In Fear the Walking Dead, Nick Clark died in season 4, but it wasn’t a creative decision to push the plot forward. Frank Dillane portrayed the troubled character since the spinoff’s debut in 2015. Nick, who was the eldest child of Madison (Kim Dickens) and the brother to Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey), served as a central character for three years, leading up to his shocking death. When Nick was introduced in Fear the Walking Dead, he was suffering from a heroin addiction that greatly affected his entire family. To make matters worse, he was dealing with severe withdrawal symptoms during the onset of The Walking Dead‘s zombie apocalypse.

In Fear the Walking Dead, the Clark family, in addition to the Manawas and the Salazars, searched for a safe haven before time passed and Nick ended up with his family in a community living at a baseball stadium. While there, he took a liking to a young girl named Charlie (Alexa Nisenson). Unfortunately, she wound up being a spy for the Vultures, a group of antagonists who wanted to steal supplies from Nick’s community. Upon chasing down the Vultures, Charlie shot and killed Nick during the third episode of the season. The decision to kill Nick did not come from the showrunners or writers, but instead, it was a request made by Dillane.

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Frank Dillane Made A Plea to Leave Fear The Walking Dead

Nick’s Death Happened Because The Actor Wanted To Leave

Fear the Walking Dead season 4 marked a turning point for the series. Not only did Maggie Grace, Garret Dillahunt, and Jenna Elfman join the cast as vital figures, but Lennie James’ Morgan crossed over from The Walking Dead. In addition, Ian Goldberg and Andrew Chambliss joined as showrunners. Due to the array of changes, Dillane asked to leave the series ahead of the fourth season. The actor explained his reasoning in an interview with EW:

I had been doing it for three or four years, the show has undergone many changes in terms of different people in charge, all of this stuff, and I just felt like the beginning of this season kind of felt like the end of an era with this show.

Aside from the show’s transformation, Dillane added the rigorous schedule required for working on a TV show. As a European native, Dillane was getting a bit homesick. Once he achieved what he wanted with Nick’s arc and the series as a whole, the Fear the Walking Dead actor decided it was time to move on to something else. Despite not being their own creative decision, Goldberg and Chambliss fulfilled Dillane’s request. Despite Nick’s death in the season’s third episode, Dillane still appeared throughout season 4, since Nick was present in the second storyline, which was set in the past.

As the season continued, it was revealed that Nick wasn’t the only member of the Clark family to die. The midseason finale unearthed the fact that Madison seemingly sacrificed herself when the baseball stadium community was overrun with the undead. As revealed by flashbacks, she gave her kids and fellow survivors a chance to escape in an event that took place prior to season 4. Madison’s demise made Nick’s death even more tragic when thinking about the effect on Alicia, the lone member of the Clark left in Fear the Walking Dead.

Did Nick Return In The Final Season Of Fear The Walking Dead?

Frank Dilane Wasn’t In Season 8, But Nick’s Death Was Vital To It

While Frank Dilane didn’t make a return, the Fear the Walking Dead Nick death was integral to many moments in the final season of the show. Fear the Walking Dead season 8 spent a considerable amount of time focusing on various characters’ emotional trauma after the events of the prior seasons. For several characters, including Morgan and, of course, Madison, the death of Nick is a key event they’re still struggling to deal with.

Frank Dilane was seen in the final season, though it was through flashbacks — including to his death — and used footage from earlier in the show. Nick’s body was exhumed and cremated during the final Fear the Walking Dead episodes, with Madison taking his ashes. Madison also learns that it was Charlie who killed Nick, although she is able to forgive her when she learns that it was Charlie who ensured Madison would receive Nick’s remains.

Since the Clark family started the story rolling, it makes sense that they should play a part in the final season. Madison Clark already shocked the world when she turned back up and revealed she had survived the zombie onslaught at the baseball stadium. Now working alongside Morgan, the sole surviving member of the Clark family looks to play a major role in the final season. While Frank Dilane didn’t return for Fear the Walking Dead season 8, Nick’s death was still hugely important in the show’s final episodes.