Spoiler alert for anyone who hasn't seen the last episode of Fear the Walking Dead.
Last week's episode of Fear the Walking Dead gave viewers a lot to talk about where Nick's new community was concerned, as the group has seemingly figured out a way to escape the effect of zombification. (Not that we're buying it, but it's still an intriguing narrative path.) However, it was over at the doomed hotel that viewers got to hear a long-anticipated factoid that officially opened up a route for Fear the Walking Dead to connect to The Walking Dead in a pretty specific way: Madison is originally from Alabama.
Viewers have wondered just where Madison grew up, given her Southern accent, and her Alabama roots put her significantly closer to the central crew in The Walking Dead, which started in Georgia. And while cynics might scoff at how far the Internet Gumshoe Academy ran with this detail, there's no possible way Robert Kirkman and Dave Erickson made Madison share part of her history with Strand if it wasn't meant to draw attention back to that area of the country. One of the main reasons the creative teams behind both AMC dramas have brushed aside crossover talks is because both shows are set so far apart. But now at least one character can be placed much closer to the flagship series' setting.
Madison could easily be related to someone from The Walking Dead, though perhaps not in anyone's immediate family, unless we've got some 'Bama natives that haven't come clean about their heritage. Which is very likely, given how many people were introduced over the past six seasons. The biggest hook would have her related to Rick or Lori - the latter more of a possibility, I'd think - or the Dixon clan, but I'm not picky about it. If they went with the "She's related to Andrea and Amy because they're all blonde," I'd go with it.
Regardless of whether or not she's related to anyone, it still doesn't make for the easiest physical crossover for the two shows to accomplish. Getting a verbal easter egg like having Madison talk about "some big fellow with red hair and bushy mustache" would be cool, but that would just draw out fervor for something more concrete. We'd almost have to get a flashback scene in order for a character-to-character connection to happen, unless Fear the Walking Dead introduced a reason for Madison to need to travel back to Alabama, which would likely take her another 6 seasons and who knows where the timeline would be at that point.
What if they'd introduce Madison in the comic first? Ooh, now I'm getting tingles. Wait, my foot is just asleep. But that would still be cool, right? Fear the Walking Dead airs Sunday nights on AMC at 9:00 p.m. ET. To see what's coming up later this year, check out our fall TV schedule.
