Plot: A highly dysfunctional blended family is forced together when they realize that a reported virus is actually the onset of the undead apocalypse.

With the highly anticipated 6th season of The Walking Dead slowly creeping up behind us, Fear the Walking Dead places us on the front lines of the carnage as the world we live in slowly diminishes and crumbles. From the terrifying mind of Robert Kirkman, we are allowed to peer inside the veil surrounding the question we all have asked ourselves once or twice; “What happened to society while Rick was in a coma?” However many times we ask ourselves this very question, the fan theories never cease to entertain me on a late Sunday night. Unfortunately for the forums, we can pleasantly put the rumors to rest and sit back and enjoy this beautiful bloodbath unfold. From the main titles to the very gruesome special effects and make up, Fear the Walking Dead delivers every reason we fell in love with its predecessor, and in some ways a little bit more.

We begin with a simple subject; Nick, a drug addict who wakes up from who knows how many hours of being “indisposed.” He calls for his fellow participants, yet no one answers his calls. After searching the lowers floors of this druggie safe-haven, ironically named “The Church,” he stumbles across a dead man with his throat ripped out. Panicking, he begins to run through the building, eventually finding his friend Gloria. The bad news is, Gloria is now hungry for flesh and has already made meals out of the other addicts.

After running frantically out of  “The Church,” he gets hit head on by a car and is rushed to the hospital. Once there, we see the rest of this gloriously dysfunctional family rush into the picture. His mother, Madison (played by Kim Dickens) automatically  takes charge of the situation and tries to place him back in treatment, which we can see has not helped in the slightest.

Her husband, Travis (played by Cliff Curtis), seems to be placed in the picture, but not exactly present. Dealing with his own family issues with his ex-wife and son, he simply wants to make up for time lost and be the good father he always envisioned being. After listening to Nick’s rants about fleshing eating drug addicts, he takes it upon himself to check the place out, and see once and for all if Nick is telling the truth. Upon investigating, he finds a scared homeless man who runs away from him, and a very large pool of dried blood. At this point, Travis knows something is not right, and leaves the scene.

With all of these characters in play and this extremely detailed plot strengthening, the show leaves you with a slow burn as the zombie nightmare is blanketed by these “random attacks.” Fear not, for those who are more gore than detail, your thirst for blood is on its way.

Ultimately, Nick says all of the right things to his family, inspiring hope that he wants to change. He tells his sister, Alicia (played by Alycia Debnam-Carey) that this is the last time and so on and so forth. Alicia isn’t fooled by this impressive act, brushing off any hope that her brother is still inside that heroin shell. Nick, on the other hand, has a different agenda, sneaking out of the hospital despite insisting that he is not crazy.

As this “whirlpool” of drama starts to swirl, the reports start to trickle down the pipeline. While Madison and Travis are out looking for Nick, an incident occurs on the highway. Although we cannot see what’s happening behind the flashing lights of emergency vehicles, they hear gunshots and flee the scene.

We learn the next day from the glorious glow of Youtube that this was a real zombie attack, as we witness almost seven officers try to take down one man and almost fail miserably. Once this viral video goes live, the entire city goes into somewhat of a panic and the district sends the kids home from class. What starts off as an “isolated incident” ends with the terrifying concern that things will get much worse.

This isn’t the end of the episode by any means, I like to allow you to have that one big surprise at the end so I won’t spoil your fun any longer. Lets just say, things are going to get very interesting for the great city of Los Angeles and soon beyond.

Greg Nicotero comes back to helm the pilot episode, which only strengthens the reasoning behind why this prequel was created. The people need answers! With the entertainment industry finding that the public can’t get enough of the undead, Kirkman is going to have to throw on his thinking cap to appease the horror masses.

We see glimpses at the end of future episodes and difficulties that these characters encounter. Before too long, we notice the military starts trying to eradicate the virus by checking houses buildings and executing anyone who appears a threat, living or dead. With the foreseen move by the government, we can see that the events that follow will not be easy, especially for a drug addict.

All in all, this is probably one of the best portrayals of a doomed society on the brink of extinction. A true testament to what we take for granted every day: our freedom. Sometimes it takes something higher in the food chain to create that balance once again.

I especially loved all of the different costumes that were involved. I mean, we had it all. The drug addict, the “good” mom, the struggling step dad, the girl who is just trying to find herself, and a whole lot of future flesh eaters. With such simple toys to play with, Kirkman can literally take this in any direction that he so chooses, and it would still maintain the fluidity of the original series. Most of you are probably thinking about next week as you read, and it’s not far from my mind either!

Regardless, there is one fact we can all agree on. Society is totally screwed!