Round Two: Fear the Walking Dead

Fear the Walking Dead: Season 1, Episode 2 “So Close, Yet So Far” (B)

I don’t think there’s any cause for alarm just yet, but it’s hard to know how this show is going to function like this on a regular basis for the foreseeable future. That’s the definition of post-apocalypse, of course, but now we’re full on in the middle of the apocalypse as it’s unfolding. I liked the franticness of Nick’s experience contrasted with the calm around him in episode one, and now we’re looking at chaos on all fronts. I found Madison’s visit back to school the most effective of the plotlines, as she tried to grab some pills for her son and first encountered Tobias, eternally obsessed with nothing but getting his knife back, and then her former colleague Art, whose excessive time within the school’s walls listening to teachers made him more than a bit stir crazy and caused him to turn into a zombie. Travis’ attempt to convey the urgency of locating his son was lost completely on his uncooperative wife, but she changed her tune as soon as he emphasized its seriousness. Leave it to bright young Chris to decide that being at the center of a police protest was the best place for him, and it’s a shame that no one keeps their cameras rolling when the victims of alleged police brutality turn into full-on zombies and necessitate being shot for the safety of all around them. I’m sure that will start happening soon, and for now we’ll have to contend with the knowledge that only our main characters know what’s really going on.