Warning: Spoilers for Fear the Walking Dead season 8, episode 2
A discovery made in Fear the Walking Dead season 8 s a wild theory postulating that the series is bringing back a major dead character. If this scenario were to happen, it would mark the second time the series has resurrected a character with a confirmed death. After Madison’s apparent demise in the season 4 midseason finale, there was no confusion as to whether she could still be alive.
As time ed, though, the official position on Madison’s status in the Walking Dead universe gradually changed. Calls for her return to the show didn’t waver. Eventually, showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg became open to the possibility that Madison might have actually survived the fire at the stadium. Years of waiting finally came to fruition in the season 7 finale when Kim Dickens’ Madison Clark crossed paths with Morgan Jones for the first time. As a result of this decision, Madison will be on hand for the battle with Fear the Walking Dead’s final villains. Now, there are suspicions that FTWD intends to revive someone else.
Troy Otto Is Rumored To Return In Fear The Walking Dead Season 8
Played by Daniel Sharman, Troy Otto seemingly lost his life at the end of Fear the Walking Dead season 3 when Madison struck him two times in the head with a hammer. That closed the door on his story, but rumors have been circulating for months that the fan-favorite season 3 character is on his way back to the series. For the most part, they’re founded on a number of supposed sightings of Sharman on and around the Fear the Walking Dead set during the filming of season 8. Of course, nothing has been confirmed and there’s no solid evidence backing up the theories that the actor is actually coming back in any capacity.
If it’s true that Sharman was on set, this could just mean that Troy will appear in a flashback or a hallucination experienced by Madison. However, speculation that Troy has a secret presence in Fear the Walking Dead season 8 has remained strong. Giving fuel to them is the fact that Fear the Walking Dead already took back a massive character death when it brought Madison back into the fold. The reveal that Madison came back from what looked like certain death has apparently made the possibility of Troy surviving blunt force trauma a bit more believable.
Naturally, it would be difficult to justify bringing Troy back, especially when considering the nature of his death. Not only did he take two hard blows to the head with a hammer, but the dam was destroyed by Nick immediately afterward. Even if Troy did somehow survive his head injuries – which feels extremely unlikely on its own – he wouldn’t have had much time to recover since he’d have to escape the dam without any delay. If he did get out of there, he would have needed help. Fear the Walking Dead found a way to walk back Madison’s original fate, but reversing Troy’s death would be an even greater challenge for the series.
PADRE's Zombie Experiments Troy's FTWD Return Theory
As ridiculous as the notion of Troy returning to the show may sound, the series just reinforced the theories with a key reveal regarding PADRE. In Fear the Walking Dead season 8 episode 2, titled “Blue Jay,” Dwight and Sherry found out that June was a part of experiments conducted by PADRE. With oversight from PADRE scientist Shrike and assistance from June, the organization was researching the zombie virus. According to June, PADRE’s aim was to prevent infection. To that end, Shrike conducted multiple radiation experiments to treat zombie bites. Interestingly, this isn’t the first time FTWD’s characters have encountered someone interested in zombie experimentation. It’s worth noting that Troy shared a similar fascination.
Upon his debut in Fear the Walking Dead season 3, Troy was performing his own tests related to the zombie virus. Although Troy wasn’t a scientist, he was shown to have a keen interest in understanding how the infection works. In the episode, he was using live subjects to find out how long it would take for an infected person to turn into a zombie. If Troy is indeed back and with PADRE, Shrike’s experiments could reflect an evolution of Troy’s original zombie experiments in season 3. He could have gone from tests on the rate of infection to stopping it altogether, once again callously risking innocent human lives to get what he wants.
Troy Otto Returning To Fear The Walking Dead Would Complete His Story
The implausible aspect of Troy’s survival aside, a return for the character would allow the series to complete his story. His interest in zombie experiments ultimately went nowhere in season 3, as they seemed to signal his mental instability more than anything else. Tying him to Fear the Walking Dead's PADRE can pay them off properly, while also providing resolution to his shared storyline with Madison. Troy had an odd fixation with Madison and a need for her approval. He wanted things to be better between them, but his last exchange with her ended in her abruptly killing him for leading the zombie horde to the Otto ranch.
Troy’s unhinged behavior, combined with his desire to remain on the good side of Madison’s group, allowed him to enjoy one of the show’s most compelling character arcs, but his death cut it short. The development he had already experienced in one season opened up all sorts of storytelling opportunities, but they weren’t explored on of his surprise death. But if Troy were to come back for the final season, Fear the Walking Dead could continue his journey and explore what kind of person he would be several years after the zombie apocalypse.
Furthermore, Troy having a connection with PADRE would enable the series to neatly tie Madison’s Fear the Walking Dead season 8 story to her overarching narrative. Without Alicia and Nick, Madison’s arc feels disconnected to what came before, but Troy’s return would remedy that. If Troy is PADRE (or an important figure within the organization) that would explain her role in the story and why PADRE is so determined to keep her alive. Plus, Troy turning out to be PADRE would fit well with the vengeful and spiteful side of his personality. From his standpoint, slowly breaking Madison by making her kidnap children and holding her prisoner for years could be the perfect revenge.