuclear light. 

But while some prepared for the end in a calm and somewhat accepting manner, others in this story were ready to do whatever it takes to try and survive. Since Daniel and his group of survivors were chugging along with a captured Riley to try and get to the hotel where Alicia was being held and well, despite running into some setbacks in their plan, since Rollie revealed himself to be the traitor, they stayed strong and eventually put all of their faith into rescue coordinates that Daniel may or may not have heard on the radio. And Victor Strand, well he once again found himself in a dark place as the end drew near. Because he was genuinely ashamed of himself for how things went down aboard the U.S.S. Pennsylvania, to the point where he lied to his new friend and referred to himself as Morgan Jones. All in the hopes of being seen as someone noble and worthwhile in his potential final moments and well, all of these vignettes made for sorrowful vibes. The kind that truly made it seem as though a great deal of death and/or suffering was about to head our way.

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But what was truly wild about this segment of the story, is that one person was overjoyed at what was coming, and that was Teddy. For this was the culmination of his life’s twisted work and he reveled in the wonder of this forthcoming destruction, with the same glee as a kid on Christmas morn. Which was perhaps, the darkest moment imaginable in this particular tale, since it reinforced the horrible victory that evil brought to fruition and well, that’s when this story offered up quite the surprise. Because sometimes good things can in fact, happen in the absolute darkest moments of our lives and injecting that into this story allowed for some positive moments to come to fruition. The kind that saw John Sr. and June teach Dakota a fine lesson in how Teddy is only in it for himself. Since it was revealed that he had a bunker prepared to hide in, proving he was nothing more than a con man that loved to leave death in his wake.
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Which is a revelation that led to some poetic justice for the villains of this tale since Teddy was robbed his life by his protégé when her fury could handle his lies no longer. Allowing for his teachings to rob him of seeing the miracle mushroom cloud that he was so desperate to enjoy. And speaking of that fiery fury, well it too consumed Dakota in its own metaphorical way, since she was consumed by fire once the bombs dropped and that made for quite the satisfying end for those particular monsters, and the glimmer of joy didn’t end there. For Sherry and Dwight found shelter with a family and will survive to see another day. As will Daniel and his group, since Althea sent Isabelle to pick them up at the last second and Morgan and Grace weathered the blast and got their hands on baby Morgan, who was kept alive by Rachel in a harrowing and dark manner. And of course… Strand made it out alive as well since he made it outside the blast zone.

But alas, those were the only real bright spots in this particular tale. For once the dust settled, it was revealed that hard times and dark days are ahead for our heroes. For the group is now scattered to the nuclear wind, left to their own devices and now Morgan and Grace and baby Morgan, will have to forage for food in the wasteland. And the same goes for Sherry and Dwight and while Daniel and company are safe, one must wonder how long that will hold. Since we now know that the CRM is about as ruthless as they come and having that mysterious organization exposed in this manner is bad news for everyone involved, and to top it all off, the darker side of Victor Strand has returned at last. For after years of trying to be good, this latest scrape with the end has him believing that his inner demons serve him in a far superior manner to his better angels and that’s bad news for the future. 

In the end however, this was nothing short of a powerhouse and well, bravo to the writing team and everyone involved for offering up such an incredibly bleak tale. Because this is no easy task to pull off in a manner that doesn’t turn off the audience. In fact, George Romero is one of the few that could do it on a consistent basis. But Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg and their team pulled it off and brought forth a game-changing finale in the process. Because this particular ending informs us that the series is heading into a bold new era of storytelling, one where the impossible can become possible and where we will need to brace ourselves before every episode since Fear the Walking Dead is now eager to embrace the true horror of the zombiepocalypse, and it will be quite interesting to see what kind of brave and horrifying stories await us when season seven gets underway. Until next time.

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