# Fear the Walking Dead: 1.02 "So Close, Yet So Far" (open spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 30, 2015, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-02-so-close-yet-so-far-open-spoilers/729447 "2015-08-30T23:51:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-02-so-close-yet-so-far-open-spoilers/729447/61 "2015-09-01T04:08:48Z")
Any predictions for who dies by the end of the season? I hope the wife or daughter do. I don’t care about them. I also think main dude’s biological son may die. I think main dude and Voldemort are safe for now. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-02-so-close-yet-so-far-open-spoilers/729447/62 "2015-09-01T06:32:24Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > That was my thought as to why the meds would be there. After all, if there were real drugs as contraband taken from students, wouldn’t the police have been called and the drugs taken as evidence? > > StG I think its plot development, the school has a shelter of some sorts that started out as a cold war bomb shelter, it would make sense that the state would disperse medical supplies in such places. Declan ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-02-so-close-yet-so-far-open-spoilers/729447/63 "2015-09-01T07:38:18Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > We’re only in Day 2 of the world in the show. I’d say things are going to hell pretty quickly. I think we’re heading into day four. Day 1: Druggie runs from his girlfriend, hit by a car Day 2: ??? Day 3: Druggie wakes up in hospital, finds out he’s been unconscious for 2 days This episode ended at night of the day they brought druggie home from the hospital I think, meaning next episode will start in the morning of day four. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-02-so-close-yet-so-far-open-spoilers/729447/64 "2015-09-01T11:28:06Z")
> [@The\_Evil\_Prince\_Zorte](#): > > The silence is a little frustrating, but keep in mind that they have killed each of the zombies they encountered. They don’t know they were dead, and they had put down a walking corpse. They see people that were friends, who seem sick, severely injured, and inexplicably violent which is bad enough. On top of that, they either killed or were complicit in the killing of these people. So telling the daughter means recounting something that sounds really crazy when you say it, which they can barely believe themselves. It requires confessing to murder even though it was self defense. The person you are telling wasn’t there and didn’t see the highly unlikely horror show you experienced, so it would be easy for them to second guess what you say happened and what you did. It’s bad enough telling your child something that will terrify them, without possibly making yourself look like a monster as well. They are thinking if they can just everyone out of town, they can tell them about what happened when they are at a safe distance so they story doesn’t have to be so terrifying. You said it better than I could 🙂 Nick has to run over dealer-friend-turned-zombie in order to _truly_ kill him – (I thought he was going to reanimate after the last run over but my husband said no, every bone in his body is broken so he can’t go anywhere.) Ditto what’s-her-name (you know, the guidance counselor) killing principal zombie to save Tobias. _You do what you have to do in the moment to survive, so of course you’re going to be numb and silent afterward…at least at first._ Another way of looking at it: Think of the weapons used on TWD. These people haven’t finely honed their zombie killing skills yet but you can see how they’re going to gradually emerge with whatever they can get their hands on. If you watched Talking Dead last week you would know that the writing for FTWD is being deliberately obtuse because WE know more than the characters do. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-02-so-close-yet-so-far-open-spoilers/729447/65 "2015-09-01T11:53:19Z")
OK, finally got caught up on both episodes last night. Some thoughts: You know, I think I’m zombied out in a sense. I stopped watching TWD midway through last season and turned to Downton Abbey because there’s only so much crazy-Rick-zombie-hoard I could take. I had a similar feeling watching this because I KNOW what’s going to happen and, knowing that, do I really want to keep watching? The pacing is uneven, but it’s for a reason. I have a lot of feeling for Tobias (oh please don’t kill him off, make him a hero!) As for the others…you know, it’s so easy to pigeonhole some of them, i.e., guidance counselor being the Carol equivalent, Nick being the Darryl equivalent sans crossbow, etc. I think we’re being deliberately kept from really knowing them because what’s surrounding them, right now, is more important. I find Nick rather compelling in the “I think he’s going to know more as time goes on and nobody’s going to believe him until the bitter end because he’s a junkie” type of way. And yeah, that puking and catatonic jerking is part of heroin withdrawal. I just thought of this: His catatonic jerking can easily be a disguise for mixing in with the zombies. Witness his jerky walking on the streets 😉 I like the fact that the police are hoarding stuff and not saying anything publicly. I’m not in love with this enough to keep it on my “must watch” list. As I said, I’m zombied out at the moment . Who knows, though? If I keep finding enough things to analyze I just may continue watching it so I can nitpick. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-02-so-close-yet-so-far-open-spoilers/729447/66 "2015-09-01T12:11:32Z")
> [@kiz](#): > > If you watched Talking Dead last week you would know that the writing for FTWD is being deliberately obtuse because WE know more than the characters do. That makes no sense. They’re writing for us, not the characters. If I wrote a comedy full of terrible jokes, I couldn’t counter my terrible reviews by saying that “Well, the characters thought the jokes were funny.” Obtuse writing is just obtuse. This franchise has a very bad history of poor writing, including lots of examples where characters withheld crucial information for no good reason other that narrative convenience. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-02-so-close-yet-so-far-open-spoilers/729447/67 "2015-09-01T12:46:32Z")
In this episode I think the parents have legitimate reasons to not tell their kids they just murdered someone. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-02-so-close-yet-so-far-open-spoilers/729447/68 "2015-09-01T13:47:44Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > What was the foreshadowing? I forgot. I assume they’re referring to the jump scare they had in the last episode, where the principal was leaning over, away from camera, and maybe there was some weird noise or something, and the counselor walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder, and he had been listening to the radio. I can’t remember exactly, but it was set up to look like he might be a zombie until he turned around. > [@EllisDee](#): > > In this episode I think the parents have legitimate reasons to not tell their kids they just murdered someone. Right, the daughter still hasn’t seen much yet. She’s seen the viral video, but I think she was skeptical that it was real, like a lot of people would be. She’s seen her boyfriend sick, but I don’t think she saw the bite. In a world where the concept of zombies don’t exist, I think it would take a lot to convince a person who hasn’t seen with their own eyes what’s going on, because it does sound crazy. If they did tell her what’s going on, she probably wouldn’t believe them, and she’d probably run out and go back to see her boyfriend out of concern. Which is another thing, I think the daughter, and the son with the camera are acting annoying in realistic ways, but it’s still annoying. ---
**Author:** ![MoonMoon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonmoon/32/2959_2.png) [@MoonMoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoonMoon)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-02-so-close-yet-so-far-open-spoilers/729447/69 "2015-09-01T14:10:29Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > That makes no sense. They’re writing for us, not the characters. If I wrote a comedy full of terrible jokes, I couldn’t counter my terrible reviews by saying that “Well, the characters thought the jokes were funny.” Obtuse writing is just obtuse. > > This franchise has a very bad history of poor writing, including lots of examples where characters withheld crucial information for no good reason other that narrative convenience. And they have a very bad history of using The Talking Dead as a vehicle to explain and justify their bad writing. Good writing can benefit from discussion and analysis, but it doesn’t need a whole 'nother show to explain what the hell the writers were thinking. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-02-so-close-yet-so-far-open-spoilers/729447/70 "2015-09-01T15:43:13Z")
The mom doesn’t have to admit she “murdered” anyone, yet. I realize that’s how people not in-the-know might see it, but you can tell them the crucial information about what’s going down without having to cop to how many walkers you’ve run over with a truck or bashed their head in with a fire extinguisher. If you really must to convince someone, you can say you witnesses a stranger doing it, but that this shit is happening, so don’t leave the damn house. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-02-so-close-yet-so-far-open-spoilers/729447/71 "2015-09-01T16:00:16Z")
> [@Sam\_Lowry](#): > > Which is another thing, I think the daughter, and the son with the camera are acting annoying in realistic ways, but it’s still annoying. Isn’t that just another way of saying they’re teenagers. 🙂 On the not telling the daughter everything… well, there’s a difference between telling her everything and telling her nothing. They should be scaring the shit out of her right now because they KNOW she wants to get back over to future-Zombie boyfriend’s house. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-02-so-close-yet-so-far-open-spoilers/729447/72 "2015-09-01T16:23:07Z")
> [@MoonMoon](#): > > And they have a very bad history of using The Talking Dead as a vehicle to explain and justify their bad writing. Good writing can benefit from discussion and analysis, but it doesn’t need a whole 'nother show to explain what the hell the writers were thinking. EXACTLY, I made a thread about it but didn’t get much support. TTD is nothing but a crutch so the audience isn’t left totally 😕 A good writer or director manages to use the dialogue or you know what we’re seeing on screen to convey meaning. Even with TTD some shit still made no sense, the episode Beth and Darryl find the country club where the former servants and members had some kind of violent showdown, the writers intended Darryl to represent the poor servants and Beth the rich members. How did that make sense at all? Beth lived on a farm, her dad was a retired veterinarian. Sheltered sure, but rich? ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-02-so-close-yet-so-far-open-spoilers/729447/73 "2015-09-01T16:23:24Z")
Exactly. If they are withholding info because they don’t want to tell the daughter they killed some people, they can at least tell her that this sickness seems to make people violently attack others. They can talk about how they’ve witnessed three themselves, plus what they have seen on tv. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-02-so-close-yet-so-far-open-spoilers/729447/74 "2015-09-01T16:28:33Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > Exactly. If they are withholding info because they don’t want to tell the daughter they killed some people, they can at least tell her that this sickness seems to make people violently attack others. They can talk about how they’ve witnessed three themselves, plus what they have seen on tv. Yes it makes no sense, the dad sees cops bugging out with gallons of water but doesn’t get any himself. Mom cries on the bathtub but doesn’t fill it?! How long do they expect to shelter in place with no water in LA? So how did the BF get that bite mark? Why did the parents not ask how, why did he not tell the gf oh some crazy homeless guy bit me or whatever? How did the principal get bit and die and revive in a matter of hours from a bite on his back, why would they even leave the school open if no students are there? My experience is if not enough kids show up due to some disaster or weather they close early. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-02-so-close-yet-so-far-open-spoilers/729447/75 "2015-09-01T16:43:13Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > The mom doesn’t have to admit she “murdered” anyone, yet. I realize that’s how people not in-the-know might see it, but you can tell them the crucial information about what’s going down without having to cop to how many walkers you’ve run over with a truck or bashed their head in with a fire extinguisher. That is, until you’ve met Rick Grimes, and you must answer The Questions. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-02-so-close-yet-so-far-open-spoilers/729447/76 "2015-09-01T16:50:03Z")
> [@grude](#): > > the episode Beth and Darryl find the country club where the former servants and members had some kind of violent showdown, the writers intended Darryl to represent the poor servants and Beth the rich members. How did that make sense at all? Beth lived on a farm, her dad was a retired veterinarian. Sheltered sure, but rich? But it was _cool!_ ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-02-so-close-yet-so-far-open-spoilers/729447/77 "2015-09-01T16:59:39Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Yes it makes no sense, the dad sees cops bugging out with gallons of water but doesn’t get any himself. Mom cries on the bathtub but doesn’t fill it?! How long do they expect to shelter in place with no water in LA? The dad saw an officer putting bottled water in the trunk of a police vehicle #13. That doesn’t mean the officer is “bugging out”. It means he’s putting bottled water in the trunk of vehicle #13. The water may be intended for officers on a police line somewhere, or for storage at a police station. Filling the bath tub with water is a good idea. However, the public has no idea how bad this is going to become and the responsible government agencies aren’t sharing their knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-02-so-close-yet-so-far-open-spoilers/729447/78 "2015-09-01T17:00:54Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > they can at least tell her that this sickness seems to make people violently attack others. That’s what the mom did, didn’t she? Or was that the brother who yelled it to her as she was leaving? Or both? I can’t remember. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-02-so-close-yet-so-far-open-spoilers/729447/79 "2015-09-01T17:34:21Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Seriously, FtWD, the first three named characters who die are the only three named characters who are black? _Seriously?!_ Yeah, I swear- at this point, they’re just trolling us. They had to have known that the short half-life of black characters on the original show has been a point of contention. And then the first three character deaths in the new series are black? Come on. > [@EllisDee](#): > > The one bit that really pissed me off is that after killing the principle, they strolled out to the car without bringing the food they risked their lives for. For shame, pizza face. You paid the price, keep the reward. Yeah, that irritated the crap out of me, too. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-02-so-close-yet-so-far-open-spoilers/729447/80 "2015-09-01T18:03:14Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > Yeah, I swear- at this point, they’re just trolling us. They had to have known that the short half-life of black characters on the original show has been a point of contention. And then the first three character deaths in the new series are black? Come on. The first three deaths in the new series were white junkies. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-02-so-close-yet-so-far-open-spoilers/729447.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-the-walking-dead-1-02-so-close-yet-so-far-open-spoilers/729447.md?page=5)