Nope, I’m not getting more creative that just going with ‘Fear The Boring Dead’ as my Fear The Walking Dead recap title for this first episode of season 2 – which is officially titled ‘Monster’.

We’re going to attempt doing Fear The Walking Dead recaps – and also for Penny Dreadful‘s season 3, later on – but for us to recap something, it would really help if something (anything!) actually happened to move the story along.

Fear The Walking Dead s2e1

Madison and Alicia looking for their storylines

Now, when people said the mini season 1 of Fear The Walking Dead (aka FearTWD or just FTWD) was boring, I did not agree at all. I loved seeing how people reacted to the actual outbreak – as opposed to just landing in the middle of a zombie appocalypse, like in The Walking Dead. I appreciated the very different reactions people had as well as the family drama at the center of it. This episode just didn’t really offer any of that.

Okay, sure, we got Chris (Lorenzo James Henrie), who is still acting like a spoiled little brat. His mother didn’t die for him to get eaten on a beach while pouting over her body. She died so Elizabeth Rodriguez could get back to the next season of Orange Is The New Black – and she better get more screen time on that show, because she was a pretty great character on FTWD.

One scene that did make me sit up and take notice was, however, due to angry-pouting-Chris. He hit his dad! Fist and all. This is something I can never agree with, and I’m pretty amazed it had no real reaction from anyone else. Family doesn’t hit family. Period. I get that he’s heartbroken for his mom, but people are dying left and right and he has been annoying since the very first episode. I really hope they redeem his character fast!

Anyway, the little drama boy hit his dad and stepmom, Madison (Kim Dickens, whom I adore) tries to get him to soften up a bit. She does this by sharing the memory of “the first time” she hit her own father (FYI, she was 13 and it didn’t end well). When we saw this scene, everyone sat up and went “the first time”?! I’m sorry, I must have totally missed the fact that hitting your father is normal, when you’re a teenager.

Anyway, other than Chris being annoying – oh, and someone may be coming to try and get their boat – nothing much happened. Really!

They all get onto Abigail (the boat – or yacht, to be exact – so don’t get any dirty ideas), which was where season 1 left off as they were leaving the beach. This happened just as L.A. was to be bombed. And they seem to (pretty much) agree that the number one goal right now is to keep the group safe and get to a place without Walkers. Okay, so mostly it’s Victor Strand (Colman Domingo), who feels this way, but then again, it is his boat.

FTWD boat gif

Yes, this was also rules one and two. Victor Strand isn’t messing around!

Oh, and Walkers are right now just referred to as “The Dead”. Makes good sense since the Walkers also do well in the water, but “Swimmers” leaves an unfortunate association to semen. Or maybe that’s just me?

Moving on from that rather unsavory take on nicknames for zombies, let me just say right now that if Commander Lexa died, so Alycia Debnam-Carey could play some naive young adult with no real storyline, then there will be a whole new kind of drama from the fans of The 100.

I mean, the character of Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey) was pretty cool and in control of herself in season 1. Having obviously seen her brother fuck up more times than anyone can remember, and losing her boyfriend right off the bat, she toughened up real quick, so I’m hoping (expecting, actually) that this was just a soft launch. Though why anyone would start out this soft is beyond me!

A quick run-down of what did actually happen so this can turn into somewhat of an actual Fear The Walking Dead recap:

# Our group of people manage to get off the beach and onto the yacht ‘Abigail’

# Chris is being an awfully angry young man, who doesn’t want to be around anyone (then again, nobody wants to be around him much either)




# They come across a boat filled with people asking for help, but decide they have to save themselves and focus on this, so they leave them behind

# Madison reveals to Chris that she also hit her own dad, and that if Travis (Cliff Curtis) hadn’t been able to shoot Chris’ mom, then she would’ve done it herself. Because you don’t let family turn into Walkers, uh Swimmers… I mean ‘The Dead’. But you do, apparently, hit them in the face, when you’re upset. Go Figure!

# Alicia is being a typical teenage girl, who quickly discovers the maritime version of social media (a radio) and gets chatted up by some guy on the radio. Somehow, this guy seems to know that he’s talking to a girl before she responds in any way, because I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t be working his “You’re shy, that’s okay, I get it!” to a grown-ass man, but whatever, I’ll let that slide (not really, can you tell?)

FTWD Alica Clark Alycia Debnam-Carey

# After his mom has been laid to rest in the ocean, Chris goes swimming, fully dressed, while everyone sits down to enjoy a meal. Yep, he continues to be a brat. Nick (Frank Dillane), who continues to evolve into an interesting and strong character, jumps in after him. This is when they discover that “The Dead” are also very active in the water

# “The Dead” are in the water because somebody has shot up their boat and our group fears those people might be returning to get the yacht

# And, of course, radio-guy man has managed to lure enough information out of Alicia, to be onto their location and he’s probably part of the group that shot up the other boat

# Now we’re waiting for them to probably come and attack the yacht

Fear The Walking Dead

This is where we started season 2 – best shot of the episode!

We’ll be back next week with a new Fear The Walking Dead recap, which will hopefully have a lot more action to report on.

I write reviews and recaps on Heaven of Horror. And yes, it does happen that I find myself screaming, when watching a good horror movie. I love psychological horror, survival horror and kick-ass women. Also, I have a huge soft spot for a good horror-comedy. Oh yeah, and I absolutely HATE when animals are harmed in movies, so I will immediately think less of any movie, where animals are harmed for entertainment (even if the animals are just really good actors). Fortunately, horror doesn't use this nearly as much as comedy. And people assume horror lovers are the messed up ones. Go figure!
Karina "ScreamQueen" Adelgaard
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