Fear the Walking Dead Recap: Season 7, Episode 14 — [Spoiler] Kills…

Fear the Walking Dead’s cast purge continues. Already, Season 7 had killed off John Sr. and Howard, dispatched one guest character (Ali) after another (Paul) after another (Will), and slapped expiration dates on Alicia and Charlie. And in Sunday’s “Divine Providence,” yet another major if underutilized player met their maker. Who? Read on…

After Alicia & Co. showed up at the Tower’s “phone booth,” for lack of a better term, Strand invited her in for a drink. Since Daniel came in, too, uninvited — and was going on about seeing Ofelia — Victor had him put in time-out while he pleaded his case to Alicia. When she failed to be moved by his stalker-y ranting, he ordered the beacon switched on. “You have your army. I have mine.” And once the light had attracted his soldiers — you know, the radioactive crater walkers — her friends would all die horrible deaths, and she’d be trapped in the Tower with him forevermore. (Or however long her “forevermore” turned out to be.)

Shortly, Alicia got the drop on Strand and forced him into the elevator, which she planned to take to the roof to turn the beacon back off. Instead, the elevator was shut down — emergency protocol — buying Strand time to strike a deal with Alicia: He’d turn off the light if she’d call off her army — and also agree to stay with him for whatever time she had left. (Obsessed much?)

Though a deal was struck, Wes, upon freeing the duo, was not keen on it. “Have you lost your mind?” he asked Strand, somehow leaving out the expletive I’d have had to have included. If Strand wasn’t going to protect the Tower, Wes would. But no sooner had he declared himself king of the Tower than Strand and Alicia escaped his custody. And just as Wes gave the order for Daniel to be killed, Ofelia’s father killed his guard.

Needing help to get past the rangers to the roof, Strand and Alicia hightailed it to Daniel, then lied to him that his daughter was on the top floor. Before they could get that far, even with Daniel’s assassin skills, Alicia collapsed. In the infirmary, Daniel at last learned that Ofelia was dead. Before he could kill Strand, as he’s so often been about to, it was pointed out to him that Charlie was still alive, if barely, and he could be there for her. “Be the man you wanted Ofelia to see,” Alicia urged him.

Yet again, Strand’s life was spared. (Forget nine lives, the guy must have 20, right?) As he and Alicia, high on adrenaline, made their way up, up, up, they paused long enough for him to admit that yes, she was the closest thing he had to a daughter. Will had made Strand realize that he loved her. “That’s what this was about,” he insisted. “I just wanted to prove something to you.” Dude, next time, write a card… sheesh.

When Wes again caught the duo, Strand completely changed the villainous tune he’d been singing all season. After throwing how many people off the roof, today he felt like helping people was a good idea. (Motivations change faster on this show than a corpse to a walker.) In response, Wes revealed that he’d found a transmitter among Alicia’s belongings. If she called in reinforcements, he added, they’d never stand a chance.

Before Wes could end Alicia, in came Daniel, saving her and getting shot for his troubles. (Not that that slowed him down at all.) Alicia and Wes then wound up in a standoff that was abruptly ended when Strand stabbed his latest protege. “Why would you do that?” cried Alicia, who’d thought she could reason with Wes.

“The same reason I built the Tower the way I did,” replied Strand. “So you wouldn’t have to.” (Funny, I don’t remember Madison having to become a total monster while she was trying to fortify the baseball diamond… )

At once, Daniel raced outside with June, Wendell and Grace to warn Dwight, Sherry, etc., to get in the Tower fast. Before they could, rangers started shooting from the roof. They were soon dispatched by Strand, but he hesitated to turn off the beacon. WTF? “You’re never gonna forgive me, are you?” he asked Alicia. “The damage is already done.”

“We don’t have time for this,” replied Alicia. Two words: Thank. You.

One thing (Alicia tripped on an electric wire) led to another (her skeletal hand punctured a gas can), all while Strand had a very adolescent meltdown (“It was never gonna make you love me”). Finally, just after our heroine had radioed out her message calling for backup, she collapsed again as the roof went up in flames.

So, anyone else bummed that Fear TWD snuffed out a character with as much potential as Wes? Didn’t you once think he was destined to be Alicia’s love interest? Hit the comments.