Exclusive: When And How The Fear The Walking Dead Group Will Reunite

Capping off the first half of Fear the Walking Dead‘s second season, the group was left scattered. Madison, Strand, Alicia, and Ofelia are headed back to the Abigail yacht. Nick is roaming the burnt down estate among the undead. Travis and Chris have elected to isolate themselves for everyone’s benefit. It’s a mess for the west coast survivors.

When the show returns, audiences will follow each group on a journey south of the border, truly expanding the mythology of The Walking Dead universe but offering new threats, locations, and obstacles for the characters. Needless to say, some will be hoping to reunite while others will simply be trying to find themselves.

Speaking to Fear the Walking Dead producer Dave Erickson, ComicBook.com has learned that it may be quite some time until the group comes back together and what they’re up to in the mean time will take up much of Season 2’s remaining episodes.

“It’s going to be difficult because we eventually find out the boat is not as accessible as we had hoped, or as Strand and Madison had hoped,” Erickson says. “So, here’s the thing: Nick has set off on this spiritual journey, what is for him a spiritual journey. For Madison it’s another manifestation of his addiction. The strange thing is that the ending of 208 is probably the one of the most hopeful moments on the show. It feels like Nick has arrived in a place where people can embrace the dead in a way that his family does not. People seem to have some modicum of joy and community. We’re going to quickly explore that and look into something with a darker side that goes with it, but initially he’s not looking to get back. He’s looking to find a new place where he feels his emotionality and psychology fit.”

On the flip side of Nick’s journey to find himself is his mother Madison’s journey to find him and his sister Alicia’s evolution as a result. “Madison’s not going to give up on him so easily and there’ll be steps she takes along the course of the back half to try to secure him again, but what’s interesting, and again it’s the benefit of the fracture of the narrative is that Alicia and Madison are forced to deal with each other in the back half,” Erickson explains. “What the split provides us with is there is an opportunity not just to explore our characters in more depth. It also allows us to look at some of the relationships that maybe work that under-served, and the absence of Nick I think really motivates some changes in Alicia… Some changes in her relationship with her mother which is great.”

As for when the group will come back together, Season 2 would be wishful thinking. “I think we’ll see some of those traits come together by the end of the season, but it’s really not going to be until season 3 that we see any semblance of our family returned,” Erickson teases.

Of course, there are a couple of character Erickson didn’t mention during our chat: Chris and Travis, the father-son duo who have to isolate themselves for everyone else’s safety. Chris Manawa actor Lorenzo James-Henrie tells ComicBook.com that much of the journey for the second half is about the group’s separate paths and efforts to reunite, emphasizing Nick’s “meeting other people” but teasing a different type of journey for his character.

“You see Chris, obviously,” Henrie starts. “He’s branched off. He’s recognized that, ‘You know, if I’m the problem, I need to leave. I’m going to do everyone else a favor.’ He recognizes that. “

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So, while Chris is a problem for the group, Henrie still finds similarities between his character and former druggie Nick Clark. “I don’t think Chris or Nick have the intention of going back. I think they are exploring this new universe. Obviously their parents are much more wise and want to bring everyone back. I think there’s going to be hope with the parents. Chris and Nick, those two are the two primary characters I think that are really branching off with their own ideals. I think it’s the journey of season two, or the second half of the season.”

Fear the Walking Dead will return for the second half of its second season on August 21 at 9 PM ET on AMC. For complete coverage, insider info, and more all season long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter and check out The Walking Dead on ComicBook.com on Facebook.