In delivering more of a family-based drama than an all-out zombie survival thriller, Fear the Walking Dead has given viewers a different take on the flesh-eating apocalypse. And by introducing its newest character Victor Strand, the drama is actually offering up something that the Walking Dead universe has never seen before, and it will have a major impact on where things go in the future.
Now that we know about the National Guard’s evacuation plan, currently going by the name Cobalt, the future is definitely looking awful for Madison, Travis and everyone else in the fenced-in community. But things took a slightly more positive turn for Nick, who got his time in the field hospital lengthened by the calm and smooth-talking Strand, played by theater actor and Selma star Colman Domingo. Here’s how showrunner Dave Erickson explained Strand and his entrance to the show, according to THR.
Strand is a fixer but he's also a man of means, he's quite wealthy and gets scooped up when things go to hell. There's an irony to him being stuck where someone of his means would never be. He's a survivor in his own right. If you take Daniel and Strand and see how they interact, it's going to be quite compelling. Strand is a guy who recognizes that there's a shift in currency. He knows things are not going to get better for some time and that the shiny objects are not what matter anymore. That's why he's willing to give away his watch to the guard. We wanted to introduce a wealthier character that you don't see that often on the original show and see how they interact with our blue-collar family. He will be very important in how the season ends and where we go in Season 2.
In all of these years of watching The Walking Dead, I never really considered the fact that so many of the show’s characters are working class citizens without much attention paid to rich folks. Even Alexandria’s citizens are mostly just suburban people lacking abundant affluence. It definitely makes more sense that we’d see a moneybags character in the Los Angeles setting over the East Coast’s backwoods areas, and I’m anxious to see what Victor Strand is hiding up his ‘spensive sleeves.
But knowing that money isn’t as much of an issue in the zombie-filled world, it’s worth pondering just how Strand will impact the story in the finale, as well as Season 2. Does he have a shitload of cufflinks that he’s willing to trade for other people’s lives? Or does he know that there are poor people still out there that don’t realize that the world as we know it is ending? And what does Nick and his heroin addiction have to do with any of it? I’m guessing that his station in life has made him a pretty confident person, and that can go a long way in this crumbling society.
While there’s nothing necessarily wrong with Madison and Travis as characters, I’m glad the show opened up the horror-driven past of Ruben Blades’ Daniel and introduced someone whose intentions and motivations aren’t immediately obvious in the first five minutes of meeting them. Let us know what you thought about the new guy?
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