Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

Fear the Walking Dead: The Complete Eighth Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman February 29, 2024

The other day I reached into the pile of long overdue reviews and pulled out Patch Adams for the review du jour and, being the Trekkie that I am, just about fell off my couch as the credits began to roll, hearing the theme song from Star Trek: Enterprise: a different version to be sure but certainly the same song. That song begins with the lyrics, "it's been a long road, gettin' from there to here." Indeed, such is certainly true of Fear the Walking Dead, a show that debuted back in 2015 as the first spin-off of the then wildly popular (and still loved) The Walking Dead that was dominating the ratings, selling tons of merchandise, and was the talk of the Internet, water coolers, and even classrooms for years on end. Fear promised something great in its first season but kind of fizzled, and that's not a complete surprise: it was trying to live up to gargantuan expectations. Slowly, the show rose in stature and continued through an ebb and flow of being good and being mediocre and being downright bad. Indeed, it's been a long, and also winding, road, getting from there to here. Now, in the final season, the show reaches its end by continuing the story, but in something of an unorthodox fashion, following up on season seven by taking place seven years after. It continues to be a long road, a difficult path, and a troubled way that leads to a very lackluster final destination.

As is always the case with a show this deep into its run, readers are encouraged to catch up on Blu-ray before dropping in with season eight. Every season is available on Blu-ray and linked below:

• Season One
• Season Two
• Season Three
• Season Four
• Season Five
• Season Six
• Season Seven

A plot recap seems largely superfluous for an eighth season TV show, because this is a continuation of the twisting and turning stories that have come to shape the previous seven seasons, with season eight now far away removed from the original in terms of place and time and many characters but even technical aesthetics. Suffice it to say it builds the narrative as it has been (at times compelling and at times borderline incoherent) shaped by past seasons. For better or for worse, the world of Fear the Walking Dead is here, pushed ahead seven years that in some ways feels like a soft press of the reset button going into the final season. The show has morphed from the more intimate happenings around a single family to, as became the case with the original The Walking Dead, a sprawling mass (or maybe even mess) of revolving characters defined by familiarly conceived and executed tension and drama. Try as it might, Fear never found its own identity, so it tried to seize the identity of the original show, and continued to be more or less without identity, essentially now closing out with another imposter identity, just a different one from where it started.

Season eight see-saws in an effort to right so any of the previous wrongs, send of characters to narrative and emotional satisfaction, and continue to occupy the same place where it has settled of late, in essence trying to have its cake and eat it, too, even if it has, at this point, turned rather stale and unappetizing. The season does well enough to try and make a few final course corrections, and there are some high points for characters, but there are also low points for narrative construction, world building, and a general failure to escape from the doldrums that have really put a death grip on this iteration of the Walking Dead universe. Cast is neither good nor bad, the visuals are status quo, and the production design and direction feel efficient but never inspired. And maybe that has been the problem all along: none of this has come all that close to inspired. The show feels mechanical, almost as if an A.I. was given the task of coming up with a Walking Dead spinoff, at least in these final handful of seasons. It might look and sound and even feel right on the surface, but there's really no soul.

Fear the Walking Dead: The Complete Eighth Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Lionsgate releases the eighth and final season of Fear the Walking Dead with a wonderful 1080p transfer that is up there with the very best that the show, and even the larger Walking Dead universe on Blu-ray, has to offer. The presentation is very faithful to its source, offering a wonderfully organic, nicely textured, and film-like look that is striking from start to finish. The picture offers abundantly sharp details, with faces always complex, tattered clothing tactile, and environments tangible, whether natural locales or manmade interiors and exteriors. Of course, zombie gore looks tremendous in terms of its clarity; the Blu-ray certainly allows gore fiends the opportunity to pause and examine with nearly lifelike accuracy. The color palette is exceptional, too. While there's a mild tonal depression in play, at times, to help with the show's grungy postapocalyptic aesthetics, there is an abundance of colorful blood reds or various hues, brilliant natural greens, and satisfying push to clothing and other colorful elements, but to be sure there are a lot of earthy colors at work as well, and such browns and beiges often dominate, for the most part. Black levels satisfy for depth and accuracy. Whites are not absolutely brilliant, but they are bold and vivid enough. Skin tones look great. The elements are in good shape and the encode raises no alarms. This is a top tier image from Lionsgate.

Fear the Walking Dead: The Complete Eighth Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Fear the Walking Dead's eighth season arrives on Blu-ray with the series' tried-and-true Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack handling audio output needs. The presentation is quite satisfying, offering a well-balanced and immersive presentation that might lack the total engagement of a 7.1 or Atmos-style mix, but even with 5.1 channels the presentation delivers immersive environmental cues, robust action, and healthy dialogue. Listeners will always feel engaged with the world and the specific locations of any given episode's shots, scenes, and sequences. Blowing winds, rolling waters, and even (and of course) background zombie moans and groans effortlessly present through the full channel spectrum to create a realistic, and oftentimes chilling, atmosphere. Action effects are nicely prominent, including close-up zombie sound effects, squishy gore, hard hits with blunt weapons, and gun shots, which are always prominent but perhaps not prodigious. Musical engagement is very good, with wide front spacing and a well balanced surround usage. The subwoofer is never overbearing but it does work to add body to sound cues and music alike. Dialogue checks all the right boxes for clarity, placement, and prioritization. There's not much room for complaint with this one.

Fear the Walking Dead: The Complete Eighth Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This three disc Blu-ray release of Fear the Walking Dead - The Complete Eighth Season includes four commentaries covering three episodes. No other extras are included. This set does ship with a digital copy voucher but does not ship with a slipcover.

Disc One:

• Audio Commentary: For "Remember What They Took from You:" Executive Producers and Co-Showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg.

Disc Two:

• Audio Commentaries: For "All I See Is Red:" Director Michael E. Satrazemis. Also for "All I See Is Red:" Actor Lennie James.

Disc Three:

• Audio Commentary: For "The Road Ahead:" Executive Producers and Co-Showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg.

Fear the Walking Dead: The Complete Eighth Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

And what a long road it has been. It's well time that AMC put this show to bed. It just never found its footing, at least consistently, and it had become reduced to overwrought drama and cliche, empty stories, and bland characters and situations, and season eight is really no different. There are spurts of entertainment value, world building, and worthwhile drama and action here, but from episode one through the finale of season eight there's just been no real sense of attachment. Fans will nevertheless want to check out this Blu-ray, which does offer top quality video and audio along with a few scattered commentaries. For hardcore franchise fans only.