Fear the Walking Dead: Is Strand the Wolf of Rodeo Drive?

Victor Strand. The Wolf of Rodeo Drive? Gordon Gekko of the apocalypse? ABC, people! Always be closing! Fear the Walking Dead or Fear Victor Strand?

Colman Domingo. Victor Strand. Fear the Walking Dead. AMC /

I am mildly obsessed with Victor. He’s the most fascinating character on Fear since Daniel told Travis he was not the one to start keeping score. Unlike many people, I’m an audio person, not a visual person. I know we’re not all one or the other, but I love listening to people talk. Daniel’s calm, accented voice draws me in and Victor, well, I want more Victor!

When Victor first said he was a closer, I immediately pictured The Boiler Room with the Gordon Gekko wannabes sitting in the huge hardwood floor living room with one leather couch and a giant screen TV quoting lines from Wall Street drinking premium beer.

And when he talked to Doug about trusting insurance and his wife’s body, I smiled and told my own moderately sized TV screen, “We got ourselves a villain, y’all!”

Then he traded his watch and his cufflinks. I compared him to Red from the Shawshank Redemption. He knows how to get things. He seems to think Nick is his best bet for a partner. Someone who’s hungry. Someone who knows what it means to need to do whatever it takes to get what he needs. He sees another closer.

Nick Clark, Fear The Walking Dead – AMC /

Nick doesn’t take no for an answer. He doesn’t give you his rebuttals out loud like a telemarketer or a cold call stock broker. But he’s always got a rebuttal. He’ll always find a way to get the job done. And Strand thinks that Nick will be even more valuable to him if Nick feels like he owes him.

Then I read the description Dave Erickson gave to the Hollywood Reporter:

"Colman Domingo plays Victor Strand, and we’ll find out that he was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Strand is a fixer but he’s also a man of means, he’s quite wealthy and gets scooped up when things go to hell. There’s an irony to him being stuck where someone of his means would never be. He’s a survivor in his own right. If you take Daniel and Strand and see how they interact, it’s going to be quite compelling. Strand is a guy who recognizes that there’s a shift in currency. He knows things are not going to get better for some time and that the shiny objects are not what matter anymore. That’s why he’s willing to give away his watch to the guard. We wanted to introduce a wealthier character that you don’t see that often on the original show and see how they interact with our blue-collar family. He will be very important in how the season ends and where we go in season two."

I became even more fascinated. My initial impressions locked me into the idea that Strand was a wannabe rich guy or temporarily rich guy, putting on a front, a con man with the veneer of the “closer”. All from the word closer and his interactions. I was surprised to read “quite wealthy “.

Now I’m even more intrigued, especially since Erickson says he will be important in how the season ends and the direction of season 2. I don’t care if he turns out to be friend or foe or somewhere in between. I’m hooked. His voice draws me in and I’ll listen to him all day long.

Next: Fear the Walking Dead: A Guide to the First Season

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