Obviously, there are spoilers for the Season 1 finale below.
Tonight brought the Season 1 finale of Fear the Walking Dead, and while it wasn’t as bonkers action-packed as the finale segments of The Walking Dead’s past seasons, there was still enough happening to make it feel like a fitting conclusion to the drama-heavy events of the past five episodes.
Let’s take a closer look at the two biggest takeaways.
R.I.P. Liza Ortiz
While just about all of the characters we met during Season 1 of Fear the Walking Dead were totally focused on their own problems, from Nick’s addiction to Daniel’s secret past, Liza was arguably the only person who actually cared about people that weren’t in her immediate circle of family and friends. So much so that she got fooled into leaving her family behind in joining Dr. Exner at the field hospital/compound to aid in helping other victims. It wasn’t a great experience for her, as she mostly just witnessed people falling prey to the zombie infection and other assorted injuries, and it was there that she ended up meeting her fate.
In order to distract the soldiers to allow for the central group to rescue their family members, Daniel released all of the walkers that were locked up inside the arena, and that threat was too much for everyone at the compound to contain. It was almost too big for Travis, Madison and the rest to make it out, but they did so, later arriving at Strand’s luxurious beach house. It was here that Liza gave her final “I love you” to Chris and walked out with the intention of killing herself, having been bitten at some point during the escape, though she was interrupted by Madison’s nosy ass and then Travis’ nosy ass. This was legitimately the most emotionally distraught scene of Season 1, as Travis took it upon himself to save Liza from a future as a walker. Seeing him squeezing the sand on the beach gave me a temporary case of the feels.
Ship Ahoy
From death we go to a possible (though only temporary) plan for survival in Season 2. Strand, the man with the plan, not only made good on his deal to save Nick from the compound, but he also took everyone else to his sweet ass beach house, where he let them eat and drink and feel normal again for a short period. But as we soon find out, this is not Strand’s endgame, as he explains to Nick that he is always in motion, and that he plans on adapting to the world’s madness by embracing that feeling. How will he do that? Abigail, apparently.
While we thought that Abigail was a person, it turns out to actually be a boat in the middle of the water, and although we don’t see Strand packing any scuba gear along with his numerous suits, it appears that his plans include making it to that ship and possibly trying to find salvation somewhere beyond the continental United States. He tells Nick that no one will be allowed to stay at his house, but it isn’t clear if that means he wants them to come with him on his boat, which would certainly limit supplies, or if he’s going to leave them behind entirely. Los Angeles was a nice and bright setting for Season 1, as compared to the wooded areas of The Walking Dead, and kicking Season 2 off on the water would be an even more gorgeous way to distinguish itself. Fear the Swimming Dead, anyone?
It’ll be a long time before we get to Season 2, which will hit next year at some point, but until then, fans should get ready to watch the 16-part between-seasons sub-series Flight 462, which will air online and during commercial breaks during The Walking Dead Season 6.
