Fear the Walking Dead: Season One Finale

First Aired October 4th, 2015.

Madison (played by Kim Dickens) and Travis (played by Cliff Curtis) start packing their things after witnessing the soldiers leaving. Daniel (played by Rueben Blades) wants to kill Corporal Andrew (played by Shawn Hatosy) but is stopped by Travis after Andrew claims he can help them save the others at the military hospital.

Andrew offers to tell Travis where they need to go in exchange for his release, believing Daniel will eventually kill him. Daniel approaches the gates of the hospital leading the thousands of trapped walkers to keep the guards busy. As they prepare to enter the compound, Daniel learns Travis released Andrew and is furious. Chris (played by Lorenzo James Henrie) and Alicia (played by Alycia Debnam-Carey) are left with the cars and told to leave if things go bad. Inside, Nick (played by Frank Dillane) and Strand (played by Colman Domingo) escape their cell amidst the chaos of the attack, leaving the other prisoners behind. Liza (played by Elizabeth Rodriguez) and Bethany (played by Sandrine Holt) watch the attack from the roof and realize the evacuation they planned won’t happen. Bethany elects to remain with the patients and instructs Liza to run. Chris and Alicia are assaulted by a group of soldiers who steal a car for their own escape. Liza makes it outside and sees the walkers break through the gates and begin devouring the soldiers and is forced back inside. Strand steals car keys from a dying soldier before he and Nick must outrun a group of walkers but automatic locks engage in the building which trap them.

Letting Andrew go was a horrible mistake. Not only could he have lied about the directions, he might end up coming back to get revenge against Daniel. Andrew does come across as a quintessential good guy but if I’ve learned anything from the Walking Dead series it’s that the zombie apocalypse often changes people for the worse. The action began quickly and the horde attacking the base finally offered up the walker fights that have been sorely lacking. This led to lots of great fight sequences and deaths (my favorite was the infected soldier running into the helicopter blades). I’m hoping this will be the beginning of a new tone in Fear the Walking Dead that brings more walkers and action next season. Strand is an interesting character because even after a few episodes we don’t know who he really is or what he’s after, although clearly he is a survivalist willing to walk over anybody to keep himself safe. Whether he wants to help or harm the group, I feel like his actions will only bring them trouble overall and I can’t wait to see more of him in season two.

Travis and Madison free the other prisoners who tell them where Nick and Strand went and find them trapped but Liza appears and uses her key card to free them. Liza leads the group to the medical ward, believing that Bethany knows the best route to escape. Daniel and Ofelia (played by Mercedes Mason) are informed that Griselda (played by Patricia Reyes Spindola) died. Bethany executed the remaining patients to spare them. She tells the group how to get out but is too devastated to leave and instead commits suicide. Strand suggests they go to his home which is on the water and loaded with supplies. The group emerges and, as the sun rises, find piles of burned bodies (including Griselda) and meet Alicia and Chris in the garage. Andrew suddenly appears and holds Daniel at gunpoint. When Ofelia tries to talk him down he shoots her and Travis beats him to death. The group heads to Strand’s lavish home where Nick muses that the chaotic state of the world reflects his internal struggle as an addict. Ofelia’s gunshot wound isn’t life-threatening and Liza is able to easily treat it.

If there’s one positive thing that can be taken from the world ending it’s that it gave Nick that final push to better himself. It’s not much but it’s something. For a moment, it really looked like Nick was done for but I was confident the show wouldn’t kill off one of the more interesting characters so soon. I loved the lights flashing on and off during the scene. It made it much more intense and suspenseful. Bethany lost faith because she prided herself as someone who could help the sick, but as a doctor she did the best thing by killing her patients before the walkers got to them. I knew Andrew would come looking for payback but it was shocking he chose to hurt Daniel through Ofelia (talk about your bitter breakups). That should hopefully be a lesson to Travis who continues to be painfully ignorant of these kind of dangers; it was also good to finally see him kick some ass. One thing we learned about Strand is he must have done well for himself pre-outbreak because his house is amazing.

Strand prepares to leave the house and escape on his boat. Meanwhile, Madison discovers that Liza was bitten and Liza asks Madison to kill her. Travis wants to try and help Liza but she tells him nothing can be done and just asks he protect their son and Travis shoots her. Everyone copes with the aftermath of Liza’s death as the episode ends. No time like the end of the world to take a long luxurious boat cruise. I wasn’t expecting a main character to die in the show’s first, significantly short season but it provided a reality check for the rest of the characters. They learned that you can’t save everyone (a sentiment echoed earlier in the episode) and sometimes you have to make the tough choices. This should prepare them for whatever comes in season two.

Quotes & Thoughts

“The only way to survive a mad world is to embrace the madness.”

After a slow start, the first season of Fear the Walking Dead ended strong. Let’s hope that momentum continues into season two.

“It’s like I’ve been living this for a long time, and now everyone’s catching up with me.”

Nick may feel like he’s ready to take on this new world but under no circumstances should these people follow him.

If you enjoyed Manny’s madness, you can find the rest of his work right HERE on Sci-Fi Bloggers. You can also follow him on Twitter @KN_Manny.

Possibly Related Posts:

• The Far Reaches Reviews: “Void” by Veronica Roth
• The Magnus Protocol Reviews: “Well Run”
• Friday Fiction: Talking to A Ghost – Part 4
• It Came From The Archives “All Systems Red: An Uneven First Book”
• The Magnus Protocol Reviews: “Pet Project”