Should The Walking Dead & Fear The Walking Dead Crossover?

Fear The Walking Dead is currently playing out the second half of its second season, and improving with each episode. However, many fans of the franchise are eagerly awaiting the return of the main Walking Dead TV series — which will open season 7 with the reveal of who Negan beat to death. With the world of Walking Dead rapidly expanding, there has been some question about how this franchise and its spinoff branches will be connected.

With Fear the Walking Dead taking a more urban and family-oriented look at the zombie apocalypse, and Walking Dead following a group of individuals bonded together for survival, fans have wondered where and how these two series should eventually connect or crossover. But the question needs to be asked: should they?

The answer to that question is pretty much the same as it is in most instances: If it’s done correctly. There’s a right way to unite both Walking Dead shows, and a wrong way, so let’s discuss how to get it right.

The Cure

In the latest episode of Fear the Walking Dead, “Los Muertos”, we learned that Alejandro (Paul Calderon) was supposedly immune to a zombie bite. It could all be a lie — after all, Alejandro is running a cult based around sacrificing other people to the zombies — but if it’s not, then Fear the Walking Dead just casually dropped a major bomb: there’s potentially a cure (or at least a vaccine) to the zombie virus.

With Nick being the sole member of the main characters to have this knowledge, he’s been positioned as a potential crucial player in possibly solving the zompocalypse crisis. Somebody that important (including Alejandro himself) would be of immense value to a group like Rick and his gang, who already tried to seek a cure to the zombie virus in the season 1 finale, by visiting the CDC. 

If Fear the Walking Dead and Walking Dead need a good reason to merge their respective storylines and character arcs, then having a “cure carrier” is pretty much the optimum reason for doing so. 

Race for a Haven

Another big MacGuffin that could move the players of both TWD and FtWD into one place is the oft-teased prospect of a safe haven; a place that, if reached, will bring lucky survivors out of the zompocalypse nightmare and back to civilization. It’s pretty much been the main galvanizing device of both Walking Dead TV series – so why stop now, when there’s so much crossover potential? 

It could be the race for a stronghold, a utopia, some fertile land of abundance – the usual crown jewels in a dystopian odyssey story. The destination doesn’t matter so much as the race to get there, which would be an easy way to bring the characters of both shows together for a crossover event that saw them first as enemies, then as allies, and then heading off their separate ways when the haven fails (because doesn’t it always fail on these shows?). 

It would also be the easiest way to do some reshuffling of the deck, swapping characters from both shows into mixed groups, thereby creating exciting new character dynamics. 

Rival Gangs

If the main Walking Dead series has taught us anything, it’s that the zompocalypse is all about warring gangs of survivors, on a scale bigger than we (or Rick and Co.) ever imagined. Leading these gangs are generals like Rick, The Governor, Negan, or season 7’s new addition, Ezekiel. But who’s to say that the Fear the Walking Dead cast doesn’t have a potential general or two in their midst? 

Nick could certainly be a Rick in the making, while Chris is looking like he could become a serious predatory threat – and there’s always fan-favorite Victor Strand, who could seduce his way into power. If one (or more) of the FtWD gang end up in a position of leadership within a gang or community, then that would be a setup that eventually leads to war with the gang over on the main show.

“Rick vs. Nick?” That would be an event worth tuning into both shows to see.

No Crossover Connections

The counter argument must be made that Fear the Walking Dead and Walking Dead need never connect at all. If AMC, Robert Kirkman, and the producers behind the shows want to keep this universe expanding, they can tell any number of stories that each begin and end in their self-contained corners – or at least with minimal contact with one another.

In fact: it’s already happening. The Walking Dead brand has spawned a well-received series of video games by Telltale, which tell great stories (based on the comic book canon) about other people or groups trying to survive the zompocalypse. The main show has a tie-in game about Merle and Daryl Dixon (Survival Instinct), though it was not as successful. Even Fear the Walking Dead had tie-in web series (“Flight 462”) that eventually introduced a new characters (Alex) into the show.

None of these expansive ventures required heavy-handed crossover ties – so the same should apply to any Easter eggs or cameo appearances that may occur between TWD and FtWD. The fun of this Walking Dead universe (so far) is that you can experience as much or as little of it as you want, without fear of missing out. That’s probably a good trend to continue, because if certain fans only want to watch the main show, it’s hard to see an upside to forcing them into watching Fear.

Then again, maybe if the haters spent a scene or two with Victor Strand, they too could be converted. He is a seducer of people, you know…

WATCH: The Walking Dead Season 7 Trailer

Fear the Walking Dead is currently finishing the second half of season 2. The Walking Dead returns for season 7 on October 23 on AMC.