FEAR THE WALKING DEAD, Season 8, Episode 8, IRON TIGER

Written By:

Rich Cross

The Walking Dead, Season 8, Episode 8, Iron Tiger

It’s a fair assumption for Fear’s showrunners to make that very few new viewers are going to be tuning in to the show for the first time this close to its end. But even the most loyal of Fear fans are likely to find that watching the revelations, about-turns and mea culpas of Iron Tiger is a head-stretch. So many characters, crimes and long-hidden secrets from seasons past are unearthed in the episode’s dense plot. It will be tough for even the most Fear-fluent observers to follow along – without repeatedly hitting the pause button to reacquaint themselves with long-forgotten moments in the show’s fearsomely complex history.

Madison, Strand, and Daniel are on a scavenging run, hoping to find fuel supplies for PADRE. To their surprise, they discover that Luciana has been running an oil refining operation for many years and has set up a resupply route crossing several state lines – whilst keeping PADRE powered. Luciana has made deals with different groups to keep her activities autonomous and unmolested and is reluctant to be drawn into anyone’s fight. Madison and the group are stunned to discover that one of Luciana’s tanker drivers is none other than Charlie (who’s adopted the eponymous call sign). She was thought to have died from radiation poisoning following the nuclear explosions in Texas.

After a remorseful Charlie confesses her culpability in the death of Madison’s son Nick, Madison is enraged and determined that Charlie should do penance for her crime. Charlie agrees to drive the tanker to Troy Otto’s hotel headquarters in order to assassinate Madison’s nemesis and protect PADRE. But by the time she’s ambushed and kidnapped en route, Madison’s rage has subsided, and an against-the-odds rescue mission is soon underway.

The heavy-going script for Iron Tiger, by Nick Bernardon and Jacob Pinion, struggles to carry the weight of continuity that the story draws on. There’s lots of exposition from everyone involved, with each exchange showing characters refuting other people’s accounts of past events. But what makes it difficult for the viewer to invest in those endless disagreements is that Fear’s writers continue to inject arbitrary decision-making into almost every scene – plans are reversed as soon as they are agreed upon; commitments are abandoned at a moment’s notice, and key relationships flip between alliance and enmity on a single line of dialogue.

How characterisation is handled also remains a problem. The reinvention of the former murderous tyrant Victor Strand in Anton was long overdue. But rather than add new layers of complexity and interest to his nature, the writers have simply wiped his past. Strand is now a thoughtful, considerate and altruistic brother-in-arms. It’s also difficult to buy into the idea that Troy’s hatred of Madison is so completely overwhelming that he’s determined to pursue revenge against her above every single other calculation. He wants to take control of PADRE simply because it’s hers, regardless of the cost. His motivations feel forced, which flattens the frisson of their standoff. And while there’s no doubting the strength of Madison’s resolve, as portrayed by Kim Dickens, she remains a character that it’s pretty difficult to warm to.

The best moments of the episode are those that unfold at night around the burning wreckage of a petrol tanker, as walkers close in and the search for a missing child becomes more desperate. It’s the kind of atmospheric and unsettling sequence that the show needs a great deal more of. Charlie’s story comes to an end in a moment of melodramatic sacrifice, but the context in which it occurs robs it of poignancy. In 2023, showrunners need to demonstrate some emotional intelligence when including scenes depicting a young person’s death by gun-suicide. There’s scant evidence of that sort of careful reflection here, despite the network’s addition of support messages to the opening and closing credits.

When Madison’s actions repel Daniel, he takes the opportunity to depart with Luciana, leaving Madison to take over his militia. That’s before Madison makes another incomprehensible decision, which leaves Strand in the most invidious of positions. The idea that the former dictator would be a good proxy to run PADRE in her absence is as ludicrous as Madison’s belief that she can break her solemn promise to its inhabitants. As she saunters off alone, some viewers may feel a sense of empathy with the personal torment Madison is wrestling with. Many more are likely to think that the series has no time left to indulge such unearned petulance.

New episodes of FEAR THE WALKING DEAD – SEASON 8 premiere on Mondays on AMC in the UK