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.
Warning: Spoilers for Fear the Walking Dead season 8, episode 8
Summary
- Charlie’s death in Fear the Walking Dead season 8 rendered her entire storyline from season 7 pointless.
- The revelation of Charlie’s survival and subsequent death in season 8 made her radiation sickness arc in season 7 unclear in purpose.
- Charlie’s return was necessary for the show, particularly for Madison’s character development and to give her a proper ending, rather than dying off-screen.
An entire storyline from Fear the Walking Dead became pointless with Charlie’s death in season 8. Following a prolonged absence from the show, Charlie finally re-entered the picture in the second episode of season 8’s back half. But rather than use her return to make her an integral part of the show’s ending, FTWD engineered a surprising twist by having the character give her life to stop Troy.
The whereabouts of group mainstays like Charlie, Rabbi Jacob, Strand, and Luciana was a major topic of speculation going into Fear the Walking Dead season 8 part 2. The series resolved the mystery concerning Victor Strand in the midseason premiere, and revealed what happened to Luciana in the first few minutes of Fear the Walking Dead season 8, episode 8, titled “Iron Tiger.” Charlie, despite being one character FTWD easily could have written off as dead, also resurfaced in the episode as an ally to Luciana. Having her back allowed Madison to finally learn the truth about Charlie’s role in Nick’s death.
Charlie’s Return & Death Mean Her Fear TWD Season 7 Story Was Pointless
Fundamentally, what made the nature of her return to Fear the Walking Dead so surprising was the direction her story took in season 7. A Charlie-centric episode, titled “Mourning Cloak,” culminated in her contracting a fatal form of radiation sickness. Her arc, from then on, revolved around the character facing the reality that she wasn’t going to survive. It was understood by everyone in the group, including Charlie, that she couldn’t be cured. This storyline forced several characters to come to terms with her impending fate, namely Daniel, who had developed a close bond with Charlie. But though the show had promised Charlie dying of radiation sickness was inevitable, the series still found a way around it.
Charlie received radiation sickness after embarking on a mission from Morgan to infiltrate Strand’s Tower and coming into contact with irradiated zombies.
After the reveal that Charlie survived because PADRE had access to medicine that wasn’t at Strand’s Tower, there’s a sense that this whole plotline from season 7 served no purpose. All it led to was Charlie getting through her illness offscreen. What’s more, Charlie wound up dying anyway, albeit for a completely different reason. After setting up Charlie’s death and then undoing it, FTWD proceeded to kill her off regardless by having her sacrifice herself to stop her friends from giving up PADRE’s location to Troy. Due to what happened, the point of Charlie’s radiation sickness arc is left unclear.
Charlie’s FTWD Fate Was Better Than Dying Off-Screen, At Least
All things considered, Charlie’s return still felt necessary for FTWD, largely because of the connection between her and Madison. The responsibility she bears for Nick’s death in Fear the Walking Dead meant that the show needed a moment where Madison learned the truth about Charlie and Nick. Plus, as a major character for multiple seasons, it would have been anticlimactic for one of the characters to reveal that Charlie died offscreen – which is what would have happened if a treatment hadn’t been found. Since it always made sense for Charlie to come back at least once, face Madison, and get a proper ending, it would have been considerably better for her character had season 7 not promised an early death for Charlie.
