The seventh season of Fear the Walking Dead was hit with some harsh criticism, and rightfully so. Fans have been endlessly disappointed in the season, and, frankly, nothing even makes sense anymore.
For a show that had been subtly moving and gripping, it's never fun to watch it go down the drain. The old days of the Clark family are constantly fantasized as the ideal standard, which must make it difficult for the newer cast additions to Fear the Walking Dead. But it's not the actors' faults in this situation -- they're merely doing the work they are given, which, unfortunately, doesn't do their acting chops justice. Rather, it's the bizarre set-up and storylines that made Fear the Walking Dead Season 7 so inexplicably difficult to throw one's self into.
Fear the Walking Dead's Anthology Format Doesn't Work Anymore
For the most part, Fear the Walking Dead Season 6 was a pleasing upgrade because it changed its groove with an anthology format. It was somewhat-similar to what The Walking Dead did in the back half of Season 4, having the characters scattered after the fallout at the prison. Seeing the positive fan response, Fear the Walking Dead decided to continue with the format in Season 7. But it only proved that too much of a good thing can be bad.
Everyone was separated again after the nuclear fallout, but the show focused on characters that are severely underwritten and one-dimensional. One would think an entire episode dedicated to them would flesh out their characterization, but it does the opposite. Stories such as Charlie's teenage romance, Dwight and Sherry forming the Dark Horses, and John Dorie Sr. solving a cold case were all just throwaway stories that served no purpose for the overarching plot of Season 7.
Madison's Season 7 Return Overshadowed the Story
Speaking of Season 7's plot, it couldn't have been more wasted. The potential of exploring a radiated wasteland that was already taken over by zombies was higher than ever. But once it was announced that Madison was returning, it was washed to the shore.
After Madison was written off in Season 4, the show already suffered from the "Madison is alive" theories. Many people only tuned into the show for a sliver of Madison Easter eggs, and that was before she was announced to return. The second half of Season 7's story suffered greatly because of this. The Tower storyline was underdeveloped because it was disconnected from Madison, whereas the PADRE hype was larger than ever because of her place there. In spite of PADRE making headlines on the show, the mystery was come-and-go, and largely unspoken of for many episodes.
Alicia's 'Illness' Defied All Walking Dead Logic
Because Alicia was a main character this season (despite her many absences), her specific issues are worthy of their own analysis. She couldn't have been more underused in Season 7, but it might be because she was already on her way out of the show. As it was Alicia's final season on Fear the Walking Dead, she was gifted with constant fainting spells, a fever fake-out and mind-boggling hallucinations. All of those combined created her driving force to help others to safety, which never felt like a coherent storyline for her or the franchise as a whole.
After chopping off her bitten arm in the most hazardous way possible, Alicia had the typical symptoms of a walker bite. Most people thought she was going to die, but, months later, she was still hopping around -- yet barely clinging to life. In The Walking Dead universe, it doesn't fit with the continuity of the zombie-infection treatment. The longest time for someone to die and spawn into a zombie was two days, max, as seen with Jim from Season 1 of the main series. Fear the Walking Dead attempted to play it off like Alicia slowed down the symptoms after cutting off her arm, but that would only mean most amputated victims succumb to the infection at some point (e.g., Aaron and Lydia should be dead by now).
The Plot of Fear the Walking Dead Season 7 Was Overly Convenient
Much like Alicia's fight with the walker-bite symptoms, just about everything else in Season 7 is a convenience to the plot. Fear the Walking Dead has been fuzzy about the science of radiation poisoning since Season 5 -- Alicia also survived radiation poisoning, which was proven to be fatal -- but Season 7 threw all common sense about radiation out the window.
In the world of Fear the Walking Dead, radiation can be high in one area, but perfectly safe just a few feet away, making it OK for characters to take off their masks. And the victims are cherry-picked as well; Charlie is dying of radiation poisoning because Madison is returning and has to feel sympathy for the girl who murdered her son.
Aside from the radiation, there's the issue of plot armor, which is a more dire infection to this series than walkers and radiation. By the end of the season, Alicia should've definitely died because of her constant blackouts, but side characters are miraculously sired to save her life -- Paul and Josiah, for example. Season 7, Episode 14, "Divine Providence," was the pinnacle of this issue, with everyone declaring war on each other yet finding the time to have inconsequential conversations. Madison finding Morgan out of all places in Louisiana was also a far-fetched chance, but there's still a chance for Season 8 to follow up on their encounter.
Even closing out on Madison and Morgan following the new big bad wasn't enough to make up for a disappointing season. Season 7 had quite the reputation for being just that, and no episode attempted to rise above the haters' critiques of this season. Will Fear the Walking Dead Season 8 be any better? Maybe, but only time and deep reflection of everything that went wrong in past seasons will tell.
To see these mistakes and more, watch Fear the Walking Dead Season 7, streaming now on AMC+ and Hulu. Season 8 is expected to premiere on AMC and AMC+ in 2023.