Warning: Spoilers for Fear the Walking Dead season 7, episode 11
The direction Fear the Walking Dead is taking with the war makes Strand surviving season 7 even more likely. Based on how the story kicked off at the beginning of the season, there were a lot of reasons to think that season 7 would be the end of the road for Colman Domingo’s Victor Strand. However, the chances of Strand’s story continuing beyond the current arc are getting better and better as the season progresses.
When Fear the Walking Dead dropped Strand’s redemption storyline and made him the season’s main villain, there was a sense that this was how the series would end his story for good. After all, Strand’s decision to murder Will felt like a point of no return for his character. When Strand became a hated enemy of Morgan and Alicia, he seemingly killed his chances of rejoining the group. As a result, there have been all sorts of theories about Strand losing the Tower and dying at the end of the season. Some suspect it’ll be Morgan who does the deed, while others suspect his death will come at the hands of Alicia, Daniel, or even Kim Dickens’ Madison.
How the show has been handling the Morgan vs. Strand war downplays this idea that season 7 has to end with Strand’s death. When the story kicked off, Strand was indeed positioned as the clear villain, but that’s no longer the case. Those on the opposing side of his war, including Morgan himself, have been making so many morally questionable decisions that who’s right and who’s wrong has become a lot more subjective than it once was. Luciana’s cold-hearted decision to use Daniel’s memory loss to their advantage in Fear the Walking Dead season 7, episode 11, titled “Ofelia”, is the latest example of that. As a result, it’s become more likely that instead of Strand alone paying the ultimate price for his crimes, multiple characters will have to reflect on their mistakes in the finale.
What Fear the Walking Dead is delivering is a story where both sides are guilty of wrongdoing. At this point, Strand isn’t the only one who’s gone too far to get what he wants. Morgan and Luciana are crossing lines too. In addition to Luciana’s lie about Ofelia being alive and in Strand’s custody, there’s also the fact that Morgan used 12-year-old Charlie in his plans and escalated the conflict with Strand by poisoning him. Plus, Strand isn’t exactly the true aggressor in this case. Because they think they need the Tower to survive, Morgan’s side is trying to forcibly take it from him. Both sides in the war have reasons for fighting over it.
Since FTWD has made Morgan share some of the blame of the war while also avoiding a truly evil turn for Strand, a scenario where both leaders come out of season 7 alive does indeed feel plausible. Some relationships may never completely heal, but characters on both sides can at least come to the realization that they’ve all handled this problem poorly. If the Tower comes down or a new threat – lIke PADRE – emerges at the end of their fight, a reluctant alliance could form ahead of Fear the Walking Dead season 8.
Fear the Walking Dead releases new episodes on Sundays on AMC.