The first scene of chapter “Divine Providence” (7×14) from Fear the Walking Dead (since 2015) uses classical, choral and beautifully light music again this time, to produce a counterpoint with the images of a certain daily ritual that it accompanies. Not because they are violent or unpleasant, but because we know very well that their vile protagonist contrasts with them.
During the initial set sequence, on the other hand, there is two decisions of the writers Alex Delyle and David Johnson, who have already written eight episodes since “Buried” (4×04) and six since “Channel 4” (5×09) respectively, which we could consider very questionable. To the point that we really hope that they will solve them later with some justifying surprise.
One of them, coming from a character as experienced as Alicia Clark by Alycia Debnam-Carey, seems to us foolish to stupidity. And the other, which undoubtedly makes the aforementioned even more implausible, destroys the reasons why Danay García’s Luciana Gálvez decides to betray Rubén Blades’ Daniel Salazar with the last twist of the chapter “Ofelia” (7×11); a bad memory for us.
A script that does not hold up as a whole
However, both the skills that these people have been acquiring in the zombie apocalypse, or that they already had in the case of the former Salvadoran military officer from Fear the Walking Deadsuch as the problematic relationship that has been established with Colman Domingo’s Victor Strand upset our expectations in a way that, however, does not make us lose sight of the aforementioned drawbacks.
The most important question In this regard, it is about the plan that Alicia Clark of Alycia Debnam-Carey and company have drawn up to take over the tower, about whether it really exists or if they have just jumped into the lion’s den without giving it a second thought. Because, at least, the ambiguous antagonist had a devastating blow prepared in case things did not develop to his liking abject him.
We wanted epic and they saddle us with intimacy, and finally, okay; is not contradictory in Fear the Walking Dead. But one fears a lot the possibility that the king goes naked here and that, if such unpredictability contradicts the “Ofelia” arc, the understanding with Colman Domingo’s Victor Strand destroys the construction of his irredeemable villainy and the powerful declaration of war at the end of “Father” (7×08).
Exhausting the viewer of ‘Fear the Walking Dead’
However, perhaps we are being unfair when the evolution of Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Negan Smith pleased us so much in the last few seasons of The Walking Dead, for comparing the status of the former swindler with a murderer at his height. But the narrative concoction of “Divine Providence” in terms of the motivations of the characters is quite indigestible. Oh yes guys.
Director Edward Ornelasthat comes from Grey’s Anatomy (since 2005), from The mentalist (2008-2015) or The Blacklist (since 2013), does not shine at all with audiovisual planning and offers us a utility footageand can correct little of the script with which the showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg, two guys who raised the spin off AMC and may be running out of steam.
There’s no arguing that the destruction of a shelter in the crossfire is inconsistent with the previous misadventures of Fear the Walking Dead nor, of course, with those of the franchise itself. But the final swerve of the episode, with which anger explodes, and the consequent cliffhanger exhaust us in this ill-arranged dramatic cocktail, which does not fit. Hopefully they fix this weakness in the future.