‘Fear The Walking Dead’: Are The Characters Too Dumb?
AMC’s Fear The Walking Dead will air its fourth episode tonight, and some critics and fans believe that the characters are too dumb to be believable. While it is still early in the zombie apocalypse, Travis (Cliff Curtis) is already upsetting viewers that believe he is putting his family in danger with decisions that do not make any sense. As Business Insider points out, Travis complained about the use of guns multiple times during episode 3. The first incident took place after Daniel (Ruben Blades) shot a zombified version of a neighbor attempting to attack Travis. The second was after Daniel attempted to teach his son Chris (Lorenzo James Henrie) how to use a gun. Here are a few reactions from fans on Twitter.
Watching fear the walking dead and realizing that these people are stupid and can't realize whats happening smh
— Azauriel (@azaurieltunes) September 20, 2015
MY GOD, the people in fear the walking dead are stupid, better pick up. Going to give it till halfway through the season.
— LEISURE GAMING (@JasonLeisure) September 14, 2015
Forbes says part of the problem is that fans of Fear The Walking Dead, are also fans of the original Walking Dead. Looking back to the earlier seasons of the Walking Dead, Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) was apprehensive about using guns and violence. Gradually, as Rick saw how the world changed, he was more open to using guns and other necessary forms of violence in order to survive in a new and dangerous environment.
After watching five complete seasons, Walking Dead fans are ahead of the characters in Fear The Walking Dead. While viewers understand the full ramifications of the zombie apocalypse, Travis and the other characters are still figuring things out. At the current point in the show, the military has just arrived in the neighborhood. There is still no helpful news coverage about what is really going on, and the characters do not know the full extent of the danger that they are facing.
Since we are only on episode 4, Travis is unlikely to change his stance on guns during the rest of season 1. As far as he knows, the outbreak is only confined to Los Angeles. He also believes that the zombies are just sick, and can be saved with proper medical attention. With his current knowledge, Travis does not believe it is necessary for his son to use a gun yet against the walkers. While the audience knows Chris will need to learn to shoot a gun in order to survive at some point, it is important to remember the characters are way behind the viewer’s knowledge.
Travis’ girlfriend, Madison, (Kim Dickens) has also angered viewers by her refusal to explain to her daughter, Alicia, (Alycia Debnam-Carey) what she really knows. While Madison may be trying to protect her from what is really going on, not telling her the full extent may put her in more danger, according to fans.
As Fear The Walking Dead goes on, Travis and Madison are likely to go through the same transformation that Rick and other characters in the Walking Dead went through. The question is, how long will it take, and will diehard fans have enough patience to wait for it to happen?
[Image via Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images]
