‘The Walking Dead’ Fans React to Dwight Joining ‘Fear the Walking Dead’

Thursday’s reveal former Savior Dwight (Austin Amelio) will be the second Walking Dead character [...]

By Cameron Bonomolo

Thursday's reveal former Savior Dwight (Austin Amelio) will be the second Walking Dead character to be integrated into spinoff Fear the Walking Dead is drawing mixed reactions on social media.

ComicBook.com reported the long-missing Dwight, exiled by rival Daryl (Norman Reedus) before The Walking Dead underwent an 18-month and then six-year time jump in its ninth season, will resurface in Texas, joining former co-star Lennie James as the two shows become further intertwined.

Once led by Madison Clark (Kim Dickens) and centered around the Clark clan, namely children Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey) and Nick (Frank Dillane), Fear shifted away from the Clarks following the Season Three death of Travis Manawa (Cliff Curtis) and the subsequent Season Four axing of both Nick and Madison just episodes apart.

James' bō-wielding loner was installed as new series lead at the behest of Walking Dead chief content officer Scott Gimple, who James said viewed Morgan as the sole choice for the first-ever crossover to bridge the two shows.

Fear is now drawing criticism of becoming the flagship series' "trash can for their least interesting characters," wrote one Twitter user, who argues the spinoff was "ruined" by "killing Alicia's family and replacing them with sh-tty TWD characters."

Another Twitter user argued against integrating Dwight into Fear in favor of having him return for unfinished business on the mothership series, as the back-to-back losses of Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and Maggie Rhee (Lauren Cohan) appears as though The Walking Dead is "getting rid of everybody we care about."

Others were more enthused: one Twitter user wrote they're "damn pleased" for Dwight to make the jump to Fear, but advised against future characters crossing over as "there's serendipity and there's stupidity."

In October, when asked what's next for Dwight, Amelio said "he's gonna go find his wife," indicating Dwight's search for the missing Sherry (Christine Evangelista) is responsible for his trek west.

The star said previously he hoped for Dwight to embark on a "super dark journey, where he just has to do all this crazy sh-it in order to find her," but suggested more recently the repenting Dwight could be in search of redemption following his dirty deeds under the leadership of since-ousted Savior leader Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan).

"I think Dwight is definitely on a road to redemption for trying to do some good in the world, just to sort of overcome everything he's done," Amelio said at Walker Stalker Con New Jersey. "That's sort of his only hope."

Fear the Walking Dead is now shooting Season Five for a 2019 return on AMC.

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