In defense of Travis on Fear the Walking Dead

Travis Manawa on Fear the Walking Dead has been harshly criticized by many fans for not being tough enough for the zombie apocalypse.

I’ve heard it on the reaction videos for Fear the Walking Dead and seen it in countless comments on the internet. Many fans think that Travis needs to toughen up. They think he needs to get with it and join the fun of killing in the apocalypse. What’s he waiting for?

This seems an unfair criticism. Especially when you compare his decisions to similar decisions and other characters on The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead that aren’t met with such disdain.

For whatever reason, fans expected some of our characters to adjust and understand the infected much more quickly than is logical at the start of Fear the Walking Dead. I think once they formed an opinion about Travis, it stuck even after some actions and events that show his strengths in many apocalypse-appropriate ways.

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Travis was first made fun of for not wanting to kill the walkers because he thought they might just be sick. Hershel thought that. And we met Hershel a good 2-3 months into the outbreak, not 2-3 days. Then because he wanted to bury his neighbor instead of burning him. Our group still buries the dead they love and burns the rest.

We felt sorry for Morgan and Andrea for having to shoot zombie loved ones. Travis had to shoot LIza well before Daryl had to shoot Dale.

Travis respected Strand’s rules for the boat as much as possible, knowing it was a place of safety for his family. Rick made concessions for Hershel’s rules at the farm knowing it was a safe place for his family. We may have been frustrated with Rick and Hershel, but we understood what they were doing.

Travis decided to stay with his son even though it meant risking the safety in numbers and losing his girlfriend because he knew his son needed him. That’s a strong statement from a father to a son. Unlike Nick, who has always been leaving, Chris has felt abandoned and has wanted his father back.

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Travis even earned the respect of Nick, who felt his father abandoned him. Nick sees the strength and nobility of Travis’ choice to stay with his son and keeps his secret from Madison. We should try to see the strength is Travis’ choices sometimes, too, instead of just judging someone’s toughness by the way they kill walkers.