‘Fear the Walking Dead’ Retro Recap: ‘Pilot’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

One thing that fans of the zombie sub-genre of horror can agree upon, is that they more or less have had their morbid dreams for this sub-genre, come true. Because after spending many years finding zombie flicks to watch in bargain bin VHS tubs in video stores, and celebrating them through a niche community, these stories found unprecedented success in the 21st Century. The kind that allowed for the Godfather of the Dead to finally film a big budget of the Dead film and where the living dead took our living rooms by storm via the widely popular series, The Walking Dead. Which was so incredibly beloved that AMC Networks decided to give zombie fans more gifts regarding the genre. Specifically, a new zombie themed television universe via a spin-off series entitled Fear the Walking Dead, which would in turn look at something rarely explored in zombie fiction.
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Specifically, a true look at the beginning of the end and the collapse of a major American city in the process. Which prior budgets never allowed for in film or television themed zombie stories and that made the ‘Pilot’ episode of Fear quite the important story. Simply because… it really did establish it was going to give the fans what they wanted, and while the end of everything didn’t arrive in the series premiere of the show... knowing we’d see it made folks happy, as did the other surprise in this story. For a majority of zombie stories don’t explore who first returned from death or how living death spread so quickly and that’s where this pilot shines. Since we were indeed privy to what could be considered Patient Zero of the TWD Universe through Nick Clark’s resurrected junkie girlfriend and her ability to scatter into the world through fear, only helped to grow the infection… as did the surprise illness spreading quickly through Los Angeles via a briefly mentioned flu-like sickness.

All of which, brought forth a real sense of dread, since we knew what was to come, and well, that alone makes the pilot worth your while. Since you simply feel creeped out shortly after Nick makes a run for it. Because now it’s happening, quietly behind the scenes, and those that are dying without anyone’s knowledge are quietly opening their eyes and standing up and tearing into people. It’s just horrifying math really, where two become four and four becomes eight, but in the city of Los Angeles, you know that is going to grow exponentially, and that knowledge, combined with the fact that this flu is starting to wipe people quickly as well… only allows for that sense of dread to grow as the episode goes on and… that knowledge adds a sense of danger to the story, too. Since we don’t know when the dead will appear or if death awaits any of the characters we get to know in the pilot, since we are indeed in uncharted territory in this fresh tale.

Speaking of the people we get to know in this pilot, well they are what makes this story extra special. Because that allowed for this story to be more than a slick examination of the beginning of the end, its characters mattered, and they had to navigate the fear and the panic of rumors of walking death and strange stories about people who could not die… all while trying to live their somewhat broken lives. Since Nick was an addict and the Clark/Manawa family was divided through and through and that added depth to this story, the kind that would permeate throughout the series, and it was definitely welcome to find here. Not to mention, we latched onto these two families and their flaws, largely because… we outright related to them. And that’s a rarity in this kind of tale, but this story made that happen with minimal effort, courtesy of its quality script and quality casting.

If anything, this is a series premiere, that holds up well after all these years and still harbors a sense of wonder for new and old viewers alike. Simply because, we’d be remiss to not point out… that this is indeed a fresh story in the TWD Universe, one free from the comic book source material and that really allowed for this episode and so many to follow, to try new things and go new places, and that is exciting and alluring. And just having the urban setting in this tale, and the creeping threat of the end, along with Travis, Madison, and Nick coming to discover the threat surrounding them, really did make that clear and made for one refreshing and terrifying story. One that grabbed our attention and demanded we continue the journey, to see if this family of everyday people could survive the dawn of the dead and the end of everything. Until next time.  

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