Set years prior to The Walking Dead‘s current storyline, sibling series Fear the Walking Dead began in the early days of the apocalypse. Rather than diving into violent sequences and thrusting harsh realities of survival on its core characters, the younger AMC series focused on building its characters in a pre-apocalyptic setting.
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The slow burn approach to Fear caused some fans to jump ship as they couldn’t find room to invest in this many more characters and their familial drama after spending six years with their beloved faces on The Walking Dead. As a result, The Walking Dead‘s sibling series Fear the Walking Dead has not quite captured the magic of the original since it launch over two years ago, grabbing just over three million viewers in its Season 2 finale.
However, by the end of Fear the Walking Dead‘s second season, the series had launched full force into embracing the terrors of the zombie apocalypse. Its characters were pushed to their limits, lives were lost, and the story became more interesting than ever before. This is all credit due to its writing team raising the stakes, quickening the pace, and a couple of new actors portraying fan-favorite characters.
With Fear the Walking Dead‘s third season on the horizon and a fourth already guaranteed to follow it, there are a number of reasons to dive into The Walking Dead‘s sibling series…
The Fall
Fans hungry for answers about how the world of The Walking Dead came to be will get some of them by tuning into Fear the Walking Dead.
While Fear the Walking Dead overlooked many of the events some fans would deem more interesting in its spiral toward the full-blown apocalypse by putting its characters in isolation at sea for a good chunk of time as the world fell, the third season will be introducing a batch of military men or militia who operate at a basecamp. The season will not be spending its entire time here, though, indicating that the location will likely become another casualty of the apocalypse.
Fans are constantly wondering how the government fell to the apocalypse, with only The Walking Dead‘s TS-19 episode serving as an explanation so far.
Stronger Walkers
The Walking Dead has not seen many characters become victims of zombie teeth or scratches in recent years. In fact, the most notable to come to mind is either Deanna or Carter, both of which bowed out in Season 6.
The early days of The Walking Dead offered a more threatening presence of walkers at every corner. Fear the Walking Dead will do this in its third season. Not only are the core characters less equipped to take on these threats but the zombies have not deteriorated to the same extent they have in The Walking Dead. They are still fresh and, for that reason, stronger.
In fact, the most recent trailer for Fear the Walking Dead showed a trio of undead holding onto a helicopter as it lifted from the ground. This is something the old and weak walkers on The Walking Dead are no longer capable of.
Character Drama
Too many fans of the Dead products will complain about episodes which take time to develop the characters we follow on Sunday nights. Fear the Walking Dead does a great job of developing its characters into compelling, worthwhile companions.
The newly introduced Danay Garcia’s Luciana struggles with parting ways from her family. Frank Dillane’s Nick has overcome a terrifying drug habit in favor of survival. Madison is forced to hold it together in an effort to reunite what is left of her family. Travis lost his son and ex-wife and is forced to survive feeling alone. Between the group, the stakes are high as the blended family feels a bit competitive with each other but often has to put differences aside for their own preservation.
Don’t forget the potential returns of characters like Victor Strand and Daniel Salazar, both of whom disappeared in the show’s second season being left to ambiguous fates.
New Locations
The Walking Dead has explored two locations: Atlanta and Alexandria. There have been vague moments of the space between the two east coast locations but no major cities have been seen outside of them.
Fear the Walking Dead has already offered a look at Los Angeles as it fell to the zombie apocalypse, Tijuana and other Mexican locations, and will continue to lighten the dark map which is the world of the Dead. In fact, new locations offer a series like Fear the Walking Dead the advantage of putting fallen cities on display and how different cultures responded to the world’s falling.
Season 2 saw La Colonia paying tribute to the dead and immediately using them as a barrier from enemies — something The Walking Dead did not get around to until much later in the game. Some of The Walking Dead’s most intriguing moments were Rick’s journey through an overrun Atlanta and offering up stunning visuals of the destroyed and fallen city. Fear has an opportunity go this route in a country which even the most hardcore fans have no knowledge of.
The Cast
The cast of Fear the Walking Dead is an extremely talented bunch.
When Season 2 called for the leash being stripped from Cliff Curtis’ portrayal of Travis, the actor finally played a scene which saw his character snap and kill for the first time. It was one of the most intense sequences of the entire series, matching anything The Walking Dead offered in its first pair.
Danay Garcia is as enthusiastic to be a part of the show as anybody while Mercedes Mason was a long running fan of the original series from the time it started in 2010. They interact with fans regularly on social media and at San Diego Comic Con, showing just how passionate they are about being part of such a series.
Extending to Frank Dillane, Kim Dickens, Colman Domingo, Alycia Debnam-Carey and beyond, there is no weak link to point out within the show or outside of it with fans!
More Walking Dead
MORE WALKING DEAD: Negan’s Backstory Reveals Completely Different Character / TWD Star Quits Social Media After Death Threats / TWD Showrunner Joins FTWD / TWD F-Take Clips With Rick And Daryl / Major Criticism Fixed For Season 8 / TWD Casting Two New Characters
The Walking Dead will return for its eighth season in October of 2017. The first trailer is expected to arrive at San Diego Comic Con in July. For complete coverage and insider info all off-season long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.
