Fear the Walking Dead: Preppers and TEOTWAWKI

Fear the Walking Dead’s third season introduces us to a family of Preppers. Did this Prepper family have any idea The End was going to be like this?

Jeremiah Otto’s End of the World tapes at the beginning of Fear the Walking Dead episode “TEOTWAWKI” were fascinating. Not only was he preaching the end of the world and the need to be prepared, but he was also pushing his own emergency preparedness survival buckets. There are a few things to break down here. First and foremost is the fact that there are products like this available, both in the mainstream and in the case of some major disaster. Then we’ll take a look at how Otto’s system seems to be working in the apocalypse.

For those of us in California, we’re reminded on a daily basis to have an earthquake kit ready even though major earthquakes are rare. However, the “Big One” could be coming at any time so officials are constantly preaching preparedness. (I’m not even kidding…on TV, on the radio, all the time) I’d imagine that people who live in flood zones, hurricane zones, and areas prone to tornadoes also keep some kind of emergency kit. (Most of us know we should have these kits, but we either flat out don’t have them or we have them but then use them and forget to restock the items we used)

“Preppers” are a whole other story. Preppers are getting ready for more than a natural disaster. They’re getting ready for “The End.” Whether it’s the collapse of society, war, attacks, disease, or perhaps even a zombie apocalypse, Preppers want to be ready. Their preparation goes beyond having a bucket of food at the ready. Preppers take things to the next level with methods of self defense, plans to defend their shelter, and even bunkers. They want to be completely prepared for when TE arrives, and it’s important that they have every possible scenario worked out.

As things have gotten crazier in the world, food banks have popped up around the nation where people can store food so it doesn’t have to take up room in their houses. Some of these food storage locations are run by churches whose parishioners practice food storage as part of their religion, while others are run by other Preppers who see a useful niche and wish to make food storage open for everyone.

There are different levels of food storage, which means that there are different kinds of “Preppers.” Does having an emergency kit make you a Prepper? If so, then a large number of people can be considered Preppers. But if by Prepper you mean someone who has several months worth of food set aside, just in case of disaster, then that’s a much smaller population.

The fact that fewer people have so much food and supplies set aside for emergencies is why Madison and her family experience hostility at Broke Jaw Ranch. In the residents’ minds they should not have to help those who weren’t prepared.

This brings us to life at Broke Jaw Ranch. From what we have been able to see so far, Jeremiah Otto runs a tight ship on the ranch and he has his sons to help manage the residents. Everyone has plenty of food and no one is starving. There are crops and livestock, and plenty of places to sleep. Though we’re not too far into the apocalypse, they seem to have what they need to get by.

As with the case of people who have things that other people need, we know that there is some unseen threat lurking beyond the ranch. Someone shot down the helicopter and that means that there could be people out there that want to take what Broke Jaw Ranch has. That’s their biggest problem right now, but it looks like Otto has quite the arsenal stockpiled.

More from Undead Walking

Fear the Walking Dead has introduced us to a group of people who prepared for disaster, and now it’s time to see how long the peace lasts before it blows up. If there’s one thing we know about the Walking Dead Universe, it’s that peace never lasts.

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