Fear the Walking Dead 506 review: Don’t stop believing
The hits keep coming on Fear the Walking Dead, but this week’s “The Little Prince” proves that with hope and faith, things have a way of working out. Kind of.
Week after week, the characters in the world of Fear the Walking Dead are faced with insurmountable challenges and impossible odds. Despite all of the obstacles thrown their way, they always find ways to make the most of the situation even if they end up doing something completely different from what they set out to do. In “The Little Prince” the hits kept coming, but hope appeared out of thin air. Literally.
Like The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead is based on a world where zombies have taken over and as such the show has to be given some wiggle room when it comes to suspension of belief. The Walking Dead has certainly had its fair share of seemingly impossible or implausible moments. The odds of Rick reuniting with his family were astronomical, but writers had to find a way to make it happens because let’s face it – that reunion was the basis of the whole story.
When it comes to this week’s episode of Fear the Walking Dead, the book The Little Prince provided the inspiration the team needed to commit to fixing the mangled airbus and flying out of Nuclear City. Morgan notes that the group has done impossible things in the past and they’re going to do it again, and they do. Not only has this season now seen two functional airplanes this deep into the apocalypse, but it also saw the short-lived debut of Jimbo’s prized hot air balloon.
Keeping the faith, and maintaining hope in the face of impossible situations, has become the backbone of season 5. Taken with a healthy dose of suspension of belief, these two themes really work well in conjunction with the overarching theme of redemption this season.
In 506, every hopeful moment was countered with moments of adversity. Al was able to start the plane but the propeller broke. John and Dwight found evidence of Sherry but John discovered that Sherry doesn’t want Dwight to follow her. Strand and Charlie found a hot air balloon but they ran out of fuel. Annie opened up to Alicia but left anyway.
Through it all, though, the hope never gave out. Though the impending nuclear meltdown is a problem, the group isn’t giving up yet and that says a lot about how far they have all come together.
One of the most poignant moments of “The Little Prince” came when John Dorie discovered Sherry’s letter to Dwight and made the tough decision not to share it with him. John’s story about finding June is what has given Dwight the motivation he needed to continue his search, and after the trail grew warmer Dwight’s hope is at an all-time high. John knows the note will destroy that hope and he wants Dwight to get on the plane. Now the question is whether or not Dwight will leave knowing that Sherry is (was) so close.
Overall “The Little Prince” is an episode that lays the foundation for a strong mid-season finale. The pacing is somewhat slower by design because there are so many moving pieces that are building up to a larger conflict. While the pacing might seem slower, the tension is rising now that the group has been split into pieces.
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And while things have been going from bad to worse in Nuclear City, we can’t ignore the fact that Logan is still sitting pretty at the denim factory and that Daniel Salazar has gone on his little mission. Will we see Logan and Daniel before the mid-season finale? Only time will tell.
Fear the Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9pm on AMC.