Fear the Walking Dead Was Close to Having a Zero-Zombie Episode

Fear the Walking Dead on AMC was on the verge of releasing an episode with no zombies. Fear the Walking Dead started in 2015 and will return for season 7 this fall. It is a spinoff of the mega-popular The Walking Dead, which is itself an adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s famous comic book series of the same name. Season 4 saw the introduction of current showrunners Ian Goldberg and Andrew Chambliss, and while viewers were dissatisfied by seasons 4 and 5, season 6 fared better.

The show’s core group, currently led by Morgan (Lennie James), was splintered this season, both ideologically and physically, as they dealt with differing opinions about what kind of future they should be working toward, as well as ongoing threats from groups like the Pioneers, led by Virginia (Colby Minifie), and a doomsday cult led by Ted (John Glover).

The ever-present threat of zombies faded into the background as FTWD focused more on the characters’ interpersonal difficulties.

Things Left to Do

They faded so far into the background in one episode that they were virtually entirely absent. FTWD season 6, episode 9, “Things Left to Do,” was practically zombie-free, according to Goldberg in a Twitch live stream for TWDUniverse (via ComicBook). He added that the show was so focused on the human storyline that there would have been no zombies onscreen at all if it hadn’t been for a last-minute shot.

In the future, however, an FTWD episode without zombies makes a lot of sense. While it may appear unusual at first, the main threat in the Walking Dead universe has always been the other living people that live there.

Though Virginia and Teddy are no longer in the picture, Teddy’s actions will be devastating, and there are clues that more trouble is on the way from inside the core ensemble of characters, probably from Victor Strand, master of survival and ethical ambiguity (Colman Domingo).

Regardless of who the next big enemy on Fear the Walking Dead is, the dead are becoming less of a threat, and an episode without zombies could be on the way.