Fear the Walking Dead Show-Runners Talk Season Finale, Future Crossovers

This post contains spoilers for the Fear the Walking Dead Season 4 finale.

Nothing like drinking beer to cure your anti-freeze poisoning. On Sunday night, as Fear the Walking Deads fourth season came to a close, thats just what all of Morgans friends did. The villainous Martha—who, thankfully, ended this season with Morgans Aikido staff through her forehead—has been poisoning all the water bottles she found throughout the season. Now, with the gang cured, Morgan and his friends have set out on a new mission, driving big rigs around to provide help to those who need it. This season, though, the off-screen machinations of the Walking Dead universe have been nearly as fascinating than those that have unfolded before our eyes—and sometimes more.

To recap: this season of Fear was Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldbergs first as newly-installed show-runners; they took over for Dave Erickson, who oversaw the series through its first three seasons. Meanwhile, Scott Gimple left his longtime position as The Walking Dead show-runner for a broader role overseeing the franchises universe across multiple mediums, including its shows and video games and, presumably, its potential feature films. Angela Kang stepped up to take his place, with her first Walking Dead season set to premiere on October 7. Speaking with V.F., Goldberg said it was important to both him and Chambliss to focus their series around hope—and that this finale struck just the sort of optimistic note they wanted it to. And yes, that decision was informed by the increasingly dark reality we all occupy.

“The world that all these characters inhabit is a very difficult world to live in, and we wanted to tell stories about the fact that hope can still exist in a dark world,” Chambliss said. Though their struggles can bring out the worst in them, “we also wanted to have as a counterpoint to that seeing as how this world can also bring out the best in people.” The duo also thought it was important to show their cast struggling to right the wrongs that they have committed themselves.

“I think we feel that way because the world is kind of chaotic right now,” Chambliss said. “These people want to turn to something and see hope growing out of a dark place.”

Indeed, pretty much every character on Fear has rediscovered a sense of agency and purpose. June has found her way both as a fighter and as someone who cares for others. Alicia has found direction in the wake of her mothers tragic death, as well as an unlikely sisterly relationship with Charlie, the girl who killed her brother. And Morgan seems to have realized on a deeper level that he doesnt have to lose himself to survive. These are the motivations, Chambliss said, that drive each of these characters going into Season 5.

This season spent pretty much all of its time on the road, abandoning the baseball diamond where Madison had first tried to build a community—and both Chambliss and Goldberg said to expect more travel as the group takes over for Polar Bear (a.k.a. Clayton) and his group of truckers, even if they do have a home base. After all, as Goldberg put it, “It's very hard to go out and help people if you stay home all the time.”

Plus, Chambliss admitted, “We really like the big-rig trucks.”

If Morgan and company eschew their initial mission, they might bungle the biggest crossover opportunity in Walking Dead history. And while Goldberg said he loves the size of this world and its endless possibilities, he made no promises about further intertwined plot lines. “Right now we are really just focused on telling the story that we have sort of set up and promised at the end of Season 4 going into Season 5,” Goldberg said. Still, dont lose hope: “As far as other cross-overs go,” Goldberg said, “anything could happen at any time.”

The new show-runners reign over Fear has brought many changes to the series—but for some viewers, Madisons death still rankles. Shortly after she died, some critics noted how disappointing it was to see one of TVs few heroines over 40 snuffed out—and questioned how necessary her loss really was. When asked what Madisons death did for the story as a whole, Chambliss said that although Madison is gone, her influence remains. “Madison's sacrifice is really going to be the core tenant that the entire group holds onto. It's really kind of distilled in that phrase that she has said so many times: No one's gone until they're gone. The one thing that all these characters will be carrying forward in their mission to help is that idea.”

Chambliss added that the group will not limit its assistance to good people in need of help. “They are gonna help everyone, even the worst among us. Part of that is because what Madison believed. Part of that is because we saw many of these characters go to a very dark place and come back from it.” That philosophy will not, however, always be easy to live by. “There was a reason that [Madisons belief system] ended up costing her life—because when you believe in something that big, often times there is a price that comes with it,” Chambliss said.

Cool. But one final question: seriously, are we ever going to see Daniel Salazar again? Chambliss and Goldberg answered, as they have before, that although hes been absent from the show, Daniel Salazar is alive. “We are very interested in the next chapter of his story, and he is somewhere out there, and we will see him again in the Walking Dead universe,” Goldberg confirmed.

Sure—but will that be next season on Fear the Walking Dead, or elsewhere?

“Well just say people should keep watching Fear the Walking Dead,” replied Chambliss.

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