Fear the Walking Dead: First stage of grief is denial

Travis approaching Daniel Salazar /

In Fear the Walking Dead the characters are making decisions that have fans yelling at their television screens and thinking about how stupid they are. Why aren’t they telling each other what’s going on? Why aren’t they figuring it out? Why aren’t they doing this or that?

In articles and especially in the comments section of articles I keep reading about how stupid the characters are and how you better believe if that person saw what these characters saw, they’d figure it out and they’d know what to do. I guess I’m stupid, too. I don’t think I would.

The first stage of grief is denial. People hate change. I don’t think I’d realize that my life as I knew it was over. I’d cling to the hope that people would figure it out and there would be a solution and that life would get back to normal. When the power goes out or we have a snow storm and things get crazy, I just ride it out.

Fear-The-Walking-Dead-Spectators /

When I see areas affected by hurricanes or shootings, or even 911, I’m horrified, but I watch knowing and hoping that it will eventually get back to normal for them, as normal as possible, knowing they’ll carry the emotional toll. I don’t anticipate the apocalypse.

In Fear the Walking Dead, they’re seeing unimaginable things. Things the brain can’t comprehend or interpret. Denial is powerful. Madison doesn’t want her daughter to know that she just had to kill a man. Her brain hasn’t sorted out the man vs. walker thing yet. Imagine if she killed Artie in a car accident. That would still be traumatic.

My dad died of lung cancer and was in denial, at least out loud, until the day he died. 4 days before he died when they told him he could no longer receive treatment and went on hospice, he told me maybe now he had 2 years instead of 5. And my dad was not a stupid man.

Liza in Los Angeles. Fear the Walking Dead, AMC. /

How many things have we seen people show us or tell us about from online, even with video proof, that we say, “Oh, that’s fake!” Yes, Madison and Travis saw Cal, but how do you explain to people something you don’t understand yourself? What are these things? What’s happening to them? Can they be cured? Hershel thought so even 2 months into the outbreak.

Madison and Travis are likely hoping to get their family out into safety and then talk things out. But things are moving too quickly now.

Denial. Anger. Bargaining. Depression. Acceptance.

Our Walking Dead group has fluctuated through all those phases. Some of the people now are in those beginning phases again-Father Gabriel, Deanna, Eugene, Nicholas.

We are watching our Fear characters in tall denial. Be on the lookout for anger and bargaining!

P.S. The first stage of grief is denial. We are watching our own grief unfold as well about deciding whether we can love another Walking Dead show. Last week people were in denial and disappointed, even angry. It was too slow. It’s no Walking Dead. Comparing every little thing. Bargaining. I’ll give it a little time. Maybe I’ll watch the next one. Depression and more anger. These people are stupid. And now we have to wait 2 weeks? Those of use who stick with it will fluctuate through denial, anger, bargaining, and depression before we accept that we either love or hate the new show as its own sibling to The Walking Dead.

Next: Season 5:All Named Character Deaths

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