Warning! SPOILERS for Fear the Walking Dead season 8 premiere below!Fear the Walking Dead co-showrunner Andrew Chambliss recently teased why PADRE has kept Madison Clark (Kim Dickens) alive. After coming into contact with Madison in the season 7 finale, a plan was hatched to save Mo from the militaristic survival community. During their escape, Madison is captured by PADRE and held in solitary confinement for seven years.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Chambliss teased why PADRE has kept Madison alive for so long in Fear the Walking Dead season 8. After an older Mo/Wren (Zoey Merchant) discovers Madison imprisoned in an airtight underground cell, PADRE commander Shrike (Maya Eshet) and a pair of armed guards visit Madison and draw her blood. Chambliss teased PADRE's "nefarious" nature is intertwined with the reason behind Madison's blood. Read what the co-showrunner said below:
In that very first scene when Shrike comes down and she draws Madison's blood, we see that there are marks and it seems like this is something that happens a lot. There maybe is a reason to take that risk beyond just wanting to punish Madison and torture her.
And it kind of points to PADRE's more nefarious side and some of the things that they're doing in the pursuit of survival that we will very quickly learn are pretty shocking and paint PADRE in a very different light from the idyllic summer camp that we see on that island in this episode.
Why Is PADRE Drawing Madison's Blood?
Fear the Walking Dead season 8 sees Madison tallying her days of imprisonment in the walls of her cell. When Shrike draws her blood, the extensive wounds and bruising on her arm reveal she has been repeatedly subjected to this procedure. However, the season 8 premiere did not share why PADRE has been taking Madison's blood in the first place, leaving much to speculation.
Although PADRE sells itself as the savior of the world, raising the next generation of fighters to transform the future of the planet into something promising, Chambliss' comments indicate the sanctuary's plan involves more than just training children. Drawing Madison's blood may hint at PADRE's desire to rid the world of the Wildfire Virus, using her blood for tests instead of subjecting their own to their experiments. With seven years gone since her capture, PADRE's possible virus tests may not have seen much in the way of progress.
As Fear the Walking Dead continues its final season, the show has many questions to answer to include the whereabouts of the Tower's survivors, why Morgan and Grace finally decided to join PADRE, and the community's ultimate plans for the future. Fear the Walking Dead season 8's trailer teases a war against PADRE with Morgan reuniting with his friends and setting their sights on freeing those held on the hidden island. When Fear the Walking Dead returns next week, Madison returns to PADRE after her brief escape and where the real reason behind her blood draws may be revealed.
Source: EW