Fear The Walking Dead Episode 412 ~ Weak ~ Review

fear the walking dead season 4

Fear the Walking Dead (14 )

Episode 412 ~ Weak ~ Review

  1. excellent ~ what I love about this show (0 [0.00%])

    0.00%

  2. good ~ I liked it, but would have liked some things to have been different (8 [57.14%] - )

    57.14%

  3. fair ~ it was ok (5 [35.71%] - )

    35.71%

  4. poor ~ I was disappointed (1 [7.14%] - )

    7.14%

#1
Bug

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#2
Aolain

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I voted good—good is mydefault rating for a typical episode. As per usual, I liked the post apocalyptic feel of the visuals. I was actually surprised that the beer guy got knocked off!

I have a feeling the new villain, the Walker lady, might end up being too over the top.

I do not know how to take the “semi truck couple.” Apparently they murdered the guy who was putting out supplies. Abandoned Morgan, kidnapped Morgan and the beer guy. I would not trust those two.

I am guessing our band of survivors will not re unite till the end of the season.
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#3
Nareen

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I enjoyed this episode better than last week's, as a look into the weaknesses of some of our characters as well as their strengths.  

 

The June/Althea story was interesting.  We got to dig deeper into both women, especially Al. who for the first time displayed some vulnerability and human weakness.   Just as Al was obsessive about her van, so was June about finding John.   It's amazing how in TWD universe, a few pills and half an hour can make someone who couldn't even stand up as good as new.

 

Now that he's made up his mind (or has he?), Morgan is equally obsessive about finding his Texas friends.  It's not clear to me why his ethically compromised sidekicks are going along, but evidently Morgan is boss now.  I liked his encounter with dreadlock lady, who was busily contaminating water bottles in the roadside box right under his nose.  I wonder if that's how Al got sick.  

 

My understanding was that the first walker that the dreadlock lady had captive was the original truck guy whom the terrible twins had dumped on the side of the road and subsequently had probably been murdered by the dreadlock lady.  She used him to kill Quinn at the fake mile marker; he was the guy June had encountered at the truck stop who was later trying to join the group.  Dreadlock lady then replaced her first walker with walker Quinn and "set free" the original to continue wreaking havoc. Please someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

It seems that this woman is another psycho with an agenda to stamp out what she sees as weakness.  It makes a change from the middle-aged white male psychopaths of TWD (excepting Fear's Celia) but she doesn't seem particularly interesting at this point.


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#4
Deadpelican

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Well, I think I've ALMOST come to that place with the Walking Dead.  Three  weeks had gone by and I realized I hadn't been watching it.  But I have my DVR set to record them so I spent much of labor day catching up. 

 

This was a pretty decent episode, but we are in overly familiar territory.   Group is separated, group spends the back half of the season finding each other and reconnecting. 

 

Also, I don't get the washed out colors.  

I thought that was used for things that had happened in the past, but now it looks like a permanent fixture of the  show. 

I don't know what to make of it. 

 

Instead of pet walker as guardian (Michonne) we now have pet walker as weapon.  It's a variation on theme that is a little too familiar. 

 

Nonetheless, I rated this episode good because it was good enough I thought. 

 

After 9 years, it's almost impossible I would think to avoid treading old ground. 


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#5
xpoc454

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I voted fair also.  New bad guy is a dreadlock crazy woman.  We all knew quinn was going to die after he got talked into deciding to join the group.  

The beer guy is still alive it was quinn who she killed.

It appears she is also poisoning the water with stagnant water to get people sick who use the boxes.

It may have been was got Al on the truck sick. It would make a lot of since.

To bad the original box guy seems to be dead.  After years and years of both shows pounding it into our heads, that even you do anything good at all, you get punished for it.

That story has been worn out a looooong time ago.  Lets see something  good happen to good people for once and maybe a danger from somehting other than crazy people.  Maybe even the walkers!


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#6
cornjob

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I DVR and watch later.  For shows that I'm highly interested in, I watch the night it airs. FtwD, I'm now 3 episodes behind. I haven't decided to stop watching, but I also find I don't really care what happens. I'll probably get to it some time.

 

We're watching Season 3 of Twin Peaks now, and its far more interesting to me. I won't be terribly shocked if I keep finding something more interesting than FtwD and never get back to it. 


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#7
Stan

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Ok, so I thought it was a Good episode. Kinda contrived but good.

Watching Al's character become more than a sideshow was wonderful, her connection is firming up a little, and although I get her connection to her SWAT Van Down By the River, it does have moments of nonsense to it...more on that later.

I am baffled, honestly, that no one thinks of locking the SWAT van...it would go a LONG way towards keeping people from stealing, ransacking, using it...especially if you kept the keys. Just sayin.

Al and June focus did keep everything on pace and well done. The tension was heightened when they were separated as it should. June's encounter with Quinn was done alright at first, better when she threw him out, stellar when she called him back. Al made some big character moments in choosing June over SWAT. That is, given what we know of her, a major change.

Morgan and crew were there to help along June and Al's moments, and plot forward for us by having weird truck lady be involved. I do think it's a little too obvious for us as watchers how things will go down, but not as bad as it was previously. I am curious when Morgan will be upfront about the Semi peeps and what they did. Will it come to a head with Weird Trucker Walker Lady? People go from not trusting and abandoning to trusting unconditionally in a flash. There IS such a thing as Trust But Verify.

Nitpicks: These antibiotics must be bada$$ to take someone from incapacitated to walking and sharp in the course of a few hours. I know they have to move forward, but space things a little better next time.

You have a SWAT van with a thief in it unloading hundreds of rounds of powerful ammunition from machine guns from a relatively impregnable place and your first thought is to go towards him before he leaves. At least June showed common sense at the bus and tried to recon and work around instead of running right towards him.

So Trucker Lady kills Quinn (I figured when he radioed at the end it was over for the character), swaps bodies and moves on. I don't get that one, although the message scrawled on the dead (a lot like the Wolves 'W's) will have a side effect of setting up Morgan's group, along with poisoned bottles, to take the fall for her when an unsuspecting group falls ill. I dunno, it's a weird addition to an otherwise well done, well written, and very well directed episode.

It's Good for the growth of the characters and what they go through, but no better for the ambiguity about what our newest contrived baddie is about.


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#8
Deadpelican

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I DVR and watch later.  For shows that I'm highly interested in, I watch the night it airs. FtwD, I'm now 3 episodes behind. I haven't decided to stop watching, but I also find I don't really care what happens. I'll probably get to it some time.

 

We're watching Season 3 of Twin Peaks now, and its far more interesting to me. I won't be terribly shocked if I keep finding something more interesting than FtwD and never get back to it. 

 

Wow that's exactly my situation. Meaning I was three episodes behind but finally caught up lol.  I used to watch it the night that it aired. I plan to start doing it again. 

 

But skipping out on it was not intentional. I simply forgot about it.


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#9
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Maybe I'm being too hard on the show but the entire thing just feels artificial at this point. 

 

I mean this whole little arc of a random guy (or group of people using radios to communicate) that has somehow lasted the entire apocalypse giving away boxes of supplies every few miles down a road and still has warehouses full of stuff is pretty far fetched.  Then we have the people that stole from that person who are somewhere between comedic relief and cold blooded killers.  They don't trust other people, however, they are intrigued by what Morgan says about Alexandria, however, they still play the part of good guys and let him leave in order to go find all of his friends, however, Morgan does a complete 180 compared to where his character has developed thus far and decides to abandon his friends and just selfishly get himself to Alexandria, however, at this point is when the duo decide to show their true selves and force Morgan to take them to Alexandria.  I mean literally every step of the way was just a huge plot hole to fall into.  Then they leave him for dead with just his word that they were going to make what today would be a 15ish hour trip looking for an exit number and a billboard.  And now all of a sudden they realize they need him so badly that they are setting out boxes, looking for his friends, sitting on the road for hours, and whatever else Morgan decides to do.  

 

Then you take Al who has this obvious connection to the tapes she's collected.  I get it.  That's her thing. The fact that she is constantly willing to risk her life to get the van (which contains the tapes) back is completely understandable based on her character.  However, she is willing to send someone else to get a van that is loaded down with weapons to save her tapes and lie to them about why she is sending them? That seems completely out of character.  Especially when all it takes is a little heartfelt moment at the end of the episode and she is willing to leave all of that behind to go find Morgan (not to mention she doesn't need the stupid van, just the tapes, I mean could it really be that hard to grab a couple boxes of tapes and a camera and throw it in the truck with the guns and such???).  

 

It really feels like the showrunners have stopped asking themselves what Morgan or Al or any normal human being would do in a situation and they have started just asking themselves what can we do that is the opposite of what the audience thinks will happen.  Maybe it is because many of the central actors of this show and the original walking dead are asking to leave where before the showrunners had all of the power.  They are just trying to piece together what they can with the crumbs that are left after their original storylines got blown up by people leaving.  I would be shocked if either show went beyond one more season after the current one.  I think both shows have finally run their course.


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#10
mosher

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Tbird, I think it's plain as day that your sense that things are artificially constructed is correct. The show is trying to do a partial reboot. Many people complained that the show had too many villains, amoral characters, and anti-heroes- but not enough people to enjoy knowing.

They're forcing situations and wedging in people as quick as they can while offering some semblance of story. It's a hit and miss affair. But they are honestly succeeding on the whole. They are putting more character work then we usually see (a very welcome thing), but the situations are contrived and demand rushed events and rushed arcs.

The duo that kidnapped beer man was a misstep. Comedy is good, but mixing their quirks with their crimes has made them cartoons. Just because they have charming quirks won't let people accept their crimes, and the writing rushed their arcs. There's too much cooperation and too much solidarity of purpose at this point between beer guy, Morgan, and the duo.

I think you're wrong about Morgan and Al's out of character actions, though. Morgan stated in show, and it's supported by all we know of him, that he loses his courage  when he evaluated his personal merit. And when he loses his belief in himself, he runs. He ultimately didn't follow through, but it wasn't an out of character internal struggle. Many fans might be sick of that struggle, but it IS in character.

Al sent someone for the van. While the tapes are the real treasure, she plays a locked in character- someone who has a single focus. She misses the entire movie while she's zeroed in on a still frame. That's who she is, and the idea that she's conflated her real treasure with the periphery makes sense. She's related the van to the tapes. I liked her arc, where she finally faces who she's become, and suddenly realizes that she's missing that metaphorical movie. She does finally decide to seize what matters. I liked that.

Now, it was quick, My wife felt it was heavy handed even.

But for me, given that FTWD is trying to scrap the past and move into a more interesting dramatic ensemble, I am generally happy with the show.

That means forgiving a wealth of contrived moments and rushed scenarios. That means losing focus on a story that in season three finally had grabbed me. So I don't like that they have chosen to partially reboot. But if I accept that they ARE rebooting, I can forgive them for their rushed moments.

Now, the above is all predicated on the hope that they move into a more skillful storytelling style with more patient arcs once they have put together their FTWD 'fellowship'. So next season will tell me if this season's style will have been pointful.

In any event, the characters are more varied and interesting than they had been.


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#11
naossano

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I also fell behind, but more because i spent some weeks outside and then, poor internet connexion.

 

I am really liking this season and i much much prefer the new batch of characters over the old batch.

Although, i feel they went from one extreme to another.

 

So far, we only got Alicia and Strand from the original cast, and they are pretty much sidelined. And if they keep going east to fuse the two shows, i am afraid we can forget about any comeback from Daniel Salazar, Proctor John, Crazy Dog,  or any still living characters from previous seasons. Some of those still lacked closure. Beside, that is not unlikely that we might lose Strand or Luciana. They were doing pretty much nothing since they left the stadium.

 

In short, i like the new direction, but it happens a bit too fast. The show had tons of unfinished business from previous seasons.


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#12
kombat

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Finally watched this one. By the end I was laying on the couch half asleep. It's such a shame what they did to this show. Season 3 was so good. Whether it's the new showrunners, Gimple now being the EP, or both, this show has lost all of its mojo from season 3, and it's showing in the ratings. The ratings for the second half have been awful. I can not fathom why AMC would make Gimple the EP of another show after what happened to the ratings of the main show, and then promote him again to Lord Overseer of Everything Walking Dead. His ass should be fired, not promoted. Though the way things are going he isn't going to be overseeing anything in a couple of years. AMC has bungled this franchise from the beginning. It has succeeded in spite of them, not because of them.


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#13
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The problem with them going from one extreme to another is the "lets be friendly and trust everyone we come across" extreme doesn't work in a ZA, and quite frankly its boring. Morgan turning his back to that crazy woman, June letting that guy just run off, June giving out their exact location to not only that guy she doesn't know but whoever else could be listening in was idiotic. It only takes one bullet from that stranger you just turned your back on, or one group to overhear you giving out your exact location over the radio for it to be over. I'd forgive it if this was like...early into the ZA, but this YEARS into it, and we know for a fact that at least Morgan knows what kinds of people can be out there. The fact that he continually trusts random strangers, letting his guard down and turning his back on them is just stupid.

 

Honestly given the fact that they've killed off half the original FTWD cast and sidelined the other half, I really wish they would have just made Morgan and the new cast into a separate show, leaving Fear alone. Fear was imo an excellent show prior to season 4, season 3 was fantastic and they should have just continued where they left off with that. But now we're stuck with this poor excuse for a reboot just because they HAD to shoehorn Morgan in and let him ruin the show with his pacifistic nonsense.


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#14
cornjob

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I've had these episodes on the DVR for months. I'm finally getting back to it. Rereading this thread, I'm a little surprised at how many people seemed to think last season was awesome. 

Its funny, I can't remember where most of the characters are. I remember there was a storm, and I remember Morgan in that truck, but I have no recollection of Strand, John or anyone else other than the characters that were in this episode. I assume they'll meet back up, but its like an entirely different show. 

 

I find myself annoyed by the washed out coloring they use all the time. Everything is gray. Last season, they would use the brighter colors to show the flashbacks (by brighter, I mean 'normal'). But the gray dreariness feels overdone. There are so many things that people could scavenge in the ZA that we have now, that you just never see.  Flashy sports cars. Bright colored clothes. Cool sunglasses. I wish we'd see some of the characters showing some personality by departing form the uniform gray utilitarian costume that everyone has to use. 

 

I'm not sure where they're going this this story. The new 'bad guy' seems like just a basically crazy person killing for no reason. 


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