Mercedes Mason Recaps And Previews Fear The Walking Dead

Episode five of Fear the Walking Dead‘s second season is in the books and the show continues to sail on towards Mexico. Spoilers for Captive follow.

The group rescued their family members and bid farewell to some not so friendly new acquaintances in Sunday night’s episode. Witness to some horrible below deck events was Ophelia Salazar. Unlike her father, Ophelia is still hesitant to handle the undead or even living enemies.

Over the weekend, ComicBook.com had the chance to catch up with Ophelia actress Mercedes Mason. Mason is bursting with enthusiasm for her role on Fear and promises big, scary moments ahead. Check out the interview below!

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First of all, I talked to you about this a few weeks ago but it seems even more prominent of a possibility than it was back then. Ophelia and Nick? What’s going on there?

There could be something stirring up. I’m obviously not allowed to tell you exactly what’s gonna happen but I think they’re close in age, they’re sort of of the same mind set, they have the same view of the world, and I think Nick is showing some interest by helping her out. She’s always had her family there before so it’s the first time somebody from outside world is showing her kindness, especially at a time where she really needs that. She’s lost her mom, she’s physically hurt because of the bullet wound, she doesn’t trust her dad, and Nick is the only one who without asking has catered to her. He brought her her rosaries and got antibiotics for her when he was out on a scout and finds clothes for her. He’s really gone above and beyond to show that he’s potentially interested so we’ll see how that progresses. Obviously, it’s only been a few weeks that they’ve known each other so I wouldn’t want them to jump into anything too soon. I think there might be something on the horizon there.

Plus, there really aren’t that many other people to choose from.

No, exactly! [Laughs]

You mentioned not trusting her father and I saw your tweet about more flashback episodes to come. Will we learn about Ophelia and Daniel’s history with a flashback episode?

100%. Yes. It’s actually my favorite episode that we’ve shot so far. You really get to delve into what happened to Daniel back during the civil war in El Salvador and his relationship with my mother, Griselda, and of course, Ophelia understanding all of that. It’s really gonna color the relationship between Ophelia and Daniel. It’s such a beautiful episode and I’m totally in awe of it. I can’t wait. I think it’s episode six or seven. I think it’s number seven. That’s the midseason break.

Speaking of the midseason break… These Walking Dead shows like cliffhangers…

I mean… I’m dying over that! I can’t wait for October! My God, do I love that show!

As a fan, I know you don’t have any insight, so as a fan who do you think Negan killed?

I mean, so here’s the thing… They’re all lined up. I think they sort of toyed with the idea of it being Glenn because in the comics he’s supposed to be killed. They had done the fakeout with him before but Negan said “If anybody makes any noise, I’m gonna make it worse for you,” and there’s no way in hell that Glenn’s getting killed, getting his brain smashed in, and Maggie doesn’t scream out. There’s just no way. It’s not gonna happen. That sort of makes me think, “Maybe it’s Abraham.” Especially in that episode. They really sort of focused on him being the good guy and how helpful he is and they have a tendency to build a character up before they destroy them or kill them. Part of me thinks it had to be Abraham which I feel bad about. As long as it’s not Glenn or Daryl! I’m terrible! I’m a terrible person!

That’s an interesting theory! Back to Fear with these cliffhangers, though. Would you say there’s a big cliffhanger coming with the midseason finale in a couple of weeks?

100%! Yup! I don’t know if it’s even a cliffhanger or it’s more of just a jaw drop. Like, “Did that seriously just happen?” When we read it, we all called each other, e-mailed each other, however we get a hold of each other and were like, “Oh, my God! Did you read it? Did you read it?” because we couldn’t wrap our heads around it. I can’t wait! I’m dying to tell you everything but I’m pretty sure Negan will show up at my house.

You are such a nerd, I love it.

I’m such a nerd! It’s hilarious.

By the end of Sunday’s episode, it looks like everyone is starting to adapt to this world. Do you think Ophelia will get on board and possibly actually kill someone?

I think so. Here’s the thing: what we’re going to start finding out about Ophelia is everybody has a past life. We’re gonna start delving into that as we proceed with the episodes and Ophelia, like everybody else, may not be what she seems. She may not have been as innocent as she originally portrayed and as she has been portraying to her parents. She wanted to be a good girl. She’s not a 12-year-old so she may have had a life that they weren’t exactly aware of. She alludes to that when she’s on the boat with Chris and says, “I went to Catholic school K through 12 but I definitely made some bad decisions.” She seems to think back on them fondly. I think Ophelia is a lot stronger than she lets on. I think in life, when you have nothing else to lose, that forces you to develop different strengths and what else has she to lose, really? She doesn’t trust her father, she’s lost her mom, the world’s fallen apart… So, I think it’s gonna become the catalyst for her standing on her own two feet and her becoming who she is and hasn’t shown her family before.

By the sound of the that, it seems like the answer to this next question yes, but are we actually going to get more Ophelia in future episodes? So far this season it feels fairly limited.

I know! It’s frustrating to me as an actor as well but I think they have to keep her a bit muted initially because what could she do? With the physical injury there’s not much she could have done. And I think the smart thing with Ophelia we’ll come to realize is she’s definitely an observer and a thinker. She doesn’t just jump into action. She’s watching. She doesn’t say a lot but she’s almost in every scene just watching everybody. So, I think when she does come out she’ll come out guns swinging. It’s just a matter of patience.

I can’t wait to see what happens when they toss you into a big action scene.

Ah! I can’t wait! Do you understand, I’ve been begging for it because I have fight training, physically, I’m a beast when it comes to working out and I’m just like, “Please, please, please! Let me smash a skull! Let me pull a tooth out! Let me do something, come on!”

Now that the group has Travis and Alicia back, they’re heading off somewhere. Where are they going? What can you tease?

We keep trying to figure out if there’s a safe harbor anywhere because we know we can’t survive on the boat exclusively for too long. The mission is to go save them and once get them, we have to find a safe place because it’s been proven now. We’re like a beacon in the night and everybody is gonna come after us. So, that’s the next step: see where Strand is leading us. He seems to be really leading us somewhere particular and we’ll learn about that as it comes along but we’re sort of pawns in his game. His boat. We can’t do anything opposing him so we’re just along for the ride. We don’t know where we’re going but it seems like Strand has a very clear destination for us. I think that will e clear episode six.

Do you trust Strand?

Ophelia doesn’t trust Strand. I don’t think so. Not at all. She hasn’t really spoken to him or done anything with him at all. Her father doesn’t trust him at all and Daniel’s been pretty much right about everyone thus far. But also, Strand is mysterious and secretive and Ophelia is an observer. She can figure people out for the most part and what their motivations are with Travis and Madison and Nick and Alicia but not with Strand so she’s purposely kept her distance from him. You notice, even the few interactions, like when their at the helm of the boat and they’re trying to figure out where to go because they know that San Diego is no longer safe, she’s very short with him.