[SPOILER ALERT: Read on only if youve already watched SundaysFear the Walking Deadmidseason finale, Shiva.]
To call theFear the Walking Deadmidseason finale explosive would be accurate in many ways.
Chris took a young boy hostage with a gun in his attempt to escape his father.
Credit: Richard Foreman Jr/AMC
Travis then refused to return, opting to stay out in the wild with Chris.
And then Nick refused to flee with his family, opting to walk amongst the dead instead.
We spoke with showrunner Dave Erickson to get the scoop on all the burning questions from tonights midseason finale.
Richard Foreman Jr/AMC
Like, is Daniel Salazar last seen surrounded by flames that he himself set dead?
Ericksons answer may surprise you.
Safe to assume he is dead, or not?
Richard Foreman Jr/AMC
DAVE ERICKSON:We dont see Daniel burn, and thats intentional.
Thats going to spin Ofelia specifically in a new direction for the back half.
He will be done for the season.
Richard Foreman Jr/AMC
Wow, big news there, then.
Its interesting because when I watched that scene, I was like, Well, this guys a goner.
Lizas a very good example.
In the instance of Daniel, his storys not done.
And whats great about this is it gives some degree of closure for the first half of the season.
I think theres another chapter to be told in that story.
Its something I think we can hopefully look forward to in season 3.
And before we move off Daniel, what is it that broke him here?
If you watch the trajectory of the first half of the season, there were clues.
There were moments where you heard voices.
There were moments where he seemed to be focusing on things that werent there.
I think Ofelia started to see this relatively early on.
The thing that broke him, if you go back to it, is the loss of Griselda.
Hes a man whos committed a great number of sins.
And when he loses her at the end of last season, he really loses his rock.
I think hes angry, hes confused, and hes frightened.
He doesnt know exactly what hes going to do from moment to moment.
Its all coming to a head.
So I think your second point is absolutely true.
But Travis has been struggling with,How do I reach out to my son?
How do I fix this?
So, hes really making a significant decision here, isnt he?
He obviously doesnt know that the place is going to be burnt down.
But he also thinks that Madison is safe.
Take me through Madisons decision here.
He honestly believes he cant die.
And ostensibly killing Celia is a way of protecting Nick and saving his life.
Celia has a really interesting reaction to this.
She doesnt seem angry or even scared when she sees what Madison has done.
But she quickly recovers.
I mean, look, shes somebody who believes the dead are not dead.
She believes its just the continued evolution, and she believes its natural.
So it only fazes her for a second, and then she settles into it quite nicely.
And then what happens to her when that camera cuts away, Dave?
I think it became very unpleasant for her, right when we left the room.
All right, so lets get to the end then.
Daniel lays out all the gasoline, the place goes up in flames, everyone takes off.
But Nick does not go with them.
Whats Nicks plan here, or does he even have a plan?
Thats actually something that will be answered when we come back in the back half of the season.
But in that moment, no.
And in Celia, he found somebody who he thought understood him and understood his connection to the dead.
So, in that moment, hes crestfallen.
He is despairing over what has happened at the compound, and he assumes the worst.
I do think that he gets a certain degree of a rush from walking among them.
And we now have a break till we come back with the group is separated in three different places.
What can you say about whats going to happen when things pick back up?
We had the boat until that was compromised.
And is that going to be on land, on water, or both?
That remains to be seen.
