‘Fear The Walking Dead’ Season 2, Episode 9: Will Madison And Strand Be The New Lori And Shane?

Season 2 of AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead returned last week with a splintered group. However, the upcoming Episode 9 might suggest new relationships developing. In particular, that of Madison and Strand. What will happen if they meet up with Travis again?

Spoiler alert: This article discusses Season 2 of AMC’s Fear The Walking Dead. Please proceed with caution if you wish to avoid spoilers.

The mid-season finale of AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead saw the core characters split up into three groups. Nick Clark (Frank Dillane) headed off on his own and fans got an insight to his journey — both physical and emotional thanks to some flashbacks involving Gloria — when Season 2 returned with Episode 8. Travis Manawa (Cliff Curtis) decided to split from his partner, Madison (Kim Dickens) and head off with his son, Chris (Lorenzo James Henrie), who was suffering a mental breakdown. That left Madison to branch out with her daughter, Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey), Ofelia (Mercedes Mason), and Victor Strand (Colman Domingo).

While Madison and Travis were a committed couple, they realized it was important to split up in this instance to keep their children safe. Even being devoted to each other, with the arrival of the zombie apocalypse, their differing moral beliefs did cause some conflict. Madison always had a more ruthless approach to the infected that sided better with Strand’s beliefs over Travis’s. However, with the couple now separated, could the relationship between Madison and Strand develop into something more? Something akin to what happen between Rick’s (Andrew Lincoln) wife, Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies), and his friend, Shane (Jon Bernthal) in Fear‘s companion series, The Walking Dead?

A new clip released by GameRadar for Episode 9 (entitled “Los Muertos”) of Fear the Walking Dead, indicates Strand and Madison’s relationship is already beginning to blossom.

According to an interview TVLine did with Fear‘s showrunner, Dave Erickson, fans can expect the relationship between Madison and Strand to develop over the course of Season 2, starting from the upcoming Episode 9. However, it is unclear yet whether this relationship will be romantic in nature or not. As Erickson explains, “there’s a lot of shifting dynamics in the back half based on the losses in the first.” This indicates relationships — of all kinds — could change over the course of Season 2 of Fear the Walking Dead.

Erickson also pointed out that Strand is very good at knowing the required currency. In the zombie apocalypse, along with people he is not particularly close to, there could be the need to develop closer bonds in the new currency that is survival in Fear the Walking Dead.

“The thing about Strand is that he is someone who’s always been driven and has always been able to determine what the newest currency was going to be… When Strand says he is a seducer of people, I think he means it. He is willing to invest in people in a way. He knew that there was something about Madison, and if they’d met at a different time, they absolutely would have related to one another… There’s [an element] of a kindred spirit in that they are both willing to embrace an amorality if it’s necessary to survive, whereas that’s something that Travis has always struggled with.”

But will Travis ever reunite with Madison in Fear the Walking Dead? Should the three groups just assume, like Shane and Lori did in The Walking Dead, that they will never see each other again?

According to Erickson, Madison and Travis will meet up again at some point in Fear the Walking Dead.

“When Travis reconnects with Madison, he’s going to be in a much different place emotionally, she’s going to be in a much different place emotionally, and, by the end of the season, they will be closer in some strange, bizarre way than they’ve ever been before,” Erickson explained to TVLine.

He also hinted at the fact that Travis will return to Madison with a much darker personality, and this might be just the sort of salve they truly needed for their relationship to survive the zombie apocalypse in Fear the Walking Dead.

Season 2 of AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead returns Sunday, August 28, with Episode 9 (entitled “Los Muertos”) at 9 p.m. ET.

The official synopsis for Episode 9 of Fear the Walking Dead is below.

“After the fall of the compound, Madison, Strand, and others forge a tenuous path forward. Meanwhile, Nick is recruited for a perilous assignment.”

You can also check out the preview for Episode 9 of Fear The Walking Dead below.

What do you think, are Madison and Strand destined to become the new Lori and Shane in AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead? Let us know your thoughts by commenting below.

[Image via Richard Foreman, Jr./AMC]