‘Fear The Walking Dead’ Season 2: Crossovers And The Logistics Of Swimming Zombies

Season 2 of AMC’s Fear The Walking Dead is biting at our heels. However, with the advent of the cast taking to sea, there is a slight swimming zombie problem that has to be dealt with. Also needing addressing are those pesky crossover rumors between Fear and its companion series, The Walking Dead.

SPOILER ALERT: This article discusses Season 2 of Fear The Walking Dead as well as AMC’s original zombie apocalypse series Fear is based on, The Walking Dead. Please proceed with caution if you wish to avoid spoilers.

Even before Fear The Walking Dead premiered last year, fans of both shows have wondered if there would be a crossover between the two shows. With Fear being, basically, a prequel to The Walking Dead, there was the potential to see characters during the initial outbreak. It would also be a way to bring back much-loved characters who have since passed away in The Walking Dead.

Then it was announced there would be a crossover! The original source of a Fear crossover with The Walking Dead is a video post Nerdist did way back in January, 2015. Jessica Chobot stated in her news video that there would be a six- episode arc in Season 6 of The Walking Dead involving a main character from Fear.

“Our sources tell us that at least one of the characters who will be leading The Walking Dead spinoff will be appearing for a six-episode arc in Season 6 of The Walking Dead. They’ll cross paths with Team Rick in Georgia before presumably making their way toward the West Coast for the L.A.-based show.”

Considering Nerdist is run by Talking Dead’s Chris Hardwick, it was considered a reliable source. However, it seems this early notion of a Walking Dead crossover with Fear has been quashed well and truly during Paleyfest. Although, this is certainly not the first time AMC have said there will not be a crossover. As Variety pointed out, Fear‘s executive producer, Dave Erickson, stated during Paleyfest that “the chronology is so far apart, and there’s a continent between them.” Erickson explained that there would not be a crossover between the two shows, adding. “Finding a way to intersect them would be difficult.”

Also difficult is having walkers who are water-bound in Season 2 of Fear when the main cast have headed out to sea in an effort to avoid the undead they encountered en masse on land in Season 1. However, even if Fear is a show based around a creature (zombies) that doesn’t even exist, for AMC, it is important to make Fear as realistic as possible.

In a recent Season 2 teaser video, Nick (Frank Dillane) was seen in the water with a walker and fans got to wondering if walkers would be able to swim in Fear the Walking Dead. While some water-bound walkers have been seen in The Walking Dead, it was assumed that walkers would not be able to swim as that involves brain function beyond what fans had seen in Walking Dead walkers. However, Dave Erickson explained how water walkers work. “They can wade,” Deadline reported. “We’ve figured out the best ways to shoot water zombies. They don’t drown. They keep floating back up.”

And this makes sense. In The Walking Dead, the most famous water walker was the one in the well at the Greene farm in Season 2. This walker was bloated and was flailing around in the water, unable to move much due to the confined space and its age. And it is this age that is important when it comes to the walkers fans will witness in Season 2 of Fear. New walkers are more agile and usually have less injuries than older walkers. Their fast flailing in the water could certainly be mistaken for swimming.

The newly turned walker that the Governor (David Morrissey) dropped into a pond in Season 4 of The Walking Dead further backs this up. While the walker was weighted down, due to not being able to breath, it was still able to move around and try to seek out a food source. And this is also important if AMC want to be consistent with walker rules. Even though both shows are independent of each other, they still exist within the same universe. If a walker cannot swim in The Walking Dead, it also cannot do it in Fear and all of these rules are based on the original source material, the comic books. “Anything that has been established in the comics we have to follow,” Erickson confirmed at Paleyfest.

Are you disappointed there won’t ever be a Walking Dead crossover? And what do you think of the water-bound walkers in Season 2 of Fear? Let us know your thoughts and theories by commenting below!

Season 2 of Fear The Walking Dead premieres on AMC on Sunday, April 10, 2016 and will run for a split 15-episode season.

[Image via Richard Foreman/AMC]