Fear the Walking Dead showrunners explain that 'heartbreaking' death

**Spoilers for Fear the Walking Dead episode “No One’s Gone” ahead**

Fear the Walking Dead has taken a very, very surprising turn – a twist that will fundamentally change the show forever.

**Spoilers for Fear the Walking Dead episode “No One’s Gone” ahead**

Yes, the showrunners Ian Goldberg and Andrew Chambliss have killed off their leading character, Madison Clark.

During the mid-season finale, we finally learnt why Madison has been suspiciously absent from the future timeline: the mother had sacrificed herself by leading a pack of walkers back into the Vultures ballpark, allowing the others could escape to ensuing onslaught.

Kim Dickens, who played the character, spoke to EW following the episode, calling the death “heartbreaking” and saying the character’s fate was a shock.

“I thought there was so many more stories to tell and so many more places to go, so I was initially shocked and disappointed and heartbroken,” she told the publication.

“But you know, it’s in the hands of the writers and the producers, and that’s the fate that befalls so many of the characters in this genre. Basically, the message is, no one’s safe.

“And these kinds of deaths will ultimately propel the story of the other characters into other places. It’s part of the genre, it’s part of the storytelling device, and I just have to wrap my head around it and go into production.”

The showrunners also spoke about the death, explaining why they decided to kill off Madison far earlier than many fans expected.

“The story we’re telling is a story about hope and people losing hope, and then finding it again,” Chambliss said. ”And for us, that meant having someone make the ultimate sacrifice for what they believed in, and that is what Madison did in this episode.

“So much of her story this season was about her having finally found this place for her family where they could have a better life, and we saw how important that was to her. And when it came under threat, she went the distance to make sure her family would survive — and also all the people that they had saved would survive.”

Goldberg add: ”The thing Madison fought for, the thing that she gave her life for was a philosophy about a way of living and treating people in this world that she left behind in the people that survived her. And that’s something they’re gonna carry with them going forward. Madison’s legacy will be held very much in the way that these characters continue in the world going forward.”

AMC’s original series “Fear the Walking Dead” will return for the second half of season four, consisting of eight episodes, on Monday 13th August at 2.00am simultaneous to the US premiere with a repeat at 9.00pm, exclusive to BT customers.