It's no secret that post Season 3, FTWD is a shell of it's former self. Season 4 was mediocre at best and Season 5 was just abysmal. And although Seasons 1-3 will always be the real Fear, of those 3 seasons, the 2nd season was easily the weakest as the show got away from the more focused character driven subplots to try and turn into a full on action zombie series and it was mixed results, which is being kind of generous. Season 2 was the beginning of the half-season A and B arcs. My re-collection is that Season 2A only had maybe 1 or 2 strong episodes, while 2B saw the group split up into three factions: (1) the Clarks and Strand at the hotel, (2) Nick at Colonia, and finally (3) Travis and Chris on the run, which was in my opinion not only the best subplot of 2B but also the best of the entire season. And this episode I'm reviewing called WRATH is the conclusion to this exceptionally scripted and performed story.
In this episode, Travis (the best character of the series brilliantly played by Cliff Curtis) finally connects back up with Madison and Company at the Mexican hotel after the tragic events involving his son Chris (excellently played by the underrated Lorenzo James Henrie) and 3 juvenile delinquents from San Diego Brandon, Derek, and James (well played by the trio of actors Kelly Blatz, Kenny Wormald, and Israel Broussard). As James was mercy killed in the prior episode by Brandon with a big assist from Chris, Travis basically realizes the monster that his son has become but still has that fatherly bond and worry. Brandon and Derek inadvertently show up at the hotel sans Chris for medical attention, so Travis compels the duo to tell them what happened to his son. The situation remains tense throughout as Travis finds out they killed Chris after he was injured in a bad car accident. Travis' rage boils over with powerful results.
When this episode happened, I wondered where was this type of superb storytelling for the rest of the season? I felt like this subplot was not only the best written, but also the best acted as all 5 actors playing Travis, Chris and the evil teen trio nailed their parts. While in other news, the writing and acting of the Hotel and Colonia subplots ranged from awful to just mediocre. Also, this subplot finally made fans see what I always knew, that Travis was the best character of the show. Starting out as a timid, pacifist schoolteacher that took crap from everyone, Travis slowly and methodically became more jaded and pessimistic and turning into an enraged, vengeful father in this keeper of an episode.
Also, I thought fans were way too hard on Chris, who in my opinion was a very well-defined and acted character throughout the show. I found Chris to be much more compelling than the weird Nick and the useless Alicia, both of whom could use some acting lessons. Plus, Kim Dickens, the de facto lead of the show, somehow forgot how to act after Season 1 as Madison was easily the worst character in the 2nd season. And Strand just felt like an overrated tagalong character and the acting for him just got worse and worse. Ofelia was a character with a ton of promise and more natural conviction, but for whatever reason the writers were way more enamored with Alicia over her as the secondary female behind Madison. Basically, too much emphasis on the Clarks and not enough on everyone else.
But as poor as Season 2 was overall, I can always come back to the Travis-Chris parts to remind myself that there was some actual good storytelling in an otherwise weak season.
In this episode, Travis (the best character of the series brilliantly played by Cliff Curtis) finally connects back up with Madison and Company at the Mexican hotel after the tragic events involving his son Chris (excellently played by the underrated Lorenzo James Henrie) and 3 juvenile delinquents from San Diego Brandon, Derek, and James (well played by the trio of actors Kelly Blatz, Kenny Wormald, and Israel Broussard). As James was mercy killed in the prior episode by Brandon with a big assist from Chris, Travis basically realizes the monster that his son has become but still has that fatherly bond and worry. Brandon and Derek inadvertently show up at the hotel sans Chris for medical attention, so Travis compels the duo to tell them what happened to his son. The situation remains tense throughout as Travis finds out they killed Chris after he was injured in a bad car accident. Travis' rage boils over with powerful results.
When this episode happened, I wondered where was this type of superb storytelling for the rest of the season? I felt like this subplot was not only the best written, but also the best acted as all 5 actors playing Travis, Chris and the evil teen trio nailed their parts. While in other news, the writing and acting of the Hotel and Colonia subplots ranged from awful to just mediocre. Also, this subplot finally made fans see what I always knew, that Travis was the best character of the show. Starting out as a timid, pacifist schoolteacher that took crap from everyone, Travis slowly and methodically became more jaded and pessimistic and turning into an enraged, vengeful father in this keeper of an episode.
Also, I thought fans were way too hard on Chris, who in my opinion was a very well-defined and acted character throughout the show. I found Chris to be much more compelling than the weird Nick and the useless Alicia, both of whom could use some acting lessons. Plus, Kim Dickens, the de facto lead of the show, somehow forgot how to act after Season 1 as Madison was easily the worst character in the 2nd season. And Strand just felt like an overrated tagalong character and the acting for him just got worse and worse. Ofelia was a character with a ton of promise and more natural conviction, but for whatever reason the writers were way more enamored with Alicia over her as the secondary female behind Madison. Basically, too much emphasis on the Clarks and not enough on everyone else.
But as poor as Season 2 was overall, I can always come back to the Travis-Chris parts to remind myself that there was some actual good storytelling in an otherwise weak season.