War is here on Fear.
Following the shocking revelation that Strand (Colman Domingo) killed Alicia’s (Alycia Debnam-Carey)’s almost-love-interest Will (Gus Halper), conflict exploded, and the stalwart survivors of Fear The Walking Dead are taking sides.
Lauren “Lo” Smith/AMC
Domingo emphasized that “there is a war a-brewin’” within the group, which he finds “fascinating” because the franchise has never tackled a conflict where both sides are family. “Usually it’s an outside force, a voice. There’s always been a baddie from the outside, and now there’s baddies from the inside depending on the point of view that you share. That’s something that’s interesting.”
Lennie James, who plays Morgan Jones, elaborated that the season plays with perception — telling a “goodie” from a “baddie” in Fear’s war-torn (and nuclear) world isn’t simple, or perhaps even necessary. “Victor Strand has reason, Alicia has reason, Morgan has reason, and everybody has reason to stand where they stand and make the choices that they make,” James said, “and we’re just exploring what they are and showing them to our audience.”
But if it came down to it, would Alicia — who’s determined to seize the tower from Strand — be able to pull the trigger on one of her closest friends? Debnam-Carey isn’t quite sure. “What does make Alicia such a fierce survivor is that there is a humanity to her and a belief people can do better and be better,” she said. “A ‘you’re not gone until you’re gone’ kind of thing. But I do think now she’s become a bit of a ruthless character, and we’ve seen her sometimes make extreme decisions and kill if she believes it’s for the betterment of everyone else.”
And in the end, the actress said, her character is also weighing whether Strand would — or could — kill her, too. “At this point, [killing Strand] is not out of the question,” she said. She also teased that Season 7B has an exciting journey for Alicia and sees her go “full throttle,” which should be good news for fans of the youngest Clark.
The tenth episode of Season 7 also promises to be a big one for Charlie (Alexa Nisenson), who hasn’t quite taken a side in the whole conflict (if we had to guess, we’d figure she’s Team Alicia). Nisenson says Episode 10, which was directed by Lennie James, will show her character in a way audiences have “never seen her before.” And even more surprising? “We get to see her have a very normal teenage experience and be happy, for a little bit of a change.” Happiness is in extremely short supply in this world, so we can see why Nisenson would be excited for her character to find it.
Of course, there’s plenty of drama inside the tower. For June, Jenna Elfman teases that if fans liked the side of her character that took bloody revenge on Ginny (Colby Minifie), they’ll find similar enjoyment in 7B. “[June] turned into really owning her space in that moment, and I think it was a lovely turn of character for June and it was something I really loved playing,” Elfman said. “There might be more doses of that coming that I think fans are going to dig.”
Lauren “Lo” Smith/AMC
Also upcoming: Conflict in the John Dorie Sr. (Keith Carradine) and June bond. Carradine says his character will be getting closer to Strand in the second half of the season… but is it because he believes in Strand’s methods, or because he can get intel to use against the dictator? “I can say there are moments when Dorie Sr.’s questionable as to whose side he’s on,” Carradine said. “He and June have these moments when she is questioning that in him.” He also said the John-Strand relationship is one of his favorite aspects of the next eight episodes.
And what about Howard, Strand’s right-hand man? Does he see Strand as a friend, or just as a boss? Omid Abtahi said that’s something he pondered throughout filming. “It’s not black and white,” he said, mentioning that Victor’s lie about his identity when they met speaks to the trustworthiness there. “We’ll come to find that Howard has his own reasons for wanting to see this tower thrive. I think [Howard] sees Victor as the best leader to help push this forward and make this reboot of civilization — which is a huge thing for any historian — make history. He wants to be there to aid him.”
Debnam-Carey also mentioned that she’s looking forward to fans seeing Episode 11, which serves as her first time ever in a director’s chair. She spoke highly of all involved in the production, expressing gratitude to “so many extraordinary people” who worked together to make it happen. “I’m very lucky to have had the opportunity to do that in such a safe and supportive environment on a show that I know like the back of my hand now… I’m really excited for people to see it, because it’s such a personal experience. I want to know what people think!” she said.
Predictably, Domingo and James couldn’t say much about Kim Dickens’ return as Madison Clark. When asked whether they had a behind-the-scenes reunion yet, James kept it mysterious: “I’m going to say yes,” he said, “and leave it at that.” Domingo answered that he hasn’t yet seen Dickens on set, but that certainly doesn’t mean he hasn’t seen her. “You know she’s my best friend, so I see her for dinner probably every other week.”
Fear The Walking Dead Season 7B Premiere, Sunday April 17, 9/8c, AMC
