'Fear The Walking Dead' Showrunners Explain Shocking Revelation

Sunday's episode of Fear the Walking Dead came with a major reveal for a pair of newcomer [...]

By Brandon Davis

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(Photo: Richard Foreman Jr./AMC)

Sunday's episode of Fear the Walking Dead came with a major reveal for a pair of newcomer characters but, according to the showrunners, intentionally took all hope away from those it would have otherwise energized.

Spoilers for Fear the Walking Dead Episode 4x04 follow. Major spoilers!

In the moments which saw John Dorie realize the woman he has been searching for actually came upon Alicia's group at the baseball stadium, he learned not only her name was Naomi but also that she had apparently perished in the fall of the baseball stadium. In an interview with EW, showrunners Ian Goldberg and Andrew Chambliss explained their dark decision of revealing both facts in Episode 4x04.

"The reason we chose this episode to reveal that Naomi is in fact Laura was because it just seemed, schematically, to fit in with the stories that we were telling with Strand, with Luciana, with Alicia," Chambliss said. "Those are all stories about people having hope and then seeing that hope dashed. And the dangers of having hope. After we've heard all these stories about how they really blame the fact that they had hope on their downfall, we wanted to put that on its feet and show that with a character who we have seen have more hope than anyone else on the show, and that's John Dorie."

John, who had suspected his story of being a more positive journey than Alicia's group chasing revenge, was suddenly broken down by the loss.

"It just seemed like that was the right time to reveal the truth about the John Dorie connection to Laura, who's really Naomi," Chambliss said. "I think, for us, it was a very heartbreaking moment when he hears that news in regard to that little bit of a flash in the dugout where we see that Naomi actually had something with her that's quite personal."

Naomi's true fate will be explored in a future episode, as the showrunners promise "there's still more story to be told," in regards to whether or not she actually died. This is part of why the reveal is huge for both John and Naomi.

"It's not just a reveal on John Dorie's side, but it's also a reveal on Naomi's side," Chambliss said. "We see her very guarded, but taking that gun out means that she does have a history with John Dorie, and she wouldn't be holding onto it if it didn't mean something to her. So it really is kind of all about hope and how you keep that alive. And then when we come back and Alicia, Lucia, and Strand break the news to him that Naomi didn't survive the stadium, we see just how crushing that news is for John."

The Walking Dead will return for its ninth season in the fall. Fear the Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 pm ET on AMC. For complete coverage and insider info all year long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.

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