‘Fear The Walking Dead’ Star Reacts To Sudden Death

Sunday night’s episode of Fear the Walking Dead shocked fans in its opening moments when it was revealed a core character had been bitten.

Spoilers for Fear the Walking Dead Episode 3×14 follow!

In Episode 3×12, a herd lead by Troy Otto came crashing down on Broke Jaw Ranch. While Alicia, Madison, and Mad Dog made an impressive effort to escape the horde they weren’t able to make it out completely unscathed. Mercedes Mason‘s Ofelia Salazar had been bitten near her collar bone and the zombie fever caught up with her in Sunday’s El Matadero episode.

“It’s so sad because it was also so slow going,” Mason told ComicBook.com. “If they had sort of given her a chance earlier, I think she would have progressed so much more by now, but that was also part of the frustration… I really wanted her to get to where she was going a lot faster.”

Saying Goodbye

The exit from Fear the Walking Dead makes Ofelia ineligible for the upcoming crossover with The Walking Dead, which will see either a character from Fear joining The Walking Dead or a character from The Walking Dead joining Fear. Mason, a huge fan of the original The Walking Dead series, is bummed to miss the opportunity.

“I kept imagining [Ofelia] and Daniel had this fighting duo,” Mason said. “You imagine the strength there, so it would have been really cool, but there was also a lot of beauty in just the way she passed, though. She didn’t turn. There was some symbolism in the fact that he had to put her out, even though that’s the one thing she asked them not to let him do. He sort of had to pay for his sins, and that’s how he used it.”

According to Mason, Daniel might just come out of this a little scarier than before. “He’s just going to be even more ruthless, if that’s even possible,” Mason said. “There’s literally nothing else. He’s lost his life, he’s lost his daughter, twice, and the last time he had to be the one to sort of put her out of her misery.”

Unlike The Walking Dead, the cast of Fear the Walking Dead spends a good bit of their time out of production at home rather than near the set. “I wish we would have started a tradition the way The Walking Dead had, where we do dinner or something, but because we shoot in Mexico, a lot of us live in LA, whenever we would have some off time, we would just go home. You know, because most of us have families or husbands, wives, whatever,” Mason said.

Looking Ahead

For now, Mason will take a short hiatus from her acting career in favor of carrying and birthing her first child!

“When you’re pregnant in Hollywood, if you’re not on a show, it’s very difficult to get a show,” Mason said. “‘Hi, I’m a pregnant lady!’ Yeah, no. So I’m taking a little bit of a break and I’m actually writing, so I have one scripts that’s out and we’re in the midst of trying to get that sold. If that does well, or if it sells, then I’ve got two more.” 

The Walking Dead‘s sibling series Fear the Walking Dead airs Sunday nights at 9 pm ET on AMC. The Walking Dead will return for its eighth season on October 22, 2017. The Season Eight premiere will mark 100 episodes overall for the popular AMC series. For complete coverage and insider info all season long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.