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Posted in: AMC, Fear The Walking Dead, Review, TV | Tagged: amc, episode 7, fear the walking dead, fear twd, FTWD, Review, season 8
Fear the Walking Dead S08E07 "Anton" Review: Old Ghosts, New Lives
AMC's Fear the Walking Dead S08E07 "Anton" was a welcome return that wasted little time drawing a line in the sand between Madison and Troy.
With the final run of episodes kicking off this weekend, I thought I would kick off my review of AMC's Fear the Walking Dead S08E07: "Anton" (directed by series star Danay García and written by Nazrin Choudhury & Justin Boyd) with a confession. I didn't really start being a fan of the series until the fourth season – when Lennie James' Morgan made the move from the franchise series to the spinoff. Before that, I found the series a bit – eh. Just to be clear, I liked what I saw regarding the future potential in Madison (Kim Dickens), Daniel (Rubèn Blades), Luciana (Danay García), and Victor (Colman Domingo). But I didn't buy into Travis (Cliff Curtis) being anywhere near as close to a strong lead as Dickens' Madison was, thought Alycia Debnam-Carey's Alicia was too much of a work in progress for too long, and Nick's (Frank Dillane) death was something I was looking forward to well before the fourth season.
But as the timeline was accelerated to more match with the main series and the series expanded its ensemble cast in some truly effective ways, I found myself much more focused on the spinoff series than ever before. But in the process of Morgan and a number of new faces joining the cast, I began to develop a better appreciation for what came before. So when Madison "died," it hurt. When Alicia struggled through her walker bite and cutting off her own arm, we felt for her every step of the way before witnessing her evolution into a badass in her own right. Our hearts broke for Daniel and Luciana's attempts at reconciling the past and raged at every bad decision that Victor made – even as we held onto hope that he would find his way. Pretty soon, I was rewatching the first three seasons with a fresh set of eyes – and while there are still some rumblings that I hold onto, Fear the Walking Dead deserves to be honored for the grandeur of its storytelling efforts over eight seasons.
So when I learned that Morgan would be handing the "season baton" over to Madison heading into the eighth season's final six episodes, it just felt right. While I may not necessarily agree with some of the OG fans who crapped on the series after Morgan arrived, Nick died, and Madison "died," I'm glad to see that series showrunners Andrew Chambliss & Ian Goldberg are doing right by them by shifting the final spotlight back to Madison, Daniel, Luciana, and Victor – with Dwight (Austin Amelio), Sherry (Christine Evangelista), and June (Jenna Elfman) along for the final fight. And if it's the future that they're fighting for, then who better to be their final "boss battle" than Troy Otto (Daniel Sharman) – who clearly got much better since the third season. And that brings us to "Anton" – the midseason premiere and the first of six final chapters – which means it's time to throw on the "MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!" sign and throw down an image spoiler buffer as we look at what went down and how the stage was set for the final run.
Fear the Walking Dead S08E07 "Anton" Thoughts & Observations
Domingo's journey as Victor has been a masterful one – and his new life as "Anton" is yet another fascinating facet of the character. Being a part of a new community to the point where he not only has a family in "son" Klaus (Julian Grey) and partner Frank (Isha Blaaker) but is also committed to learning German shows Victor's continued desire to create, contribute, and help lead a community – if he wasn't almost always his own worst enemy.
With Madison being sought by both Daniel and Troy's troops, she ends up at "Anton's" (Victor) community – where any chances of a loving, heartfelt reunion are dashed (understandably) by way too much bad blood between the two. Watching Domingo present a Victor who is trying so desperately to cling to his new life that he will deny everything – even as those around begin to doubt him – is a heart-crusher. It also brought back to mind a theme that's been brought up a number of times in the franchise series – that our survivors really do cause a lot of death and destruction when they roll up onto someplace new.
QUESTION FOR CHAMBLISS & GOLDBERG: Did Madison really need to blow up Victor's new life so quickly?
While matters between them clearly remain unresolved, it was pretty sweet seeing Victor and Madison back in action together again. And Domingo & Clark are able to bring back those old-school vibes while never once betraying the fact that this is not the Madison and Strand from the earlier seasons. They're survivors for a reason – but now, they're charged with using those skills for a much greater good than themselves.
Sharman's Troy Otto was a perfect choice for the series-ending finale "Big Bad" because of the scars he shares with our survivors, and his turn in this episode exudes the right amount of menace without being a cartoony cliche. Having been off the grid for so long, having Troy return simply on a revenge-kill mission would've been way too much "been there, done that." But adding into the mix that he wants PADRE for his people while also getting the satisfaction of taking it away from Madison sets up an interesting battle of wills between the two – whose will will win out?
For the record? We're putting it out there that we're on "Team Alicia," and we're not buying into the idea that she's dead. With these being the final episodes, it would be too great of a "HOLY S**T!" moment not to have it happen. Also, as much as I wouldn't have minded to see it happen tonight – we really need Daniel to get his pound of flesh from Troy before it's all over.
And with that, the lines have been drawn… sides have been taken… and the final battle for the future of PADRE (and our heroes) begins. We'll see you next week for AMC's Fear the Walking Dead S08E08: "Iron Tiger."
Fear the Walking Dead Season 8 Episode 7 "Anton"
8/10
When I learned that Morgan would be handing the "season baton" over to Madison heading into AMC's Fear the Walking Dead Season 8's final six episodes, it just felt right. While I may not necessarily agree with some of the OG fans who crapped on the series after Morgan arrived, Nick died, and Madison "died," I'm glad to see that series showrunners Andrew Chambliss & Ian Goldberg are doing right by them by shifting the final spotlight back to Madison (Kim Dickens), Daniel (Rubèn Blades), Luciana (Danay García), and Victor (Colman Domingo) - with Dwight (Austin Amelio), Sherry (Christine Evangelista), and June (Jenna Elfman) along for the final fight. And if it's the future that they're fighting for, then who better to be their final "boss battle" than Troy Otto (Daniel Sharman) - who clearly got much better since the third season. And that brings us to "Anton" - the midseason premiere and the first of six final chapters - which means it's time to throw on the "MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!" sign and throw down an image spoiler buffer as we look at what went down and how the stage was set for the final run.
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