Fear the Walking Dead Luciana returns & saved Daniel from PADRE

Danay Garcia achieved a milestone in her career during the eighth and final season of Fear the Walking Dead. Known for her role as Luciana, a character she has played since season 2, Garcia stepped behind the camera this season as she directed her first Walking Dead universe episode in the midseason premiere of Fear TWD. Luciana has returned in the eighth episode after being absent for half a season.

This article contains spoilers for Fear the Walking Dead season 8 episode 8, “Iron Tiger.”

Luciana’s absence was noted during season 8, part 1, when Daniel (Ruben Blades) mentions her name along with Charlie’s (Alexa Nisenson), but his comment had fans fearing both characters were dead. In episode 8, both characters have returned and have been working together to provide fuel for PADRE.

During the exodus from Texas in the penultimate episode of season 8, Luciana and the other survivors boarded rafts in search of a safe place to live. When Morgan alerted PADRE of the group, the survivors, except Strand (Colman Domingo), who managed to escape, were split apart and placed into jobs for the organization.

Luciana negotiated Daniel’s freedom in exchange for her fuel-making services, a talent she learned from Logan (Matt Frewer) in season 5. Daniel believed PADRE left him in the swamp as he was too old to be of use, but Luciana leveraged her talents to allow him to go free.

During the Episode Insider, showrunner Andrew Chambliss states that Luciana has probably been the one who has learned to navigate the workings of PADRE best. This knowledge has benefited her and the people she has following her. While doing the work for PADRE, she was also able to set up her own network of stations used to help others.

Fear the Walking Dead – Luciana

Luciana was able to get PADRE to release Charlie to her care, which also gave her the opportunity to ensure Charlie remained safe. That is until Madison (Kim Dickens) puts Charlie’s life in danger, resulting in her death.

It was revealed that she continued to honor the work of Clayton, aka Polar Bear (Stephen Henderson), whom she met in season 4, by continuing to assist those in need with the “take what you need, leave what you don’t” supplies. She did this by honoring her promise of fuel to PADRE while also using their resources for her mission.

Luciana hasn’t forgotten who she is and holds strong to her goal of helping others. She cuts ties with Madison at the end of the episode, blaming Madison for Charlie’s death and exposing her fuel operation to people like Troy (Daniel Sharman).

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