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Fear the Walking Dead "S2E13 Death Date" - Review: Whatever Happened to Chris?


Fear the Walking Dead "S2E13 Death Date" - Review: Whatever Happened to Chris?
8 out of 10

Date of Death – Travis arrives at the hotel worn out and distraught before telling Madison everything that happened and why Chris is no longer with him.

So the entire episode revolves around a tease and eventual reveal over last week’s final scene as Travis headed towards the illuminating hotel by himself, leaving us wondering what exactly happened to Chris. We’re quickly thrown towards darker possibilities too as Travis, reunited with Madison, appears broken and almost shamed over his actions. Then of course, anyone who caught last week’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season premiere (the one where they introduced Ghost Rider... it was pretty sweet), will have noticed Lorenzo James Henrie introduced at the end as Robbie’s paralyzed younger brother, Gabe. This was implied as a recurring role, begging the question as to whether or not Henrie was done playing Chris. Has Chris been written off and more importantly was Travis forced to kill his son? The pacing of the episode is good as we flit between smaller doses of Travis in the present and lengthier follow-ups with Chris and the three savage friends trio back at the farm in the aftermath of Chris murdering the farmer. The gradual decline in group relations coaxes are imaginations well towards the worst case scenario as Chris starts to side with his new younger friends. Both Characters of Travis and Chris are treated very well through these scenes. Like their introduction 3 episodes ago, we can easily see how the more wild and adolescent outlook of the others would appeal to Chris at his age along with many instilled years of resentment towards Travis pre-zombieland. At this same time, the moral high ground befits Travis perfectly. Rather than seeing him try to physically save Chris from the others, he’s instead trying to save Chris’s soul by imparting the importance of conscience and morality as choices rather than obligation. The deceased farmer becomes an excellent conduit for both viewpoints as Travis goes out of his way to give the man a respectful burial while Chris is indifferent to any guilt or remorse over his actions.

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One sad downer of the episode is mad Madison getting an encore with more plot necessitated stupidity. Although thankfully it’s a much smaller case this week, in some ways it’s more frustrating as it comes so quickly after pledging us Madison’s return to sanity. The opening hotel scene is excellent in the way it forces her to confront the consequences of her action as the hotel’s neon vacancy advert generated plenty of interest. Kim Dickens does well, her character’s humanity being stirred by the scene. We can tell she wants help some of the people but understands they can’t risk opening the gates for everyone flooding in. That is, of course, until Travis turns up and suddenly she’s willing to risk losing everything the group has built so he can get in.... worst leader ever. Madison’s character isn’t even back to square one, she doesn’t even know what a square is anymore, and the show really needs to get her back on track before the end of the season. Another frustration is not spending quite enough time at the hotel in this episode. While of course, Travis and Madison are the focus, now that we’ve built the hotel community up, it would have been nice to spend odd moments with a wider range of group members. This influx of would-be residents is huge development and it would have been welcome to at least get a few odd words of reaction from different faces to gage how they feel about it. The moral argument writes itself: help all humanitarianism Vs rationalisation over limited resources, and an, “us or them” mentality. The fence is right in front of their faces so let characters sit either side of it.

However, one thing this episode does really well is consequences. As well as the entire dynamic of hotel group, there’s a real feeling from his later talks with Madison that Travis has been permanently changed by these events. He was faced with a neigh on impossible situation yet he’s still beating himself over failing, parenting in a nutshell. If it doesn’t mean that much to you, you’re not doing it right. This is also triggers a good heart-to-heart revelation between Madison and Alicia. Admittedly, the latter is undermined slightly by being Alicia’s only significant feature in the episode (like it was thrown in just to keep her involved) but thankfully the two ladies make it come across as meaningful.

It’s a better episode than last week. The tease and suspense over how the flashbacks will end is very enjoyable but the ultimate reveal may some feeling more dissatisfied. It does cover some good heavy themes of morality and humanity which always serve the show well. With two episodes to go, the season climax and next year’s continuation is shaping up. The chemist/hilltop community are dead characters walking with their leading slowly losing it and a nasty gun wielding gang at their doorstep. It looks like they’ll be getting overrun with just Nick and Luciana escaping and somehow winding up at the hotel for a big reunion. We could see both the hotel and the supermarket gang will be carrying over into season 3 as the hotel’s urgent need for more supplies (too many mouths to feed) gives them a reason to co-exist under a fragile truce. Or alternatively the finale title “North” could imply they’ll all be saying adios amigos and heading back into the United States (a season in Texas anyone?). For now though, the show’s Mexican position is looking strong even if only temporary and while many are already hyping up for the main show’s return FtWD still deserves your attention for the next 2 weeks at least.

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