When Morgan returns to The Tower to plead with Strand for medical assistance for sick Baby Mo, the tyrant on the top floor is understandably suspicious of his motives. But Morgan has arrived at a fortuitous moment. Strand is in the throes of an identity crisis and questioning everything about his nature, his persona and his mission. He admits the weakness to no one, but his behaviour confirms how disconnected from his moorings he has become: from spurning all those seeking refuge, to rejecting a flattering portrait a talented artist paints for him, to his wild and unpredictable mood swings.
Strand’s new and wildly impulsive leadership style puts everyone at risk. As The Tower comes under attack from a group of merciless marauders, he remains distracted and unfocused. What quickly becomes a fight for the sanctuary’s survival results in some unexpected reunions, some painful separations, and brings into question the very future of Strand’s bizarre enclave. The seventh episode The Portrait is centred on the shifting power dynamic between Strand and Morgan, as Morgan’s growing confidence clashes with Strand’s increasing self-doubt.
In contrast to several recent aimless episodes, this fact alone ensures that the drama of The Portrait has both substance and wider significance to the series’ arc. It’s a story that benefits from the assured performances of both Colman Domingo (Strand) and Lennie James (Morgan), and the ever-changing dynamic between their characters. Director Heather Cappiello renders a few inspired moments from writer Nick Bernardone’s script: including some unexpected ‘trebuchet zombie action’, the creation of ‘dirty bomb’ walkers and the well-rendered reveal of a long-anticipated returnee. It’s also good to see the story connect to a larger ensemble of series’ regulars than has been the depopulated season norm. But beyond those elements, the plot of The Portrait is almost entirely devoid of sense or logic.
After the writers had previously painted Strand into a two-dimensional corner, this episode goes some way to extricating his character from that trap: but at the cost of making his actions appear arbitrary and random. Morgan’s motivations are equally muddled and out of character. So the tension that should crackle throughout the face-offs between the pair is dampened by the feeling that the scriptwriters are just improvising and that ‘anything goes’. Having set up the most serious challenge yet seen to the existence of The Tower, the assault against it is resolved unseen and off-camera after Morgan calls in the cavalry (which makes zero sense given what else he’s done). It’s as if, having got what he needed from the siege, Bernardone just wants to dispense with it with as little effort as possible. It’s symptomatic of the kind of frustrating storytelling style that has sadly come to define Fear’s seventh season. What are the chances that next week’s mid-season finale can reset and recover things?
Season Seven of FEAR THE WALKING DEAD is screening in the UK on the AMC channel and to rent on Amazon.
Read our previous reviews of FEAR THE WALKING DEAD below:
Season 7, Episode 1, THE BEACON
Season 7, Episode 2, SIX HOURS
Season 7, Episode 3, CINDY HAWKINS
Season 7, Episode 4, BREATHE WITH ME
