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Fear the Walking Dead Finale Review: Did Madison Spoil a Happy Ending?

AMC's Fear the Walking Dead series finale positioned a number of our favorites for promising futures & reaffirmed our feelings about Madison.

Published Sun, 19 Nov 2023 22:07:09 -0600

by Ray Flook

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After eight seasons, it all comes down to this. AMC's Fear the Walking Dead wrapped up its run this weekend with the two-episode, two-hour series finale "Fighting Like You" (directed by Haifaa al-Mansour and written by Nick Bernardone, Jacob Pinion & Kelly Jane Costello) & "The Road Ahead" (directed by Michael E. Satrazemis and written by Ian Goldberg & Andrew Chambliss). And the stakes couldn't be higher, as Sherry (Christine Evangelista), Victor (Colman Domingo), Dove (Jayla Walton), Daniel (Rubén Blades), Luciana (Danay Garcia), Madison (Kim Dickens), Dwight (Austin Amelio), and June (Jenna Elfman) face a final assault from Troy (Daniel Sharman) and his army of the living & the undead. But our survivors aren't exactly on the same page, with a whole lot of bad blood between them.

Were they able to get their collective s**t together in time to save PADRE… and the future? And what about Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey)? We've been fed a lot of talk about her being dead and inspiring a new generation of fighters – but this is the TWD Universe, people! You know a story isn't over until we see a body – and someone puts a very sharp object through its brain. The series finale of the long-running spinoff series kept a lot of plates spinning at the same time heading into this final round – was it able to keep them spinning, or did everything come crashing down around them? With that in mind. we're throwing on the "MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!" sign and throwing down an image spoiler buffer before doing our deep dive…

Fear the Walking Dead Finale Review: Did Madison Spoil a Happy Ending? — Photo Credit: Seth F. Johnson/AMC

Fear the Walking Dead Series Finale: Thoughts & Observations

Before I dive into the part that I'm sure will piss off some folks, here's what worked for me. First off, serious props to Sharmin for presenting us with a character who ended up being much more than just a two-dimensional "big bad." Some of those props should also be saved for Blades's Daniel, who continued to speak truth to power regarding Madison being bad luck to him on a personal level (though Strand had better points to push back with). In addition, a number of characters were positioned for some very interesting futures.

June & Dove are the perfect one-two combination to be heading out to Texas – a duo who I would love to see more of in the future. The same goes for Dwight & Sherry, who dedicate themselves to finding parents and exorcising the "Saviors demons" from the Sanctuary so that it lives up to its name (and not in an ironic way). After a brutally nasty & passionate exchange earlier on, that moment between Daniel and Victor where the two warriors make peace was especially touching (and yes, I know it's not realistic for Skidmark to reappear, but I'm gonna let that slide because, well… it's Skidmark).

But the overall finale itself was a frustrating mess because all it did was reaffirm my core belief that the Fear TWD universe would've been better off without the Clarks in it. We've had Madison's mantra of "no one's gone until they're gone" beaten into our brains for seasons – only for her to brutally murder Troy because she didn't believe he was worthy of a second chance. So, actually? Madison's real mantra is, "No one's gone until they're gone – unless it impacts me personally. Then, all bets are off!" Looking back over the final two episodes, ask yourselves this? How much of the drama that went down could've been avoided if someone threw Madison in a locked room somewhere – away from where her bad decision-making could (and would end up) costing folks their lives? And yet, Madison, Tracy (who was the subject of a very interesting twist & retwist from Troy), and a still-alive Alicia get a chance to reunite just in time to make their way back to Los Angeles. Tracy & Alicia? I'm all there for that. But I wasn't left feeling like Madison deserved the "happy ending" she received – not when I was presented with a series finale that ended on a good note for our heroes in spite of her and not because of her. I will miss Fear the Walking Dead Seasons 4-7 and will always think about how different the eighth & final season could've been if it maintained its pre-Madison flow.

Fear the Walking Dead S08E11: "Fighting Like You" / S08E12: "The Road Ahead"