Fear the Walking Dead 404: Four to Fear
By Jamie Brewer
As losses mount on Fear the Walking Dead the Clark party survivors share their stories from life at the stadium.
The more we learn about life under siege at the stadium, the worse things are looking for Madison and a substantial part of her community. Perhaps Madison overplayed her hand in her stalemate with Mel. Whatever happened, things were bad enough that even those closest to her considered leaving the diamond.
As they were interviewed by Althea, each echoed a similar regret, wishing they had acted differently and sooner. Meanwhile, as Nick’s body was committed to the ground, John’s mission came to an abrupt halt, earning him a spot in this week’s “Four to Fear.”
4. John Dorie
Fear the Walking Dead‘s charming optimist may have nothing left to be optimistic about. At the end of Episode 404: “Buried”, John finally discovered the fate of his long-lost partner, Laura. Naomi, as Alicia and the others knew her, was part of the stadium community for a short time. Unfortunately, it was revealed that she did not make it out of the stadium alive. Shortly after Naomi’s arrival at the diamond, Mel and his caravan of Vultures arrived and began their siege. How she died is still a mystery, but Alicia didn’t hesitate to blame The Vultures. Grief-stricken, John chose to stay behind rather than join their pursuit.
John has been a gentle presence but in order to survive as long as he did alone, there must have been more. John revealed to Morgan that he used to be a police officer and his gift for gunslinging is substantial. He may have chosen not to follow Alicia on her crusade against The Vultures, but once he has had time to process his loss, he will want closure. Expect to see John resume his search with a renewed determination to find answers and a far less sunny disposition.
3. Strand
It should have come as no surprise to viewers that Strand had been covertly planning his getaway from the stadium. Since first getting to know him in Season 1, Victor Strand has always had a plan to ensure his own survival. Sometimes those plans have benefitted others. This was the case with the Abigail, despite the fact that Strand secretly plotted against people on the boat. It was only through a mutually-advantageous partnership with Madison though, that he became a trusted member of the Clark party.
Yet, there he was in “Buried” hiding much-needed food and supplies in a vehicle, preparing to abandon the people who believed in him. Granted, Alicia admitted to Althea that Strand wasn’t the only one who was considering leaving the stadium. The fact is, Strand had a month’s worth of food set aside for himself while the others ate cattle feed.
Strand will survive at all costs. He already has. That said, his priorities since wanting to leave the group have clearly changed. By virtue of following Alicia into a dangerous confrontation with The Vultures, he is risking his survival by following a different instinct altogether. Strand’s drive for vengeance against The Vultures appears to be as strong as Alicia’s. His talent for surviving makes him just as dangerous.
2. Alicia
With Alicia in full soldier mode, you would be hard-pressed to find a reason for her to exit our “Four to Fear” list anytime soon. (Admittedly, I thought Nick was going to be on this list for a while, but such is life in the apocalypse!) While devastated by the loss of her brother, Alicia’s grief was short-lived before declaring it was time to keep moving. In fact, it was Morgan who pleaded for a proper burial while Alicia used the transporting of Nick’s body as a cover story for a ride to a cache of hidden weapons.
When John recognizes one of the backpacks being loaded into the van as Laura’s, Alicia informs him that she is dead. She also blames The Vultures and implores him to join her fight. We don’t know if she’s telling the truth though. It’s entirely possible that Alicia is misleading John to invoke anger and increase her chances of defeating her enemies.
Aside from openly grieving for Nick, Alicia has not revealed much else about her own mental state. What we do know is she is determined to lead her group into danger with all of those guns they just picked up. Now that she’s recruited Althea, she adds an armored vehicle outfitted with some other impressive weapons to her cause. Watch out!
1. Daniel Salazar
Daniel survived impossible odds, returning to Fear the Walking Dead after the Season 2 finale. Last seen engulfed by fire, Daniel was presumed dead until he turned up at the dam in Season 3. While badly injured, Daniel was able to make it out of the fire. He was later given refuge and a job at the dam. Fast forward to the end of that season and once again, Daniel’s fate was left in limbo as the dam exploded beneath him. Considering that Nick was also standing on the dam, it would be reasonable to assume that Daniel could have survived too. Turns out he did. It was revealed by a producer that Rubén Blades will indeed be back as the unstoppable Daniel Salazar.
The only thing that mattered to Daniel was Ofelia and now that she is gone, he bears no responsibility to anyone but himself. Nothing more has been revealed about his return, but there are few people left in the new world as dangerous and invincible as Daniel Salazar.
Find out who to fear next week by watching Episode 405: “Laura” on AMC, Sunday at 9 PM EDT!