Fear the Walking Dead Season 3 premiered last night on AMC. After months of waiting, fans got to see Episodes 1 and 2 back to back, which included the shocking death of a major character. In an interview, actor Cliff Curtis discussed the death and how the zombie apocalypse is changing humanity in the TV show.
FTWD spoilers are ahead. If you are not caught up with the series, then do not continue reading.
Shortly before the Season 3 premiere, executive producer Dave Erickson teased a few spoilers . He confirmed there would be a major character death, but he could not give any clues regarding who would die. However, he did hint that the death would be random, sudden, and will affect the entire group for the rest of the season. There were a lot of predictions, but few guessed that Travis would be the one to say goodbye.
On AMC’s official website , Cliff Curtis held a Q&A session talking about the huge character death in Fear the Walking Dead . He also discussed preparing for the helicopter scene and believes the apocalypse is changing humanity in the show. The FTWD actor was asked if he was surprised that Travis died from humans rather than zombies. He explained that in the television show, it just proves that the living can be more dangerous than the dead.
“I think one of the themes on the show is that the people are more dangerous than the zombies. The real danger in this world is how distorted humanity becomes when it’s solely focused on survival. Morality, values, and ethics all go out the window. It’s about how you can survive the next 10 minutes and protect the people that are going to help protect you because you can’t survive alone. You need people around you who are going to protect you. You can’t think about whether it’s the right thing to do. Maybe it’s the wrong thing to do, but if it’s going to help you survive another ten minutes in this world, you just have to do it.”
Curtis also discussed the changes that his character has gone through since the show first premiered. As fan recall, last season he discovered his son, Chris, was left to die after a car accident. Travis was feeling a wide array of emotions, including rage. In the Season 3 premiere of Fear the Walking Dead , Travis seemed to be a bit different. This was evident even though there was not a lot of dialogue after being captured by the militia group.
“He’s kind of a numb character at the opening of Season 3, which gives him some calm and the ability to think outside of his old sense of morals and ethics and values. He puts that all to the side and says, ‘OK, how am I going to get Nick out of this situation alive and reunite with his mother alive?’ That’s all he has to think about. He doesn’t have to think about what’s right or what’s wrong or, ‘should I kill this person?’ Just kill them. If they’re in front of you and they’re between you and what you want, you kill that person. That’s it. It’s very simple. I think that gives him some peace in the apocalypse that Travis never had before.”
Obviously, the person who is affected the most by Travis’ death is Madison (Kim Dickens). At the end of Season 3, Episode 2, she told Nick (Frank Dillane) and Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey) that they were staying at the ranch. She added, “even if we have to take it over.”
However, the question remains: How much will she change as a result of her boyfriend dying, and will those changes be good or bad for her family? As Curtis said about Travis, being a good guy is not such a good thing in the apocalypse. The same can be said for Nick and Alicia’s mother. Madison needs to do what she needs to protect her family, but hopefully, she doesn’t turn into a villain either.
What did you think of what Cliff Curtis said about Travis in Fear the Walking Dead ? Were you surprised that he died in Season 3 Episode 2?
[Featured Image by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]