Fear the Walking Dead is...Well, Dead!

Jimbo, another unlikable character, met his end last night.
About time...

I think I'm done with AMC's Fear the Walking Dead. In its current iteration, and with only Alicia remaining of the Clark family, I simply don't find the show compelling anymore. I watched it last night and it occurred to me that the show does two things so consistently and repetitiously that it's become a joyless slog to even watch casually (it hasn't been appointment viewing for me in years, alas). It waxes (drones, actually) philosophical on the evil things humans do to each other without even remotely approaching profundity, and it has simply become a never-ending stream of run-barricade-escape scenes. 

Like its companion program The Walking Dead, the series began with promise and complexity. It was a character-driven ensemble with some impressive visuals and keen acting. Frank Dillane's turn as Nick Clark was excellent, and I always enjoy the work of Garret Dillahunt (John Dorie) and Colman Domingo (Victor Strand), but I've grown tiresome of Morgan Jones. Lennie James is a fine actor, but Jones's incessant moralizing, ridiculous staff wielding, and constant second-guessing is exhausting. 

We get it, guys. Morgan loses people. Then he loses himself.

The last two episodes have been nothing but characters finding themselves trapped before accusing each other of various shortcomings and getting away at the last minute. Oh, and they enjoy using walkie-talkies and they like to say, "Copy that." 

There is no compelling characterization here. Even Martha's (Tonya Pinkins) backstory didn't move me. The video montage of her losing her marbles was laughably bad and there is nothing in her whole, "I'm making you stronger" storyline that is even remotely interesting.

Oh, and how did she get away? I guess we just leave details like that out now. And I love how nobody even cares that she is gone. She tried to kill all of them, and they shrug it off like they missed their morning paper (people still get the paper, right?).

But, hey...Morgan has a plan and they're all going to Virginia.

This show lost its way after the dissolution of the intriguing Otto Ranch storyline. With so much interesting television out there on Netflix and HBO, I think I'm done with each of these AMC franchises. The Walking Dead foundered in its ridiculous Negan storyline and its relentless torture fetishism, and Fear the Walking Dead has gotten so desperate that it's including alligators and hurricanes in this aimless, boring, never-ending season.

Ugh. Last night's episode is my best contemporary example of a series that is ready to wrap up. Somebody needs to find Alicia Clark and her cool little carbine knife to put this thing out of its misery...