Summary
- Fear the Walking Dead is full of memorable villains.
- Some excel at subverting audience expectations, while others use charisma and charm to throw the characters off their game.
- Victor Strand, Virginia, and Teddy Maddox stand out as some of the show's most compelling and dangerous villains.
Fear the Walking Dead takes place in a zombie apocalypse, and that universe proved to be a hotbed for villains throughout its eight-season run. Many Fear the Walking Dead characters are villains, but not all of them are believable, thanks to a lack of realistic motivations and few stakes. The good news is that the show is about survival, so villains often come with surprising moves.
For every weaker antagonist, there is a Teddy, who throws out all the villain rule books to subvert expectations. Victor Strand also managed to shock audiences with his late-stage heel turn to go against the people who kept him safe for so long. However, some Fear the Walking Dead villains have been more successful than others.
Rick's Spinoff Has An Unexpected Connection To Both TWD Season 1 & Fear The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live contains a surprise connection to both TWD season 1 and Fear The Walking Dead, linking the franchise together.
11 Sam "Shrike" Krennick
Played by Maya Eshet
Shrike is an antagonist to Morgan, Madison, Dwight, and the rest of the survivors in Fear the Walking Dead season 8. A resourceful young woman with the weight of the world on her shoulders, Shrike struggles to make decisions that could have kept P.A.D.R.E. in operation for much longer. Her undoing is allowing parents such as Morgan, Grace, Dwight, and Sherry to live while she keeps their children captive for what she deems to be a greater purpose.
Despite having a strong army, Shrike's lack of a mean streak makes her one of the most polarizing villains. With her involvement in Fear the Walking Dead's final season, the stakes should have been higher, but in the end, the only thing she does of substance is cut off June's trigger finger and force the characters to traverse some of the ugliest The Walking Dead settlements to date. Shrike is ultimately killed after being bitten by her late father because of her unwillingness to put him down.
10 Ben "Crane" Krennick
Played by Daniel Rashid
Also appearing in season 8, Ben is a potentially interesting character because he's revealed to be P.A.D.R.E. However, due to a lack of characterization, he is almost forgotten about until he ambushes Madison and Troy in Fear the Walking Dead's penultimate episode. Like Shrike, Ben holds on to the past to keep his father's work alive, even if it means taking children away from their parents to usher in a new world order. He's also driven by his quest for vengeance following his sister's death.
Unfortunately for Ben, this desire for revenge comes back to bite him when trying to take down Madison and everyone else he deems responsible in the Fear the Walking Dead series finale. Instead of getting his version of justice, he is devoured by Walkers after running out of bullets. He is only back for a short period of time near the show's conclusion, but as one of the last villains, Ben stands out a bit more than Shrike.