Fear The Walking Dead The Complete Sixth Season Blu-ray Review

The sixth season of Fear The Walking Dead ends on a strong point in the narrative.

The Production: 4/5

“You should give yourself the end that you wanted, even if it is not the one we all imagined.”

So says Morgan(Lennie James) as the survivors face impending doom in the crosshairs of a nuclear warhead launched from a landlocked submarine.  The same directive could be said of this spinoff of The Walking Dead, which tells its own original story that is neither guided nor inhibited by source material in the graphic novel series as its story unwinds.  The plot twists and turns in Fear The Walking Dead make it arguably more interesting than the mother-ship series, since the story is completely original with no source material in the graphic novels, with this series having greater emphasis on character than plot in comparison to its predecessor.

This 6th season of Fear The Walking Dead begins with Morgan somehow surviving his gunshot wound inflicted by Virginia(Colby Minifie), and the gangrene that sets in following an infection.  The season all sees couples reunited, like Dwight(Austin Amelio) with Sherry(Christine Evangelista), and June(Jenna Elfman) with John Dorie(Garrett Dillahunt), but this is not the kind of show where romance thrives happily ever after, if at all.  Victor(Colman Domingo) continues hustling to survive, and so does Daniel(Ruben Blades) in his own way.  Alicia(Alycia Debnam-Carey) finds herself allied with Victor for a time as they both struggle for survival, and Al(Maggie Grace) teams up with Luciana(Danay Garcia) to infiltrate a subterranean cult led by Teddy(John Glover).  Keith Carradine joins the cast this season as John Dorie, Sr., a former police officer with his own history with Teddy.

Fear The Walking Dead The Complete Sixth Season on Blu-ray consists of 16 episodes on 4 discs with episodes as follows:

The End Is The Beginning(51:22)
Welcome To The Club(44:10)
Alaska(42:00)
The Key(50:37)
Honey(48:45)
Bury Her Next To Jasper’s Leg(41:14)
Damage From The Inside(48:01)
The Door(50:28)
Things Left To Do(50:16
Handle With Care(44:28)
The Holding(46:01)
In Dreams(47:47)
J.D.(47:43)
Mother(45:03)
USS Pennsylvania(42:50)
The Beginning(50:09)

This 6th season of Fear The Walking Dead is one of the stronger seasons of this series.  The addition of Keith Carradine, John Glover, and Nick Stahl to the cast has developed some fascinating plot threads leading up to the ultra-apocalyptic cliffhanger set up in the final episode of the season.  The process of reviewing these episodes again in preparing this review has piqued my interest for the broadcast premiere of season 7 scheduled to begin on October 17, 2021, on AMC-TV.  Whether the 7th season can top this one remains to be seen.

Video: 4.5/5

3D Rating: NA

Fear The Walking Dead The Complete Sixth Season appears on Blu-ray in its original 1.78:1 screen aspect ratio as available previously via broadcast and streaming.  The video quality is a nice step up from broadcast presentation with none of the screen artifacts like black crush that are pervasive even in HD broadcast.  Fine detail and shadow detail are excellent on Blu-ray disc, and there is actually some remarkable use of color in this season, notably the episode “In Dreams” which sees Grace(Karen David) travel to a seeming future in which she meets her unborn daughter, with the future having trees of a color not typically found in nature.

Audio: 4.5/5

Fear The Walking Dead The Complete Sixth Season defaults on blu-ray to the English 5.1 TrueHD audio.  Ambient sounds are used well in the outdoor scenes, and often suspense is established by a lack of audible sound.  Dialogue is appropriately audible over music score, and the soundstage is used well even as most audio emanates from center channels.  French and Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 are also available as audio options.

Special Features: 2/5

Special features consist solely of audio commentaries on the following episodes:

The End Is The Beginning:  Commentary with actor Lennie James and executive producers and showrunners Ian Goldberg and Andrew Chambliss

In Dreams:  Commentary with actor Karen David and director Michael Satrazemis

J.D.: Commentary with director Aisha Tyler and actors Jenna Elfman and Keith Carradine

The Beginning:  Commentary with actor Colman Domingo and executive producers and showrunners Ian Goldberg and Andrew Chambliss

Also included is a paper insert with validation code for digital copy redeemable on the Lionsgate website.

Overall: 4/5

Fear The Walking Dead The Complete Sixth Season represents one of the best seasons of this show.  The video and audio presentations are fine, and the audio commentaries are worthwhile, even as special features are very limited on this set.  Fear The Walking Dead The Complete Sixth Season arrives just in time for the broadcast premiere of season 7 scheduled to begin on October 17, 2021.

Timothy E

Timothy has worked background in theatrical features and television, just for the fun of it, in films directed by Peter Segal and Christopher Nolan. His favorite film star is Bugs Bunny, and Timothy has discovered that most of the problems in life can be solved successfully (strangely enough) by asking “What would Bugs Bunny do?” Timothy has been involved with the Home Theater Forum since 2007 and has reported from Comic Con, interviewed Bruce Campbell and Danny Trejo, and reviewed classic animation and new theatrical releases on disc.