‘Fear the Walking Dead’ Recap: ‘Gone’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the season seven finale of ‘Fear the Walking Dead’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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Sometimes, stories that feature a hard-nosed and dedicated hero will offer up quite the surprise. In that, said hero will step away from their noble duties to basically find themselves and decide if being a hero is something they still want to take part in. A move that often comes about, courtesy of a failure or a grand struggle and really, this stunning decision is designed… to explore the nature of heroism and the sacrifice it requires. So that the audience better understands the plight of the hero and of course, they get to enjoy quite the powerful and inspiring moment when that soul search comes to an end. For when the hero has finished their sabbatical… they quickly return to the fold and save the day, refreshed in the belief that they made the right choice to help those in need. 
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Which is, a pretty epic moment to say the least, one that is peak escapism through and through. For in reality, we know that heroes sometimes fold and walk away when the world becomes too much, and they are in fact… fallible and corruptible and it is nice to enjoy an environment where we can see heroes never suffer from such problems. In fact, this is so sacred in storytelling, that it is downright shocking and uncomfortable when we see a particular tale take the time to reflect the true realities of a hero. But it can be done in a compelling and engaging manner in film or television or in print if done correctly, and that’s precisely why the season seven finale of Fear the Walking Dead is of note. For ‘Gone’ featured the return of a hero in that darker manner. One that was handled correctly and fooled us early on. 

Because this is a story that featured the return of Madison Clark, whom we all believed to be dead at the end of the season four midseason finale, ‘No One’s Gone’. But here we came to learn she was alive and mostly well, minus a constant need for oxygen… likely due to the events at the stadium and well, her return… really did appear to be triumphant at first. For she stepped in to help Morgan Jones in a dire time of need. Making it appear as though her mission to save people and keep them safe was continuing, as evidenced by her desire to rescue Baby Mo and take her to someplace far safer than the horrible environment everyone was currently living within. But her push to leave Morgan behind, immediately changed that narrative and instead made it apparent, that Madison was a broken hero.

One that as it turned out… made it to the very real P.A.D.R.E. sometime after the fire at the diamond and when she showed up there… she was in rough shape and desperate for a win after essentially failing to accomplish her goals to create a safe space for her family and those that wanted one of their own. A mental state that the folks behind the scenes at P.A.D.R.E. took full advantage of. By asking her to take part in some unsavory acts, predicated on the promise that accomplishing their goals, would eventually give her the resources necessary to find her own children and well, that promise landed Madison hook, line and seeker and put her into a dark place over the past few years. Wherein she was asked to kidnap children to bring to this mysterious facility for ‘salvation.’

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Which in essence, broke her and motivated her to basically abandon the search for Alicia and Nick and well… this was quite the powerful twist to offer up when it comes to Madison’s character. Since it made her more human than she already was and showed us once again how this world can easily break a person when the circumstances are right since this once hero was corrupted and shattered and quite frankly, hopeless by the end of this tale. For there were parties she'd taken from, that wanted her to pay dearly for stealing their children and well… when she was cornered by the posse and learned the truth about her children, through Morgan… it truly seemed as though Madison Clark was prepared to face the ultimate penalty for her actions. 
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A decision that left all of us wondering, was there any chance at redemption in the slightest for Madison? Or would the Clark family line come to its end on a beach in a manner that was both hybrid western and homage to Creepshow? Well, in Morgan’s eyes… there had to be redemption, mainly because the courtesy and support he received from his new family and friends and Alicia… courtesy of her mother’s teachings, meant that some good had to come out of this mess and also, without Madison… there was no chance of ever seeing Baby Mo again. Since she held the key to getting him to P.A.D.R.E. to rescue his little one, and that motivated Morgan to risk it all and save Madison Clark, a move… that offered quite the surprise.

In that, this broken and hopeless character, one that once was the beacon of this series and the glue that held everyone together… found that spark once again and saved the day and worked out a plan with Morgan to set things right. Putting Madison Clark on a road to redemption, one that will apparently reunite her with an extended family that has long thought her gone and well… this was a fascinating way to end season seven. Because not only did it bravely bring a wildly popular character back in a dynamic and realistic, and downright heartbreaking manner… since we truly wanted Madison to fall into that escapist dream, it set the stage for more redemption in season eight. Where characters that stumbled and fell will hopefully push to accomplish a greater goal, and that’s huge.

Because for some time now, we’ve been pondering upon whether or not this series was trying to attempt to move us into positive territory in the midst of the end of the world. But Ginny and Teddy, and Strand, and nuclear explosions… continually kept them from remotely achieving their goals. But the arrival at P.A.D.R.E. and what it might provide them with, could not only complete the redemption arc for Madison, Victor and Morgan… but give them everything they’ve ever wanted. Which makes this… a perfect finale for certain. One that seemingly closes the books on a dark and disturbing chapter in the TWD Universe and gives us hope for a better tomorrow and that is going to make the wait for season eight, downright painful. Since we are now all eager to see what that trio can accomplish with the right goals in mind, and their ability to lift one another up. Until next time.

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