Fear the Walking Dead certainly had its share of colorful characters but none more so than Victor Strand, played by Colman Domingo. While friendly to the central group at most times, he always seemed to have his own agenda.
The devolution continued across Fear the Walking Dead, to the point where Strand even became the primary villain of Season 7. However, he did show some signs of becoming a better man by the time the show ultimately came to a close.
Kim Dickens (Madison Clark) and Jenna Elfman (June Dorie) expressed the sentiment that by the time the show concluded, Victor Strand was indeed a changed man. Excerpts of SK POP's conversation from the Fear the Walking Dead roundtable follow.
Jenna Elfman pointed out the biggest hint that the Fear the Walking Dead character was a changed man
The Madison and Victor Strand friendship has always been the central component of the show. Kim Dickens believes that Strand's interactions with his on-screen daughter Alicia Clark (Alycia Debnam-Carey) forced him to change.
"Yeah, I do. I do. I mean, when Madison meets him, and he's speaking German, and trying to hide every bad thing he did at the tower, I mean, I think we have to believe it," Dickens said about the character.
She continued:
"We have to - you know, no one's gone until they're gone. I think you have to give him that benefit of the doubt, that what Alicia said to him, what she did for him by acting, you know, as a way of showing him how to be, changed him maybe."
Madison Clark's character was pretty volatile through the duration of Season 8. Dickens believes that Colman Domingo's Strand kept Madison from losing her mind.
"I mean, cuz he did everything he could to keep me from going off the deep end. I don’t know. I mean he was a man of many, many masks, but I have to believe he's changed, but I'm a sucker like that. I'm an audience member that’s like a sucker," she went on to say.
While Jenna Elfman's character June Dorie may not have been a major part of Victor Strand's redemption arc, she believes that he is indeed a changed man. His behavior around his family is proof of the same, feels the Fear the Walking Dead actor.
"I don't think June was exposed to a lot of his redeeming scenes that the audience is privy to. I think June [was] limited and was not having any of it. But as a viewer, I do feel he's changed, because he never betrayed love," Elfman said.
She went on to add:
"He never betrayed Frank and Frank’s son that he brought into his life, and they brought [him] into theirs, and he never betrayed them since he met them, and, to me, that showed that he is capable of change."
Kim Dickens agreed with her co-star's assessment:
"I think you're right. I think that's the tell of who the real guy is."
What is your own analysis of the situation? Do you think Victor Strand is a better man at the conclusion of Fear the Walking Dead? Let us know in the comments below.