Fear The Walking Dead has had characters come and go before. But there are two actors’ exits that add to this by revealing a damaging series trend.

The eight-season-long AMC zombie show Fear The Walking Dead said goodbye to numerous actors, which revealed a damaging trend for the series. The Walking Dead franchise sent off many beloved characters over the years, from Steven Yeun’s Glenn in the main show to Maggie Grace’s Althea in Fear The Walking Dead. Sometimes, main characters are also written out per actors’ requests, such as Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes) who exited in the flagship show’s ninth season or Alycia Debnam-Carey (Alicia Clark) who left in season 7 of Fear.

Debnam-Carey returned and Lincoln will spearhead the upcoming spinoff The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live. However, some other character send-offs were much more final, despite their audience appeal. Evidently, long-running shows with large casts like The Walking Dead and Fear naturally lose characters along the way. Whether per actors’ requests or narrative direction, a main character in The Walking Dead universe is not exempt from an untimely exit. Unlike other trends in The Walking Dead universe like community downfalls leading to character growth, abrupt character endings weren’t always as positive.

Why Garret Dillahunt And Frank Dillane Left Fear The Walking Dead

Garret Dillahunt and Frank Dillane both left Fear The Walking Dead with their characters being killed off. Dillane, who played Nick Clark, was a series regular from seasons 1 to 4. Nick’s Fear The Walking Dead death was shocking and untimely because he was at a stage where he was finally figuring out where he felt most at home and safe – with his family building a community. However, Dillane requested the exit before showrunners Ian Goldberg and Andrew Chambliss joined. Being from Europe, Dillane felt homesick. Therefore, the series’ cast and creative changes and Dillane’s homesickness led to his Fear The Walking Dead exit.

Fear TWD’s Last Episodes Are Finally Dealing With Season 4’s Tragic Forgotten Death

It took until Fear the Walking Dead’s final batch of episodes, but the series is finally giving proper attention to a forgotten tragedy from season 4.

For Dillahunt, who played John Dorie in seasons 4 to 6, it was a similar situation. John’s death was certainly too soon as he didn’t get to say goodbye to June and had just chosen to live and help others again when Dakota shot him. Despite the untapped stories, like reconciling with John Dorie Sr. who joined after John’s death, Dillahunt asked to leave the show. Unlike Dillane’s provided reasons, Dillahunt mentioned he had other goals he wanted to achieve, most likely the projects that he starred in shortly after his Fear The Walking Dead exit.

What Garret Dillahunt And Frank Dillane Have Done Since Being On Fear The Walking Dead

Dillane’s exit wasn’t attributed to new acting opportunities, but he appeared in a feature film in 2018, the same year his final Fear The Walking Dead season aired. His credits displayed a range of genres, from British horror to musical drama to comedy. Additionally, he got to appear alongside numerous big names, such as Tom Hiddleston and Claire Danes. His next role is Boisie Hannington in the upcoming British crime drama Joan, alongside Game of Thrones star, Sophie Turner.

Dillahunt’s film and TV credits after Fear The Walking Dead began with the zombie-centric story Army of the Dead in 2021. He also explored TV roles, like Glenn Moranis in the comedy-drama Dead to Me, starring Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini. Dillahunt explored genres like western, biographical drama, and comedy. His upcoming film roles include Wilder in the action thriller Red Right Hand and Bellwether in James Franco’s indie drama The Long Home.

How Fear The Walking Dead’s Actor Trend Damaged Its Success

Fear The Walking Dead‘s trend of actors leaving drew attention to one of the series’ issues. In the case of Dillahunt and Dillane, the show was just honoring the actors’ requests. However, killing them off made it more challenging to feature them again for better closure to their stories. On the other hand, Debnam-Carey’s requested exit was temporary and made it possible for Alicia and Madison to have their reunion in Fear The Walking Dead‘s series finale. Moreover, since John and Nick were both fan favorites, killing them off undoubtedly damaged audience reception.

Major Walking Dead Character Death Makes 1 Spinoff Storyline Officially Pointless

A multi-episode storyline from a previous season was made pointless by a huge character death in Fear the Walking Dead season 8 part 2.

Additionally, the odd trend of death fake-outs weakened Fear The Walking Dead‘s potential to be a fan favorite. Rubén Blades’ Daniel ‘died’ in season 2, returned in season 3, then vanished again until season 5. Although this was due to Blades’ successful music career, it stunted Daniel’s narrative arc and diminished death’s meaning on the show.

Similarly, Kim Dickens’ Madison dying in season 4 at the decision of the showrunners made her return in season 7 unusual. Plus, her survival after the PADRE explosion in season 8 was also hard to believe, even though it allowed her character to have closure. Ultimately, Fear The Walking Dead‘s handling of actors’ exits often led to contrived explanations or retconning and implausible outcomes that left fans unsatisfied and frustrated. This damaged the show’s chance to be as successful as it could’ve been.