‘Fear The Walking Dead’ Season 2, Episode 12: Travis Returns, But What Happened To Chris?

The end of Episode 12 of AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead ended with the unexpected arrival of one of the core group members at the Rosarito Beach Hotel. How will this affect existing relationships moving forward?

Spoiler alert: This article discusses Episode 12 (entitled “Pillar of Salt”) of Season 2 of AMC’s Fear The Walking Dead. Please proceed with caution if you wish to avoid spoilers.

Episode 12 of AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead centered on Madison’s (Kim Dickens) group as well as the goings on in Colonia with Nick’s (Frank Dillane) group. So, when Travis Manawa (Cliff Curtis) saw the bright lights of the Rosarito Beach Hotel at the very end of the episode, it was a surprise.

Travis hasn’t been seen since his son, Chris (Lorenzo James Henrie), shot a farm owner in Episode 10 of Fear the Walking Dead. Fans were left wondering just how Travis and his son would sort out their differences of morality in the zombie apocalypse as a result of this. Travis has a very strong moral code and was horrified Chris shot the farmer rather than negotiate, especially considering Travis’ group was encroaching on the farmer’s land. Chris, on the other hand, saw no problem with shooting a man in his own yard after the farmer shot at Chris’ friend, James (Israel Broussard), first.

Travis’ original plan in Season 2 of Fear the Walking Dead was to branch out with Chris and help him through this rough patch before hoping they could “reconstitute the family.” However, it seemed, after Episode 10, this might be a much harder task than Travis first anticipated.

A new official sneak peek into Episode 13 (entitled “Date of Death”) of Fear the Walking Dead suggests this episode will deal with the outcome of this incident and how Travis and Chris are on different pages, morally.

So, considering the appearance of Travis at the end of Episode 12 of Fear the Walking Dead was very short, is there anything that can be gleaned from what was seen?

The shot starts from behind Travis as he stands, looking at the Rosarito Beach Hotel sign which is lit up only because Madison is hoping her son, Nick, will see it and return to their group. This shot then pans around so the audience can see Travis’ face before he walks towards the sign. It appears he is alone in this scene. However, the shot is very tight on his right-hand side there, so Chris could actually be present and just not revealed to the audience yet.

But would Chris be with his father? After all, the Fear the Walking Dead sneak peek clip above indicates Chris wants to stay with his new group and does not believe Travis’ moral standing is conducive with surviving the zombie apocalypse.

So, has Travis made the conscious decision to leave the group and return to Madison? Fear‘s showrunner, Dave Erickson has suggested the original group will reunite in the second half of Season 2 of Fear the Walking Dead and moving forward into Season 3. He also revealed to TVLine that Travis and Madison would eventually reunite by the end of the season.

“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.”

What do you think happens to Travis and Chris in Episode 13 of AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead? Let us know your thoughts and theories by commenting below.

Season 2 of AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead returns Sunday, September 25, with Episode 13 (entitled “Date of Death”) at 9 p.m. ET.

The official synopsis for Episode 13 of Fear the Walking Dead is below.

“Refugees flood into the hotel, including an unexpected refugee from our group. Madison struggles to cope with the situation.”

[Featured Image by Richard Foreman, Jr./AMC]