Fear The Walking Dead hit the ground running with its short first season, but showrunner David Erickson plans to start the show's second season on some unfamiliar terrain: the water! "There will be quite a bit of action on the seas -- and we'll split it between land and water," Erickson told The Hollywood Reporter. "But it's going to be an interesting dynamic."
Don't be expecting any pirate-themed escapades, however; the show will be sticking to the rules laid out in previous Walking Dead seasons. "My understanding is that walkers can't swim. The Governor (David Morrissey on 'The Walking Dead') killed somebody and tossed him into the lake. You see the walker underwater, he's submerged and is trying to get up. I think there was something weighing him down so he couldn’t float. I have to confirm this with ['Fear' co-creator] Robert [Kirkman] but walkers can't swim -- I'm sure they'd eventually bloat." Outside of the aforementioned Governor scene and the distended 'well walker' from Season 2 of 'The Walking Dead', there haven't been many instances of Walkers coming into contact with water, much less the ocean, so it will be interesting to see how 'Fear' handles this environment going forward.
Despite the change in setting, Erickson confirmed that there will still be plenty of action, along with the character struggles and relationships that define 'The Walking Dead'. The major issue will still revolve around the characters dealing with the beginning of the end of the world. "They know the city has fallen and know things are incredibly bad and they know that this is happening in other states and potentially other countries but they haven't had anybody say to them, 'The world is over; this is our extinction event,'" Erickson explained. "If I were them, I'd be thinking that there has to be some place to go. Maybe it's an island. I don't know. But there's got to be a place where this contagion hasn't touched. But we the audience know that's not true and that will be the next blow that they suffer."
Erickson admitted that not all characters from season 1 will be making a return, (Dr. Exner in particular) though he'd love to bring some back under the proper circumstances. "If we bring any of those characters back, I want it to feel organic. Look at how they're bringing Morgan (Lennie James) back into 'The Walking Dead.' It has to develop in the same way -- but Adams is not dead. I have a feeling that Exner is probably not coming back. In my mind, she was planning to use that cattle pistol on herself. Her mission has failed and she had a look into what our characters don't understand yet: this is the end. She is left in a place where I don't think she sees any way to bounce back from it. We have no plans for Exner right now."
Season 1 saw the loss of characters big and small, Liza and Griselda being the major deaths. Erickson confirmed there will be a small time jump between seasons to deal with the fallout. "There's too much emotional weight coming off of the finale and the loss of Liza and Griselda. We didn't want to jump too far because there's an obligation to see the aftermath of that and see how that impacts our characters as they try to wrestle with it."
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