Entertainment

5 Questions 'Fear TWD' Will Address In Season 2

by Fred Topel

On April 3, The Walking Dead ended its sixth season on a cliffhanger that has left some fans more than a little bit frustrated. It's totally understandable, especially when you remember that the series likely won't return for Season 7 until October, leaving characters' fates in the balance for a solid six months. The good news is, Fear The Walking Dead Season 2 premieres on April 10 and may be able to distract you from the Negan question with some mysteries of its own. And luckily for fans who are already overwhelmed with questions, Fear The Walking Dead may actually bring some answers this season.

The cast of the AMC series spoke to reporters on the red carpet before their PaleyFest panel in March and pointed out a few mysteries that viewers can look forward to unraveling in Season 2. From character motivations to family bonds, it seems that many of the storylines introduced in Season 1 will receive some resolution as Fear The Walking Dead continues its story. Here are five questions viewers can expect to at least be addressed when the series returns on Sunday night at 9 p.m. and starts giving us answers.

1. What's In Strand's Past?

Colman Domingo made his Fear The Walking Dead debut in Episode 5 as Victor Strand, a man Nick Clark met in a National Guard field hospital cell. Strand helped Nick break out and has now taken the Clarks and Manawas to sea on his yacht. Domingo promises that in Season 2, some of the many questions fans have about Strand will be answered.

“I think you have questions on how he got his money,” Domingo says. “Where’s he from? Is he good or bad? I think we’re going to answer some of those questions and then we’re going to possibly flip it around again on you and then challenge you to believe what you know now.”

2. How Will Travis & Chris Handle Liza's Death?

The characters on Fear the Walking Dead are still learning how the zombie infection works and as a doctor, Liza was one of the first to realize that it’s spread through bites. So when she was bit, she asked Maddie to shoot her in the head so she didn’t turn into one herself. Her ex-husband, Travis, ended up pulling the trigger, but now he has to explain it to their son, Chris.

“It’s terrible what he has to do to his son’s mother, but now he’s got to protect his son and his son hates him,” says Cliff Curtis, who plays Travis. “Big problem. Travis is still going to hold onto the idea that he’s setting an example for his son and he’s got to try and hold the moral ground for his son. Number one, he’s a dad. It’s going to be a problem.”

Lorenzo James Henrie sheds some light on Chris' perspective on the situation. “He’s trying to figure out how to accept the fact that his dad killed his mom," he says. "That’s going to be his journey ... trying to come to peace or not coming to peace.”

3. Will Alicia Get In On The Action?

Maddie’s daughter, Alicia, spent more of the first season helping her brother through drug withdrawal and pining for her boyfriend than getting to fight any zombies. Since actor Alycia Debnam-Carey also starred on The CW's The 100 as Lexa, where she kicked ass on a weekly basis, Fear fans have been waiting to see her bring those skills over to the AMC series Debnam-Carey promises we'll definitely get to see her kill some walkers in Season 2.

We start to see more of the infected.We start to have a lot more fight sequences and Alicia finally gets to kick some ass, which is nice," she says, adding that it's something she's "been waiting for."

4. Can The Clarks & Manawas Stay Together?

Fear began with this blended family struggling to stay together and their issues have only been exacerbated by the zombie outbreak. On the Clark side, siblings Alicia and Nick still have some issues to resolve. He’s always needed her, as she helped him during his relapse, but they have a strained relationship.

“There’s definitely a lot of push and pull in that relationship in the second season,” Debnam-Carey says. “Whether she feels responsible, she’s dealt with this for so long that now there comes a time where she has to really decide whether this is her problem or not, and whether she can rely on him."

On the Manawa side, Henrie says that most of Chris' issues will be with his dad, but things are good between him and Maddie. “I think he sees her good will,” the actor says said. “I think he sees her inclination to protect the family so at the opening of Season 2 he definitely trusts her.”

But complicating Chris' relationship with Travis dad will be the loss of his mother. “I think that is the journey in Season 2,” Henrie says, explaining that only five hours will have passed between where Season 1 ended and this new season begins. "You can’t just grieve your mom overnight ... The whole Season 2 journey is going to be the grief."

5. Can Strand Be Trusted?

This is the big one. Strand may have a boat that can get the Manawas and Clarks to safety, but he is a stranger. Still, Domingo believes that his character can be trusted. "I think he says what he means. I think it’s just that he’s very straight about these things," the actor says. "He’s more black and white. He doesn’t live in gray so I think that’s the part that people feel like you can’t trust ... You’ve got to be smarter than him or on his level or he’s going to get rid of you. Isn’t that kind of cool? We can all learn from Victor Strand."

Hopefully, Domingo is right and we'll also learn to trust him when Fear The Walking Dead returns for Season 2 on April 10 at 9 p.m.

Images: Michael Bulbenko for The Paley Center; Richard Foreman, Jr (2), Justina Mintz, Frank Ockenfels 3/AMC, AMC