Fear the Walking Dead: Nick face to face with death
By Susie Graham
Nick went face to face with an infected, literally, last Sunday on Fear the Walking Dead while covered in blood after saving Alicia from the beach crowd.
Both of The Walking Dead show are filled with paradox and symbolism. I’ve read that The Walking Dead sometimes hits you over the head with symbolism. I never found it to be heavy-handed, unnecessary or meaningless. I enjoy the symbolism.
An overarching paradox is that we want to treat both shows as very different and not compare them, yet the shows need each other and things we know from the original help us understand the new show and the new show gives a new perspective to events from seasons past on The Walking Dead.
We know from Glenn and Rick trying to use the guts of a walker to mask their smell that you can camouflage yourself with the smell. As Andrea said, “They smell dead, we don’t; it’s pretty distinct.” They used guts again to glide slowly through the herd in Alexandria.
Nick discovered this concept inadvertently this week when he noticed that the infected didn’t seem interested in him as he went to save Alicia. He tested it by turning back and looking an infected right in the eyes. It swayed and moved with Nick, but didn’t reach for him.
Related Story: Abraham's staring contest with death
Nick not only tested the guts theory, he looked death in the face. That’s something almost every character on The Walking Dead has done at one time or another and come out stronger. Come out with the decision to live. To not live among the dead any longer, but to accept that there is more.
Michonne faced a walker who looked like her when she realized she was walking among the walkers and decided to live again and find Carl and Rick. Abraham faced a military walker when he was flirting with reckless behavior and came out deciding to pursue Sasha and come to terms with the idea that the world is not over.
Next: Trailers for Fear Episode 204
Nick has faced death in his old life many times and always gone back to the reckless behavior. Now he’s enjoying a different kind of freedom when the world seems to be over, still he told Alicia that it’s not the rapture. And facing death like this might be just what he needs to stay free of drugs and decide to join life in the next world.