Midnight Horror Review: Fear The Walking Dead: The Complete Fourth Season

Good or bad, one of my favorite television series to watch is AMC's The Walking Dead, which the second half of season nine is currently airing on Sunday nights. I've never read the comic books the series is based on, but I've been a fan of the show since episode one. Yes, there were a couple of bad seasons, but I've stuck through it and continued watching.

However, I can't say the same thing has happened with the prequel spinoff Fear the Walking Dead, as that would be a lie. I never cared much for first season and I eventually tuned out early on during the second season. I skipped season three completely and only returned to the series when the character Morgan (played by Lennie James) crossed over from TWD for the first episode of the fourth season. Thanks to the much needed change in direction by the new showrunners, Andrew Chambliss and Ian B. Goldberg, I became a fan of the series. I even bought the first three seasons, so I could play catch up during the mid-season hiatus.

Fear The Walking Dead: The Complete Fourth Season ($44.99; Not Rated; 12 hrs 10 mins) landed on Blu-ray, Digital, and DVD this past week from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. I received an early review copy and spent last weekend binge watching the entire 16-episode fourth season.

Season four doesn't pick up directly after the third season finale cliffhanger, instead it begins where the eighth seven finale of TWD left off, where Morgan has isolated himself from the other communities because he feels guilty for killing the Saviors. After a brief cameos by Rick, Carol, and Jesus (played by Andrew Lincoln, Melissa McBride, and Tom Payne), Morgan leaves Virginia and travels to Texas. This is where Morgan meets the soft-speaking John Dorie (played by Garret Dillahunt), a friendly police officer who's looking for his lost love Laura (played by Jenna Elfman). Shortly after their meeting, they're captured by a group of survivors, but are later rescued by Althea (played by Maggie Grace), a journalist driving a SWAT CMTV. By the end of the first episode the trio meet Alicia, Nick, Lucian, and Victor (played by Alycia Debnam-Carey, Frank Dillane, Danay Garcia, and Colman Domingo).

The final eight episodes of the season involves a a fierce storm which separates the group. Along with three new characters, Sarah, Wendell, and Jim (played by Mo Collins, Daryl Mitchell, and Aaron Stanford), Morgan goes on a mission to find his missing his friends.

Special Features include:

Episode 401 Audio Commentary with Executive Producer Scott Gimple, Showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg
Episode 405 Audio Commentary with Director Michael Satrazemis, Actors Jenna Elfman and Garret Dillahunt
Episode 410 Audio Commentary with Director Michael Satrazemis and Actress Alycia Debnam-Carey
Episode 416 Audio Commentary with Showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg

Final Thoughts

I'm well aware some fans loved the changes in season four and that there were other die-hard fans who didn't like that two of their favorite characters were killed off. I'm not naming these characters for those of you who haven't seen the fourth season. Let me just say I can understand why some fans where upset for what occurs in the first half of the season; though, personally, I liked the changes that were made to the series.

The only reason why I returned to FTWD was because the character Morgan Jones joined the cast. However, I ended liking another new character even more - John Dorie.

All sixteen episodes have a grayish look to the scenes which gives it more of a western vibe, but with zombies. The picture and sound qualities on all 4-discs are topnotch. The only downside to this release is the lack of special features. There are four commentaries, but that's it! There are no behind-the-scenes featurettes or anything else.

Overall, I enjoyed watching Fear the Walking Dead: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray. Well, actually I should call it "rewatching" since I did watch the season during it's original run on AMC last year. In my opinion, it's the best season of the spinoff series to date! If you haven't seen this season yet, I definitely recommend seeking out the Blu-ray, so you can catch up on the episodes before fifth season begins this summer.