Warning: Spoilers for Fear the Walking Dead season 7, episode 14
The Alicia story that Fear the Walking Dead season 4 set up didn’t happen, but now fans are finally getting what they wanted from her character. Yeara ago, there was a hope that Alicia would take the reins of the group in the aftermath of Madison’s death. However, the series clearly had other plans for Fear the Walking Dead’s future.
After moving on from Madison and Nick, the show rebuilt its cast from a skeleton crew of surviving members from the main group in season 4. Of the ones present, only Alicia and Strand had been on the show since the first season. With this in mind, as well as the amount of growth her character had received, there were arguments that Alicia was the only character who had truly earned the leadership position. But instead of going in that direction, Fear the Walking Dead combined her group with Morgan’s and allowed the latter to take charge. Eventually, Morgan’s role was accepted by the other characters, but this didn’t shut down cries for Alicia to get her due.
Though it took years, the series is finally delivering the Alicia storyline that the series denied viewers in season 4. It was confirmed that the show was taking this route when Morgan left and put the fate of the group in Alicia’s hands. While it was Morgan who led the way through most of the war with Strand, it’s Alicia who’s been picked to finish it. Fear the Walking Dead season 7, episode 14, titled “Divine Providence”, was the show’s first full episode where Alicia was the acting leader of the entire FTWD group. Though they’re hardly out of the woods, Alicia did manage to defeat Strand and get the main group into the Tower.
Fear the Walking Dead letting Alicia take the lead for the conclusion of the war was an unexpected narrative choice and the long-awaited payoff to her seven-season evolution as a character. A great deal of that progress came in season 7 alone, where being locked in Teddy's bunker forced Alicia to become the leader of a group she didn’t even want. But now, she’s embracing the responsibilities that come with being in charge.
It's worth noting that what Fear the Walking Dead is currently doing with Alicia shouldn’t be taken as a permanent change. Though Morgan is off on his own now, it’s only a matter of time before he gets back. Chances are, he’ll resume his old role when he returns. But even if Alicia’s stint as leader is doomed to be short-lived, it’s still an arc that the series had been building up to for years, and one that needed to happen at some point or another. If Fear the Walking Dead really is killing her off – like it’s been teasing – then it makes sense for the show to end Alicia's story on a high note.
Fear the Walking Dead releases new episodes on Sundays on AMC.