Warning: This article may reveal spoilers for Fear the Walking Dead .
The new season of Fear the Walking Dead is set to premiere this Sunday, and in anticipation of that debut, the show’s stars and showrunners are teasing a new kind of season, promising to get away from that claustrophobic feel that living on Strand’s boat created for viewers. Instead, the full cast of Fear the Walking Dead characters will be striking out in different directions and each will find something different, but it will all boil down to action and peril at the hands of zombies, villains, and the chaos created by the zombie apocalypse.
What Fear The Walking Dead Stars Have To Say About Season 2B
The first season of Fear the Walking Dead was highly criticized, mostly because it lacked the action and the type of zombie related gore fans of the primary Walking Dead series have come to expect, but that’s all about to change. As the series prepares to jump back into season 2, Entertainment Tonight talks with Fear the Walking Dead actors and gets the scoop on a much more action-packed story arc. We already know that the main group has splintered with each faction heading off in a different direction, but new insights reveal just what these characters will encounter as Fear the Walking Dead picks up.
Mercedes Mason, who plays Ofelia Salazar on the series, says there will be as much emotional turmoil as there will be action and danger.
“There’s a lot of death, there’s separation, there’s chaos, and hurt feelings,” says the Fear the Walking Dead star. “There’s a lot of individual growth because we ended the first half of this season with of a lot of loss and I think that forces you to wither and crumble or it strengthens you.”
Anyone who has been with Fear the Walking Dead from the beginning has observed that Madison Clark, played by Kim Dickens, has tried to keep a tight reign on those she considers family, becoming almost too controlling at times. This need to keep everyone safe and within reach will cause Madison greater heartache in season 2B, says Dickens.
“She’s kind of messed up when we first come back,” revealed the Fear the Walking Dead matriarch. “She’s kind of distraught and very unmoored, but she doesn’t give up hope. She’s frantically searching for them.”
Alycia Debnam-Carey emphasizes the way in which Fear the Walking Dead will place a greater focus on the characters in season 2B. Alycia, who plays Alicia Clark, feels that focusing on the isolated stories of each character will give the remainder of the season a greater sense of intimacy and help viewers become emotionally invested in each of these characters. Debnam-Carey adds that going one on one with these individuals will be the biggest change Fear the Walking Dead has seen since its inception.
“We also take the claustrophobia aspect out of the story,” Mason added, referencing The Abigail, Strand’s boat in Fear the Walking Dead . “We don’t have each other to rely on so much anymore, and now we’re out in the open in a new culture with a new language and it puts a lot of pressure on a group.”
Fear The Walking Dead Showrunner Dave Erickson On Starting Out With Nick’s Story
In speaking with the series showrunner, Dave Erickson, Yahoo TV uncovers the idea that Nick (Frank Dillane) is essentially being set up to become the big hero of the series. While he had been prevented from evolving into this role by Madison’s mothering, Erickson suggests that, by striking out on his own, Nick will finally be able to grow into the man he has been destined to become. Dave says Nick’s struggle with drug addiction and the life that situation entailed gave him a unique skill set with which to excel in the zombie apocalypse.
“I think Nick has always lived on the fringes. He’s used to living hand to mouth. I think what’s interesting… he makes a very bold statement in the midseason finale,” says the Fear the Walking Dead showrunner. “He essentially tells his mother that he can’t die. I think the scary thing for Madison is that he seems to feel more connected to the dead than he does the living.”
As season 2B picks up, Erickson reveals that fans will see Nick dealing with the consequences of his decision to strike out on his own and that means facing more problems and obstacles than Dillane’s Fear the Walking Dead character had anticipated.
“It’s almost his, it’s our shortened version of The Revenant , putting him through all of that… you’ll see a degree of recklessness to him in subsequent episodes as well,” explains Fear the Walking Dead ‘s Erickson. “He does have this attitude of his confidence, in the sense of invulnerability, and I think that in this world, that has to be short-lived. I think it was, you put him through these trials, he still survives and wins.”
Fear the Walking Dead returns on Sunday, August 21 on AMC.
[Image by AMC]