Munya Vomo
At first glance the idea of a spin-off to The Walking Dead sounded great, but we can’t deny that it is also a huge ask for the fans to believe in. The Walking Dead has done really well over five seasons, so there was no need to have an off-shoot of it. But the brilliant mind of Robert Kirkman (executive producer, comic book creator) seems to have no limits.
We established that the spin-off to The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead is a prequel. It is the answer to all the questions that we have had in The Walking Dead story since it starts in the middle of a zombie crisis. As lead actress Kim Dickens explained in an earlier interview, Fear the Walking Dead takes things back to today and what would likely happen if we were to be attacked by zombies. It attempts to show how humanity reacts to an apocalyptic event, whereas The Walking Dead is how people survive in the madness.
It was obvious that the fans of The Walking Dead were concerned about the spin-off being made, although it brought star power like Dickens and Cliff Curtis. Yet once it was here it became a welcome addition to what is already a successful franchise.
With Fear the Walking Dead’s maiden season coming to a successful end, the sixth season of The Walking Dead is upon us and looking better than ever. Those who read the comics know there are about 146 issues of the story yet the TV version had only gone as far as issue 77 by the end of season five. So there is still a lot to tell and apparently Kirkman even claimed that he has ideas for the comic laid down to as far as issue 300. So there really isn’t much to worry about as far as content.
Season six comes at a time when Rick (Andrew Lincoln) tries to make the best of their new home, Alexandria. In the last season we learnt that the people in that area were not as welcoming as Rick’s crew had hoped for, but as time went on things changed for the positive.
We also saw the return of Morgan (Lennie James) whom we met in the first season as he forged a friendship with Rick. The two are not in full agreement on how to run Alexandria and constantly argue. Michonne (Danai Gurira), who has been Rick’s ally for a while now, knocked him out cold when he went on a violent streak last season. So their relationship is also not what it used to be. The people of Alexandria still have a lot to learn when it comes to how to to deal with the zombies. They have relied on luck so far and Rick is about to teach them to survive. The question remains: will they be strong enough to kill?
On purchasing the first few comics a few years back, the retailer gave me the best advice when he said: “Like the story but do not get attached to any character”. The same applies in the TV show.
The Walking Dead airs Mondays at 9.20pm on Fox, (DStv channel 125) and StarSat (channel 131).