Fear the Walking Dead was Great, and Here's Why

*Spoiler Alert for anyone who hasn't watched the pilot episode of Fear the Walking Dead*

The pilot episode of The Walking Dead spinoff, Fear the Walking Dead finally aired last night. Within minutes of the credits rolling I began to see social media posts and reviews popping up lamenting its slower pace and lack of gore. I didn't watch the episode myself until late last night, so I went into it expecting a pretty lame show. That is not at all what I got, and I'm thrilled to be adding Fear to my DVR recordings list. So, why did so many find it dull and boring while I found it to be pretty brilliant? In a word, expectations. Here's my assessment:

Late Bloomer: 'The Walking Dead' Newbie

*If you're not caught up on The Walking Dead, you probably shouldn't read this*

 
Do you remember when you first started watching The Walking Dead? Remember how you felt about the adaptation from comic to television? Or how you reacted to characters like Shane and Lori and Daryl when you first met them? I do, because I just started watching The Walking Dead a few days ago.

For me, The Walking Dead was one of those shows that you know you should be watching, but you just aren't. Everyone else was raving about it constantly, and losing their collective minds at least once a season on social media, while I quietly sat around hate-watching Bones (or something) instead. I should have been watching. I am a huge fan of the zombie genre, and I've even read (and really loved) the comics, so I should have been part of the foaming-at-the-mouth, raving, Walking Dead lunatics. I can't explain why I didn't watch it; I just didn't. Recently, some of our most beloved friends came into town. They're traveling performers, so we only get to see them once or twice a year depending on their schedule. We went out to dinner with a group of them this past Sunday, and (since we hadn't seen them all year) accepted their offer to join the group for the Walking Dead season finale afterward. So there we were: Eight full grown adults crammed into a cozy RV with three snuggly dogs and a flat screen, and without warning, I was hooked. The next day, I began binge watching The Walking Dead. As I type this, I've just started the third season. So, take a trip down memory lane, and chuckle knowingly at my naivete, as I quickly run down my thoughts about the show before I hit 'play' on the paused episode in front of me: