Fear The Walking Dead: Is Alicia The Leader Now?

Fear the Walking Dead launched its new season with an intense plane crash sequence, hurling its survivors into a treacherous scenario right out of the gate. When everyone gathered themselves, it was Alicia Clark who emerged and started dishing out orders and making the best, most immediate effort to protect everyone. Does this mean Alicia is finally the definitive leader on Fear the Walking Dead? According to co-showrunner Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg, it’s certainly a step in that direction.

“Alicia has transformed in so many ways from who she was at the beginning of Season 4,” Chambliss told UndeadWalking. “To endure all the loss and tragedy Alicia went through would break most people but Alicia has come out the other side and carved out a position of strength and leadership within the group. And yes, it’s clear what that role entails as soon as she steps off the plane with the propeller blade — she has become this group’s protector. And as we see in the way she fends off the walkers at the plane, she’s very good at it. But we’re going to learn that this new role has come at a cost for Alicia. That protecting everyone from the dead might also be keeping her at a distance from the living. But like any great leader, we’ll see how Alicia tackles these demons, external and internal, and how she’ll continue to evolve.”

She still has a bit of coaching to undergo from Morgan Jones, who doesn’t have thorough experience with being a leader, but will be a welcome counter to Alicia’s tendency to act on impulse.

Season 5 is headed into bigger world territory where leadership is going to be an absolute necessity. The story will expand into larger Dead universe ideas, especially a few which are linked to Rick’s exit from Alexandria on The Walking dead. At the forefront will be Fear‘s characters and their respective journeys.

“We do see Season 5 as the next evolution of the show and of these characters’ emotional journeys,” Chambliss said. “One of the most exciting things about this show and this universe is the ability to constantly reinvent itself. Season four was about taking our characters from a place of hopelessness to hope. This season is about taking that hope and putting it into action, and seeing all the challenges that entails for our people. Season four we were lucky enough to tell stories that were by turns exciting and epic and heartbreaking and funny and warm and even a little weird. We embrace those tonalities and love that we get to continue telling these stories with these characters, hopefully for many seasons to come.”

Could the characters on Fear the Walking Dead ultimately end up being responsible for the rescue of Rick Grimes somehow? Perhaps they learned the dangerous ways of this new group and were trying to prevent them from getting close to Rick? Share your thoughts in the comment section or send them my way on Instagram or Twitter.

Fear the Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9pm ET on AMC. The Walking Dead will return for its tenth season in October.