Nick’s big secret on Fear the Walking Dead, and will he keep it?
Secrets must be kept to keep the peace on Fear the Walking Dead. But what was Nick’s motivation to protect Troy, and did Alicia buy it?
Season 3 of Fear the Walking Dead is showing us that this show revolves around secrets in a way that makes it nothing like The Walking Dead. The biggest secret on The Walking Dead was that Judith wasn’t Rick’s child. (Rick already knew this, so it wasn’t even a big secret) In the world of Fear the Walking Dead, almost every character has secrets and Nick might have the biggest secret of all.
Over the course of Fear the Walking Dead we have learned a lot about the characters through the secrets they have kept. Tough con artist Strand was actually a big softie with a soft spot for his lover Thomas Abigail. Daniel Salazar wasn’t victimized as a youth, rather he was a member of the secret police that terrorized and killed other people. Nick knew that his father killed himself. Madison killed her father.
Secrets, man. They’re everywhere.
After “Brother’s Keeper” we learned that Troy was responsible for leading the Infected to Broke Jaw Ranch. It was Troy’s actions that led to Jake’s death.
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At the end of “This Land Is Your Land” Alicia finds out that Jake is dead, but Nick doesn’t reveal the truth about Troy’s involvement. Why?
The most obvious reason that Nick kept the truth from Alicia is that he was trying to protect his sister. He can see that she has been through a lot, and she doesn’t need any more stress than she has already endured.
The other possibility is that Nick is trying to keep the peace. Their group has changed. Walker, Ofelia and Crazy Dog are now part of the group, like as not, and having them in proximity to Troy is bad enough. But if anyone knew the truth about what Troy did, he would be dead.
This leads us to wonder if Madison knows the truth. Did Nick tell her, or did she figure that out on her own? She sends Troy with Nick to follow Alicia, so she must trust Troy enough to let them go together. I can’t imagine that she would allow that if she knew the truth.
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Lastly, there’s the not-so-small issue of Nick hiding the truth. No matter his intentions, when the truth comes out it will spell disaster for Nick when people know he was covering for Troy after what he did. There are things you can cover for, and there are things you can’t. I don’t know that anyone could forgive or excuse what Troy did, but they might be able to learn to accept it and move on. Maybe. That’s a tough one, but under the circumstances Troy is still a fighter and someone who could be valuable to their overall survival goals.
What do you think? Why would Nick cover for Troy? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!