This year’s E3 marked the first time since 2019 that Square Enix showcased a presentation. The two year long wait at the biggest gaming conference of the year should have been worth the wait. But it fell flat really quick.
The first reveal was Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. I will admit that I was intrigued and interested since it is a single-player experience. But knowing how Marvel’s Avengers was handled, I could not let my guard down. The gameplay is not too bad. But did this need twenty minutes of airtime that could have went to something else? What was Square Enix thinking?
Those twenty minutes could have been towards any news on Final Fantasy XVI or Project Triangle Strategy. But we got nothing of those upcoming titles. In fact, the first showing of any Final Fantasy games, were the “2-D Pixel Remasters” of Final Fantasy I-VI. Who asked for this? I love Final Fantasy, but these should have came to consoles in one package instead of buying them individually on mobile or Steam.
Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin is the upcoming “Souls” inspired game set in the Final Fantasy universe. When I read the rumors of Square Enix possibly developing this take of Final Fantasy, I was curious. And then the awful dialogue of the characters about Chaos screeched my ears. At least Garland’s voice actor from the Dissidia Final Fantasy series somewhat saved that mess of a trailer.
This did not help due to the fact that the demo of Stranger of Paradise was corrupted and unplayable when you downloaded it. I have not seen a mess from Square Enix like this since the original launch of Final Fantasy XIV back in 2010.
The final nail in the coffin was the next offering of Marvel’s Avengers. Even with a diminishing player base, the War of Wakanda expansion includes Black Panther and the Wakanda location that will progress the story. The question is, why was this not in the original launch of the game in the first place?
The hits keep on coming with this year’s E3 and Square Enix should be embarrassed of themselves for pulling off a bad atrocity of a presentation. Hopefully they can recover from this.
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Lennie James as Morgan Jones, Karen David as Grace – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 6, Episode 16 – Photo Credit: Ryan Green/AMC
Fear The Walking Dead’s sixth season started with Morgan’s Group separated. The story that followed that was with the conflict with Virginia’s group and the death of John Dorie. The season concluded with the warheads dropping in the area while the group is separated again.
I can tolerate it this time unlike the disaster of the season five finale. This time, I am looking forward to what is coming in season seven. Now that the bomb dropped, everyone will have to figure out a way to adapt to the radiation environment. Unlike how they encountered this on the previous season, the whole area is contaminated.
There are some really great moments that I love. The opening with Rachel was sad and dark for all of the wrong reasons. Nobody could save her after her injury and she had no choice but to kill herself. The dog did manage to use a walker to bring Morgan jr. to Morgan. I would want to question how this logically happened, but I let it pass because my next question is coming up.
Christine Evangelista as Sherry – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 6, Episode 16 – Photo Credit: Ryan Green/AMC
I must be the only one happy to finally see Sherry and Dwight together for good. I completely understood why it took time for their bond to go back to the way it was before the apocalypse. It was Negan that caused all of the trauma for her. She can finally move on with Dwight. Also, good thing that they killed those people that stolen the home owner’s basement.
Despite my feelings about Dakota, she received one of the best deaths in the series. Standing face forward of the bomb blast fried her to death and I loved it. I am also curious whether if we will see Daniel, Luciana, Charlie, Sarah, and Wes ever again since they are picked up by CRM. If we do see them again, hopefully it is at one of CRM’s locations.
The bomb drop on the finale also said “f*** them kids” from season five as they were nowhere to be seen during the whole season. And Strand’s speech before and after the bomb dropped is a masterclass of acting from Colman Domingo.
And finally, am I supposed to buy that Morgan and Grace is safe from the bomb blast by hiding under the car? Clearly Morgan Jr. is now dead from the blast. Everyone else was sheltered and they were not. Morgan and Grace must have a ton of radiation in their bodies now.
Overall, a great episode to close out the sixth season. I must say that Fear The Walking Dead bounced back in a good way as they really put the fear back on this show that was needed. In my opinion, this is a can’t miss season!
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Christine Evangelista as Sherry – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 6, Episode 16 – Photo Credit: Ryan Green/AMC
Dwight and Sherry’s reunion on Fear The Walking Dead has not been all roses and flowers the entire time. There was past trauma that Sherry shared with Dwight on what she went through with Negan. But by the end of the season, it seems like Sherry and Dwight are back together for good.
Christine Evangelista breaks down everything that happened between Sherry and Dwight on the season six finale of Fear The Walking Dead in this exclusive interview along with what she would like to see on the seventh season.
How did you and Austin Amelio prepare for the warhead landing scene?
CE: “The scene where they’re coming out of the house and the scene right after they shoot the guy and head back into the basement when the bomb going off was really intense. The tunnel that they go into the bunker was built on a soundstage. So they built this bunker that we dove into. And the entire thing is built on these mechanics that vibrate and move and all the shelves are knocking down and dust going everywhere. And it was a really intense scene to shoot. Because of that, you don’t know what is going to fall on top of you. So how do you prepare for an atomic bomb going off? I don’t know. But you just do. And it was legitimately scary because we’re in this device that was moving and vibrating and things were flying all over the place.”
Do you know if everyone shot their explosion scenes the same day as you and Amelio did, or were they all different days?
CE: “They were all set on different days because everyone was in different locations.”
Based on your experience being a featured character on The Walking Dead and Fear The Walking Dead, were there any differences between acting on both shows?
CE: “Fear The Walking Dead and The Walking Dead are so similar in so many ways. And the point of obviously a lot of the cast is the same. We have Lenny, we have Austin and myself. But we also have a lot of our writers and executive producers and directors go back and forth. So I’ve been able to work with the same people on both shows. What’s been exciting about Fear The Walking Dead, especially this season, which is really unique to both shows, is that we’ve been able to shoot it in this anthology style. Which means that each episode is more character driven or you’re not having so many different characters in one episode and they’re just following one story the whole time. So you’ll see a day in the life of Sherry and Dwight. And for an actor, it’s really fulfilling because every episode has like an arc to it, like a real beginning, middle and end. And it’s been really great to go into Fear The Walking Dead while it’s doing this anthology style format and be able to really tell the story of what happened to Sherry. We don’t really know what happened. We don’t know how she’s different or what’s been going on the past few years. I mean, the last time we saw Sherry was years ago. So it’s been really cool to now pick this all up and be able to do the story justice, really tell it in a full way. So that’s been really exciting and like such a unique opportunity.”
As a viewer, are you relieved to see Sherry not go after Negan anymore when she realized that it is not worth doing so?
CE: “I think Sherry’s relieved, but I’m relieved also. I think even just as a viewer, I love that these characters are able to be together again and also that Sherry is able to, in some way move on from it and to get her power back and to not just chase the wrong God, as I say all the time. She’s just able to move on, be with her partner and maybe use all this experience that she had to help other people. And I think that’s really exciting. But it’s definitely a relief for everyone now.”
Now that the warhead has dropped and obliterated the entire area, I would like to see a situation like the video game Fallout where everyone is going to have to think of ways to gather resources in a nuclear environment while also protecting themselves. Is this something you would like to see for the seventh season?
CE: “Yeah, I think it’s so interesting. I remember when they told me that there was going to be a massive bomb that was going to go off and radiation was going to take over life as they know it. And I couldn’t even believe it because it’s going to change the dynamics of everything. You know, if you think about it, resources right now aren’t really available. After radiation and the bomb goes off, it’s going to be even less. And I think you could really bring out the worst in people. It’s a really scary situation. A lot of people died in the finale episode. And I think that mixed with life changing as they know it, is going to be really complicated and it’s going to make people choose a different path in life. And it doesn’t always bring out the best in people. So I think it’s going to be a very intense season because of that, It’s not just even about the walkers anymore and it’s not even just about the people that they know. It’s now you have this added element of this bomb destroying everything in sight. And I mean everything from like food to water, just think about how difficult things are going to be for them.”
Austin Amelio as Dwight, Christine Evangelista as Sherry – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 6, Episode 16 – Photo Credit: Ryan Green/AMC
Who did you like working with the most during this season?
CE: “Austin’s always amazing, and I was so excited to work with him again. He is just fantastic. We started this whole journey together. So it’s really cool. And it was almost like neither of us ever left. We just got back to working together. And we’re just good friends. I really love Jenna Elfman. I was always such a fan of her from Dharma and Greg. And to see her in this role of June, which is entirely different. That show was really cool. And she’s so committed to the character and she’s such a fantastic actress. And I just really love hanging out with her and like shooting the show. Everyone’s amazing, really. Everyone’s great. Mo Collins is great. She’s so funny. And she brings such a levity to the performance, which is really great to watch in a show that’s really difficult and challenging and dark in a lot of ways. I mean, everyone is so talented, but it’s cool that there’s so many great female characters on the show too.
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Colman Domingo as Victor Strand, Lennie James as Morgan Jones – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 6, Episode 15 – Photo Credit: Ryan Green/AMC
The current season of AMC’s Fear The Walking Dead is soon going to conclude. With only one more episode after “USS Pennsylvania”, the group went on a high stakes mission to take down Teddy once in for all. But the mission did not go as planned.
During the journey inside the submarine, Morgan and Strand were at odds as they were getting closer and closer to stop Teddy. They both clearly had different motives that are played out during this episode and It makes me wonder how they will be towards eachother on the season finale.
During the entire time, the radiation levels were through the rough in certain corridors of the submarine. Everyone had to think fast and adapt to another way of getting to the end of the submarine. Throw that in with a few good walker kills and the fact that there is little space to even stretch out, then you got a good episode of Fear The Walking Dead.
But there were some issues that I would like to address. The episode also highlighted something that has really bothered me about this season for a long time. Rather than actually showing us what characters are doing, they tell us what they are doing off screen. During this current season, it has been a common occurrence and I seriously hope this does not happen on the seventh season. Sure, they showed Alicia trapped on the previous episode, but what about the rest of the characters that were not seen at all during this season?
One thing I found laughable, is Dakota. We are supposed to buy into her being a follower of Teddy after just one episode? Good that Morgan knocked some sense into her that caused her to get knocked out moments after Morgan somehow got away from the walkers that surrounded him while he was knocked down by Strand before this even happened? The inconsistency is beyond ridiculous.
In terms of the episode itself, I liked the majority of it up until the end, but then I thought about it, and it all just melted me. Teddy and Riley were let go by Morgan and Strand for what reason again? At least one of them should be dead, and the other should have been interrogated so that they can try to find out where Alicia is. Much of the dialogue throughout the episode felt stilted in some way, but I guess that’s a hallmark of Chambliss and Goldberg’s writing at this point.
It seems that the writers do not know how to use Strand’s personality other than to make him do bad things, then spend time trying to redeem him and act like he did it to cover for himself. Colman Domingo can be fantastic whenever he is given the right material, so it’s frustrating when the show doesn’t give him good material.
On the finale, I hope to see where the missile lands and the status of Alicia.
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SANTA MONICA, CA – FEBRUARY 25: Actress Aisha Tyler attends the 2016 Oscar Wilde Awards at Bad Robot on February 25, 2016 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Michael Tullberg/Getty Images)
Aisha Tyler has done practically everything in Hollywood: acting, voiceover work, hosting, directing, writing, and producing. She has been in the industry for over 25 years with several projects in her name. Aisha Tyler is also a fan of The Walking Dead and she as also appeared on AMC’s Talking Dead.
Last November, it was announced that Aisha Tyler will direct an episode of Fear The Walking Dead. It turned out that she directed the episode “J.D” and Aisha Tyler is here to break down directing this monumental episode in this exclusive interview.
You’ve been a fan of The Walking Dead for some time now, and this is now your first episode in the franchise that you directed. How excited were you when you first got the news?
Aisha: “Incredibly excited. I wish I could come up with some phrase that’s like spectacularly descriptive, but I was thrilled because it had been something I’ve been hoping to do for a long time. And I had had some meetings with AMC where we talked about the fact that I love the franchise. I would love the opportunity to direct, but I don’t know that I thought it was going to happen. So you’re kind of always just doing your work. I was off directing other stuff. And it was just a thrill when it came back around.”
Do you remember exactly where you were or what you were doing when you got the call that AMC wanted you to direct the episode?
Aisha: “That’s a really good question. I don’t. It’s all just blended into a beautiful golden memory. I do remember that I did a zoom call with the show runners Ian and Andrew, and that was great. We just hit it off. And a friend of mine and I were texting and I got the email from my management team and I was like, “I got the job!” I do remember that. I just remember that I was very excited.”
Knowing that Fear The Walking Dead was filmed during the pandemic, what were some challenges you had to endure as a director?
Aisha: “Well, the biggest issue right now for covid productions other than testing is a shorter shoot day. And so that’s just challenging. You just have less time to do the same amount of work. And that remains the challenge across this episode. But luckily, because the episode was essentially set over a single day, we could only shoot from sunup to sundown. And that natural kind of time limit meant that we had to work really effectively and efficiently, which we did. So it was exhilarating. You’re always rushing when you’re directing. Every day is just a sprint. But it was beautiful and enjoyable and we were able to get done.”
This episode is a tribute to John Dorie Jr. I thought that the eulogy scene was beautiful from the way it was shot and with the way Jenna Elfman delivered her lines. What are the conversations like between you and Jenna when it came to crafting that scene?
Aisha: “We had a really good conversation before we started shooting the episode about how she felt about it as an actor and what was her character was going through. And, you know, this was really June’s first real moment where she allowed herself to mourn John. She just been on this kind of mad sprint to redeem herself and really driven by grief and by anger at the world about herself. And this was her opportunity to say goodbye. So we really wanted to make sure that we honored that moment for her because it was a really transformational one for June. And I think also on a larger level with Dwight and Sherry. John and June’s relationship represented something really specific in their world, which is that it’s possible to find beauty and it’s possible to find love in a terrible state of affairs in the world around them. And so I really wanted to make sure that there was a lot of beauty in that scene and a lot of love and that it wasn’t just sad because it was all of our opportunities to both say goodbye to a character that we all really love and also to celebrate the beauty of that relationship.”
Jenna Elfman as June, Christine Evangelista as Sherry, Austin Amelio as Dwight – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 6, Episode 13 – Photo Credit: Ryan Green/AMC
Were there any scenes that you directed for this episode that you felt like you wanted to put yourself in any of the character’s shoes, whether it was June, Dwight, Sherry or John Sr?
Aisha: “Not really. When you’re directing, you get to be in everybody’s shoes all the time. That’s really the nature of being a director. You’re kind of inside all of it all the time. And that’s why I love directing because I really get to care for everybody on set and think about every every character and their experience and their journey. And I get to put my feet in the shoes of the fifth character, which is the audience. And I really get to be a part of things and thinking about how the audience will experience this episode and how they’ll connect with the characters. So that’s the coolest thing about being a director, is you get to play all the roles.”
Are there any past episodes of either The Walking Dead or Fear The Walking Dead that you wish you had the chance to direct?
Aisha: “Well, my favorite episode of The Walking Dead and there are a lot of really good ones, is ‘Clear.’ It’s the episode where we find Morgan again. And I love that episode of television as one of my favorite episodes of television period because it’s so incredibly layered and emotional and it really focuses on what grief and loss do to a person. And Lenny James is just such an extraordinary actor. And I just remember crying through the whole episode because it was just so beautiful and so painful and it was so tender. And seeing Rick and Morgan together again was so wonderful. But it wasn’t the reunion we all expected them to have as fans. And just to see the shell around Morgan kind of crack a little bit of him, connect with human beings again after all that time suffering alone was just such a beautiful episode.”
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Jenna Elfman as June, Christine Evangelista as Sherry, Austin Amelio as Dwight – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 6, Episode 13 – Photo Credit: Ryan Green/AMC
This week’s episode of Fear The Walking Dead titled “J.D” is a tribute to John Dorie. While the mood and tone is sad and depressing, there are plot points that opened my curious eyes. With that out of the way, here is my review.
June is still grieving John Dorie as he was killed a few episodes ago. Sure she got her revenge by killing Virginia, but the suffering of John’s death is on full display on this episode. That also came with a nice and beautiful eulogy by June later in “J.D” when it was her and a few characters standing over John’s Grave. Jenna Elfman certainly made me a believer during this sequence, as I felt her grief at John’s death. I also feel this is her best performance since joining Fear The Walking Dead a few seasons back.
While John Dorie’s grief is on show throughout the show, I believe the introduction of John Dorie Sr. could’ve been better. I realize the franchise has a cliché of long-lost characters reappearing out of nowhere, but his appearance was too soon after John Jr. died. Of all the places for them to meet, it had to be during a shootout. What are the odds of that.
I’m not sure what else we can get out of the John Dorie Sr. character, but at least he has a cause to tell the group about Teddy. It turns out that John Sr. was the one who imprisoned Teddy in the 1970s, and Teddy is the same guy he was then. The apocalypse frequently alters people’s personalities. But his did not, which is a rare occurrence in The Walking Dead’s universe. Plus, John Dorie Sr. sure survived that gunshot wound pretty fast!
Austin Amelio as Dwight, Christine Evangelista as Sherry – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 6, Episode 13 – Photo Credit: Ryan Green/AMC
Another storyline development in this episode that I was looking forward to seeing was Dwight and Sherry’s. I had been wondering for weeks if these two would be on the same page. It’s now evident that Sherry recognizes that returning to Virginia to kill Negan is a waste of time. Sherry wouldn’t even know whether she’d come back alive if she did that, so why jeopardize her shot of being with Dwight? I am delighted for these two. I, on the other hand, am not thrilled to see another horse die.
Despite the fact that this episode is slower than the other two, I embrace it. A slower-paced plot with a new mood change was greatly needed since the previous two episodes’ tones were similar. This is a fantastic memorial episode to the late John Dorie Jr., and I really enjoyed it!
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Karen David as Grace – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 6, Episode 12 – Photo Credit: Ryan Green/AMC
This weeks’ episode of Fear The Walking Dead titled “In Dreams” is a devastating and also a heartbreaking one. Grace and Morgan finding out that her baby is stillborn will go down as one of the darkest moments in the franchise. Here to talk about that shocking moment, is Karen David as we go over all the details about that moment in this exclusive interview.
How did you prepare for that twist at the end of the episode?
KD: “I knew about these storylines when Ian and Andrew sat me down pre pandemic, so I had this extended period of time to to prepare for this, which in hindsight I’m really grateful for, because it’s a very devastating storyline. It’s a very sensitive subject. And I needed to really even let that sit with me. I took a lot of deep breaths when I was reading the script and then had many meetings with Michael Satrazemis. He is one of our most wonderful magical directors on the show with Jalaludin, who is a magnificent director of photography. Ian and Andre, who penned this, just found that that perfect balance in telling this this story. We kind of all came together and sat down and we went through the whole the whole thing and what to expect. I was so excited because esthetically and stylistically, this is an episode that we’ve never really done in our universe. With the subject to of infancy loss, it’s something that has never been talked about. And then from there, you also have like those little easter eggs in the unconscious state where you see the bird poop walker, my truck, and Grace in her suit paying homage to her journey, which began in season five. I just loved all of that coming into play in Grace’s unconscious state. I was really excited that we were doing something very groundbreaking and very different. And I could not be more proud of the end results. And to see the initial feedback of you guys, you know, having watched the advance screenings and all that, it just it means the world to all of us. We knew that this is going to be a very big episode for the universe, but also a very big episode for Grace and I. It’s been a real honor to tell her story.”
After I watched “In Dreams”, I had to take a few minutes to process what I witnessed. At that time, I thought of that particular episode of Chernobyl where a pregnant woman lost her baby due to her baby absorbing all of the radiation from the character. Did the comparison of the real life incident and that episode came through your mind when you were going through the script of the episode?
KD: “I know each case is very different and I’m not a medical expert where I can speak on those things. But I certainly watched all of Chernobyl. I did a lot of research on Hiroshima and Chernobyl and what had happened and the stories of what different people had been through. And I tried to take as much of that. And, you know, Mikey, I, Ian, and Andrew had many discussions about this and how that played into Grace’s experience in this apocalyptic world. One thing that remains true is having personal experience with this with my family members and dearest friends who have suffered through infancy loss and doing so much research, listening to many videos of families who were so courageous to talk about their experience. For me, it was so important to tell their story through Grace as well, and to honor and respect what they have been through, through Grace. It was a fine balance to achieve. And as an actor, this storyline was with something that is a gift to be challenged in a way both emotionally, spiritually and physically, and to talk about a subject that’s so important and so sensitive. I can only hope and pray that I was able to do that respectfully and and with justice to the storyline. So to hear all the feedback has just been so wonderfully overwhelming and just means so much to to both Grace and I.”
As you said, the structure of this episode has never been done before and you and Lennie James did an amazing job telling this story. Do you have any stories on how you and Lennie work on this way of storytelling?
KD: “Michael and the rest of us kind of sat together mapped everything out and they showed these wonderful vision boards and storyboards of what they wanted to achieve in the unconscious state for Grace, but also in, you know, the conscious state. There is no break for me or Grace in this episode. And it was very much trying to navigate very delicately through each scene. I couldn’t have been in better hands and in safer hands, with or without crew and with Michael and the gang and certainly with Lenny, who is the best scene partner I could have ever dreamed of that last scene. We didn’t want to over rehearse it. That was one all done in one take. We didn’t want to see the baby, the prosthetic baby, which special effects did a phenomenal job. We kind of just read the lines for the sake of reading them. So we kind of knew where things were at, but we didn’t want to rehearse it. It was just going to do it. It’s just one of those deeply emotional scenes that you can’t really rehearse as it’s going to happen in the moment. And I knew that I was in safe hands with Lenny and with Michael and the crew. There was this bonding moment and we’re a tight knit family. But in that moment, if I can explain and do it justice, I never felt more supported and loved by every crew member and our cameraman, Ramon and Chris. They were right there where I didn’t have to worry about anything. I could just allow myself to go through this moment with Lenny and with Michael. When Lenny placed the prosthetic baby in my hands for the first time in that moment, my tears were for my family members. I cried for my not only my family, but my dearest friends and all those families whose videos I watched for what they had been through. I can’t even call it acting in that moment. It felt so real. And the minute he placed the baby in my hands, I was just broken. It broke me. And one take was all we needed. It was quite devastating. I was just relieved that we got through it. And it was a beautiful and even though devastating moment, but a beautiful moment for Lenny, Michael and our crew to have endured together, which is something that will stay with me for the rest of my life. In my heart, I just felt so supported in that moment. And I’m just really grateful. And it turned out just the way that it should have.”
Karen David as Grace – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 6, Episode 12 – Photo Credit: Ryan Green/AMC
Do you know what was the significance of the pink leaves were during the dream sequence?
KD: “I know that Michael wanted to create this very ethereal world where it was sort of a break for grace from reality. As we all know what was happening later on the episode and what was happening in real life, she’s in this world where she could have this opportunity to delve into the future, where she could see her future and what her daughter was like, and to know that everything was going to be OK because she’s so convinced that this is her time. From the minute that Grace is introduced into this universe, we know that her clock is ticking and she’s convinced that this is it for her.Time is to be called on death’s doors and she has this moment now to to say goodbye to the people that she loves and to also find some peace, knowing that everyone and everything would be OK. It reminded me a lot of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind which is one of my favorite films. And, you know, just being in this world where clarity happens for her. Clarity, gratitude, remorse, like all the feels that she kind of navigates and goes through in this unconscious world, is something so powerful and and so exciting for me as an actor to have been able to to delve into for Grace.”
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Karen David as Grace – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 6, Episode 12 – Photo Credit: Ryan Green/AMC
There has been numerous episodes of The Walking Dead franchise that tackled hallucinations or dreams. Rick Grimes and Michonne’s final episodes are the first that come to my mind. On the newest episode of Fear The Walking Dead titled “In Dreams”, the experimental episode has done something that all three shows have never done before. Plus, add in a dark plot twist in one of the most heartbreaking moments of the season.
The basic plot of “In Dreams” tells the story of Grace having a dream of what the future looks like. In that future, her daughter Athena is grown up, and everyone that she knows is still alive except her. In the real world, the mysterious cult tracked Morgan and Grace down to get back what they want. That is, the key Morgan had around his neck that is supposed to be for the submarine that was first seen earlier this season.
Lennie James as Morgan Jones – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 6, Episode 12 – Photo Credit: Ryan Green/AMC
Then I started to realize the strong point of this episode. Grace is having a dream when most of the conflict is going on. The way the real life conflicts were also carried over to the dream was masterful as it explained how they got into this situation in the first place. Grace’s dream sequence also revealed that the baby is not Morgan’s as it belonged to a man named Matthew. I was caught off guard by this. But at the same time, it was never implied that the baby was Morgan’s.
Grace told Athena the story about Matthew while we get flashbacks to when she had to put him down. But that was not the final deathblow here. The plot twist came at the end when Grace gave birth to her daughter in the current time after the conflict. After she gave birth, Grace asked Morgan why the baby was not crying. Morgan turned around and revealed that it was stillborn.
This was heartbreaking and sad to the point that I felt for the character. It also made me think of what parents or parents to be went through on a day to day basis. It may be a longshot, but I believe Grace’s baby died by absorbing all of the radiation from Gracie. That reminded me of an episode of HBO’s Chernobyl when the same thing happened to a character.
Karen David as Grace – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 6, Episode 12 – Photo Credit: Ryan Green/AMC
The other plot twist to bring up as well is the fact that the dream sequence is Grace saying goodbye to Athena rather than Grace saying hello to her future daughter. Karen David was amazing in this episode as her acting truly shined on this heartbreaking episode. Also, thumbs up to the visual effects team and the director of “In Dreams” for the beautiful scenery and crafting the look of those dream sequences.
I love this episode. It is my favorite of the current season so far. It was sad to see how this episode’s final minutes went. But the way the story was told easily put this episode on my top five Fear The Walking Dead episodes of all time. If the delay of 6×08 did not happen, this episode would have aired at least two weeks ago. Because it is airing on Mother’s Day, there should also be a trigger warning for parents or couples that lost a baby.
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Alycia Debnam-Carey as Alicia Clark – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 6, Episode 11 – Photo Credit: Ryan Green/AMC
Some of Fear The Walking Dead’s strongest episodes had an Alicia involvement. In fact, this is one of the episodes that proves that Alicia is not to be messed with at all.
“The Holding” tells the story of what happened when Alicia, Wes, Al, and Luciana meet the mysterious group that was teased since earlier in the season. They learn that the group is a wicked cult that are going to live the rest of their lives underground. Their leader is Teddy (played by John Glover) and he gives me serious David Koresh vibes.
Alicia is not the only central focus of the episode. Wes reunited with his brother that was thought to be dead. But if we learned something from that “Scars” episode of The Walking Dead, it is that the people you knew back then are not the same when you see them again. Wes’ brother is fully committed into the lifestyle of the cult.
Wes learned from the paintings that his brother painted that he and the group were involved in the recent attacks of the group. It all came crashing down later in the episode when Wes had no choice but to put his brother down and I felt for the character since I have a brother myself.
Colby Hollman as Wes, Maggie Grace as Althea, Danay Garcia as Luciana, Alycia Debnam-Carey as Alicia Clark – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 6, Episode 11 – Photo Credit: Ryan Green/AMC
Colby Hollman had a strong performance on this episode of Fear The Walking Dead as I felt more attached to the Wes character more now than ever before. It seemed like he really channeled in his inner self from the actor to the character with his believable performance.
I also want to bring up the other subplots as Teddy wants Alicia to join him in whatever scheme he has cooking up. That is, if Teddy knows about Madison. Al is now aware that this group has a connection with CRM due to her finding one of their map coordinates and location markers. They even embalmed one of the CRM soldiers as well. Speaking of which, that scene was spooky!
The connection to CRM makes sense. There’s no chance the cult could have grown all of that food using only walkers as fertilizer. People had to be exchanged for food and equipment. That is my hypothesis. Another thing that didn’t make sense was how Alicia and the rest got there in the first place.
With these developments along with Alicia killing one of their members in brutal fashion, “The Holding” is a strong episode and a sleeper hit for this season.
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Rubén Blades as Daniel Salazar – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 6, Episode 10 – Photo Credit: Ryan Green/AMC
We are ten episodes into the current season of Fear The Walking Dead and it is time for Daniel Salazar to be the center of an episode. “Handle With Care” is the name of the episode and the plot focuses on Daniel’s deteriorating mental state as he might have Alzheimer’s disease.
I wanted to feel for the character this time around. Yet, prior in the season, Daniel conceded that he faked his mental decline. So I would scrutinize this time again if in the event that it was genuine. Furthermore, even Morgan isn’t sure if Daniel was faking it. Yet, on a superficial level without considering that, it is dismal to see Daniel go through this.
The structure of this episode is choppy, despite the fact that Ruben Blades was excellent in it. Was it Daniel or the mysterious new party that set off the explosions? This ties in with what I previously said about believing what is real and what is not coming out of Daniel’s mouth. However, the scene in which Daniel and Strand were conversing at the cell location is fantastic and demonstrates why these two have such a strong bond.
Alexa Nisenson as Charlie, Rubén Blades as Daniel Salazar – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 6, Episode 10 – Photo Credit: Ryan Green/AMC
I’d also like to mention Dwight and Sherry’s current situation. What did the writers do with the characters? For her, it’s all or nothing. I realize she’s already broken on the inside, so how can Sherry leaving Dwight over and over again help? These two have been looking for each other for almost a year, and the fact that they are at odds is not something I do not like.
I’m excited to see what the rest of this season has in store for me. There needs to be more answers about the new mysterious group as there are only six more episodes after “Handle With Care.”
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