Has Fear The Walking Dead Season 8 Actually Killed Alicia?

Warning: Spoilers for Fear the Walking Dead season 8, episode 7

In a shocking development, it’s explicitly stated that Alicia is dead in Fear the Walking Dead. The prospect of the fan-favorite character meeting an untimely end was alluded to in the season 8 midseason finale, but the spinoff just took that hint to the next level. If Fear the Walking Dead’s big reveal is to be believed, the show has killed off one of its biggest characters.

Following up on the show’s setup for Troy’s return, Fear the Walking Dead season 8 officially retconned his death in the midseason premiere. In a moment that left Madison Clark stunned, Daniel Sharman’s Troy Otto burst onto the scene as the leader of the spinoff’s final villains. Somehow, he survived what was once thought to be a fatal injury in season 3, and is now back for revenge. In addition to setting his sights on PADRE, Troy supposedly targeted Alicia as well. His references to Madison’s daughter tragically back up one of the leading theories stemming from the Fear the Walking Dead midseason finale’s ending.

Troy Claims He Killed Alicia In Fear The Walking Dead

In parting ways with Alicia Debnam-Carey after seven seasons, the spinoff left the door open for a return by pulling a big twist with its setup for her death. Through much of season 7, Alicia was convinced she was infected with the zombie virus and on her way to a slow demise. Alicia bid a tearful goodbye to Strand and the others before they left, believing that her time was up. But at the end of the episode, it confirmed what many had already suspected; Alicia, in fact, wasn’t dying. It would seem that the side effects she was suffering from were the result of some other illness.

When Fear the Walking Dead left Alicia, she was heading off to parts unknown. Still in Texas where the effects of the nuclear bomb from season 6’s ending were still lingering, Alicia seemingly began a new journey in the zombie apocalypse, one that could involve her getting a happy ending and perhaps forming a whole new group of survivors. That was the sort of future that was easy to imagine playing out for Alicia on-screen, but according to Troy, he put an end to any chance of that ever happening. After producing Alicia’s fake arm, Troy outright admitted to killing Alicia and leaving behind her reanimated corpse. Further details on the circumstances of their meeting weren’t provided.

Why Alicia Might Still Be Alive

While Troy’s claim is a gut-wrenching blow to Madison as well as a major story twist, it doesn’t confirm Alicia’s fate in Fear the Walking Dead. It’s true that he has her fake arm, but that’s not concrete proof of her death. It’s enough for Troy to put that very fear in Madison’s mind, but without a proper flashback or a body, there’s no way to be sure that Troy is telling the truth. All the arm proves is that Troy was able to find Alicia – or at least traces of her. It’s possible that the arm was left behind at some point, and recovered by Troy while tracking her.

The fact that Troy had it in his possession makes it likely that he at least planned to kill or capture her. However, he may not have succeeded. He could have wound up with the arm in the process of fighting her, but didn’t ultimately win. If that’s the case, Alicia could have survived. But since Troy has the arm, he’d have enough evidence to convincingly tell the lie that Madison’s daughter is dead. As for what purpose that would serve, it would be a way of emotionally breaking his enemy despite the possibility of Alicia still being alive and well in The Walking Dead’s universe.

Troy Killing Alicia Would Make His FTWD Season 8 Revenge Arc Pointless

The trauma that Troy just inflicted on Madison speaks to the idea that Troy’s entire objective right now might be pointless. Troy is out to get payback at Madison by keeping PADRE from becoming the safe place she’s trying to build. What’s interesting about this goal is that it’s not the best way to hurt Madison. Her children have always been the true heart of Madison’s story in Fear the Walking Dead, considering that looking out for their safety has been her top priority since the start of the series. She already lost Nick, leaving Alicia as her only surviving child. With that in mind, it makes sense that killing Alicia would be the ultimate revenge – not destroying PADRE.

If Troy murdered Alicia in retaliation for what Madison did to him, he shouldn’t feel the need to deprive her of PADRE if he’s already taken away what matters most to her. Troy understands what Alicia and Nick mean to her due to the time he spent with them in season 3. As her daughter, Madison valued Alicia’s life more than her own, hence why killing her is far worse than anything that Troy could do to her in Fear the Walking Dead season 8 part 2. All things considered, Troy may have won before the real fight with Madison has even started.

Fear the Walking Dead releases new episodes on Sundays on AMC.