I have a problem. A big shambling, rotting, trying to devour me problem. Zombies; I’m terrified of them. It’s a legit problem in a world obsessed with the dead coming back to life in desperate need of human snacks. Adding to my issues is my OWN obsession with watching zombie themed movies and shows. I want to watch the very thing that terrifies me and causes me to sleep with the bathroom light on (even though light attracts them) and the door to my bedroom locked.
Rookie mistake friends. Rookie. Mistake.
However, I am ALL OVER The Walking Dead and Fear The Walking Dead. I read the comics, I watch the shows, I watch the after show, I did TWD Escape in SDCC last year, I’ve met the majority of the cast; yes Andrew Lincoln in person is AMAZING (that accent…oh boy). So, clearly I have issues. My love of all things zombies is directly proportionate to the amount of zombie themed night terrors I seem to have.
That being said, the first season of Fear The Walking Dead just wrapped up and now I am left with a whole NEW fear. Will The Walking Dead still be as enjoyable to me now as it was before? I ask this question in good faith. You see friends, it wasn’t until I watched Fear that I began to notice something. Something that had been missing in the last two seasons of TWD. The FEAR is gone. I didn’t even realize I was missing the action, missing the suspense, missing the need to watch the show from another room all whilst screaming “I CAN’T HANDLE THIS” (watching TWD with me in the past has been an exercise in patience). But watching Fear, has shown me that I NEED that adrenaline rush with my zombie shows.
Right about the time I grab a pillow and hide my face.
TWD isn’t about the walking dead anymore. It’s about the people who are still alive and who are desperately trying to remain that way. It’s a show about living in a post-apocalyptic world and how truly terrible that can be. It’s about strength, survival, familial bonds, and carrying around baby Judith. All of those things are great (except for baby part, that sounds hideous). But there is no suspense in that. I mean sure, last season there was that whole Daryl trapped in a car with several trailers full walkers thing, but even then, it was more scary because it was DARYL in the car than the fact that there was walkers crawling all over it. No one is prepared for the riots that will happen when Daryl Dixon leaves that show. Lots people gonna be feeling lots of feels.
So this leaves me at an impasse. What will happen this season when I sit down to watch TWD? Will I sit there watching the show wishing I was watching Fear instead? Will it feel like I am having an affair with Fear? Am I cheating on Walking? Will Carol, Rick, and the gang all know how much I still love them, if I am still constantly worrying about Madison, Travis, and the guy who was clearly in the Old Spice commercials (seriously, where did they find that guy, every time he talks I want to look at my husband then look back at him)?
Every year Robert Kirkman has promised us more action and every year I would have said that they brought it. But now I know. Now I remembered. The action of days long since past was intense and fraught with feels that I couldn’t handle. But that hasn’t been the case for at least the past two seasons. So now that I have this new found knowledge, is it going to take away from Walking? I don’t have an answer for that my friends. Perhaps that in itself is more scary than a decaying corpse trying to gnaw on your carotid.
Did you watch Fear of the Walking Dead? What did you think? Do you think the FEAR is gone from TWD?