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Though waiting until the last minute and attaching it to a plug for his new interview with Elon Musk, Joe Rogan has endorsed Donald Trump.
Posted in: AMC, Fear The Walking Dead, Review, TV | Tagged: amc, fear the walking dead, fear twd, FTWD, Review, season 8
Fear the Walking Dead S08E05: A Moment of Grace to Last a Lifetime
AMC's Fear the Walking Dead S08E05 "More Time Than You Know" was an excellent midseason finale set-up highlighted by the amazing Karen David.
With only two episodes remaining before the midseason break kicks in, things are picking up right where they left off with the final season of AMC's Fear the Walking Dead. Morgan (Lennie James), Grace (Karen David), Mo (Zoey Merchant), Dwight (Austin Amelio), Sherry (Christine Evangelista), and Finch (Gavin Warren) are making their way to June (Jenna Elfman) – and they're running out of time on any number of fronts. But as we learned at the end of last week's episode, it's Grace who's the biggest priority – hit by the deadly combination of the return of her radiation sickness and having been bitten by a walker. So things are pretty desperate heading into S08E05 "More Time Than You Know" (directed by Heather Cappielo and written by David Johnson & Calaya Michelle Stallworth), which explains the need for the episode to hit the ground running right out of the gate.
And yet, using Grace's conscious/unconscious moments to progress the storyline in a way that offered quiet moments in between the mayhem was a well-played decision. And that was key because the quiet moments gave James and Merchant so many chances to own the screen – individually and together. But "More Time Than You Know" was David's episode, one that found Mo getting an emotional crash course on the pain, hope & heartbreak that comes from being alive in The Walking Dead Universe – but in episodes, not seasons. So with that in mind, we're throwing on the "MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!" sign and throwing down an image spoiler buffer before we go any further – just to be on the safe side.
After four very intense and active episodes, the penultimate episode of the first part of the final season did exactly what I needed it to do as we head into what looks to be an explosive midseason finale that we're expecting will leave some major cliffhangers to torture us over the next several months. Shrike (Maya Eshet) was back to remind us of the almost cult-like threat that PADRE still poses, while Dwight (Austin Amelio), Sherry (Christine Evangelista), Finch (Gavin Warren), and June (Jenna Elfman) brought us all back to reality regarding the long-term implications of June's radiation treatments. And we even got Daniel (Rubén Blades) popping in to remind us that he, Madison (Kim Dickens), and the parent militia were still out that & in play, too. All of these storylines threads progressed just enough to keep them in the front burners of our brains – again, exactly what I expect from a set-up transitional episode that knows how to do its job.
And then there's the matter of Morgan, Grace, and Mo – a tragic family reunion with an inevitably heartbreaking conclusion. Over the course of four episodes, Mo has experienced firsthand what it's like to have the life that you thought you knew torn asunder. Over that brief time, she was pulled from what was, shown what could've been, and forced to emotionally confront what could never be. As we mentioned earlier, most characters that we come to connect with within the TWD universe usually come as the result of what we get to know about them over time. With Merchant, we have an actress who is able to convey seasons' worth of character growth in a short period of time – Mo feels like someone we've known for some time, and that's essential for Merchant to deftly execute some serious emotional heavy-liting during some amazingly-written moments.
As for James, I'm not sure what's left to say about an actor that makes every scene that much better just by being in the background. Though we respect his wanting to walk away from the role once the series officially wraps, James continues to find ways to present deeper layers to Morgan Jones – a character who continues to keep us guessing. And with what he had to say to Shrike and with what the midseason finale trailer had to share, it looks like there might be another Morgan rising out of the ashes of losing the woman he loved forever and the daughter he only recently reunited with to PADRE. And don't think we didn't catch that symbolism of Morgan putting down Grace to save Mo as a kind of redemption for what he couldn't do for his wife & son years earlier. And then there's Grace, who lived up to her name in the way she was able to spend her remaining moments opening her daughter up to the possibility of there being more… of there being hope. By opening up to Mo about her regrets, Grace allowed herself to be a kind of "cautionary tale" for her daughter to learn from – to keep her from making the same mistakes that she did.
But with Mo seemingly joining back up with PADRE and off to clear out the carrion from the docks for Shrike, did the right lesson get through? That's the question that we're hoping gets answered in next weekend's midseason finale, S08E06 "All I See Is Red" – see you then!
Fear the Walking Dead Season 8 Episode 5 "More Time Than You Know"
8/10
With only two episodes remaining before the midseason break kicks in, things are picking up right where they left off with the final season of AMC's Fear the Walking Dead. Morgan (Lennie James), Grace (Karen David), Mo (Zoey Merchant), Dwight (Austin Amelio), Sherry (Christine Evangelista), and Finch (Gavin Warren) are making their way to June (Jenna Elfman) - and they're running out of time on any number of fronts. But as we learned at the end of last week's episode, it's Grace who's the biggest priority - hit by the deadly combination of the return of her radiation sickness and having been bitten by a walker. So things are pretty desperate heading into S08E05 "More Time Than You Know" (directed by Heather Cappielo and written by David Johnson & Calaya Michelle Stallworth), which explains the need for the episode to hit the ground running right out of the gate.
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