Fear the Walking Dead - S01E03 The Dog (2015)

Review

Travis, Liza, and Chris are still holding out at the Salazar barber shop behind locked doors as downtown LA turns into a war zone of citizens versus the Police. Naturally this doesn't last as a fire next door forces Travis' crew and the Salazars onto the streets, where the rioters are more focused on property damage and battling the Police and less focused on people trying to flee the scene. Naturally it all doesn't go as well as expected with the odd zombie in the fray and a scaffolding structure collapsing crushing Griselda Salazar's foot. Thankfully Travis can get his team to his truck, unfortunately the local hospital is a zombie hot zone, Liza however is a nurse and can give some care and first aid to Griselda. Anyone else seeing Griselda taking a turn and biting down on various surviving Salazars? Anyways Travis and crew get back to Maddie's place in the 'burbs, where the zombies have already made their presence known.

Maddie, Nick, and Alicia are hunkered down behind closed doors playing monopoly of all things to pass the time as the suburb goes a little bit walking dead. There are enough noises and weird neighbours to make them decide to head on next door and grab the firepower Nick somehow knows their good neighbours Susan and Patrick have on the premise. Eventually they get a shotgun, though this comes with the knowledge that Susan is now zombie Susan, result of an overdose. Travis and team turn up with a zombie next door neighbour in Maddie's house chowing down on the family dog, and the military only a shot away. Things are about to get serious, LA is falling and our group of survivors are still not 100% aware of the danger they are in.

Okay so like The Walking Dead the survivors are developing into a group with the Salazar clan joining Travis' extended family in the camp. On the bright side Salazar patriarch Daniel is hard as nails, he takes down a zombie when needed while Travis tries to reason with it. Daniel has survived the whole El Salvador civil war and murder squads so knows when the brown stuff hits the fan. While Travis views the military arriving as the cavalry riding into town and there being a light at the end of the tunnel Daniel is of the opinion that things are about to get funky, especially when the military start spray painting symbols on houses. Daniel knows the military being in town is never a good thing, we the viewers know that when helicopters are overheard in The Walking Dead universe things are about to get a whole lot worse. While Travis doesn't quite know just how bad things are about to get Daniel is not so certain his family should stick with the plan to flee the City, he believes that good people are the first to die, which gives Travis a low to nothing expected life span.

I guess for non-horror fans, or those able to get with the groove and dig the show, Travis is our stand in everyman trying to cope with a situation descending into chaos at a rapid rate of warp factor. The dude still isn't on board Nick's wave length, the dead are getting up and attacking people, and is trying to retain his dignity and beliefs in a deteriorating situation. Travis shows in this episode he doesn't believe in guns, can dig Bro, and still isn't 100% processing just what is happening. Like Rick Grimes I believe Travis will go through a process of losing his humanity in the face of utter apocalyptic nightmare before regaining it and becoming a stronger influence. At the moment he seems ineffectual, though critics of the character are of course not quite getting he hasn't got the full story, Maddie has seemingly forgotten to mention the whole High School thing, and has been totally effective in getting Chris and Liza out of the downtown war zone. How many of us would be rocking at this stage, I can guarantee the online "experts" would already be zombie chow, probably very few. Travis needs to get his Daniel on sooner rather than later however.

Travis is rapidly becoming the audience stand in, but how long can he ignore the warning signs?

The other criticism being hurled at the episode is all about Maddie and the dog. Seems a few heroes, writing from the internet, are disgusted Maddie left the dog to its fate rather than risking herself and more importantly her kids in trying to protect the animal. Sorry get out of your middle class white neighbourhood upbringing and try and imagine what you would do if a person, who had already attacked a few of your fellow citizens, was in the process of breaking into your house. The dog is cannon fodder when it comes to getting the kids out or harm's way. As shown last week Maddie, besides Daniel, is perhaps the strongest character in the show, she's a survivor, Fear's Maggie Green if you like. Some folk are claiming Maddie is Fear's Michonne, ain't no body like that katana weilding Goddess y'all.

So the episode shows the zombie apocalypse is moving along in the background while Suburnites put out their rubbish bins for pickup. Loved the scene where Travis and a mean looking neighbour eye each other up as the wheelie bin is placed on the curb. They both clearly know something is going down in the 'burb, and you get the feeling they don't trust each other. Nice touch, in the suburbs you're on your own folks. Anyways as Travis drives out of the Downtown riots we learn hospitals are succumbing to the shambling dead, the power grid is now touch and go, and the Police are gunning down the "infected", term now in use, without a problem. Surprised no one has hit the television yet to see what is going down! And worse news for females in the greater LA region, the mobile grid is touch and go!

Before I forget nice touch with zombie Susan next door, a tad of tension laced into proceedings as Alicia narrowly avoids joining the ranks of the walking dead, which apparently doesn't impart a lesson. Travis asks if Susan has been bitten, clearly putting the infection down to fluid transfer or the like, though the Director makes us the audience amply aware that Susan has overdosed. No one is yet putting two and two together, though I would have thought the undead drug dealer from episode one might have been of interest, so some surprises in the future for our survivors when they discover what Rick Grimes learnt from Doc Jenner way back. Notably, and this is something our Monday night discussion underlined, Travis stopped Maddie from giving Susan the old coup de grace as he believes that Susan could still somehow be cured. Hey even druggy Nick knows we're dealing with the re-animated dead here; come on Travis get with the program. The parallel I'm drawing is Travis being as unrealistic as Herschel Green when it comes to the likelihood of developing a cure all for resurrection. Once again Daniel Salazar is right across the requirements of survival, something this episode is pointing out in capital letters.

Another excellent episode that shows more zombies on the loose, downtown LA turning into a war zone, and now the military moving through the suburbs as society starts to crumble. Daniel is our Daryl, expecting a lot of support to develop around the character, while Travis still isn't getting that things are eroding at an increasing rate. Military intervention may prevent Griselda going the full zombie, which is disappointing, but we are still left wondering which of the central characters is going to go down hard this season. Hey The Walking Dead universe, don't get too attached to anyone, no one is safe. I'm rocking out to the first season of Fear the Walking Dead with this episode confirming the show is aimed at adults and will take its own sweet time getting to the apocalypse. Any bets Travis and Co are going to have major problems with the military through the second half of the season? Recommended viewing folks, this show is very promising and looks to be getting better with each episode. Theory on link to The Walking Dead which is coming apparently, the Latino family that decided not to join Rick Grimes journey to the CDC in season one might put in an appearance.