One of essentially the most polarizing TV reveals is over, however have been the meandering plots over the past 5 years value it in the long run?
For many followers, Fear the Walking Dead Season 3 was the tip of the present as a result of every part that got here after was underneath new management that did not respect the storylines that got here earlier than.
Fear the Walking Dead Season 8 Episode 11 and Fear the Walking Dead Season 8 Episode 12 featured scattered storylines, shifting allegiances, and a few extra character assassination.
I’ll give credit score the place credit score’s due: The creatives needed to exit by offering viewers whiplash, very similar to they’ve performed over the past 5 seasons.
I’ve been wrestling with whether or not they introduced these legendary characters again, solely to destroy their legacies by giving them the worst storylines conceivable.
There’s been this half-baked feud between Madison and Troy that harkened again to Fear the Walking Dead Season 3, however in the long run, the dealing with of their battle has felt like terrible fan fiction.
Troy has been centered on getting revenge on Madison previously, however his motivations have been murky.
Tracy: Mom. She pulled free. We must tighten the ropes.
Troy: Oh, she’s positive. She’s not gonna harm us. You know, once we get to PADRE, she’s gonna be the one to make Madison pay for every part she’s performed. What’s fallacious?
Tracy: Why does Mom should kill Madison?
Troy: Well, you realize why. She’s Alicia’s mom. She put the considering in her head that acquired individuals killed. We cannot let what occurred to Mom occur to anybody else.
Tracy: I do know all that.
Troy: So, what’s fallacious?
Tracy: This.
Troy: Your necklace?
Tracy: Victor mentioned it belonged to Alicia. She… She killed Mom. Why would you need me to put on her necklace?
Troy: Do you understand how many St. Christopher’s medallions there are?
Tracy: But Victor mentioned…
Troy: Well, Victor’s mistaken. She gave it to me when she died. And she made me promise that I’d give it to you to maintain you protected. Which is what I’ve been doing ever since.
Every time we have gotten near discovering out who the true Troy is, one thing has occurred to tug him away from that path.
There was real progress for each Madison and Troy when Crane returned as a last-minute villain.
If you watch Fear the Walking Dead on-line, you realize Madison, June, and everybody else ought to have killed Crane as an alternative of letting him run free.
In this universe, the villains you let away all the time return, typically stronger.
Victor: There was a time you’d have thanked me for such a factor.
Madison: Enough individuals have died due to me. I am unable to put the remainder of you in danger.
Victor: The relaxation is just not that many, Madison.
Madison: What are you speaking about?
Victor: It’s simply me and our newly discovered buddies of Alicia right here. The relaxation retreated to the island to flee the herd. All of it’s best to do the identical.
Then once more, he’d have most likely returned from past the grave as a result of, take a look at Troy. Madison bashed his brains in and let a dam explode on prime of him, however someway, he arrived with a child and a military, decided for vengeance.
Troy has been portrayed as this one-dimensional ache within the butt all through these remaining episodes, so listening to that he saved Madison and himself from a quick-sand-related demise got here out of the left subject.
He’s been so pushed by his quest for vengeance that he by no means stopped to consider whether or not there may very well be a interval of resolve between him and Madison.
Madison did some horrible issues to him, however he was no oil portray, both.
Victor: I am unable to allow you to do that alone.
Madison: I’m in a tank loaded with ammo and weapons. I do not want anyone else.
Victor: Madison, please. It’s like I instructed you earlier than, Victor… Unlike you, I haven’t got anybody left to disappoint. I would like to do that so you do not have to. Then you possibly can construct PADRE into what Alicia would have needed.
Victor: This will not finish properly, Madison. You suppose it will simply be this one factor. But you then’ll notice you possibly can’t cease. I discovered it the onerous approach. At the Tower. There was simply all the time yet one more factor that I wanted to do to maintain it protected, and earlier than I knew it, I used to be the factor individuals wanted to be protected against. Please, Madison. There’s one other approach.
They’re each way more related than they’d prefer to admit. They play predominantly within the gray space, making choices that may win them haters and lovers.
Troy had critically turned a nook when he saved Madison’s life, and it is an actual disgrace that we can’t get to witness that as a result of Madison repaid him by killing him when he least anticipated it.
Had Troy been round for the whole thing of Fear the Walking Dead Season 8, it could have been far simpler to digest this ludicrous scene.
The unhappy half is that Troy’s demise might have had such a big affect, however due to the scattered nature of the storylines, he is been on the periphery, although he is presupposed to be this villain.
Madison has all the time been a troublesome particular person to learn as a result of she’s considering a number of steps forward, and in her protection, she believed he killed her daughter, so there was no likelihood she could be taken with working with him.
Daniel: Madison! What did you do?
Madison: I’m performed with second probabilities. Troy was proper. That’s what acquired Alicia killed. That’s why I had to do that. If I did not, I’d be placing you all in danger. This is how we survive. This is how PADRE survives.
Troy: You should battle f-for Tracy such as you fought for Nick and Alicia.
Madison: Why would I do something you say?
Troy: ‘Cause she’s not my daughter.
Madison: No. You mentioned your spouse was pregnant when Alicia helped you.
Troy: She was. But she died earlier than the infant may very well be born.
Madison: No! If Serena’s not Tracy’s mom, who’s?
Troy: Alicia. I-I took her youngster to make up for what I misplaced.
Would Troy and Madison have been capable of co-exist in the identical surroundings? It’s uncertain, however it could have been way more watchable than we acquired.
Saying goodbye to somebody we barely reconnected with did not land properly, however a minimum of Troy was available to throw within the little nugget about Tracy being Alicia’s daughter.
Ever since Tracy was proven in pre-season materials with Alicia’s necklace, it was virtually like AMC, and the creatives have been dangling it like a carrot in entrance of us.
Alicia: I’m not right here to harm anybody.
Tracy: Keep your fingers up and transfer slowly in direction of the tent.
Alicia: You can put the gun down. I’m simply right here to bury my… Mom?
Madison: Alicia?
Truthfully, it raised extra questions than solutions, however I’m pleased it was a ploy from Troy to stop Madison from killing Tracy in the long run as a result of this household connection made zero sense.
It felt like all of the emotional weight was placed on Antonella Rose throughout these remaining episodes as Tracy’s storyline got here into focus.
In the tip, although, these revelations about Alicia gave Madison this urge to seek out her daughter’s corpse and save what was left of PADRE in order that there was a future for individuals like Tracy.
Even although the writing has been painfully dangerous, the sequence has all the time had higher visuals than its mum or dad sequence, and that was on full show as Madison led the horde into PADRE to blow it up and save lots of the individuals she barely knew.
Madison: I simply cannot consider it is actual.
Alicia: It is. I promise you, it’s. You okay?
Madison: I will likely be. What is that?
Alicia: That is a really previous good friend I got here throughout looking a warehouse for provides. Trying to return him to his rightful proprietor.
Madison: How did you discover us?
Alicia: A narrative. About a lady who sacrificed herself right here. And the one that instructed me mentioned her title was Madison. And it did not make any sense, and I did not know the way you would probably be alive… however I had to make sure. I noticed the fort over there. How are you continue to right here?
Madison: Your daughter. She got here again. She saved me.
Alicia: What are you speaking about?
Madison: Tracy. She’s the kid that Troy took from you.
Alicia: I by no means had a child.
Tracy: You’re not my mother?
Alicia: No, I’m… I’m not, however I knew your mother while you have been a child. Her title was Serena. She was a fairly superb girl. I do not perceive why Troy would lie about one thing like that.
Tracy: He knew how onerous you fought on your personal children. He needed to provide you a purpose to battle for me.
Madison: You mentioned you heard a narrative about me. From who?
Alicia: I’ve been choosing up radio chatter on the street. I feel their route runs by right here.
Madison: You know I’d’ve come searching for you if I knew you have been alive.
Alicia: I’d’ve come searching for you, too. I by no means would’ve stopped. After Troy attacked me, after I acquired again on my toes, I went to seek out the individuals I’d been staying with. And I noticed one thing on the street, these girls that dressed like me, they used weapons I used to be utilizing, they have been doing the issues that I used to be doing. They have been serving to individuals.
Madison: We met a few of them.
Alicia: Yeah. It’s just like the story of what I’d performed was doing extra good than I might by myself. And so I went some other place. I… began utilizing a unique title so Troy could not discover me. If I hadn’t have performed that, possibly we’d’ve discovered one another.
Madison: You made the proper alternative. You gave all these individuals one thing to consider in.
The parallels to Fear the Walking Dead Season 4 did not go unnoticed, and it is onerous to not really feel like Madison ought to have perished this time as a result of this girl retains dishonest demise.
My perfect ending would discover Madison awakening from a coma, a la Rick Grimes, solely this time it could have been after the occasions of the Stadium, and every part after has been a dream.
It would have been an effective way to play with expectations and reintroduce characters we have misplaced and for the present to undo a few of the irreparable injury performed to the characters we all know and love.
These final 5 seasons have undoubtedly been a fever dream, and I did pinch myself when Alicia confirmed up, alive and properly, after battling radiation poisoning, an try from her life from Troy, and every part in between.
I used to be resigned to Alycia Debnam-Carey not returning as Alicia as a result of it appeared out of the realm of chance, however it was fairly darn satisfying seeing the mother-and-daughter reunion.
Madison thought Alicia was lifeless and vice-versa, so understanding that they’re going to be again out on this undead world collectively provides me the hope that they’re going to land someplace protected they will name residence.
The determination to ship them (and Tracy!) to Los Angeles was silly, primarily as a result of we witnessed its destruction a number of years in the past within the sequence.
What do they hope to seek out in a spot lengthy lower off from society? It would have been much better for Alicia to have been in touch with Morgan, who instructed her concerning the Commonwealth.
It’s an actual shocker that Morgan wasn’t used whilst a plot system within the sequence finale as a result of it was his present for therefore lengthy.
It’s onerous to inform what’s going to turn into of Alicia, Madison, and Tracy, however I hope that in the event that they return, it is on one of many newer spinoffs as a result of these reveals have been creatively stronger.
Strand’s conclusion of getting a husband and son and hitting the street after seeing Alicia and Madison reuniting did not land in addition to I anticipated.
Dove: What path you headed?
June: Uh, there is a cabin in Texas I wish to go to. Someone there I… have not seen shortly.
Dove: You need firm?
June: It’s far.
Dove: It’s okay. Gives you time to show me.
June: Teach you what?
Dove: Medicine. What you probably did for me after I acquired shot… I wish to learn to do the identical for different individuals.
June: We’re going to the proper place, then.
Dove: Um, why’s that?
June: The cabin belonged to my husband. It’s the place I met him. It’s the place he taught me to shoot… to outlive… To reside once more. If he can try this for me there, possibly I can do the identical for you… Odessa.
Strand has been one of many wildest characters in franchise historical past since you by no means know what he’ll do subsequent, however it could have been attention-grabbing to see him reunite with everybody.
Madison’s determination to permit everybody to suppose she died in order that they’d proceed to be higher individuals was one thing, however I do not see it lasting for very lengthy.
Alicia bringing again Skidmark was hilarious as a result of that kitty has survived zombies, radiation, and every part else. They ought to have referred to as it plot armor.
The better part is that Daniel acquired some semblance of happiness after so a few years of struggling to exist on the street.
Dwight and Sherry returning to the Sanctuary to show it right into a sanctuary for individuals on the street was a mind-numbing improvement, however hey, turning the place of their trauma into a spot of therapeutic is perhaps therapeutic.
If this occurred on Fear the Walking Dead Season 8 Episode 9, it could have been way more satisfying as a result of this random epiphany from Dwight got here out of the left subject.
The solely good half is that Dwight and Sherry are collectively after every part they’ve endured.
June’s ending was the worst, sadly. Jenna Elfman has had some nice materials to work with, however she was principally sidelined all through the ultimate season.
June occurring the street with Dove to return to her previous residence might have been way more attention-grabbing if these individuals had aspirations of parting earlier within the season.
At the tip of the finale, a lot of it felt like a rush job to convey closure to a present that very clearly acquired canceled on the final minute.
Dwight: I used to be considering of The Sanctuary.
Sherry: What?
Dwight: We… We might take everyone there.
Sherry: D… Why would you wish to return there?
Dwight: Bec… Because we all know it, it is defensible. The streets are nonetheless intact. Sherry: Oh, my. I misplaced you to that place earlier than, D. I am unable to lose you once more.
Dwight: Hey. You’re not gonna lose me once more. We are household. I imply, possibly… possibly we are able to take that place and… and… and make it worthy of its title.
Sherry: I do not know.
Dwight: It’ll make Finch proud.
Sherry: Okay. Okay, let’s attempt.
It’s a shock the present did not tie in additional carefully with some other reveals within the franchise as a result of I all the time thought many would cross paths with individuals within the spinoffs.
Unfortunately, it looks as if AMC desires to shut the door on this present as a result of it has been working on fumes for years.
What are your ideas on the sequence finale?
Were you happy after years of meandering storytelling?
Hit the feedback.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.
