Fear the Walking Dead showrunners weigh in on Alicia's fate

Fear the Walking Dead showrunners weigh in on Alicia's fate

SPOILER ALERT: Read on only if you have already watched Sunday’s “Still Standing” episode of Fear the Walking Dead.

Is Fear the Walking Dead about to say goodbye to yet another original character? Viewers were delivered a shock on Sunday’s “Still Standing” episode of Fear when Alicia — while taking on a sizable group of zombies — got sprayed all over the face with the blood of one of the radiation walkers infected by the nuclear plant meltdown.

Does this mean that Alicia (played by Alycia Debnam-Carey) will soon be joining brother Nick, mother Madison, Travis, Chris, Ofelia, and Liza as yet another casualty from the first group we ever met on the show? We emailed showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg to get the scoop on this harrowing development, while also inquiring as to whether Dwight’s search for former wife Sherry has finally hit a dead end, and what the latest plant meltdown means for our still grounded heroes. They also preview next week’s midseason finale. Read on!

Van Redin/AMC
Van Redin/AMC

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What can you say about Alicia’s fate after she was sprayed with radiation zombie blood all over her face? Does this mean that she is a goner?
ANDREW CHAMBLISS & IAN GOLDBERG: If there’s one thing that we’ve learned over the course of season 5 is that any exposure to contaminated blood can be dangerous. Grace made that very clear the moment she first crossed paths with Alicia and Morgan in episode 502. We’ve seen first-hand the devastating effects that exposure can have — both to Grace emotionally and what it did to the workers at the nuclear power plant where she worked.

All that contaminated blood on Alicia definitely puts her in a lot of risk and danger. That’s not to say that it will put her at the same level of exposure as the people from the plant, or even Grace, but it’s definitely cause for concern. This moment is also significant in regards to Alicia’s emotional journey in the season so far. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Alicia go toe-to-toe with walkers contaminated with nuclear radiation. We saw her do it at the crash site in 502 when she and Morgan were looking for Al.

Alicia’s story this season has been about being a protector for the group and the lengths she will go to protect the people she loves — even if it puts her own life at risk. The difference in Alicia in 502 and in 507 is she heeded Morgan’s advice. She put herself out there and made herself emotionally available and vulnerable. Which is what she had to do to get the kids to trust her and leave the treehouse. We’ve witnessed how she’s grown and evolved beyond her role as protector. She’s made real human connections with the people around her. It makes the moment when she sees the dosimeter around the neck of the walker all the more devastating. So the question becomes if Alicia survives, how will her role as protector of the group evolve?

Van Redin/AMC
Van Redin/AMC

After Dwight read Sherry’s letter can we assume the search for her is off for now, and what can you say about what Dwight’s role in the group will be going forward?
When Dorie reveals the truth to Dwight and gives him Sherry’s final letter, it’s a huge gut-punch for Dwight. But Sherry’s words are also a turning point for Dwight. She said she doesn’t want him to get killed trying to find her. She doesn’t want his search for to stop him from living. That final line of her letter — “Find a reason to live, and live” — is massively important.

Remember, when Dwight first left Virginia, Daryl sparred his life and told him to do two things: “Find Sherry, and make it right.” On Fear this season, we’ve seen Dwight trying to do both of those things. Now it looks like he’s not going to find Sherry. But he has started down the road toward making things right. He found a group of people who need his help. Sherry’s final letter is a huge setback in terms of Dwight’s search for her, but he’s still got a lot of making it right to do on his own. By continuing to make things right, both for himself and this new group, Dwight could one day find another clue towards Sherry’s whereabouts, but they’ll have to get that plane in the air first.

We heard the alarms at the very end that the nuclear plant is about to meltdown again. Does this mean our group is now in a race against time to get that plane off the ground?
Yes, indeed they are! In addition to the ticking clock of the impending plant meltdown, there are also a lot of balls in the air. Dwight and Dorie are still pretty far from the plane. Will they make it back in time? What about Morgan, Alicia, and Grace? Is Alicia contaminated with nuclear radiation? Will the rest of the group be able to finish the plane in time to get it in the air? All we can say is it’s going to be a nail biter of a mid-season finale that will put our characters in perhaps the most heightened, dangerous, and emotional situation they’ve faced yet. Buckle up!

What else can you say about the midseason finale?
We’ve talked a lot about our people on the plane side of the mountain, but let’s not forget Sarah and Wendell on the other side. We can tell you there’s a very exciting story for them in the midseason finale that will force these characters to dig deep and pull off seemingly impossible odds. Finally, if you thought you’ve seen the last of Logan, think again!