Fear the Walking Dead: Is blood all that matters?
By Susie Graham
As Reed taunted Chris on Fear the Walking Dead, he said blood was all that matters now. Is that how things work in the next world as we’ve seen it?
Fear the Walking Dead explores the apocalypse we know from The Walking Dead at the beginning of the outbreak. Things we’ve learned from The Walking Dead give us some crystal ball type perspective on how things progress.
The idea of family and what it means is an important theme in both shows. We’ve seen small families in The Walking Dead and new families created, especially as people are left alone without family.
Daryl and Merle went through many separations and reunions. Glenn and Rick were upset when Daryl chose Merle over them after they escaped from Woodbury. They considered Daryl family and didn’t understand the loyalty to his blood brother.
On Fear the Walking Dead, we have blended families already without the apocalypse in Chris and Travis joining with Madison’s family. That kind of blending is going to happen more and more as people are thrown together from necessity rather than divorce.
As with blended families from divorce and step brothers, sisters and children, the wondering if you’re as loved as the blood family is natural. Daniel Salazar has mentioned it a few times to Ofelia. “They’re not family.” He warns Ofelia that they would not choose to help her if it comes down to a choice between her and one of their kids.
Those choices aren’t always the ones presented. Maggie would have chosen her sister, but Beth was somewhere that Maggie had no chance of finding. There were no clues, no way for her to even start looking, She had to focus on her new family and the reality of the world she knew they now lived in.
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The more a blended family gets to know each other, the more the possibilities of love and loyalty exist. We see that growing now with our group on Abigail. They don’t even have to like each other to feel a connection and a desire to protect one another.
Chris and Ofelia are the only ones who have lost a blood relative. Though Travis and Daniel have had losses. The taunt that Reed threatened Chris with, while it poked a soft spot in Chris, is actually turning out to be false in the context of the show.
Chris didn’t like Nick before and now Nick is really turning out to be a big brother for Chris. Nick is a calm presence giving Chris good advice. Madison, who treats Nick and Alicia like children and over-protects them, is sweet and understanding with Chris.
Family is very important and it should be important. Blood does matter. But it’s not all that matters. The apocalypse magnifies things. In life it’s the same way. Family matters, but there are circumstances that create other important people in our lives. It’s not always important to keep score.