Fear the Walking Dead Kills Madison Spoilers: Season 4 Midseason Finale Is the Show’s Most Shocking Death Yet – Today’s News: Our Take

(WARNING: Huge spoilers for Fear the Walking Dead‘s Season 4 midseason finale below!)

Fear the Walking Dead‘s midseason finale finally revealed where Madison’s (Kim Dickens) been in the NOW timeline. The answer: she didn’t make it. She sacrificed herself back at the stadium so that her family could live.

The episode started in the past, with Madison sneaking up on Althea (Maggie Grace) as she camped. It was Al’s first appearance in the BEFORE timeline. Madison, pointing a gun, demanded that Al give her the keys to the SWAT vehicle. But then she tripped over a wire Al strung at ankle level and dropped her gun as it went off, shooting Al’s cup o’ noodles. Madison said she’s lost everything, so don’t judge her for what she’s doing, and Al was like “lady, you have no idea.” She wanted the truck because she needed to get back to her people, who were counting on her.

Madison — who apparently won the skirmish despite getting tripped by Al — tied Al up in the back of the truck, demanding the keys. She was tearing the place apart looking for them and found Al’s tapes. She demanded both just as Al cut herself free with the knife up her sleeve. Madison managed to knock Al out, and when the journalist came to, she found the tapes and her camera missing. Madison was driving away with the tapes.

Madison watched Al’s tapes, hoping to find Nick and Alicia. No such like, so she cried bitter tears of frustration. Al and her assault rifle popped up and demanded her stuff back and Madison’s story, starting with who she’s looking for. Al tied her up and interviewed her, asking who it was she lost that she cared about, listing off all the possibilities, pretty much all of whom are people Madison has lost. But the ones that hurt most are the kids.

Madison explained that she’d thought she found a safe place — the ranch. This scene was taking place before they all made it to the stadium. Madison said she was looking for a place where her kids wouldn’t have to do what she did to Al. She explained what exactly she was looking for by telling a story. When Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey) and Nick (Frank Dillane) were little, they nursed an injured bird back to health. They called the bird Wilhelmina, Amina for short. Nick was so sensitive, and Alicia was so determined, that they were not going to let the bird die, even though Madison was sure it would. “She lived because my kids didn’t give up on her…There’s not a whole lot of them left anymore.” That’s why she needed to find a place where they’d be safe, because she needed to keep that part of them alive.

In the present, Alicia saw the cups o’ noodles, realized that Madison had met Al, and then found the tape marked AMINA and confirmed it. Madison never told Al any names, so Al didn’t make the connection. Alicia went to go find Naomi (Jenna Elfman) and kill her, and when she found her she finally said why exactly she was so set on killing Naomi.

“My mom is dead because of what you did,” Alicia said.

But Morgan (Lennie James) talked her down, saying that she didn’t have to be this way, which he knows, because he used to be a killer like her, but he changed. Morgan feels responsible for her brother’s death, because he stepped aside and allowed Nick to kill Ennis, which in turn led to Nick getting killed by Charlie. So this time he will not step aside and allow Alicia to kill Naomi. Death begets more death. It sounds like Morgan will teach Alicia the way of the stick in the future.

Back in the past, Al gave Madison some cups o’ noodles and sent her on her way. Shortly after, Madison found her traveling companions. “Ran into someone on the road who helped me out,” she said when Strand (Colman Domingo) asked where she got the noodles. “Food’s not the only thing I found out there.” What she found was her humanity. Shortly after that, they found the stadium. Nick thought it was too big, but Madison said that they weren’t thinking big enough before. She explained that this time, they were going to invite people inside with them. “Someone helped me when she didn’t have to,” she said. “I think it’s time for us to do the same.” Al’s act of kindness gave Madison the idea to build the stadium community. They’re all on the same side.

Al asked how Madison’s story ended, so they people who were there took her back to that night. Rather than try to help, the other people in the stadium ran, including Naomi (whose real real name is neither Laura nor Naomi –it’s June). Nick and Alicia were surrounded by walkers, so Madison lit a flare and drew the walkers away. They followed her into the stadium, where she locked herself in. Over the walkie, she said “I was afraid to lose this place because I thought you needed it to stay who you are right now. But you know it: no one’s gone until they’re gone.” Then she tossed the flare on the ground, which lit the gas fume-and-straw-covered stadium up. She sacrificed herself to save her family, both blood and found.

Fear the Walking Dead has now killed off its lead, and all of its Season 1 characters except Alicia and Strand. Alycia Debnam-Carey is now maybe the only remaining cast member from the pilot, since it remains to be seen how Nick and Madison will be used in the second half of the season, since they’ve died on one of the timelines. Now that the timelines have come together, it seems likely that they will only continue on the present timeline. There’s no need for BEFORE. We saw how it ended.

Pretty shocking stuff. What did you think of the midseason finale?

Fear the Walking Dead will return for Season 4B on AMC in August.