It took a year, but thanks to Fear the Walking Dead season 8, episode 10, the series has finally dismissed one of its worst death theories.

Warning: Spoilers for Fear the Walking Dead season 8, episode 10

It took a year, but Fear the Walking Dead has finally put to rest one of the franchise’s worst death theories. Due to the ambiguity surrounding Alicia’s departure from the spinoff, speculation about her fate has headed in several different directions. And while exactly what happened to Alicia in Fear the Walking Dead still remains a mystery with two episodes left, the show has still managed to give some sense of clarity to her situation.

Though Fear the Walking Dead season 8 part 2 has stopped short of fully bringing back Alicia, it has once again brought her into focus. Through the return of Troy Otto, FTWD has made her fate central to the story of the final season’s back half. Troy said he killed Alicia. Fear the Walking Dead season 8, episode 10, titled “Keeping Her Alive,” sees Madison and Daniel taken on a wild goose chase by Troy’s daughter to find Alicia’s zombie. Since she wasn’t found, the question of whether or not Alicia is dead remains answered. Even so, the show did at least debunk a massive theory about her death.

Fear The Walking Dead Confirms Alicia Didn’t Die In Season 7’s Beach Scene

When the penultimate episode of FTWD season 7 ended with a scene of Alicia suddenly waking up cured of the zombie virus and heading off the beach alone, this idea that the character survived wasn’t widely accepted. Despite Alicia being shown alive onscreen, there was a popular theory that Alicia had in fact died on the beach from the zombie infection. Allegedly, the scene wasn’t of Alicia’s survival but of her arrival in the afterlife. This theory has persisted for more than a year in the face of Troy’s recent claims. But after the debut of her new friends in “Keeping Her Alive,” it’s safe to say Alicia didn’t die on the beach.

Since it’s at least theoretically possible that Troy recovered the fake arm from her corpse on the beach and lied about killing her to hurt Madison, this scenario stayed in play. That’s not the case anymore, now that she made new acquaintances between season 7’s ending and the start of season 8. They confirmed during their conversation with Victor Strand that she never succumbed to the infection she had in season 7 and got past it – just as her final scene had already revealed. Alicia may be dead in The Walking Dead universe, but the virus had nothing to do with it, meaning that this theory can finally be abandoned once and for all.

What Happened To Alicia After Her Fear TWD Exit

In addition to proving that Alicia lived for at least a short while after season 7, the show has offered a surprisingly detailed explanation on what she was up to following the beach scene. As explained in “Keeping Her Alive,” Alicia’s first stop was Strand’s Tower, which had been used to summon an untold number of nearby survivors before its destruction. She led the people out of the irradiated zone and helped them get settled elsewhere. After that, she set off for new areas, making new friends and providing assistance to other waylaid survivors met on her travels.

In doing so, Alicia created a strong legacy for herself. She met two of the people Strand encountered in “Keeping Her Alive” and through her leadership and kindness, she inspired them to continue what she started. It would seem that she had a wide-reaching impact, as people who never even met her – including the other person in the new group – are now working to further Alicia’s legacy. Of course, some gaps remain unfilled, as they don’t know the specifics regarding her fate. They’re all under the impression that she died at the hands of Troy, but how they crossed paths or when he may have killed her is unknown to them.

Fear TWD’s Alicia “Afterlife” Theory Being True Would Have Been Terrible

Even if the series confirms she was killed by Troy in Fear the Walking Dead’s two-part series finale, it would still be a better outcome for the show than what the afterlife theory would have done to her ending. The idea that Alicia was in the afterlife was based on the notion that she was supposedly dying all season, and that it wouldn’t have worked for her to abruptly recover after her health had spiraled downhill for so long. The fundamental flaw in this logic is that the series always had a way of explaining Alicia’s survival; her sickness could easily be attributed to losing her arm, not the infection. With that in mind, Alicia recovering after getting some rest did make sense.

Because of the nature of her illness, Fear the Walking Dead had the setup it needed for Alicia to walk away unscathed after spending several episodes preparing for death. Not only that, but this idea that Alicia was suffering from the zombie virus throughout season 7 but not turning held little weight. A character surviving that long without succumbing lacked precedence. All things considered, there was no evidence to suggest that Alicia’s ending in Fear the Walking Dead was anything other than what it looked like.