Fear the Walking Dead: Teenagers in the apocalypse

In Fear the Walking Dead we’re seeing teenagers in the apocalypse before and after the outbreak and parents trying to protect them from the horror of it.

Part of being a teenager is trying to assert your independence while having the safety net of your parents. Part of being a parent to teenagers is learning to let go and let your children grow up while being an invisible safety net when everything in you wants to still tell them what to do, help them avoid making mistakes and shield them from everything hurtful.

In The Walking Dead Carl and Sophia were children. Carl grew into a teenager during the apocalypse. In Fear the Walking Dead. we have 3 teenagers who had their teenage issues before the outbreak.

Alicia had a life planned and was smart, but neglected because of her organization and because she had it together and her brother didn’t. When the apocalypse hit, Alicia was sheltered and overprotected.

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Nick didn’t have it together at all and got all the spotlight and all the independence. When the apocalypse hit, Nick still got the spotlight because he needed to be watched and weened off his drugs.

Chris was angry feeling abandoned by his father because of the divorce, with a new family forced upon him. When the apocalypse hit, he felt abandoned by his mother and still had a new family forced upon him.

All three kids now have the same teenage problems and parent problems with the addition of facing life without any safety nets. Their parents have the same desires to protect them without the ability to be a safety net.

Dave Erickson talked to Entertainment Weekly about the kids:

"One of the things that’s interesting to me about Alicia, and Chris, and Nick specifically, is that we’re trying to tell a coming of age story in a world where no one really comes of age anymore."

During this last episode the kids had their first experiences away from the kids’ table. Alicia told Jack on the radio that it was over before she knew it started. Chris had been videotaping things. And Nick is now present with his family and new friends for the first time.

Next: Strand's rules and cutting the rope

All three did what almost everyone in Walking Dead land has to do at some point–face the walkers. Face what life is now. Face what they could become if they don’t fight it. Look at it and become alive with the adrenaline of the fight.

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