The Best Episode From Every Season of ‘Fear The Walking Dead’ So Far
After eight seasons and hundreds — if not thousands — of walkers slain, Fear The Walking Dead will conclude this year.
To bid farewell to the TWD-verse’s original spinoff, we’ve put together a list of the best episode from each season (so far). Scroll down for them all, and stay tuned for the final season pick later in Season 8.
Fear The Walking Dead, Sundays, 9/8c, AMC
Season 1: “Pilot”
While some could argue (and have argued) that Fear’s first season sped too quickly down the pothole-cluttered road of societal collapse, they’d be hard-pressed to find that particular fault in the Pilot. The show’s premiere masterfully built end-of-the-world tension as it showed the impending zombie apocalypse through the eyes of addict Nick Clark (Frank Dillane). Gleefully playing with franchise fans’ knowledge that the end was near, it hinted at the rising dread in familiarly unnerving ways—phone recordings, ominous warnings about getting flu shots, etc.—and ended on a chilling note that set up all the chaos to come.
Season 2: “Wrath”
Holy moly, Travis. If ever an episode of Fear earned its title, it’s “Wrath.” The penultimate episode of the show’s second season saw Travis (Cliff Curtis) brutally execute the thugs who killed his son, which marked a major turning point for his character. It’s hard not to wish Travis had stuck around longer when watching “Wrath”—who might he have become had he survived his ill-fated helicopter flight in Season 3? We’ll never know, but his bloody vengeance on his son’s killers was satisfying (and a little disturbing) to watch.
Season 3: “This Land Is Your Land” and “Children of Wrath”
Fear’s third season was a true standout in The Walking Dead’s massive, walker-shuffling universe. For that reason, we’re including two episodes from that particular block of 16 episodes: the Alicia-focused “This Land Is Your Land” and the midseason finale, “Children of Wrath.” Alicia’s (Alycia Debnam-Carey) emotional, devastating struggle to survive in the overrun wreckage of Broke Jaw Ranch made for sweaty-palmed viewing—and marked a major step on her journey from survivor to leader. Meanwhile, the intense midseason finale saw a desperate Madison (Kim Dickens) reveal a dark truth to her children: that she’d killed her abusive father before the apocalypse, and that she’d kill to keep their family safe at Broke Jaw Ranch. Ultimately, Nick pulled the trigger to restore order… and a certain zombified head brought a tentative peace.
Season 4: “What’s Your Story?”
There was a head-scratching epidemic in the Walking Dead fandom when the announcement of Fear’s crossover character was made… and it wasn’t, as many had suspected, Abraham Ford (Michael Cudlitz). How the heck was Morgan (Lennie James) going to fit into Fear’s style and tone? Granted, some of the show’s themes adjusted for his arrival—the days of coldly bashing in heads with hammers came to a rapid end—but “What’s Your Story?” did a decent job of getting Mo-Mo from Virginia to Texas and introducing a fan-favorite character in John Dorie (Garret Dillahunt).
Season 5: “Skidmark”
Speaking of fan favorites, Fear brought back another beloved character in Season 5 as Ruben Blades returned to the role of Daniel Salazar. In “Skidmark,” we discovered where he’d been during the events of the fourth season… and met his feline companion, for whom the episode was named. We haven’t seen Skidmark for a good long while—here’s hoping the adorable kitty has just survived, somehow.
Season 6: “Things Left to Do”
After two unsteady seasons, Season 6 marked a return to form for Fear. The show again tackled complex themes of morality and loss, and June (Jenna Elfman) struggled with both as she grieved for her late husband. (We still miss you, John Dorie.) In the end, June coldly executed Virginia (Colby Minifie) for the part she played in John’s death—and that act of violence came after she learned Virginia was a mother. “Things Left to Do” showed the spinoff could still go to dark places when it chose, and that its characters didn’t always have to follow a set moral compass.
Season 7: “Gone”
She’s back! Following seasons upon seasons of rampant fan speculation that Madison had not, in fact, died at the Dell Diamond, she at last reappeared… one episode too late to reunite with her daughter. (Bummer.) Nonetheless, Dickens’ return was nothing short of spectacular, and seeing her act opposite Lennie James made up for the missed opportunity to connect Morgan and Madison’s storylines in Season 4.
