All the new showrunners managed to do with season 4, was to run it straight into the ground. The original Walking Dead has already become a major snoozefest, but I still really enjoyed this series, that is until this season. First, they botched a great opportunity with the crossover event by picking the most boring character from TWD to bring over and make him the face of show. Then they kill off most of the remaining cast and completely bury the couple who are left, so you barely even see them. The show would be so much better if it revolved around Strand and Alicia, instead of a whole bunch of boring new characters who bring nothing to the table. Overall, just a complete disappointment of a season. And AMC wants 10 more years of this?
53 Reviews
They didn't play fair with us this season.
fredschaefer-406-6232042 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
I was a FEAR THE WALKING DEAD fan from the beginning, and even though this spinoff of THE WALKING KING did get off to a slow start, I always found the travails Madison Clark and her two children, Nick and Alicia while staying alive in the Zombie Apocalypse able to hold my interest. I will admit that the first two seasons were wobbly at times and far too much of a slow burn, but Season 3 hit it out of the park as far as I was concerned, with an interesting mix of characters and tight situations, as Madison and her children proved themselves to be quite ruthless when they needed to be, such as when Nick dispatched Jeremiah Otto when the compound leader became an impediment to their survival, or when Madison took that hammer to Troy's head when he admitted he'd led the Walker heard to the compound. Season 3 ended on a cliffhanger that seemed to point to even better things in Season 4. We fans were even more excited about this upcoming season when it was announced that Morgan Jones, played by Lennie James, would be crossing over from TWD to FEAR for Season 4. Morgan is long time fan favorite, and we were excited at the prospect of seeing this character from the TWD pilot interacting with Madison, Nick, Strand and the rest, even if that necessitated a time jump in FEAR's continuity.
But what Scott Gimple and the rest at AMC were not telling us was that they were in the process of doing a complete reboot of FEAR, one that included the jettisoning of core characters, introducing new ones, and changing the entire direction of the show. That meeting of Morgan and Madison we were all looking forward to seeing never did happen, though they teased out the fate of Madison, and the stadium community in Texas she had created, for the season's entire first half. As for Nick Clark, my favorite character, he was killed only hours after encountering Morgan on the road, to make matters worse, they didn't let him die a hero's death in the collapse of the Mexican dam in the Season 3 cliffhanger (a death he had clearly earned), but instead they had Nick shot down in cold blood by Charlie, a child, in a misguided act of revenge. The writing was on the wall in the Season 4 premiere when it spent most of the time showing Morgan's journey west to Texas, while introducing newcomers John Dorie and Althea. Most of the first half of this past season was taken up with flashback upon flashback, with switches in color tone that only aggravated viewers even more, but that was nothing compared to the inconsistency in the way both Madison and Nick were written in their last appearances, which little resembled the people we saw in the previous season. I know Frank Dillane, who played Nick, wanted off the series after it was clear big changes were coming, but I feel very bad for Kim Dickens, who worked very hard as Madison, and clearly wanted to stay on the show.
All of these changes left longtime fans like me with a very bad taste in our mouths at the way AMC had done the show, and then were not upfront and honest about it with us. It seemed that just as FEAR found its footing, they just pulled the rug right out from under our feet, and it was not appreciated after we had invested time, not only in the show, but in the characters as well. It sucked.
Yet, being a fan of THE WALKING DEAD universe, I stuck with show through the second half of the season, when Morgan took center stage, as a new group came together, and a new villain arose to bedevil them. But it was a tough slog, as newcomers John Dorie, Naomi, Althea, and Charlie, along with the returning Alicia, Luciana, and Victor Strand, wondered around the Texas countryside, endured a hurricane, met some new characters who seemed a little shady at first, and were constantly outwitted and tormented by a crazy, middle aged black woman and her Walker on a stick. What was worse was the lazy writing, where vehicles which had been sitting outside for years but still had working batteries in a pinch, or how a Walker heard follows our group on foot down a highway even though there is clearly more than a mile of distance separating them (if a Walker's sense of smell for fresh meat is that keen, then everyone would have been wiped out years ago), and how Morgan, no fool when it comes to survival, leads them all into a dead end at a hospital where the herd easily surrounds them. Great WALKING DEAD television this was not.
In the Season 4 finale, titled, "I Lose Myself," Morgan's group, as I think of them now, resolve to head east to Alexandria in Virginia (they wouldn't be in such a hurry if they knew about The Whisperers) after escaping from the hospital in the previous episode. But Morgan just can't walk off and leave Martha, the dirty, crazy lady, behind, and he makes one last ditch effort to save her from herself after she taunts him with a message after her last episode's too easy escape from Althea's SWAT vehicle. Morgan sees Martha as an earlier version of himself when he was in his "clear" mode, he feels a responsibility to try and help her, though never mind that he is delaying everyone else (who wait for him at a truck stop), and putting his and their lives in even more jeopardy. This is made plain when it is revealed that John, Althea and the rest have been poisoned by Martha after they drink coffee (everyone drank a cup at the same time?) made with water laced with anti freeze taken from the stolen SWAT vehicle. Morgan hurries back in a conveniently still working police car with the badly wounded Martha in tow, but then she tricks him (way too easily) into thinking she will accept his help, and wrecks the car, leaving an injured Morgan hobbling down the road desperately trying to get back to his friends before they all die. I honestly thought Scott Gimple was about to indulge his love of Big Deaths one time way too many and kill off all the cast, leaving only Morgan around for Season 5. This was about the only real suspense in this episode, and it seemed a real possibility when a desperate attempt by a weak and sickened group to get out of the store to a conveniently parked tanker of ethanol, which is the antidote to anti freeze poisoning (the more you know). The problem is that the store is now surrounded by another herd of Walkers and when Althea uses the SWAT vehicle's machine guns to take down the Walkers, she pumps the tanker full of holes as well, and all the ethanol leaked out on the ground - it's not like they couldn't have crawled over there and lapped up some as it poured out through the holes in the tank. In the end, Morgan does save the day, by conveniently finding a beer truck that still has a working battery. Every one drinks beer and the poisoning problem is solved, while Crazy Martha dies by the road and is put down by Morgan after all is said and done.
I can't fault the acting this year, Lennie James did everything that was asked of him and then some; and the new cast has some real pros who brought a lot to their characters, with Garrett Dillahunt as John Dorie, Maggie Grace as Althea, Jenna Elfman as Naomi/June, Alexa Nisenson as Charlie, and the great actress, Tonya Pinkens, as Martha, the closest this season had to a Big Bad. Aylcia Debnam-Carey, Danay Garcia, and Colman Domingo stayed on as Alicia Clark, Luciana, and Victor Strand, even if they were pushed to the background more than once. They were joined late in the season by Mo Collins and Daryl Mitchell as a pair of truckers. But as much as I liked these new actors and their characters, I still missed Madison, Nick, Daniel, and even Troy.
But at the end of the finale, the trip to Virginia was scrapped, as Morgan's group decided to stay put in Texas and help the scattered survivors there by bringing them supplies by way of their trucks, and try to build a community like the one Madison was attempting to do at the stadium. This was the most positive thing to come out of the finale, as it does restore sense of balance to the show, while giving it a real purpose. It could become a sort of WAGON TRAIN in the Zombie Apocalypse, with plenty of potential to introduce interesting new characters and villains, though sadly, killing off some regulars as well. And there are plenty of character loose ends just dangling out there, the biggest one being Daniel Salazar, who could show up next season as the leader of his own group. There were hints that he didn't die in the dam collapse, same for Proctor John, a great villain from Season 3. I would love to see a return of Qaletaqa Walker and Crazy Dog at some point. And there is still for Tobias, the Morales of FEAR, if the latter can come back on TWD, then why can't the former do the same thing on this show?
The ratings for both shows have been down, and the impending exit of Andrew Lincoln in Season 9 of THE WALKING DEAD will surely not improve matters. AMC has committed itself to a 5th season of FEAR, but I fear the damage has been done, and many viewers are through with the show for good. But ratings are no longer the only thing that determines a show's fate in the 21st Century, with its huge potential in overseas markets and multiple platforms for viewers to receive a show. These new revenue streams are surely the reason why AMC recently stated that they have plans for the WALKING DEAD franchise for the next ten years, but whether those plans include FEAR THE WALKING DEAD remains very much to be seen.
But what Scott Gimple and the rest at AMC were not telling us was that they were in the process of doing a complete reboot of FEAR, one that included the jettisoning of core characters, introducing new ones, and changing the entire direction of the show. That meeting of Morgan and Madison we were all looking forward to seeing never did happen, though they teased out the fate of Madison, and the stadium community in Texas she had created, for the season's entire first half. As for Nick Clark, my favorite character, he was killed only hours after encountering Morgan on the road, to make matters worse, they didn't let him die a hero's death in the collapse of the Mexican dam in the Season 3 cliffhanger (a death he had clearly earned), but instead they had Nick shot down in cold blood by Charlie, a child, in a misguided act of revenge. The writing was on the wall in the Season 4 premiere when it spent most of the time showing Morgan's journey west to Texas, while introducing newcomers John Dorie and Althea. Most of the first half of this past season was taken up with flashback upon flashback, with switches in color tone that only aggravated viewers even more, but that was nothing compared to the inconsistency in the way both Madison and Nick were written in their last appearances, which little resembled the people we saw in the previous season. I know Frank Dillane, who played Nick, wanted off the series after it was clear big changes were coming, but I feel very bad for Kim Dickens, who worked very hard as Madison, and clearly wanted to stay on the show.
All of these changes left longtime fans like me with a very bad taste in our mouths at the way AMC had done the show, and then were not upfront and honest about it with us. It seemed that just as FEAR found its footing, they just pulled the rug right out from under our feet, and it was not appreciated after we had invested time, not only in the show, but in the characters as well. It sucked.
Yet, being a fan of THE WALKING DEAD universe, I stuck with show through the second half of the season, when Morgan took center stage, as a new group came together, and a new villain arose to bedevil them. But it was a tough slog, as newcomers John Dorie, Naomi, Althea, and Charlie, along with the returning Alicia, Luciana, and Victor Strand, wondered around the Texas countryside, endured a hurricane, met some new characters who seemed a little shady at first, and were constantly outwitted and tormented by a crazy, middle aged black woman and her Walker on a stick. What was worse was the lazy writing, where vehicles which had been sitting outside for years but still had working batteries in a pinch, or how a Walker heard follows our group on foot down a highway even though there is clearly more than a mile of distance separating them (if a Walker's sense of smell for fresh meat is that keen, then everyone would have been wiped out years ago), and how Morgan, no fool when it comes to survival, leads them all into a dead end at a hospital where the herd easily surrounds them. Great WALKING DEAD television this was not.
In the Season 4 finale, titled, "I Lose Myself," Morgan's group, as I think of them now, resolve to head east to Alexandria in Virginia (they wouldn't be in such a hurry if they knew about The Whisperers) after escaping from the hospital in the previous episode. But Morgan just can't walk off and leave Martha, the dirty, crazy lady, behind, and he makes one last ditch effort to save her from herself after she taunts him with a message after her last episode's too easy escape from Althea's SWAT vehicle. Morgan sees Martha as an earlier version of himself when he was in his "clear" mode, he feels a responsibility to try and help her, though never mind that he is delaying everyone else (who wait for him at a truck stop), and putting his and their lives in even more jeopardy. This is made plain when it is revealed that John, Althea and the rest have been poisoned by Martha after they drink coffee (everyone drank a cup at the same time?) made with water laced with anti freeze taken from the stolen SWAT vehicle. Morgan hurries back in a conveniently still working police car with the badly wounded Martha in tow, but then she tricks him (way too easily) into thinking she will accept his help, and wrecks the car, leaving an injured Morgan hobbling down the road desperately trying to get back to his friends before they all die. I honestly thought Scott Gimple was about to indulge his love of Big Deaths one time way too many and kill off all the cast, leaving only Morgan around for Season 5. This was about the only real suspense in this episode, and it seemed a real possibility when a desperate attempt by a weak and sickened group to get out of the store to a conveniently parked tanker of ethanol, which is the antidote to anti freeze poisoning (the more you know). The problem is that the store is now surrounded by another herd of Walkers and when Althea uses the SWAT vehicle's machine guns to take down the Walkers, she pumps the tanker full of holes as well, and all the ethanol leaked out on the ground - it's not like they couldn't have crawled over there and lapped up some as it poured out through the holes in the tank. In the end, Morgan does save the day, by conveniently finding a beer truck that still has a working battery. Every one drinks beer and the poisoning problem is solved, while Crazy Martha dies by the road and is put down by Morgan after all is said and done.
I can't fault the acting this year, Lennie James did everything that was asked of him and then some; and the new cast has some real pros who brought a lot to their characters, with Garrett Dillahunt as John Dorie, Maggie Grace as Althea, Jenna Elfman as Naomi/June, Alexa Nisenson as Charlie, and the great actress, Tonya Pinkens, as Martha, the closest this season had to a Big Bad. Aylcia Debnam-Carey, Danay Garcia, and Colman Domingo stayed on as Alicia Clark, Luciana, and Victor Strand, even if they were pushed to the background more than once. They were joined late in the season by Mo Collins and Daryl Mitchell as a pair of truckers. But as much as I liked these new actors and their characters, I still missed Madison, Nick, Daniel, and even Troy.
But at the end of the finale, the trip to Virginia was scrapped, as Morgan's group decided to stay put in Texas and help the scattered survivors there by bringing them supplies by way of their trucks, and try to build a community like the one Madison was attempting to do at the stadium. This was the most positive thing to come out of the finale, as it does restore sense of balance to the show, while giving it a real purpose. It could become a sort of WAGON TRAIN in the Zombie Apocalypse, with plenty of potential to introduce interesting new characters and villains, though sadly, killing off some regulars as well. And there are plenty of character loose ends just dangling out there, the biggest one being Daniel Salazar, who could show up next season as the leader of his own group. There were hints that he didn't die in the dam collapse, same for Proctor John, a great villain from Season 3. I would love to see a return of Qaletaqa Walker and Crazy Dog at some point. And there is still for Tobias, the Morales of FEAR, if the latter can come back on TWD, then why can't the former do the same thing on this show?
The ratings for both shows have been down, and the impending exit of Andrew Lincoln in Season 9 of THE WALKING DEAD will surely not improve matters. AMC has committed itself to a 5th season of FEAR, but I fear the damage has been done, and many viewers are through with the show for good. But ratings are no longer the only thing that determines a show's fate in the 21st Century, with its huge potential in overseas markets and multiple platforms for viewers to receive a show. These new revenue streams are surely the reason why AMC recently stated that they have plans for the WALKING DEAD franchise for the next ten years, but whether those plans include FEAR THE WALKING DEAD remains very much to be seen.
This was the last drop...
tsalouhas3 January 2019
I understand that this is fiction...it's about zombies for Christ sake...But there is so much inconsistency, so many bad decisions by the characters and so much of...well... Morgan...This show, continuously insults our intelligence...and it's getting tiresome...They have to do something about the dialogues and the dexisit making or there is no future... I shall remain hopeful for one more season...
So, when is Althea going to get a clue about video recordings?
susanhathaway1 October 2018
Althea ("Al") keeps obsessing about video taping everything possible, but what's she planning to do when there are no more batteries to run the cameras or play back the videos? Nobody's manufacturing batteries any more, and the ones still in existence won't stay good forever. If she were really concerned with preserving people's history, she'd be writing down their stories.
It was okay
mjhuijbregts1 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
The show is still sufferering for bad dialog, bd wrtitng, and some bad acting. I'm happy there not heading to Alexandria because it would be a god awffull experience having some of these boring characters on the main show. The only interested characters for me at this point are: Morgan, Alicia and Strand. The rest really isn't that interesting. It's still bugges me that Nick was written of the show (beeing the most interesting in my opinion). This show has been going downhill for the whole season, and it doesn't look that's going to change anytime son.
Loved it
shelllane3 January 2019
So despite all the negative comments, I really enjoyed this season.
Thought it was great seeing the older characters develop & grow. Was great initially watching Strand as a changed character but was so gutted when he reverted back to being an @rse!
Love the new characters June & Al. Goes without saying love Morgan!
Fear the Walking Dead still not on it's potential
ZegMaarJus21 May 2020
Warning: Spoilers
This Season Fear the Walking Dead was still not on the potential i thought it would have been, Morgan is a nice add on the show but there had to be a change. More action and horror that is needed. This episode was okay but it has to be better.
Simon says: "BUUUUUUUUUULL SHI....."
ramair3501 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
First of all, I assume people reading these reviews watch the main show. If so, then perhaps you remember a scene where Simon gave a nice little speech and concluded it with the most perfect "BS" statement ever (just Google or YouTube it - well worth the 6 second watch!). I had an inner Simon voice that kept repeating this sentiment when viewing the FTWD Season 4 finale for these reasons:
1). Texas and Mississippi are practically neighbors, right? Surely the Interstate highways are open for business; no barriers or problems, right? And walkie talkies in Texas can easily pick up radio waves from a "whopping" 50 watt transmitter in Mississippi, right?
Simon says: "BUUUUUUUUUULL SHI....."
2). Can't get the ethanol tanker open, so when the liquid is literally pouring out after being shot with bullet holes, I guess you just admit defeat and die rather than put the container under the steady streams (pick one!) of enthanol, right? Oh and I guess all of the liquid would drain out of the holes that are halfway down the tank, right ... no point in opening the valve at the bottom anyway?
Simon says: "BUUUUUUUUUULL SHI....."
3). Morgan talks about Alexandria the whole season. The whole group is totally on board with joining a larger community to rebuild. Oh but wait, at the last minute, let's pretend we are the A Team and just drive around looking for people that were on old videotapes to see if they are just waiting around for much needed assistance ... MUCH better plan than trying to rebuild civilization in Virginia (which probably is only a half day drive per #1 above)?
Simon says: "BUUUUUUUUUULL SHI....."
I could go on, but I won't. There is GREAT camera work. GREAT stunts. A GREAT crew. GREAT actors (yeah you can guess what Simon thinks about killing off the "real" main characters of the show this season, but the new folks are also solid actors). Part of great writing is being unpredictable. But unfortunately the writing was only unpredictable in a LAZY sense. Perhaps the writers have zero common sense and are abstract artists. But at least deal in reality that is consistent with the ground rules of the Walking Dead universe. I will keep watching for a few more episodes next season, but I am getting close to calling it quits, largely because of this horrendously poorly written episode and the direction the series has gone.
1). Texas and Mississippi are practically neighbors, right? Surely the Interstate highways are open for business; no barriers or problems, right? And walkie talkies in Texas can easily pick up radio waves from a "whopping" 50 watt transmitter in Mississippi, right?
Simon says: "BUUUUUUUUUULL SHI....."
2). Can't get the ethanol tanker open, so when the liquid is literally pouring out after being shot with bullet holes, I guess you just admit defeat and die rather than put the container under the steady streams (pick one!) of enthanol, right? Oh and I guess all of the liquid would drain out of the holes that are halfway down the tank, right ... no point in opening the valve at the bottom anyway?
Simon says: "BUUUUUUUUUULL SHI....."
3). Morgan talks about Alexandria the whole season. The whole group is totally on board with joining a larger community to rebuild. Oh but wait, at the last minute, let's pretend we are the A Team and just drive around looking for people that were on old videotapes to see if they are just waiting around for much needed assistance ... MUCH better plan than trying to rebuild civilization in Virginia (which probably is only a half day drive per #1 above)?
Simon says: "BUUUUUUUUUULL SHI....."
I could go on, but I won't. There is GREAT camera work. GREAT stunts. A GREAT crew. GREAT actors (yeah you can guess what Simon thinks about killing off the "real" main characters of the show this season, but the new folks are also solid actors). Part of great writing is being unpredictable. But unfortunately the writing was only unpredictable in a LAZY sense. Perhaps the writers have zero common sense and are abstract artists. But at least deal in reality that is consistent with the ground rules of the Walking Dead universe. I will keep watching for a few more episodes next season, but I am getting close to calling it quits, largely because of this horrendously poorly written episode and the direction the series has gone.
A mixed bag, ending quite interestingly
jrarichards23 January 2019
Warning: Spoilers
"I lose myself" epitomises the very uneven Season 4 of FTWD. The low here is that - ONCE AGAIN - we are devoting overmuch time to Morgan's need to deal with his issues. The guy is a survivor, and he's done what it takes to do that, but quite obviously and evidently he's on the side of the angels; and - as we remember - it was Rick who lost the plot with the killing far more than Morgan did. So an entire season of Morgan psychotherapy was always too much of an indulgence, and the makers have paid the price for overindulging in it.
Trying to save the irredeemable Martha (aka the Wicked Witch of the West) was always a lost cause, and there's at least 3 million of us yelling to Morgan through the screen that it's time to cut losses and stop wasting time. And what does he do? He does what Morgan always does and, Frank Sinatra-like, "does it his way". Clearly the chap has too much free time on his hands, too many resources, etc.
In the world we're talking about that just won't wash. If he's REALLY had enough of things, he just has to put that stick down for 30 seconds and he's out. So those who survive, really do survive in the active sense, by making a decision to do so, doing their best to do so, and eschewing all possible silliness and careless. It's as easy as ABC.
Or should I say AMC?
But given that this finale gives the lion's share to Mo-Mo and his psyche, we've got 40+ minutes of nobody else saying much or doing much at all. Given that we have to wait several months to hear any more utterances from them, there's an arrogance and disdain from the makers in that; and all the more so given that this was not previously Morgan's show. Just what appetite for risk do you need to have had show-stars Madison and Nick bumped off ages ago, to leave Alicia and Victor basically speechless (the latter task being a very difficult one to achieve for a start!) And new boys John Dorie and Al, priceless and worthwhile new characters as they are (and all gratitude for them) are also given little more to do in this episode than groan.
What a waste!
On the plus-side, this episode's plot setup, apart from bringing us to a better, happier, more optimistic and potential-filled end-place, also had its heroic "Butch Cassidy" or some such aspect, and - a little contrived as it may have been - it had it's power - the way Martha fixed up all of them from afar, I mean. And the way they tried to get out of the pickle.
On the other hand, as in this entire series, this worthwhile plot could only be arrived at by imbuing tough-cookie characters with implausible features of character and behaviour. As Jimbo himself reminded everyone, beer was so popular in Victorian times because it was safe, while water wasn't. So history is there to remind us what to do when the balloon goes up. But Morgan buzzes off on his idiotic wild goose chase, leaving the others behind to eat, drink and be not at all merry. Then they finally learn what they've drunk (ethylene glycol as we used to call it), and so there's an atidote for that. But then Al messes up a successful, inspiring (if perilously unlikely) breakout of ill and ailing people to get the ethanol waiting conveniently 20 yards outside by firing off her guns in order to mow down the undead. But as the ethanol leaks out of the tanker, there's EASILY enough flowing out to fill a bucket or two (oe even put your mouth in the way of the flow) before all is lost. Just how much pure ethanol would they need to deal with the problem? Not a tanker-full that's for sure! But nobody does that, meaning that Morgan has to ride heroically to the rescue with Jimbo's beer, and then has to change plans for the umpteenth time by NOT going to Virginia after all.
And of course we were way ahead of him, because - unlike him - we know that this is FTWD not TWD!
Given a new base and a new mission, there is something to play for in FTWD5. And - out of the wrack and ruin - we do somehow seem to have end up with a cohesive and interesting team of diverse characters, and - just for a moment in this episode - we saw touchingly how they have come to care - and look out for - each other. It was nice, in spite of everything, and appreciated.
So, who knows? Perhaps in 5 we'll finally even get a colour picture back! I sure do HOPE SO!!!!!!!!!!
Trying to save the irredeemable Martha (aka the Wicked Witch of the West) was always a lost cause, and there's at least 3 million of us yelling to Morgan through the screen that it's time to cut losses and stop wasting time. And what does he do? He does what Morgan always does and, Frank Sinatra-like, "does it his way". Clearly the chap has too much free time on his hands, too many resources, etc.
In the world we're talking about that just won't wash. If he's REALLY had enough of things, he just has to put that stick down for 30 seconds and he's out. So those who survive, really do survive in the active sense, by making a decision to do so, doing their best to do so, and eschewing all possible silliness and careless. It's as easy as ABC.
Or should I say AMC?
But given that this finale gives the lion's share to Mo-Mo and his psyche, we've got 40+ minutes of nobody else saying much or doing much at all. Given that we have to wait several months to hear any more utterances from them, there's an arrogance and disdain from the makers in that; and all the more so given that this was not previously Morgan's show. Just what appetite for risk do you need to have had show-stars Madison and Nick bumped off ages ago, to leave Alicia and Victor basically speechless (the latter task being a very difficult one to achieve for a start!) And new boys John Dorie and Al, priceless and worthwhile new characters as they are (and all gratitude for them) are also given little more to do in this episode than groan.
What a waste!
On the plus-side, this episode's plot setup, apart from bringing us to a better, happier, more optimistic and potential-filled end-place, also had its heroic "Butch Cassidy" or some such aspect, and - a little contrived as it may have been - it had it's power - the way Martha fixed up all of them from afar, I mean. And the way they tried to get out of the pickle.
On the other hand, as in this entire series, this worthwhile plot could only be arrived at by imbuing tough-cookie characters with implausible features of character and behaviour. As Jimbo himself reminded everyone, beer was so popular in Victorian times because it was safe, while water wasn't. So history is there to remind us what to do when the balloon goes up. But Morgan buzzes off on his idiotic wild goose chase, leaving the others behind to eat, drink and be not at all merry. Then they finally learn what they've drunk (ethylene glycol as we used to call it), and so there's an atidote for that. But then Al messes up a successful, inspiring (if perilously unlikely) breakout of ill and ailing people to get the ethanol waiting conveniently 20 yards outside by firing off her guns in order to mow down the undead. But as the ethanol leaks out of the tanker, there's EASILY enough flowing out to fill a bucket or two (oe even put your mouth in the way of the flow) before all is lost. Just how much pure ethanol would they need to deal with the problem? Not a tanker-full that's for sure! But nobody does that, meaning that Morgan has to ride heroically to the rescue with Jimbo's beer, and then has to change plans for the umpteenth time by NOT going to Virginia after all.
And of course we were way ahead of him, because - unlike him - we know that this is FTWD not TWD!
Given a new base and a new mission, there is something to play for in FTWD5. And - out of the wrack and ruin - we do somehow seem to have end up with a cohesive and interesting team of diverse characters, and - just for a moment in this episode - we saw touchingly how they have come to care - and look out for - each other. It was nice, in spite of everything, and appreciated.
So, who knows? Perhaps in 5 we'll finally even get a colour picture back! I sure do HOPE SO!!!!!!!!!!
Disappointing finale after a terrific first half of the season.
carolynpickering1 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Season 4 started so well but the second half was a great opportunity wasted by poorly devised plots, dialogue and storytelling. Great acting from the cast could not overcome the stupidity of the second half. One of the worst villains ever written also featured before Morgan put her out of her misery at last. I, like other reviewers, was looking forward to a journey towards Alexandria and the great crossover. Difficult to see me continuing to watch this again after it blazed beautifully, abeit briefly, early in the season only to return to the bottom of one of Augie's beer barrels by the end.
Terrible Writing
jonesdeannorman1 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
So, much wrong on the final episodes of the season.
Sure, I can suspend my common sense to accept zombies. That's part of the fun of the show.
BUT, poisoning by antifreeze in bottles of water?
There is no antifreeze in existence that people wouldn't be able to taste mixed in water at a high enough level to sicken or kill.
The flash point of ethanol is low enough that shooting the tanker would have resulted in a fire.
Even though it didn't ignite, why didn't they fill their container when it was running out through the bullet holes?
The previous episode had an escape with a ladder truck. For some reason, they didn't use the boom to make it to their armoured car 30 feet away?
Just. Bad. Writing.
They'll lose all the viewers they got back this season if this stupidity continues.
And, so, we come full circle.
Carycomic8 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
In Season 1 of this spin-off, we got to see what had been so conspicuously ignored by the parent series. Namely, the outbreak of the Zompocalypse and the initial fight for day-to-day survival. With Madison Clark one of those desperately trying to maintain some semblance of the old world order.
But, over the two seasons that followed, every attempt to do so was thwarted by someone or something. Yet, Madison refused to be cowed. Instead, she modified her approach. Deciding to build (with the help of her ever-extending family) a new world order, better than the old one! And, in that regard, she almost succeeded. But, once again (only this time, more tragically), she was thwarted because of survivors who chose to embrace the chaos. Namely; the Vultures!
But, her dream has now been adopted by her daughter Alicia and the ever-struggling not-to-relapse pacifist Morgan. Between these two, there may be hope for a Season 5. Who knows? Rick Grimes might even journey out to visit them after he leaves Alexandria at the end of the upcoming season TWD!
But, over the two seasons that followed, every attempt to do so was thwarted by someone or something. Yet, Madison refused to be cowed. Instead, she modified her approach. Deciding to build (with the help of her ever-extending family) a new world order, better than the old one! And, in that regard, she almost succeeded. But, once again (only this time, more tragically), she was thwarted because of survivors who chose to embrace the chaos. Namely; the Vultures!
But, her dream has now been adopted by her daughter Alicia and the ever-struggling not-to-relapse pacifist Morgan. Between these two, there may be hope for a Season 5. Who knows? Rick Grimes might even journey out to visit them after he leaves Alexandria at the end of the upcoming season TWD!
"...I Lose Myself" feels less like a season finale than it does a series finale
fernandoschiavi21 April 2024
The group pickup an unconscious Al in the city where she discovers a tape from Martha to Morgan. In the video, Martha tells Morgan that she's disappointed in him and vows to make him strong. Morgan decides to help her despite John telling him that she's a lost cause. He meets her at a mile marker where she started her vendetta and drags her to a car before killing Jim's corpse. June, at the truck stop with the group, tells him on radio that everyone is sick and Martha causes the car to crash. She reveals her walker bite from Jim saying he must either kill her or she will kill him. She snidely reveals that she poured antifreeze in the water. Morgan suddenly loses it and starts choking her in anger before stopping himself. He handcuffs Martha to the car and hobbles away.
At the truck stop, the group slowly succumbs to the poison until Morgan gets into radio contact with them and June tells them alcohol will dilute the effect of the antifreeze. Morgan arrives with Jim's beer in a truck and the group is cured. The next day, Morgan puts a reanimated Martha down and after reading Clayton's journal, Morgan decides they're going to continue helping people where they are at.
After "No One's Gone," Fear's course correction was itself in need of a course correction. But by introducing a new villain in Martha, the show instead went all in on Morgan's quixotic efforts to save her. Lennie James is certainly up to the task, making Morgan's inner turmoil believable. In the end, though, the finale's script, penned by Chambliss and Goldberg, isn't quite up to the task of sewing up this season in a way that feels true to Fear. Without Nick and Madison, "...I Lose Myself" is a grim reminder not of Morgan's personal struggles, but of the show's struggle with itself in the absence of two main characters.
And if it seems as though I'm dancing around discussing the finale itself, it's because I am. Aside from strong performances from James, Pinkins, and Maggie Grace, there isn't much I liked about this season ender. Just like last week's "I Lose People...," numerous plot contrivances plague this episode. In an unintentionally meta moment early on in "...I Lose Myself," Althea reacts to a moment of dumb luck by exclaiming, "You've gotta be shi**ing me!"
The episode only goes downhill after that - and not even John Dorie pitching some serious woo with June can save it. The crux of "...I Lose Myself," and indeed the crux of season 4B, is the notion of helping fellow survivors. It's a noble thought, this idea that by saving others, we ultimately save ourselves. This becomes a bit harder to believe, though, when the very person Morgan has endeavored to save has poisoned his friends with antifreeze. In dealing with this unexpected conundrum, Morgan is faced with a watered down version of an ethical dilemma known as the "trolley problem" in which saving one life is pitted against the saving of many lives. However, what should be a moral quandary is just a head-scratching exercise in futility. Why save someone who doesn't want to be helped if it means risking the lives of survivors who actually want and need help?
As for everyone back at the truck stop, it's here that the finale completely loses its way. Poisoning nearly every character is one thing - but there's nothing dramatic or engaging about multiple shots of the group slumped over in chairs or on the floor. Alicia certainly deserves better than this, especially after Debnam-Carey's career-defining performance in the far superior "Close Your Eyes." As luck would have it, June knows that ethanol cures antifreeze poisoning. Luckier still, there's a whole tanker of the stuff at this very rest stop. With this news, the group, which just moments before was on death's door, suddenly finds the wherewithal to kick some serious zombie ass.
But this turn of events begs several questions: Why does the group choose to go out the front door, through the thickest part of the horde? Doesn't this place have a back door? And just because the tanker gets shot up doesn't mean the ethanol is now somehow useless - right? Can't the group use what's gushing out of the bullet holes? Isn't this essentially ethanol on tap? The final nail in the episode's coffin is Morgan showing up to save the day. As if Luciana granting a dying man's wish with one beer weren't corny enough, Morgan drives up in an Auggie's Ales truck. Please, enough of Jim. Enough with the beer. Enough with this mawkish sentimentality. None of this changes the fact that Jim was an unapologetic j*rk who cared more about himself than anyone else. In the end, Fear banks heavily on the group going forth into the world to help others. On paper, this is very much the sort of optimism so many of us need right now. But in its execution, this desire to write off Alexandria in favor of helping local survivors feels more like an ending than it does a new beginning. In other words, "...I Lose Myself" feels less like a season finale than it does a series finale. Were the latter true, I'd be more at peace in writing this show off. Because in its current state, this isn't the Fear I once eagerly championed. For all intents and purposes, that show is dead.
At the truck stop, the group slowly succumbs to the poison until Morgan gets into radio contact with them and June tells them alcohol will dilute the effect of the antifreeze. Morgan arrives with Jim's beer in a truck and the group is cured. The next day, Morgan puts a reanimated Martha down and after reading Clayton's journal, Morgan decides they're going to continue helping people where they are at.
After "No One's Gone," Fear's course correction was itself in need of a course correction. But by introducing a new villain in Martha, the show instead went all in on Morgan's quixotic efforts to save her. Lennie James is certainly up to the task, making Morgan's inner turmoil believable. In the end, though, the finale's script, penned by Chambliss and Goldberg, isn't quite up to the task of sewing up this season in a way that feels true to Fear. Without Nick and Madison, "...I Lose Myself" is a grim reminder not of Morgan's personal struggles, but of the show's struggle with itself in the absence of two main characters.
And if it seems as though I'm dancing around discussing the finale itself, it's because I am. Aside from strong performances from James, Pinkins, and Maggie Grace, there isn't much I liked about this season ender. Just like last week's "I Lose People...," numerous plot contrivances plague this episode. In an unintentionally meta moment early on in "...I Lose Myself," Althea reacts to a moment of dumb luck by exclaiming, "You've gotta be shi**ing me!"
The episode only goes downhill after that - and not even John Dorie pitching some serious woo with June can save it. The crux of "...I Lose Myself," and indeed the crux of season 4B, is the notion of helping fellow survivors. It's a noble thought, this idea that by saving others, we ultimately save ourselves. This becomes a bit harder to believe, though, when the very person Morgan has endeavored to save has poisoned his friends with antifreeze. In dealing with this unexpected conundrum, Morgan is faced with a watered down version of an ethical dilemma known as the "trolley problem" in which saving one life is pitted against the saving of many lives. However, what should be a moral quandary is just a head-scratching exercise in futility. Why save someone who doesn't want to be helped if it means risking the lives of survivors who actually want and need help?
As for everyone back at the truck stop, it's here that the finale completely loses its way. Poisoning nearly every character is one thing - but there's nothing dramatic or engaging about multiple shots of the group slumped over in chairs or on the floor. Alicia certainly deserves better than this, especially after Debnam-Carey's career-defining performance in the far superior "Close Your Eyes." As luck would have it, June knows that ethanol cures antifreeze poisoning. Luckier still, there's a whole tanker of the stuff at this very rest stop. With this news, the group, which just moments before was on death's door, suddenly finds the wherewithal to kick some serious zombie ass.
But this turn of events begs several questions: Why does the group choose to go out the front door, through the thickest part of the horde? Doesn't this place have a back door? And just because the tanker gets shot up doesn't mean the ethanol is now somehow useless - right? Can't the group use what's gushing out of the bullet holes? Isn't this essentially ethanol on tap? The final nail in the episode's coffin is Morgan showing up to save the day. As if Luciana granting a dying man's wish with one beer weren't corny enough, Morgan drives up in an Auggie's Ales truck. Please, enough of Jim. Enough with the beer. Enough with this mawkish sentimentality. None of this changes the fact that Jim was an unapologetic j*rk who cared more about himself than anyone else. In the end, Fear banks heavily on the group going forth into the world to help others. On paper, this is very much the sort of optimism so many of us need right now. But in its execution, this desire to write off Alexandria in favor of helping local survivors feels more like an ending than it does a new beginning. In other words, "...I Lose Myself" feels less like a season finale than it does a series finale. Were the latter true, I'd be more at peace in writing this show off. Because in its current state, this isn't the Fear I once eagerly championed. For all intents and purposes, that show is dead.
What a let down....
seanhalliwell1 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Well after gaining some traction in this season and most WD fans was expecting a super crossover going to Alexandria. You've out done yourselves again..... let's shack up in a denim factory? Seriously..... lost my vote now and I'd imagine many more ..... disappointing writing.
Don't bother....
spiritcymbal16 October 2018
Save yourself and don't waste your time watching this show anymore. It's about as exciting as watching someone take a trip to Pittsburgh by train.
Done with this show. The sooner they cancel it, the better. Time to scuttle this ship for everyone's sake.
Done with this show. The sooner they cancel it, the better. Time to scuttle this ship for everyone's sake.
Love it love it love it!
catherine_pochin1 October 2018
What a great end to the fourth season, I feel really excited about season 5. It doesn't have to be all blood and guts all the time and it's great to think that there might be someone out there who actually wants to help you in times of need rather than machete you to pieces! I wasn't sure about losing Lennie from the main show but it has now given Fear the direction is needed. I used to like Fear but now I love it! Can't believe we have to wait so long to the next series! I will definitely be tuning in! Great job guys. :-)
Nope, that's it, I'm done...
Riptalon4 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
My opinion of this episode pretty much reflects my opinion of this entire season, but I'll just concentrate on the climax of this episode as a broad example.
We've got Morgan and Martha out on their own, both injured, while the rest of the group is back at the truck stop slowly dying from being poisoned by antifreeze-tainted water (how they didn't register the taste of the antifreeze has got me stumped). Martha for some reason tells Morgan what the group has been poisoned with and he used his incredibly high-powered two-way radio to communicate this to the group without even questioning whether Martha was lying to him or not.
Back at the diner, June says that ethanol will help metabolise the antifreeze they've ingested, and there just happens to be a whole tanker full of ethanol just outside the diner, which is inconveniently surrounded by zombies.
Despite hardly being able to walk or sit upright two minutes previously, the group fight their way out to the parking lot and Al boards her SWAT truck of death while Victor and Luciana try in vain to open the valve on the tanker. Al opens up with the machine guns, mowing down the undead horde but also blasting holes in the side of the tanker.
And now... they're all... doomed...? They couldn't scrounge up even a couple of litres of ethanol from the tanker? That it, sorry, we're all gonna die?
But fear not, Morgan has managed to swing by Deus Ex Machina Brewery and find a truckload of life-saving beer for the diner group to ingest and revive them.
Between that amazingly contrived set of circumstances, the hand-held two-way radios with infinite range when it's convenient, cars that just start after sitting stagnant for years, other cars with the worse fuel economy on the planet (the ride Morgan takes after handcuffing Martha to the police car has about two thirds of a tank when he hotwires it, but runs out seemingly minutes later) and characters just doing the stupidest least survivable things imaginable, I can't watch this show anymore. I like all the characters, some more than others, but the new show runners are treating the audience like idiots. Every show and film can have one or maybe two moments where the suspension of disbelief can be stretched, but this show has done it five or six times per episode, in every episode.
This show has tanked so badly this year that for me it's unrecoverable. I'm out. It used to be a great show but that's it, I'm done
We've got Morgan and Martha out on their own, both injured, while the rest of the group is back at the truck stop slowly dying from being poisoned by antifreeze-tainted water (how they didn't register the taste of the antifreeze has got me stumped). Martha for some reason tells Morgan what the group has been poisoned with and he used his incredibly high-powered two-way radio to communicate this to the group without even questioning whether Martha was lying to him or not.
Back at the diner, June says that ethanol will help metabolise the antifreeze they've ingested, and there just happens to be a whole tanker full of ethanol just outside the diner, which is inconveniently surrounded by zombies.
Despite hardly being able to walk or sit upright two minutes previously, the group fight their way out to the parking lot and Al boards her SWAT truck of death while Victor and Luciana try in vain to open the valve on the tanker. Al opens up with the machine guns, mowing down the undead horde but also blasting holes in the side of the tanker.
And now... they're all... doomed...? They couldn't scrounge up even a couple of litres of ethanol from the tanker? That it, sorry, we're all gonna die?
But fear not, Morgan has managed to swing by Deus Ex Machina Brewery and find a truckload of life-saving beer for the diner group to ingest and revive them.
Between that amazingly contrived set of circumstances, the hand-held two-way radios with infinite range when it's convenient, cars that just start after sitting stagnant for years, other cars with the worse fuel economy on the planet (the ride Morgan takes after handcuffing Martha to the police car has about two thirds of a tank when he hotwires it, but runs out seemingly minutes later) and characters just doing the stupidest least survivable things imaginable, I can't watch this show anymore. I like all the characters, some more than others, but the new show runners are treating the audience like idiots. Every show and film can have one or maybe two moments where the suspension of disbelief can be stretched, but this show has done it five or six times per episode, in every episode.
This show has tanked so badly this year that for me it's unrecoverable. I'm out. It used to be a great show but that's it, I'm done
Tasteless crybaby trolls fail.....again!
sarahdowser20 January 2019
Just NO
markodimi2 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
So we start off with Al confronting Martha, a women deep in her 50s, out of shape and mortally wounded. Al has a shotgun, Martha has a walker on a stick which would be hard enough to control if she wasn't wounded, they are slow but as we saw in numerous occasions when someone wrestled them, they are not weak. It's not a Mexican standoff, Martha can't shoot if Al shoots but yet Al doesn't shoot the walker, she waits. Further Al has time to check cool filming gear but doesn't have a clue how much ammo does she have left? Even without ammo she is stronger and quicker but she gets overpowered.
Morgan's reasons for helping a sadistic killer are beyond me. He never was like her ergo he couldn't possibly identify with her. For all he knows she could have been a killer psychopath even before the zombie outbreak.
Antifreeze is not tasteless.
They had a truck full of ethanol, ok they shot the truck but they could have fill the canister from the holes. They could've drink from holes, they could've drink from pavement.
Ethanol is not a cure for antifreeze poisoning, as June stated it prevents further damage nd yet they drank a few beers and were just fine. Bad, bad, bad writing.
did this episode really happen?
boicant30 September 2018
Fear the Stinking Turd Show. Implausible Contrived Situations, Inconsistent Characters with Simpleton Dialogue, and Soap Opera Nonsense. Written by zombies for zombies.
Bababooe1 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Last week our Z Team (Z for Zero, not Zombie) came together. We have Morgy the Savior, Nurse June with multi-personality and lovesick, Cowboy John also lovesick, Vic the Drunk philosophical nonsense, Lucy who just happens to be there, Alyc who lost everything (brother Nick, mother Madison, her baseball field), Backstab Charlie who Alyc adopted as her little sister without even an explanation or an apology after causing and contributing to Alyc's loss, Wheelchair, and his sister (?) Truckes. Jimbo the beer-maker was bit and zombiefied. Al the videographer swat commander with the fashionable hair is gone. Filthy Woopy Zombie Wrangler got shot in the chest by Wheelchair a couple of episodes ago, but still manages to breath, walk, drive, fight, talk, you get the point. She finds and wrangles Zombie Jimbo. Poor Jimbo, all he wanted to do is make beer and drink beer. I think he liked beer. Me too.
Last week was one of the most ridiculous episodes ever committed to television. A true insult to the viewer's intelligence. If you stop to think, you will recognize the garbage that was shown. Everyone has working walkie talkies, and you can still find cars with charged batteries and a full tank of gas. I won't go over everything because my head will explode from the nonsense. But that fire truck ladder. What the hell was that? And Jimbo's suicide on a car that triggers an alarm for walkers to be distracted from, wait for it, fresh human meat to a car alarm! Think about it. Ok, so last week the Z-Team is back together, except for Haircut Al who is gone, she's probably fixing her hair. Filty Woopy was tied up and escaped from the swat van. Backstab said something stupid like "She's hurt, we have to find her" - shut the hell up Backstab!
This week opens with, you guessed it, Haircut Al. She's being chased by walkers, finds a video van with video equipment, a walkie and a cop car, and drives back to the hospital. Working walkie and car! Everyone is gone. Woopy confronts Al & knocks her out. Woopy leaves a video tape message for Morgy and leaves Al for the Z-Team to find. Morgy watches the Woopy video message and decides to go find Woopy. Why? To save her. That's what he does. He's Morgy the Savior. Negan has nothing on Morgy. Morgy tells Cowboy "I use to be her" Nonsense. What does that mean? So Z-Team will head to the Truck Stop and wait for Morgy to bring back Woopy. Who thinks this is a good idea?
Z-Team makes it to the Truck Stop without Morgy for coffee and supplies, and we see Backstab brushing her teeth. Cowboy and June romance, for added Soap Opera Nonsense, add violins. Cowboy "I recognize sunshine" - anybody else feeling a bit sick to the stomach yet?
Morgy finds Woopy, kills Jimbo Zombie. Woopy's down. Morgy puts Woopy in the back of a cop car, conveniently placed there by the production team.
Everybody at the Truck Stop is now sick. Poison? Yes. Someone forgot to notice that the water bottles' seal was broken. These are the last intelligent humans left on the planet? June tells Morgy to hurry to the truck stop. Woopy causes Morgy to crash. While Morgy was out, Woopy wrote "I Am a Dumbass" on Morgy forehead, and stabbed his leg with some piece of metal. Morgy wakes up, doesn't notice the forehead literature, but he's just a little pissed off about the leg metal. Woopy tells Morgy she put antifreeze in the water. Morgy almost strangles Woopy to death, but stops, then handcuffs her to the car. Morgy after taking the metal out of his leg walks a few hundred miles to the truck stop. Morgy tells June that it's antifreeze. June knows that the antidote would be alcohol, so everybody gets all happy and stuff. Truckes says, conveniently, there's a truck full of alcohol. They just have to go past a bunch of walkers. They go for it, but Al machine guns a bunch of walkers, and punches holes in the truck full of alcohol.
So, watching this, I was confused. After reading other reviews I understand. The truck was filled with alcohol like a cement mixer. That doesn't make sense. So, after Al shot the zombies and the truck was full of holes the alcohol escaped. And I will agree with other reviewers. Why didn't our sick and dying survivors just start drinking the alcohol from the truck or collect it for later consumption? A better sequence would have been if the alcohol truck exploded, losing the alcohol. That didn't happen. So, now the Z-Team is dying, no alcohol, no solution. Al still has nice hair, as she's videotaping her last will and testament.
Morgy talking with the dying Z-Team, with a busted leg and in despair takes out 3 walkers kung fu style!?! All of a sudden Morgy comes to the rescue through the Truck Stop doors. He brought alcohol, Jimbo's beer. Cowboy to Backstab while she's drinking beer "one time deal" - so Alyc adopted sister Backstab, is also Cowboy and June's adopted daughter! Truckes to Jimbo "Thanks a lot A..Hole!" This is the level of dialogue.
Now, you would think at this point after all these people went through and all that the viewers have been strung along with this ridiculous cast of characters and situations, they would finally head towards Alexandria, The Walking Dead (Turd Show Supreme). No, Flaky Morgy and the Z-Team head to where Woopy was handcuffed, and only find a handcuffed arm. Morgy finds and kills Zombie Woopy and takes time to bury her. Isn't that nice. Let's honor the pestilence that caused so much pain and death, including Jimbo. Wheelchair says "Can we go to TWD now". Morgy says you can go, I'm not going. All of a sudden the self-appointed leader Morgy the Savior decides he will take up what Polar Bear started by helping people. They are conveniently near where Polar Bear kept his never depleting supplies of care boxes, a denim warehouse. Alyc says we need to find people, like Madison. Al has video tapes of people they can start helping.
You've got to be freaking kidding me! This isn't even funny. No comedy. It's just sad. The zombies are a backdrop. We have to witness stupid characters doing stupid things. There just is no reason to watch this show. The writers just make stuff up. Implausible Contrived Situations. Inconsistent Characters with Simpleton Dialogue. Soap Opera Nonsense. Fear the Stinking Turd Show. Written by zombies for zombies.
I was never a fan of FTWD. I found it boring. But early episodes at least looked realistic, like it could happen. This season, we had Morgy the Savior infiltrate with nonsense. Vultures? Haircut Al, Cowboy John, Nurse June, Backstab Char kills Nick out of nowhere, Madison with the baseball diamond, Vic the Drunk, Lucy I'm Home, Wheelchair and Truckes. Who the hell comes up with this crap? Polar Bear care package? Woopy? Jimbo? Alyc kill/no kill. I give up.
Last week was one of the most ridiculous episodes ever committed to television. A true insult to the viewer's intelligence. If you stop to think, you will recognize the garbage that was shown. Everyone has working walkie talkies, and you can still find cars with charged batteries and a full tank of gas. I won't go over everything because my head will explode from the nonsense. But that fire truck ladder. What the hell was that? And Jimbo's suicide on a car that triggers an alarm for walkers to be distracted from, wait for it, fresh human meat to a car alarm! Think about it. Ok, so last week the Z-Team is back together, except for Haircut Al who is gone, she's probably fixing her hair. Filty Woopy was tied up and escaped from the swat van. Backstab said something stupid like "She's hurt, we have to find her" - shut the hell up Backstab!
This week opens with, you guessed it, Haircut Al. She's being chased by walkers, finds a video van with video equipment, a walkie and a cop car, and drives back to the hospital. Working walkie and car! Everyone is gone. Woopy confronts Al & knocks her out. Woopy leaves a video tape message for Morgy and leaves Al for the Z-Team to find. Morgy watches the Woopy video message and decides to go find Woopy. Why? To save her. That's what he does. He's Morgy the Savior. Negan has nothing on Morgy. Morgy tells Cowboy "I use to be her" Nonsense. What does that mean? So Z-Team will head to the Truck Stop and wait for Morgy to bring back Woopy. Who thinks this is a good idea?
Z-Team makes it to the Truck Stop without Morgy for coffee and supplies, and we see Backstab brushing her teeth. Cowboy and June romance, for added Soap Opera Nonsense, add violins. Cowboy "I recognize sunshine" - anybody else feeling a bit sick to the stomach yet?
Morgy finds Woopy, kills Jimbo Zombie. Woopy's down. Morgy puts Woopy in the back of a cop car, conveniently placed there by the production team.
Everybody at the Truck Stop is now sick. Poison? Yes. Someone forgot to notice that the water bottles' seal was broken. These are the last intelligent humans left on the planet? June tells Morgy to hurry to the truck stop. Woopy causes Morgy to crash. While Morgy was out, Woopy wrote "I Am a Dumbass" on Morgy forehead, and stabbed his leg with some piece of metal. Morgy wakes up, doesn't notice the forehead literature, but he's just a little pissed off about the leg metal. Woopy tells Morgy she put antifreeze in the water. Morgy almost strangles Woopy to death, but stops, then handcuffs her to the car. Morgy after taking the metal out of his leg walks a few hundred miles to the truck stop. Morgy tells June that it's antifreeze. June knows that the antidote would be alcohol, so everybody gets all happy and stuff. Truckes says, conveniently, there's a truck full of alcohol. They just have to go past a bunch of walkers. They go for it, but Al machine guns a bunch of walkers, and punches holes in the truck full of alcohol.
So, watching this, I was confused. After reading other reviews I understand. The truck was filled with alcohol like a cement mixer. That doesn't make sense. So, after Al shot the zombies and the truck was full of holes the alcohol escaped. And I will agree with other reviewers. Why didn't our sick and dying survivors just start drinking the alcohol from the truck or collect it for later consumption? A better sequence would have been if the alcohol truck exploded, losing the alcohol. That didn't happen. So, now the Z-Team is dying, no alcohol, no solution. Al still has nice hair, as she's videotaping her last will and testament.
Morgy talking with the dying Z-Team, with a busted leg and in despair takes out 3 walkers kung fu style!?! All of a sudden Morgy comes to the rescue through the Truck Stop doors. He brought alcohol, Jimbo's beer. Cowboy to Backstab while she's drinking beer "one time deal" - so Alyc adopted sister Backstab, is also Cowboy and June's adopted daughter! Truckes to Jimbo "Thanks a lot A..Hole!" This is the level of dialogue.
Now, you would think at this point after all these people went through and all that the viewers have been strung along with this ridiculous cast of characters and situations, they would finally head towards Alexandria, The Walking Dead (Turd Show Supreme). No, Flaky Morgy and the Z-Team head to where Woopy was handcuffed, and only find a handcuffed arm. Morgy finds and kills Zombie Woopy and takes time to bury her. Isn't that nice. Let's honor the pestilence that caused so much pain and death, including Jimbo. Wheelchair says "Can we go to TWD now". Morgy says you can go, I'm not going. All of a sudden the self-appointed leader Morgy the Savior decides he will take up what Polar Bear started by helping people. They are conveniently near where Polar Bear kept his never depleting supplies of care boxes, a denim warehouse. Alyc says we need to find people, like Madison. Al has video tapes of people they can start helping.
You've got to be freaking kidding me! This isn't even funny. No comedy. It's just sad. The zombies are a backdrop. We have to witness stupid characters doing stupid things. There just is no reason to watch this show. The writers just make stuff up. Implausible Contrived Situations. Inconsistent Characters with Simpleton Dialogue. Soap Opera Nonsense. Fear the Stinking Turd Show. Written by zombies for zombies.
I was never a fan of FTWD. I found it boring. But early episodes at least looked realistic, like it could happen. This season, we had Morgy the Savior infiltrate with nonsense. Vultures? Haircut Al, Cowboy John, Nurse June, Backstab Char kills Nick out of nowhere, Madison with the baseball diamond, Vic the Drunk, Lucy I'm Home, Wheelchair and Truckes. Who the hell comes up with this crap? Polar Bear care package? Woopy? Jimbo? Alyc kill/no kill. I give up.
I'm impressed and happy with this direction (spoiler-free review)
nomis9430 September 2018
What an explosive and eventful season finale! I consider myself a fan of season 4 and I enjoyed this final ride as much as I've enjoyed the previous chapters.
I think the viewers really need to appreciate this new band of brothers, this amazing group: Every single one is likeable and even sketchy Wendell and Sarah are now two of my favorites. June's hopeful character developed so well and John Dorie is always a delight to watch, his actor is amazing! Althea finds herself in a predicament this episode and her survival-skills are stunning. It's entertaining to watch her fighting off walkers in the city! Her character is also a breath of fresh air in this franchise. I might get hate for this, but I've never liked or loved FTWD's core group. Sometimes they all felt shady and selfish and some decisions were just plain awful. In season 3, however, a lot changed and in season 4 almost everything changed - for many viewers it changed in a very bad way... I enjoy it throughout!
What I liked about this episode: The group is TOGETHER. I remember how I cheered up when the group came to rescue Momo in the previous episode. I had the same good feeling while watching the finale. The group-action in TWD and FTWD is always good and fun to watch. Though I'm a fan of well-done bottled episodes, I enjoy the "we-are-in-this-together"-episodes most. I also enjoyed the direction of the Virginia-story and I think the majority will love it as well!
What I didn't like about this episode: It's way too short. Some scenes felt a bit rushed, though the pace alltogether was entertaining. What bugged me during season 4b: Martha. I liked her back-story, but her character as a villain is sketchy, weird and not believeable. But I think people will enjoy her storyline in this season finale.
Let's see what season 5 will bring to the table.
I think the viewers really need to appreciate this new band of brothers, this amazing group: Every single one is likeable and even sketchy Wendell and Sarah are now two of my favorites. June's hopeful character developed so well and John Dorie is always a delight to watch, his actor is amazing! Althea finds herself in a predicament this episode and her survival-skills are stunning. It's entertaining to watch her fighting off walkers in the city! Her character is also a breath of fresh air in this franchise. I might get hate for this, but I've never liked or loved FTWD's core group. Sometimes they all felt shady and selfish and some decisions were just plain awful. In season 3, however, a lot changed and in season 4 almost everything changed - for many viewers it changed in a very bad way... I enjoy it throughout!
What I liked about this episode: The group is TOGETHER. I remember how I cheered up when the group came to rescue Momo in the previous episode. I had the same good feeling while watching the finale. The group-action in TWD and FTWD is always good and fun to watch. Though I'm a fan of well-done bottled episodes, I enjoy the "we-are-in-this-together"-episodes most. I also enjoyed the direction of the Virginia-story and I think the majority will love it as well!
What I didn't like about this episode: It's way too short. Some scenes felt a bit rushed, though the pace alltogether was entertaining. What bugged me during season 4b: Martha. I liked her back-story, but her character as a villain is sketchy, weird and not believeable. But I think people will enjoy her storyline in this season finale.
Let's see what season 5 will bring to the table.
Who thinks the ethanol was gone
edblackham1 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
This season was much better than every season of Fear, but who thought the ethanol was gone. Sorry. Dumb writing. Most of the rest of the year was great. The original cast of Fear was bad. This group is so much better. Just make sure to have someone else help prooffread the reason they can't be saved. Now if the bullets had blown up the trailer, then ok.
Really happy with this finale
joszac30 September 2018
Man I loved this episode, cool action and thrilling moments with Al, I love this badass woman. Morgan is such a good guy and a great leader imho. Sarah and Wheelchair are the best. Keep it coming, AMC. I'm loving this. The ending amazed me!
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