Fear the Walking Dead Showrunner Explains Strand’s Shocking Move in “USS Pennsylvania”

Spoiler warning for Fear the Walking Dead Season 6 Episode 15. Strand’s gonna Strand. After a captive Alicia Clark (Alycia Debnam-Carey) radios Victor Strand (Colman Domingo) to warn Morgan (Lennie James) of a missile about to be launched from a beached submarine, the survivors unite to stop Teddy (John Glover) from destroying everything in the penultimate episode of the season, “USS Pennsylvania.” It’s Morgan and Strand who make it past the 150 zombified sailors in the way of the submarine’s weapons room, where Teddy and weapons officer Riley (Nick Stahl) are ready to pull the trigger on 23 pre-programmed missiles — all loaded with multiple warheads that can end the season with a bang.

When Morgan and Strand find themselves at a dead-end, it’s after Strand stops Morgan from fighting his way through a walker-filled compartment with enough exposed radioactive material to reduce his life expectancy to about three days.

“This is why she asked for you,” Strand says of Alicia. “She didn’t send a message to me. She meant it for you. And now I know why. Because you’ll do things that I won’t.”

Strand wrestles Morgan to the floor, snapping his ax in half and taking its bladed end for himself. “You didn’t want any of us to die? You’re going to get your wish,” says Strand with a kick that sends Morgan tumbling backward into a pack of walkers waiting to tear him apart.

“It was very exciting to think of this episode as leading to this team-up with Morgan and Strand, and these are two characters who probably could not be more different,” showrunner Andrew Chambliss said on Fear the Walking Dead Episode Insider. “For Strand, what he really wants out of this moment is to prove himself to Alicia. While there are good intentions to that at the end of the day, it’s rooted in Strand’s selfishness, and that’s the thing that puts Morgan and Strand in conflict as they get deeper into the submarine.”

It’s not the first time this season Strand makes a human sacrifice: in Season 6 Episode 2, “Welcome to the Club,” Strand stabs Sanjay (Satya Nikhil Polisetti) and uses him as bait to draw walkers away from Alicia and Janis (Holly Curran).

“If you were to ask Strand if he was cold-blooded in that moment, I think he would say he’s not. He was purely being pragmatic,” Chambliss explained. “There was no way they were going to get past this compartment unless someone was thrown to the wolves. We saw him do something similar back in 602 when he threw Sanjay to the walkers so he could save everyone else.”

“I think in this moment, Strand would say, ‘Someone had to die. So R.I.P., Morgan. You know, he was a great guy. I’m sorry he’s gone. But guess what? We saved thousands of lives by stopping Teddy from launching these missiles,’” added Chambliss. “I think Strand would go with that story.”

He survived Strand’s sacrifice, but Morgan might have been bit by the many walkers who swarmed him. Until Morgan’s fate is revealed in the season finale, “The Beginning,” here’s what Fear fans are saying about Strand’s shock move:

Same Old Strand

Strand Gonna Strand

Shaming Strand

WTF, Strand?

Seriously, Strand?

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Fear the Walking Dead airs its Season 6 finale, “The Beginning,” on Sunday, June 13, at 9/8c on AMC. Follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter for all things The Walking Dead Universe.