While fans of AMC's massively popular apocalyptic drama The Walking Dead will have to wait until the fall for new episodes, there is a silver lining. Because the spinoff Fear the Walking Dead will return shortly, expanding the tale of Madison and her group while momentarily quenching the third for new episodes of TWD. Fear's third season trailer looks pretty bonkers, with the characters getting extremely deadly through their survival in the apocalypse. And now it appears that one of the OG badasses of the spinoff is returning shortly: Daniel Salazar.
Fear the Walking Dead showrunner Dave Erickson recently dropped the bomb that Salazar was going to be returning to the series for Season 3. His statement (via Undead Walking) makes it very clear, saying:
We've said publicly that he didn't die in the fire. And I think what was always important is that the characters, specifically Ofelia, thought they had lost him. I think his return is long overdue, and I can promise that Daniel Salazar will rise again over the course of the season.
Well, that's pretty cut and dry. The former barber owner/ Salvadorian soldier is coming back to Fear the Walking Dead. And considering the sorry state of our group, they're going to need him. Dave Erickson had previously teased this return, so I'm glad that it's actually going to happen.
When we last saw Daniel Salazar, he was in bad shape mentally. While he began the spinoff as one of the only characters who saw the writing on the wall, he became more unhinged in Season 2 following his wife's death. When the group set up temporary camp at Celia's compound, he continued to lose his mind while also attempting to investigate their new home. Salazar would eventually happen upon Celia's basement full of undead, who her community believed could be saved one day.
In Daniel's final act of bravery (and madness), he sets fire to the zombie filled basement, while still inside of it. This resulted in the community going up in literal flames, and Madison's group being separated from each other. But we never actually saw the character die, with fans long since theorizing that Ofelia's father was going to return one day. And now it appears that day is in Season 3.
It should be interesting to see how and when Daniel manages to show up in Season 3 of Fear the Walking Dead. At the point of the premiere, the group is spread across three separate groups. Madison, Travis, and Alicia are currently seeking a new home, Ofelia is all by her lonesome, and Nick is in deep shit with his new girlfriend Luciana. Smart money says that Daniel will be able to rescue Ofelia from whatever precarious position she's in, making for a heartwarming reunion between father and son. Ofelia was mostly a non entity in Season 2's back season, so I'm looking forward to her coming back into the main narrative.
Fear the Walking Dead will return for Season 3 on June 4, 2017. Be sure to check out our summer premiere list, and don't miss a single episode of your favorite show.
