Fear The Walking Dead 1x01 episode discussion...**SPOILERS WITHIN**

[MinionZombie]

Please keep all talk of episode 1x01 "Pilot" specifically inside this thread.

If you have a theory for a following episode, please use the "spoiler tags" (visit the HPOTD FAQ to find out how to use them if you don't already know).

Enjoy!

Directed by: Adam Davidson
Written by: Robert Kirkman & Dave Erickson

:)

[DayoftheZ]

I have to say I was concerned after reading the initial reviews that this was going to be poor but I really enjoyed the first episode and the second one is now a must watch.

I don't think the acting is up to the standard of TWD but it is the first episode after all. The family seem likable for the most part which should make us care enough about them going forward. I also liked seeing TWD universe right at the beginning an can imagine myself if years to come watching this before or alongside TWD in a marathon session.

All in all looking forward to seeing where it goes from now, especially as it seems the proverbial is about ti hit the fan. Solid 6/10 for me.

[MinionZombie]

I have to say I was concerned after reading the initial reviews that this was going to be poor but I really enjoyed the first episode and the second one is now a must watch.

Solid 6/10 for me.

I'll give it 7.5 or 8.0.

I agree though, I was a bit wary about this when I first heard it was an idea being kicked around a year or two ago, and then I was a bit wary again with those couple of iffy reviews that were linked to the other week - but yeah - I also thought it was really quite good!

I'm fully onboard with the central duo of Travis and Madison (Cliff Curtis and Kim Dickens) - particularly Madison as I'm a big fan of Kim Dickens - and Nick the junkie son seems like an interesting character. They could have easily waded into eye rolling territory with the junkie angle, but going on this first episode, it seems like there's some good material to work in.

I particularly liked the very human thing of rationalising crazy things - not believing the video on the Internet of the guy getting shot and attacking the ambulance workers, for example, but also Travis and Madison dealing with the things Nick was saying. I also liked how the two of them kinda saw it from both sides, Travis in particular, who was more open to begin with and then started second guessing himself - and obviously you wouldn't jump to "they're zombies!" (especially as in this world zombies don't exist as a cultural thing) - when seeing the dealer guy after he'd been shot.

Loved the music, too, and visually the show is strong - the same, but different ... much like the show in general. It feels close enough to TWD that it feels part of that same world, but it feels independent enough that it stands on it's own two feet.

I don't understand the gripe of the show "rushing" to get a zombie in there, that some of the critics seemed to be complaining about ... no doubt they would have been whining if there wasn't a zombie in the first episode, and frankly, with an extended opener you have to end on a strong point - and that's naturally going to be the first encounter with a zombie. It's plain and simple screenwriting common structural sense - I thought the pace was pretty spot-on.

We'll see how the other characters start to work into the show, but so far so good - I'm really looking forward to seeing episode two. :)

Oh, and naturally I couldn't resist and did a couple of memes:


http://deadshed.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/fear-walking-dead-1x01-memes.html

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yso7UP5PkqI/VdtDJ80ZBZI/AAAAAAAAELo/XSPafWUPMhw/s1600/Fear_The_Walking_Dead_Meme_Nick_Rick_Hospital_Craz y_Dream_1x01_DeadShed.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9wse8L_MC8I/VdtDKk2x8CI/AAAAAAAAEL0/VOlvB8qkJ8Y/s1600/Fear_The_Walking_Dead_Meme_Nick_Rick_Hospital_Mean while_On_TWD_1x01_DeadShed.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u09MOFxd8ag/VdtDIWBqMlI/AAAAAAAAELk/BCAxROdaHrM/s1600/Fear_The_Walking_Dead_Meme_Nick_Rick_Hospital_High _Right_Now_1x01_DeadShed.jpg

[DayoftheZ]

Great work on the memes

I am so dense that I didn't draw parallel with Nick and Rick!

I agree with what you say about the quality matching TWD. I am hoping going forward we get a great series at the start of the "rising" to complement the later stages found with Team Rick. I suppose the critics were more concerned with the Gloria walker at the start but I thought it was quite well placed, although you have to ask where she and the other church walkers ended up in the day or so after Nick woke up.

I thought the whole sequence with Nick shooting his pal (name escapes me) then him coming back was cool as fudge and well executed. I also liked the panic of the asian nurse as old man walker was clearly going ape somewhere behind scenes.

I hope they take their time with the spread of the crisis.

[MinionZombie]

Oh right, yeah, the Gloria walker ... well, to be fair to the show makers, that does set up a whole big chunk of the story - you get an early jolt of zombie stuff straight off the bat to offset the quieter, slower-paced storytelling that follows - and it does provide the impetus for the entirety of Nick's story in this first episode. He's seen this go down, but he doesn't know for sure - because of the junk - and his mother and step-father likewise assume he's talking bollocks - again, because of the junk - so it works out.

There should be quite a lot of material to mine for the first season (and hopefully some of season two) in the first few weeks of turmoil as the world changes. By the time Rick wakes up the new order has established itself, it's chaos, but it's the new routine ... if that makes sense ... Rick slept through the change of society from an ordered and civilised world into one of humans vs walkers. There's a lot of initial change - and therefore material to put on our telly screens - in those first few weeks, so I hope we don't rush over that too quickly. However, I wouldn't want us to dawdle either. It'll be a case of getting the balance right - showing us enough of the downfall without making us get bored of it either.

A strong start, I think. :)

[kidgloves]

I thought this was excellent. It has a Breaking Bad feel to it stylistically, especially the score. I hope they pitched it the network as Breaking Bad meets TWD.
Loved the sense of dread building in the background and the slow storytelling.
The people who are into the genre for the zombies only need to hang on in there if it hasnt caught their attention already.
The evolution/deteriation of the zombies is clearly going be front and centre with Nicotero involved.
I really hope we get to see the militarys response in detail.
Can't wait for episode 2.

[facestabber]

I enjoyed it and will continue to watch. It's more story in the universe we all love and it doesn't involve ceiling scaling zombies. Now it didn't come close to ep 1 season 1 of TWD. But in fairness I consider the later the greatest zombie story on screen or print.

One thing I was surprised to see was that the virus is completely airborn from the jump. Bites didn't kill the drug dealer and he came back. So I wonder why it was so shocking for the Atlanta group when Jenner told Rick/rick told group. I thought the airborne infection would develop some time into the incident.

I thought the family didn't really sell their emotions when they started running over the drug dealer. The suburban white mom, in all reality would have been freaking the fuck out.

[sandrock74]

"The suburban white mom, in all reality would have been freaking the fuck out."

That's painting with an incredibly broad brush!

[facestabber]

"The suburban white mom, in all reality would have been freaking the fuck out."

That's painting with an incredibly broad brush!

I felt it was under acted. Not meant bigoted or biased. But women show their emotions more than men. And unless she is used to seeing family friends get run over repeatedly I would expect more passion from her.

[MinionZombie]

One thing I was surprised to see was that the virus is completely airborn from the jump. Bites didn't kill the drug dealer and he came back. So I wonder why it was so shocking for the Atlanta group when Jenner told Rick/rick told group. I thought the airborne infection would develop some time into the incident.

Well with Rick and the group it's a case of them not seeing anyone die of 'natural' or 'non-bite' causes before that point. Anyone who had died before meeting Jenner (e.g. Jim, or Amy) had been bitten, and they'd been safely camped outside of Atlanta with little in the way of communication, so their assumption of it only being trasmitted via a bite had reason.

It's good to see these FTWD folks see the airborne nature of it early on (i.e. everyone is infected - although they don't know that specifically - but they do know you can become one without getting chomped on) so they can skip forward a little bit to catch up with us TWD viewers. Hopefully they can work in a few little shortcuts like that along the road so we viewers don't end up waiting for the FTWD folks to catch up with our knowledge too much.

However, seeing how they played with audience expectation - and the knowledge that we as an audience have over the characters on the show - worked well. We know what's going on, but they're not quite clued up ... had a good, chilling vibe to it ... a tragic inevitability. They don't yet know just how much horror is coming their way.

[DayoftheZ]

I really hope we get to see the militarys response in detail.

Yes please!!

Hopefully it will be everything that WWZ should have been but ended up not being.

[rightwing401]

Yes please!!

Hopefully it will be everything that WWZ should have been but ended up not being.


I hope it will be to a degree. But we have to keep in mind that it's bound to take a while before the "go for the head" is figured out. So I'm expecting to see a few scenes of walkers being unloaded on and not dropping. And i dont think the viral video in the first episode would count, i think there was a space of 5 to 8 seconds from the walker being unloaded on by the cops becore the head shot, which could be easily dismissed by anyone as "well, he would have died soon anyway after all those bullets".

I'm betting that they'll make the military turn out like they were in the hospital scene with Shane, shooting people because they think they're 'infected' and capping them in the head while wearing full biological protective gear.

[facestabber]

I hope it will be to a degree. But we have to keep in mind that it's bound to take a while before the "go for the head" is figured out. So I'm expecting to see a few scenes of walkers being unloaded on and not dropping. And i dont think the viral video in the first episode would count, i think there was a space of 5 to 8 seconds from the walker being unloaded on by the cops becore the head shot, which could be easily dismissed by anyone as "well, he would have died soon anyway after all those bullets".

I'm betting that they'll make the military turn out like they were in the hospital scene with Shane, shooting people because they think they're 'infected' and capping them in the head while wearing full biological protective gear.

I actually believe the opposite regarding headshots. Police and military are trained in failure drill. Which is a shooting practice which tells shooter if center mass hits are not having affect, shoot the head. Now the reason for that in our world is to defeat body armor but the drill would still be applied out of habit in my opinion.

[kidgloves]

I felt it was under acted. Not meant bigoted or biased. But women show their emotions more than men. And unless she is used to seeing family friends get run over repeatedly I would expect more passion from her.

You have to take into account that this is a mother whose son is a drug addict.
She even says it's in his blood implying that his father, or even herself is/was an addict.
I once had a young guy who worked for me that was an addict and when I met his mother I was shocked at how much of a shell of a human being she was from all the stress. Completely shutdown.

[rongravy]

I'm still somewhat on the fence about the show. Did I like it? Yes, but it was kind of slowwwwwwwwww. Not saying I need nonstop action, but it definitely did drag at times. I also was not a big fan of the addict son, it just looks like they tried to plug in the freshest, hunkiest little heartthrob they could find. I need a few more episodes to decide if I'm down for more than just the gory FX...

[Ed]

Where was Calvin the first time they drove into the tunnel?

[zomtom]

Where was Calvin the first time they drove into the tunnel?

That was the ONE question I had with this episode. How could they have missed him on the way through the tunnel? Still; I have to say, I am a fan. I'm hooked and I look forward to future episodes. I too can see myself watching this new show in a marathon of TWD.

[MinionZombie]

Where was Calvin the first time they drove into the tunnel?

heh, yeah, I wondered about that too ... but meh, just a small piece ... unless there's some kind of maintenance tunnels or doors or whatever that lead off from that main route down from the road to the L.A. 'river'. That's what I'm figuring.

[shootemindehead]

While it was a decent start, there were a number of times I caught myself questioning the program. Apart from the Calvin issue, there was also the issue of zombies walking around and nobody YouTubing it. I know that, at one point, the video of the cops shooting that one guy is leaked to social media, but in the opening episode, the inference is that there are a number of zombies walking around, including Gloria and her victims in the crack den. The bodies aren't there when stepdad goes to check out the den, so I presume that they'd wandered off. I find it hard to believe that they wouldn't have ended up on YouTube, or discussed by the Farcebook/Twitterati elite. Such stuff would be headline news in an instant.

Anyway, we can let it go, but it does niggle a bit.

Perhaps over the course of the next few episodes, the proverbial will hit the fan and the obvious will be expanded upon.

Over all though, I was pleased enough and it's nice to have another zombie TV show on the air. It's also pleasing that it keeps in with the tone of the original series too.

[paranoid101]

Quite a clever opening making it look like it was set the same time as the main series, run down place boarded up, burnt out cars and empty houses, until bam busy cross walk, shame us fans already knew when it was set, but some may have been caught out.

[Rottedfreak]

He was napping and then went "Oh shit I'm on!"

[MinionZombie]

Regarding the walkers in the heroin den - Nick did tell the coppers about it, and I'm wondering ... I'm wondering if the cops passed on that info (surely there would be other such 'crazy blabberings' coming from the public, so they'd be seeing a pattern) to the authorities who then went to the place, dealt with the walkers and took them away - but left in a hurry. Maybe those responsible are trying to keep it secret, to see if they can stop it without alerting the public (and thus causing mass panic, chaos, looting, violence, resistance, etc etc etc).

That'd be an interesting sideline to discover further into this season.

Of course, they might have just not bothered to figure out that logic ... or maybe the walkers went elsewhere in the building (surely it has a basement). Nick did escape through a window, and the doors would be locked or at least closed, so the walkers wouldn't necessarily have left the premises, but could have ended up in the basement (which would account for Travis not encountering them when hollering inside the church).

So yeah, a few little logic slips ... but nothing I can't excuse ... TWD has a few logic holes here and there, but the overall quality is so high that you can forgive small irritations and "you wot m8?" moments. :D

[Moon Knight]

I really liked this. I'm already invested into the characters and only after ONE episode i'm quite impressed. It wasn't perfect but it accomplished what it set out to do. That opening shot was clever and creepy as hell. Us as viewers knowing what is about to happen to the world while everyone is quite oblivious to what is really going on is such a strong hook. The constant sirens and helicopter sounds serving as ambiance noise is such a genius way of building tension throughout because, once again, WE KNOW the shit is hitting the fan and these people are worried about high school, relationships, and fixing the plumbing themselves to save a couple bucks. I'm hooked.

I really like Travis and Nick seems like a pretty interesting character and I believe the actor did a great job. He was quirky and was becoming a bit unhinged as the episode played out.

I'm also glad they decided to use the outdated cell phones and tablets considering this took place a few years ago at this point. Gotta love the iphone 4.

I can't wait for the second now and that's saying something cause I didn't even see this episode upon it's first airing. I waited like 3 days to watch and I was surprised I liked it this much. Not great, not yet, but they got me invested. I'm in the for long haul.

I also really dug the ending. Good stuff.

[MagicMoonMonkey]

Regarding the walkers in the heroin den - Nick did tell the coppers about it, and I'm wondering ... I'm wondering if the cops passed on that info (surely there would be other such 'crazy blabberings' coming from the public, so they'd be seeing a pattern) to the authorities who then went to the place, dealt with the walkers and took them away - but left in a hurry. Maybe those responsible are trying to keep it secret, to see if they can stop it without alerting the public (and thus causing mass panic, chaos, looting, violence, resistance, etc etc etc).

I reckon you are on to something there.
Remember when the old fella dies in the bed next to Nick. The team couldn't resuscitate him and he's flat lined. The Doctor then says something like, "We better get him downstairs..." or words to that effect. I reckon it is known that something is happening and that instruction from the doctor to the staff was a containment protocol or something along those lines.

[Moon Knight]

I reckon you are on to something there.
Remember when the old fella dies in the bed next to Nick. The team couldn't resuscitate him and he's flat lined. The Doctor then says something like, "We better get him downstairs..." or words to that effect. I reckon it is known that something is happening and that instruction from the doctor to the staff was a containment protocol or something along those lines.

That's exactly what's going on. The Doctors definitely knew the dead patient would come back.

[facestabber]

That's exactly what's going on. The Doctors definitely knew the dead patient would come back.

Ah shit I never thought of it that way. I just thought downstairs was a more advanced trauma/surgical room etc. I'm embarrassed now.

[MinionZombie]

I'm also glad they decided to use the outdated cell phones and tablets considering this took place a few years ago at this point. Gotta love the iphone 4.

I had wondered about that. Not being a tablet user, and as someone still rocking a flip phone proudly, I had no idea if they were circa 2010 or not - so I'm glad that they are correct to the time period.


I reckon you are on to something there.
Remember when the old fella dies in the bed next to Nick. The team couldn't resuscitate him and he's flat lined. The Doctor then says something like, "We better get him downstairs..." or words to that effect. I reckon it is known that something is happening and that instruction from the doctor to the staff was a containment protocol or something along those lines.


Ah shit I never thought of it that way. I just thought downstairs was a more advanced trauma/surgical room etc. I'm embarrassed now.

MMM - ah, yes! I hadn't even thought about the hospital scene. I was wondering if the old guy would resurrect there and then, or the scene would play out with a walker in the room ... but yes, getting him downstairs and out of the way to cover it up is the ideal thing. It also adds to how harrassed the nurse was looking when Travis and Madison came looking for Nick.

It's creepy to think about, isn't it? Also, aye, the sound of passing sirens - with what we know - are hugely ominous. Just imagine the crazy things those responders are heading off to!

[Rottedfreak]

I thought the drug dealer cleared the heroin den and cleaned his car after disposing of the bodies.

And if the hospital takes their risen patients downstairs I bet a future episode will show the hospital in absolute chaos through them escaping containment.

[MinionZombie]

I thought the drug dealer cleared the heroin den and cleaned his car after disposing of the bodies.

And if the hospital takes their risen patients downstairs I bet a future episode will show the hospital in absolute chaos through them escaping containment.

1) Interesting theory!

2) Ooh - that'd be damn cool! Particularly as we got a glimpse of the kind of chaos in a flashback during Season 2 of TWD, and of course we see the aftermath from Rick's POV ... so to see something like that unfold would be very cool. There'd need to be a reason for the characters to be there though, but if they have a way of getting them there to become caught up in the chaos then we're sorted. :)

[shootemindehead]

Yes, that would be a very good idea. It would be excellent to see a large number of zombies corralled in a big hospital basement break out and cause havoc, allowing local control to be lost.

[MinionZombie]

Yes, that would be a very good idea. It would be excellent to see a large number of zombies corralled in a big hospital basement break out and cause havoc, allowing local control to be lost.

And this would be how the world would start to crumble. A little loss of control here, a bit there, a forgotten basement full of walkers that haven't been put down in time, etc etc. Random people who die in their sleep/whatever killing every occupant of the home - so there'd be random homes full of walkers dotted around - might there be an ajar door? Might someone visit and let themselves in? Might the walkers get out and start roaming around biting folks? All these 'unsupervised' corners of the world where it's going un-noticed.

The authorities would know that anyone who dies becomes one, but at the same time they desperately want to keep public knowledge of it contained/non-existant to prevent chaos and panic ... but that in-turn works against them in certain ways. When you really start thinking about it - it's scary! :eek:

[Rottedfreak]

I'm thinking the family are there in A and E because of a crash, they are interviewed by a cop or there with friends and staff when the news breaks out on GNN or Zox news that the government are taking people they claim to be dead and locking them away. The already crowded hospital surges, visiting relatives, staff and healthier patients breach the quarantine zones and 'off limits' areas thinking they can help or liberate the afflicted but unleashing walkers who swarm the hospital breaking into operation theaters, children wards, maternity wards etc creating chaos.
The building is surrounded, soldiers go in and shoot everyone but then they are overrun by both the walkers and people fighting to get in there giving the family a avenue of escape.
Later that day GNN reports that there was a terrorist incidents at their own network and at the hospital, while Zox tells people the dead are rising before it's cut off.

[MagicMoonMonkey]

I watched this again last night and there are a few little things we might have not noticed, or mistaken the context on first viewing.

when Travis goes in to the church and startles the junkie hiding behind the door, the junkie yells don't kill me, don't kill me! And then he shoots off never to be seen again.
I reckon this junkie thought Travis was part of the police/military that cleared the 3 walkers (we know of) that should have been stumbling around there when Travis was shouting and looking in every room.

I also spotted another thing when Nick was leaving the hospital. If you look on the bottom right monitor on the bank of four, you will see two people hurriedly pushing the gurney down the corridor with the dead person covered with a sheet.

Watching it from this new perspective definitely added a sense of dread to the viewing.

Edit:

I must add that I am going to love this series. I hope they don't rush it.

[MinionZombie]

Good spots there MMM.

I'd initially thought of the guy Travis encounters in the church as being afraid of the walkers - but your theory makes more sense, and is even more chilling!

I'll have to re-watch that scene where Nick escapes for the monitors. Some crafty little details, little breadcrumbs, being left around for us to find and grab on to ... noiiice. :cool::thumbsup::)

[slayerized]

I also spotted another thing when Nick was leaving the hospital. If you look on the bottom right monitor on the bank of four, you will see two people hurriedly pushing the gurney down the corridor with the dead person covered with a sheet.



Maybe they have a room labeled "DON'T OPEN DEAD INSIDE" too!

[anthone572]

I think I was taken back at first, I didn't realize that the show would centre on a family (drama). Someone said the first half felt like The Fosters LOL. The second half of the episode was definitely a lot stronger. I felt the pacing was a bit off for the 90 min pilot, it felt slow at times and could have been 20 min shorter.

Regardless I enjoyed it enough to keep watching... and hoping the angsty teenage melodrama kept to a minimum. I did enjoy all the red herrings, keeping up the suspense of when the next zombie would appear. Also, I'm not getting attached to any characters (someone's gonna end up dead by end of season).

[Moon Knight]

I think I was taken back at first, I didn't realize that the show would centre on a family (drama). Someone said the first half felt like The Fosters LOL. The second half of the episode was definitely a lot stronger. I felt the pacing was a bit off for the 90 min pilot, it felt slow at times and could have been 20 min shorter.

Regardless I enjoyed it enough to keep watching... and hoping the angsty teenage melodrama kept to a minimum. I did enjoy all the red herrings, keeping up the suspense of when the next zombie would appear. Also, I'm not getting attached to any characters (someone's gonna end up dead by end of season).

I'm gonna go ahead and predict that Travis or Madison won't be back for season 2.

[slayerized]

I'm gonna go ahead and predict that Travis or Madison won't be back for season 2.

Travis on the surface seems a little too nice to survive what's about to been thrown at them (but I'm rooting for him cuz I like him!)...Madison on the other hand...I can picture her turning cold and calculating...kinda fun to imagine her in the upcoming seasons as being able to execute anyone that comes between her and her family...

[anthone572]

Yeah, I would predict Travis to be gone in season 1... he's got the least amount of character growth IMO. I wonder if they will introduce new characters this season... it seems likely.

[slayerized]

Yeah, I would predict Travis to be gone in season 1... he's got the least amount of character growth IMO. I wonder if they will introduce new characters this season... it seems likely.

Ruben Blades and his wife and daughter are still to be introduced. either tonight or next episode and looking from the previews there are a whole host of minor characters but who knows if any get to stick around longer than 5 minutes...

[AcesandEights]

Yeah, last week's 1st episode was a suitably staged slow burn, so I'm hoping they can keep dangling properly tantalizing and slowly escalating bits out for our viewing pleasure till all hell breaks loose mid to late season. Hopefully they can manage the pacing, but I know it will be challenging for them. It's a lot of fun to have something in the vein of TWD, without too much of the storyline/expectation baggage that series readers have to contend with.