Fear the Walking Dead can finally solve the mystery of Madison’s fate with an upcoming season 6 episode. A character appearing in the episode "Mother" will give the series a chance to address the Madison debacle and what actually transpired during the fire at the stadium that supposedly took her life.
After Kim Dickens’ character sacrificed herself for the sake of her children in Fear the Walking Dead season 4, showrunners Ian Goldberg and Andrew Chambliss confirmed her death. However, some fans remain convinced that she was still out there somewhere, especially since no body was ever shown. Later, it was suggested that it was Madison who saved Morgan (Lennie James) in the season 6 premiere. What added weight to these theories was that around this time, the showrunners walked back their previous confirmation. At that point, Madison being alive felt like a real possibility, but this was debunked when Dakota (Zoe Colletti) was revealed to be Morgan’s savior instead. Even so, the theories haven’t stopped. Now, there’s a new one that suggests she’s about to reunite with Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey).
Now, it appears that Fear the Walking Dead may be about to lay all the Madison theories to rest, one way or another. A sneak peek at episode 14 reveals that while traveling with Teddy (John Glover), Alicia will somehow meet up with Cole (Sebastian Sozzi). In season 4, Cole was a member of Madison’s group, and one of many characters believed to have been killed during the attack on the stadium. The fact that he’s still alive indicates that others could have survived as well. Cole may be with what’s left of their old community. But even if Cole is on his own, his appearance in episode 14 can provide much-needed answers about Madison and what happened at the stadium.
The main characters know that the stadium was overrun by zombies, but they aren’t clear on all the details of what happened that night. It’s known that the fire was approaching Madison – and it looked apparent that she was about to perish in the flames – but there could be more to the story. If there is, Cole could know. If Madison did survive, Cole could say that she’s with his group, or he could fail to account for what happened to her. Or, if she really is dead, Cole or one of the other characters from the stadium may have seen her body and can confirm this to Alicia.
For right now at least, the return of Cole (and possibly more) gives hope to those thinking that Madison could be coming back to Fear the Walking Dead. Depending on what takes place in episode 14, that hope may be short-lived, but given that the series has chosen to revisit the stadium characters, the show could very well be starting a new storyline that leads to Madison making a shocking return at the end of the season.