Final Thoughts from the Fear the Walking Dead Episode “The Good Man”

1. One of my biggest concerns about this spin-off series of “The Walking Dead” was whether it was going to be something truly unique or, eventually, be nothing more than a west coast version of the show that spawned it. Unfortunately, after last night’s episode, I’m pretty much convinced it’s going to be the latter and, since the cast of this series hasn’t really grown on me yet, I just don’t see that being a good thing.

2. So far, the only real twist I’m seeing from this series is the desire to try to avoid the zombies by taking to the ocean. This is something, admittedly, I have personally wondered about after watching “The Walking Dead” these past several seasons. But, while that’s definitely new, I’m not sure if I would really describe it as being unique.

3. One thing I’m still confused about is why the National Guard decided to simply abandon their posts and leave everyone behind to die. Madison and crew seemed to still be able to drive through the streets of Los Angeles with relative ease. I find it hard to believe an armed convoy wouldn’t be able to evacuate the remaining humans just as easily. Plus, it's not like they really have any incentive to leave them behind. The undead are quickly starting to outnumber the living. It just seems logical they would want to keep as many humans alive as possible.

4. Speaking of armed convoys; am I the only one who finds it odd that very few members of this group have bothered to find weapons? By my count, they have a couple guns between them and not much else. You would think they would have grabbed kitchen knives or something.

5. In fact, to be perfectly honest, they seem to be a little too nonchalant about everything going on around them. The world is coming to an end and they still don’t seem to be overly concerned about it. The perfect example of this would be Victor Strand’s (Colman Domingo) house. Yes, it looks nice. But, other than having the ocean behind it, I don’t see how it is any more secure than their house (behind a metal fence) was. Strange seems to be the only one who understands the situation for what it is.

6. Of course, on the subject of Strange, I also can’t help but feel he’s hiding something. He seems to have his own agenda and, because of that, I’m still not sure if he’s really looking to help out his new companions or is just using them until they no longer serve his purpose.

7. I’m still undecided about the decision to kill off Liza (Elizabeth Rodriguez) at the end of this one. Even though Dickens’ Madison is the star of this series, I actually liked Liza a little better because she wasn’t afraid to actually do something when the situation called for it (such as riding off with the National Guardsmen so she could help at the hospital) rather than simply complain about it, like Madison seems to do. However, that being said, I also wasn’t surprised when she revealed she had been bitten. I kind of figured that was the case when I saw her being overpowered by that zombie.

Season finales should leave you wanting to see more. This one, in my opinion at least, failed to do that. I may still end up watching this next season (if there is one), just to see if it gets any better. But, so far, I'm honestly not sold on this series.

My Grade: C