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| “ | Oh, and Victor, you even look wrong at anyone in my family, and I will throw you overboard.
―Madison to Victor Strand.[src]
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Madison Clark, affectionately referred to as Maddie, is the protagonist and a survivor of the outbreak in AMC's Fear The Walking Dead. She is a guidance counselor at Paul R. Williams High School and is mother to Nick and Alicia. Her husband died prior to the events of the series[1]. She is in a relationship with teacher Travis Manawa.
Overview
Personality
Madison is intelligent and willful to the point she sometimes becomes forceful. She seems to quickly adapt to the new world she, her family, and her friends are now living in. Madison likes being in control of situations, and is prone to feeling tense during disagreements with others or in situations where she is largely powerless. Even though she usually maintains a stubborn demeanor, Madison often becomes afraid and uncertain when the people she cares about (especially her family) are in danger. She has shown to have a dark and uncaring side, when she locked in Celia Flores with the infected and showed willingness to expel two refugees (Derek and Brandon), one of them wounded to maintain the illusion of hope for her boyfriend, Travis.
The tragic circumstances Madison has had to rebound from in the years prior to the apocalypse have prepared her to survive once it actually occurs. Having lost her unborn daughter and husband forced her to deal with the reality of death, and the implied abuse she suffered at the hands of her father likely taught her that it is sometimes necessary to fight for protection. More recently, Nick's drug addiction and the methods (both physical and psychological) that he used to feed it seem to have taught Madison a great deal about learning how to read others and plot out her next move in relation to theirs.
Pre-Apocalypse
El Sereno, California
Born in the early 1970's in Alabama, Madison had a troubled relationship with her father, with at the age of thirteen attacking him in a rage of anger. Throughout her teenage years, she sought employment as a bartender, as revealed when making cocktails in the Rosarito Beach Hotel bar with Victor Strand. Enrolling and graduating college throughout this time, Madison moves to Los Angeles, to become a guidance counsellor.
Working at Paul R. Williams High School, she aided the students of the school in dealing with any difficulties they had during their time. Meeting and marrying construction worker Steven Clark, the two had three children: Nicholas, a second child who was born stillborn, and Alicia and lived in the El Sereno neighbourhood. In later years, Steven commits suicide by deliberately crashing his car.[2] Sometime after, Madison meets divorcé English teacher Travis Manawa, and they begin a relationship.
Post-Apocalypse
Season 1
"Pilot"
Madison is first seen after being called into hospital, after her son Nicholas "Nick", had been hit by a car. Despite the doctors believing it was a suicide attempt, Madison quickly realises it was an accident due to her sons drug obsession. Asking her fiancé Travis Manawa to look after Nick, she leaves the hospital with her daughter Alicia to go to work at Paul R. Williams High School, also Alicia's school. During the drive, they both begin realise that Nick is becoming increasingly unstable and worry for his future. Upon arriving at school, Principal Art Costa welcomes her appearance, noting that a third of the school are not in attendance due to an unknown illness.
Before she can press the matter further, Tobias, a student at the school, enters through the front doors alerting the metal detectors on his way in. Madison takes Tobias to her office, confiscating the metal object - revealed to be a knife - and locks it in her desk. She talks with Tobias, who reveals that he is not carrying the knife due to being bullied, but rather due to being scared about the virus spreading around, at the time, five states in America. She rebuffs his explanation and sends him back to class. Madison is soon informed by Travis that his condition has improved, but that he is speaking uncontrollably about having seen one of his friends being eaten alive by Gloria, a story she dismisses as part of drug-enduced delusions. Travis, unconvinced, investigates the derelict church in which Nick states the incident occurred in, finding large amounts of blood. Soon after, Nick escapes the hospital. When Nick is not found at his friends Calvin's house, Travis takes Madison to the church, where she is horrified to see the blood, before becoming further upset at the state in which her son was living.
Hours later, Nick phones, asking to be picked up from the waste ditch; upon arrival, an inconsolable Nick reveals he has killed Calvin in self-defence. When the search for Calvin provides nothing, Madison once again passes this over as another drug-enduced delusion despite Travis's belief that something did indeed happen after finding the gun. However, when they get back into their car and begin to drive away, a now zombified Calvin walks towards them. Madison and Travis get out of the car, all whilst Nick screams at them to get back inside. Calvin goes to bite Madison, but is pushed away by Travis, all whilst Nick, now in the drivers seat of the car, begins to accelerate into Calvin. Despite hitting the car into Calvin, Calvin stands up seemingly unharmed. All three horrified, Nick reverses over him once again, pushing him over into a ditch. As the three embrace, Calvin turns his head, ready to attack again.
"So Close, Yet So Far"
Still shaken by the experience had with Calvin, Madison and Travis begin to panic with both not getting responses from Alicia and Christopher "Chris"; Travis's son. Upon returning and finding Alicia not at home, the three drive to Alicia's boyfriend Matt's house. Finding Alicia with an ill Matt, they soon realise he has been bit, and despite Alicia's reluctance that he is not contagious, Madison begins to realise that Matt will soon turn like Calvin, and they force Alicia to leave Matt. Upon returning home, neighbour Joanna Cruz confirms the illness is spreading, noting the lack of attendance at her daughter Gladys' birthday party, as well as Travis and Madison seeing neighbour Peter Dawson hastily putting his belongings into his car.
Meanwhile, Nick warns Madison that he will soon be suffering from the effects of drug withdrawal; pleading to her for more drugs. Madison reluctantly agrees and drives to the school, all not before reassuring an increasingly worried Travis - who is still unable to contact either Chris or his ex-wife Elizabeth "Liza" - that she will not leave him. Arriving at a seemingly empty school, she is startled by Tobias, who asks for his confiscated knife back. Madison gets the knife, along with the drugs, and agrees to help Tobias in gathering supplies. Whilst in the canteen, Tobias exchanges survival techniques with Madison, who is clearly still sceptical of the enormity of the event - "People forget that when civilization ends, it ends fast" - he tells Madison. They are interrupted by a zombified Art, who Madison - to no avail - tries to reason with. Art, unaffected after having been stabbed by Tobias, falls with Tobias down a flight of stairs, leading to Madison having to use a fire extinguisher to smash his head. The two, hearing further noises down the corridors, leave the school, with Madison returning Tobias to his house. He declines her offer to come with her and her family, and the two say goodbye.
Returning home, Madison gives Nick the necessary drugs. Breaking down in tears in the bathroom as she washes Art's blood from her clothes, Travis rings, informing Madison that he has found Chris and Liza, but are stuck in the city centre in the middle of a riot. Before she can reply, the network connection fails. In the night, Madison hears screaming, before seeing a now zombified Peter Dawson attack Joanna Cruz outside in the street. Telling Alicia not to watch, Madison guards the door, telling her and Nick that they are not leaving the house until Travis returns.
"The Dog"
Still waiting for Travis to return, the three play Monopoly, all whilst Madison begins to wean Nick from the drugs. As Madison and Nick argue over whether Travis will return, the power goes out, leaving the three in darkness. Soon after, a dog begins to bark, alerted at the zombified Peter Dawson's presence. Peter devours the dog, and soon after enters the Clark house, forcing the three to flee to flee into their garden. Meanwhile, Travis returns, with Liza, Chris and new companions the Salazar's consisting of Daniel, an injured Griselda and their daughter Ofelia. Alicia, having got a gun from her neighbour Susan Tran's house, throws the gun over into the Clark household, which is give to Daniel, who kills Peter. Alicia, still in the Tran household, is attacked by a zombified Susan and soon saved; Madison having to comfort Alicia upon her realisation that Matt too will be zombified. Madison and Travis then agree to leave El Sereno in the morning. That night, as everyone goes to fall asleep, Madison goes outside into the garden, watching her once close friend Susan through the fence. Liza joins her, and the two agree to be amicable for the sake of their families. Madison then decides to kill Susan, but is stopped by Travis, on the basis that a cure could be found.
In the morning, the families depart, the Salazar's deciding to go their separate ways. Madison then reveals that she has given Griselda some of Nick's medicine as she is injured, which angers Nick for prioritising a stranger over him. As they depart, Susan's husband Patrick returns home, causing Madison and Alicia to chase after him to avoid him being bitten by Susan. They find Patrick staring in horror as his zombified wife wanders toward him. As he goes to embrace his wife, a member of the U.S. National Guard enters, shooting Susan in Patrick's arms. The group, including the Salazar's, are then ushered back into the Clark's house by the military, who subsequently cordon off the neighbourhood. As they watch the dead being driven away in a lorry, including the entire Cruz family, Travis tries to reassure Madison, who shakes her head and walks back inside.
"Not Fade Away"
Madison struggles to comprehend and adapt to the newly arisen circumstances of having unacquainted company, both in the case of the army, and the Salazar's. Alongside Nick refusing to take his pills, this leads Maddie and Travis to argue. Chris later approaches Madison, showing her a video he took of a person outside the safe-zone being shot by the army. That evening, Maddie and Travis make up and have sex, followed by Maddie leaving the safe-zone to investigate Chris's claims. Outside, she finds the streets lined with dead bodies all with gunshot wounds to the head, with many of the dead seemingly having not been infected. Madison successfully evades a passing group of soldiers, before re-entering the safe zone.
Now suspicious of the army's motives, she speaks to Daniel about what she has seen, who compares such to when men came to his village in El Salvador when he was younger, killing anyone they saw. Daniel then reveals that Griselda and him are being taken by the army for treatment to Griselda's leg, and asks Madison to look after Ofelia if anything were to happen to him. Agreeing, they are interrupted by soldiers entering the house, who take Nick due to his unusual behaviour from undergoing his process of weaning. Whilst Liza - now working with the army's medical team - tries to convince the head doctor Dr. Bethany Exner to not take Nick, this proves futile, and the army take both Liza, Griselda (refusing Daniel's request to accompany her) and Nick away, all to a background of distraught screams from Madison.
"Cobalt"
The following morning, Madison is still visibly distraught from Nick being taken, as is Chris, who argues with Travis and Madison, accusing Madison of getting involved in discussion about Liza's return when it does not involve her. Some time later, Madison finds her neighbour Susan's suicide note to her husband Patrick in Alicia's room, and walks over to the Tran's house, expecting to find Alicia there. Instead, she finds Daniel, Ofelia and a tied up Corporal Andrew Adams in the house's basement. Shocked, she demands to know what is happening; Daniel explains he has taken Adams hostage to find out information about Griselda's whereabouts. Daniel persuades Madison to support his decision to do this, linking in the fact that Nick too, can be found. Madison reluctantly agrees, but is shocked, after briefly falling asleep, to find Adams being beaten by Daniel. A distraught Ofelia, who used her and Adams romantic interest between one another as a rouse in the first place, leaves, soon telling Travis what is happening in the Tran's basement. As Travis arrives at the house, Adams repeats to Travis what he has told Madison and Daniel in the meantime, telling the trio of Operation Cobalt; the evacuation of military personnel from Los Angeles, and the "humane termination" of everyone else.
"The Good Man"
Madison and Travis are packing supplies when Alicia and Chris get back. They tell the kids that the Guard is pulling out and Alicia and Chris tell the adults they've seen the soldiers looting.
Alicia is scared and wants to know why, she says that she thought things were getting better and Chris wants to know what they're going to about Liza, his mom, and how they're going to do it. Travis doesn't have an answer for him straight away.In the basement of the Tran home, Andrew Adams is still tied to a chair with duct tape over his mouth. Daniel is standing over him and talking when Travis and Madison enter. Daniel tells Adams that he's found the arena, it's close to the base and that "We can use it." He's holding a pistol down by his side as he talks and Adams can't stop himself looking at it. Daniel turns to them and says that he thinks Adams has told them all he can. Madison and Travis argue with him, he says that he can't be allowed to escape because he will tell the soldiers before the families can get away. They continue to argue, finding reasons why Adams should not be killed.
Madison pulls off the duct tape so that they can hear what Adams is trying to say. He tells them that even though they know where the compound is they still need him to tell them where their people are inside it. Travis makes a decision - that Adams is coming with them. Daniel walks out without a word. Madison wants Adams in the pickup with Travis and not where the kids will see. When Travis asks if there's something she's ashamed of she tells him that he'd do anything if Chris were in danger. Travis doesn't answer her, but he's deeply troubled. Madison gets ready to go, she picks up car keys from by the mirror near the front door. She stops to look at the many marks on the wall there, recording the height of her children as they grew. Her own height and that of her husband Stephen Clark are also on the wall and she touches the pencilled marks for a moment before leaving the house.
On the drive she tells Alicia to get in the car and then looks over at a man walking his dog. Ofelia asks "What?" and Madison answers that her neighbours don't know. Ofelia is bitter. "They did nothing when they came for us" she says, and puts her bag in the car. Neither she nor Madison go to speak to the man. Madison and the rest of the group are waiting for Daniel. He jogs into the underground car park and tells them that he's led "them" to the north gate and that the soldiers are distracted now. Ofelia is still not looking at him. Daniel sees that Adams is not there and is angry, he says to Madison "You see what doing the right thing gets you." when she sides with Travis. They make final arrangements to go and find Nick, Liza and Griselda. Alicia and Chris are to wait here in the car park for them and are told to go to "the camp ground" if there's trouble or if they don't return. Chris argues with his Dad but accepts it when Madison asks him to take care of Alicia, she then hugs Alicia and tells her quietly to take care of Chris. They all troop off, with Daniel bringing up the rear and looking very angry. Alicia and Chris are left standing by the SUV. The families, led by Ofelia with some big bolt cutters, leave the underground car park up near the perimeter fence of The Military Hospital. Madison stares at the large group of Infected who are collecting by the fence a few hundred yards away. As Ofelia cuts a padlock from a gate Daniel remarks that "the hard part is done"; she asks him how they're going to get out if the Infected get in? Daniel replies that "That would be the harder part". Travis does remember to close the gate behind them as they go in. He's carrying the The Tran's Shotgun. Daniel has Adams' pistol and Madison a ball pein hammer.
Travis follows the directions through the building that Adams gave to him, he ticks them off out loud: a checkpoint and a sign marked Administration.
They find the holding cell area. There appears to be a couple of hundred people in there. They run along the cells asking for Nick and Griselda or for information about them. Some of the internees tell them they've seen Nick and the man in the suit, Maddy lets them out and gets more information, Daniel shouts that there's no time but the other three break the locks on as many cells as they can. Ofelia still has her bolt cutters and makes good use of them. (offscreen) they leave the holding area looking for Nick and Strand, they arrive at a stairwell and though the window of the double doors in front of them they can see Nick. Looking through the glass panel of the door Nick can see Travis and Madison running towards him. On one side of the door, Madison et al are trying to open it with a hammer and a shotgun. On the other side Nick is looking through the glass panel while Strands wastes ammunition by missing headshots. The zombie horde continues to approach at its slow walk. Nick, watching his mother again attempting to move heaven and earth to save him, actually becomes calm and puts his hand against the glass. Madison touches the glass in the same way and they both appear calm for a moment. We see Liza running up behind them. She tries her pass card over and over in the card reader until it works and the doors open in time to let Nick and Strand get through. There's not time to shut them to block the dead though and they follow the group down the stairs. hey pass through a kitchen that's been abandoned 1/2 way through preparing a meal, Liza leading the way. An infected man leaps out and grabs her. She is in real trouble until Ofelia steps up and despatches the Infected man with her heavy bolt cutters. They all fight well - Madison with her hammer, Daniel with Adams' pistol and Travis with the butt of the shotgun. Liza and Ofelia, in particular, are an effective team. Madison gets taken by surprise, drops her hammer and is struggling until Nick (Nick!) picks it up and puts down her attacker. As they leave the kitchen, Strand somehow knows just where to find something to lock the doors behind them (a long mop handle) and walks calmly away from the doors as the dead approach it from the other side. "Who the hell are you?" asks Madison and Nick replies "He saved my life." Liza leads the way into the hospital ward area. The bodies of the critical patients are on the beds, each neatly tagged and each with a wound from the captive bolt device in the centre of their foreheads. Bethany Exner is still there, having taken care of her patients in the only way left to her. She is sitting and staring at nothing. Madison scavenges drugs while Liza asks Exner for the way out. Exner eventually tells her but refuses to go with them because there's "nowhere to go to". As the families leave Bethany Exner picks up the captive bolt device again and looks at it.
As they go where Dr. Exner has told them, Strand suggests to Madison that they go to his house, to his "home on the water". He says he has supplies and is prepared. As they leave the building, they see what's left of the bodies that have been incinerated. Ofelia and Daniel in particular are devastated by the sight of the pile of ash, bones, partially burnt bodies, and the bulldozer that was used to move it all around.
Back in the underground car park Travis calls out for Chris. They see that the car is not there and get louder, causing Daniel to tell them to be quiet and not attract the dead. Travis shoves him out of the way and ignores him. Alicia and Chris appear from a door at the far end of the car park. Travis, Madison and Liza greet their children while Ofelia sits down on the floor by a pillar, drained. Daniel calls out "We must go now". Andrew Adams appears, with a pistol and says "Salazar!". He points the weapon at Daniel and Ofelia gets up to intervene. She talks to him and tries to stop it escalating further until Andrew suddenly changes aim and shoots Ofelia instead.
Travis, overcome with rage and guilt, leaps on Adams and hits him over and over. We hear Liza say to Ofelia and Daniel - "It's ok." but Travis doesn't hear and doesn't stop. The whole group are stunned by his reaction which doesn't stop until Madison tells Travis to leave him, even Daniel does not intervene when Madison gets Travis to stop. Adams is badly beaten but still alive. he two cars, Madison's car in front, are on an almost deserted stretch of road. Daniel, Ofelia and Liza are in the back of Travis' pickup. Chris is in the front with Travis driving. Madison is driving her car with Alicia in the passenger seat and Strand in the back. They are discussing the best route to take to the sea; they pass some (undead) pedestrian traffic but see little else. Two of the main office blocks in the city are burning. At Strand's suggestion they turn left off the main road and onto the concreted LA river, where it all started for Madison and Travis and where Nick killed Calvin. There's very little water and no traffic at all. They pass a crashed and burnt out military helicopter with a badly burnt but still active Infected man or woman struggling to get at them from the wreckage. They can't see from down in the river, but an aerial shot shows us roads completely blocked with cars and many more fires. The concreted river bed is clear and straight though. It takes them to Strands home with no problems. Strand lets them into the property with a code, he explains that there's a generator that starts automatically when the power goes off. They all go in, Liza and Daniel helping Ofelia who, while she is walking, is obviously in a lot of pain. Strands home is beautiful and looks very expensive; you can hear the sea and the sea gulls as you walk up to the house. Strand lets them in the front door asks them to help themselves to food. The group are very wary as they enter. Daniel, Ofelia and Liza go to sit in a family area. Chris and Alicia get a drink of water and Madison and Nick are outside, looking at the sea and talking. Madison tells Nick she's sorry, he asks "For what?" and she says it's for letting him be taken, but she shakes her head as she says it and the impression is that it's for more than that. Nick, doesn't feel she has anything to apologise for. He talks about his feeling that everyone is catching up with him - that now everyone is as lost as he has always been Liza finds Chris in the kitchen and tells him that Ofelia will be ok, and that she loves him. As they hug, Madison can see from Liza's face over Chris' shoulder that there's something badly wrong. Madison follows Liza out of the house and to the cliff path, after a few moments Travis follows Madison. She runs to catch up and Liza turns back to her when she calls. Madison asks what is wrong and Liza shows her that she's been bitten or badly scratched, just over her right hip. Madison asks what they can do and Liza tells her there's nothing and shows her the gun she has tucked into waist of her scrubs. Madison tries to argue with her, and when Liza asks here to do it for her says that Liza can't ask that of her. Liza calmly points out that Madison had asked the same thing of her a few days before. And Liza echoes what Madison said when she asked. "Don't make Travis do it. It'll break him." Madison eventually takes the pistol from her, just as Travis arrives. Liza convinces Travis to kill her to prevent her reanimation, Madison sees Travis kills her and later comforts Travis.
Season 2
"Monster"
Standing on the beach at Victor Strand's house, Madison watches bombs drop in the distance as her and Travis prepare supplies for transport to the Abigail. They also grab Chris who is sitting by his mother Liza's corpse, catatonic. The three are picked up by Nick on the Zodiac and head towards the yacht. The group watches as the military firebombs Los Angeles and the raging inferno engulfs the land.
The next day, the group spots a small skiff overflowing with at least 20 passengers. The passengers beg for help, and Madison pleads with Strand to rescue the skiff passengers, but he refuses. Strand tells Travis and Madison that he has set a course for San Diego in the hopes of receiving help from the Navy or border patrol. Madison appeals to Travis to convince Strand to save the skiff, but Travis agrees that they cannot take on additional passengers.
Madison urges Alicia to stop listening to the radio and get some rest. Alicia refuses.
Madison hears Strand talking in the wheelhouse and is surprised to find him alone. He explains that he talks to himself to stay awake. Later, she joins Daniel on deck to discuss Strand's motives as he had bags packed before the bombs started falling.
On deck, the group gathers around Liza's body as Travis delivers a eulogy and is shocked when Chris violently pushes Liza's body into the sea and storms off.
Madison comforts Chris and defends Travis, saying she would have killed Liza if Travis hadn't. "I'll never let that happen to someone I love," she says.
She helps set up for dinner when Daniel catches a large fish. During the meal she and the others rush after Chris when he jumps into the ocean. He explains he just wanted to swim. During this time, they come across the skiff again; only now it is shot up and the people are gone. Strand hears another radar alert. "It could be no one, it could be the ones who did that," he tells Alicia and Madison, indicating the shot-up skiff. Strand tells Madison that they need a head start if they are going to outrun the approaching boat, revealing that it is incoming at 25 knots — faster than the Abigail can manage.
Once the group returns to the yacht with the skiff's log book, Strand powers up the boat. Madison tells Travis that whoever shot up the skiff is coming back for them.
"We All Fall Down"
She yells at Nick for endangering himself by jumping in the water after the wreckage of the sailboat, but when Travis reads the log book, they realize that there's a problem. According to the log, the military has already burned San Diego to the ground. Strand proposes they hide from the fast-approaching ship by retreating to the coastline. Travis suggests Catrina Island, which has a ranger station that may offer supplies and a short-wave radio.
As the Abigail approaches Catrina Island, Madison sees a light flash inside a house. Her, Travis, Nick, Alicia, and Chris get off the boat. They approach the house that she saw from the boat. A young boy — the one from the beach — runs out to greet them. Travis introduces himself to the boy's father, George Geary, and asks permission to dock for the night.
Inside the house, George's wife, Melissa, probes Madison about her job as a guidance counselor and asks if she ever worked with younger children. Melissa introduces Madison to her teenage son, Seth. She begins to suspect her of something.
As they head back to the boat, Madison tells Travis that Melissa may have flashed the light on purpose. She speculates that Melissa wants to leave the island but is too scared of George to say so.
The next day, Madison tells Melissa that they are setting sail and asks if she had intentionally flashed the light to signal them. Melissa admits that she signaled them in the hopes that they would take Harry and Willa, since George and Seth are planning for the entire family to die together on the island.
Madison relays Melissa's request to Travis and insists they rescue Harry and Willa. "You're not taking them, Travis, you're saving them," she says. Travis reluctantly agrees to speak with George.
On the boat, Nick tells Madison and Travis that he found poison in George's office and predicts that George is planning on "Jonestown-ing" his family. They decide go through with taking the children with them.
They return to the Geary house to take Harry and Willa. Melissa is hurriedly explaining some of her children's quirks when George comes in. He angrily demands to know what is happening when the argument is interrupted by Harry. Something is wrong with Willa, he reports. Upstairs, Willa is found dead after ingesting the "power pills" from George's stash. Melissa cradles Willa, who opens her eyes, turns, and bites her. George agrees to let Travis take Harry but refuses to join them.
Travis' group sprints to the boat with Harry. Seth chases them down with his rifle and forces them to give Harry back. She watches as an infected Melissa walks toward the two boys on the on the dock, and Seth shoots Melissa while Harry's back is turned.
"Ouroboros"
Madison and Travis start to make love in their state room. The boat creaks to a stop. Travis determines that the engine malfunctioned due to a blocked water intake. He says the problem will require him to look under the boat. Madison urges him to wait until sunrise, but Strand and Travis agree that they cannot waste time.
Alicia shows Madison a spot on shore that is littered with luggage from the plane wreck. Alicia, Nick, and Chris insist on going to shore to gather supplies. Madison and Travis refuse to let them go but Daniel offers to accompany them. Alicia, Nick, and Chris board the Zodiac. Daniel tells Madison that Strand is planning to sail to Baja California and asks her to question Strand about his intentions.
Madison hears a noise and sees blood emerge from the spot in the water where Travis was swimming. Michael's body floats to the surface after Travis plunges a knife through his eye socket.
Madison confronts Strand about his secret plans and demands to know what is in Baja. Strand reveals that he has a safehouse with food, water, and concrete walls in Rosarito, Baja California, but explains that he has precious little time to get there. She demands that he take the entire group with him. They cautiously make a pact to trust each other, but threatens to throw him overboard if her family gets hurt because of his actions.
Madison informs Travis of Strand's Baja plans and tells him the house is their best chance at survival. Travis balks at trusting Strand, but Madison argues that they have little choice.
Madison sees the herd through her binoculars and tells Strand they have to move. Travis removes the last bit of sludge and a severed hand from the filtration system and fixes the engine. Strand powers the boat up.
When Daniel and the kids return, Madison informs the group that Strand has invited them to join him at a compound in Baja with food, power, and water. Strand refuses to let Alex and Jake board the ship. She has mixed feelings about letting on board. Travis insists that they at least tow Alex's raft to San Diego. Alicia and Madison bring water and blankets to Alex and Jake.
Strand dashes outside and cuts the raft loose. Madison objects, but it is too late. The raft drifts behind as the Abigail cruises south.
"Blood in the Streets"
A raft with two men and a bleeding pregnant woman approaches the Abigail. Travis, Daniel and Madison rush upstairs and interrogate the strangers. Madison assists Vida, the pregnant woman, to a bathroom. When commotion arises, Vida smashes Madison’s head against a mirror then ties her hands.
Vida rejoins the group with Madison. Alicia tells Madison that Nick wasn’t in his bed. Reed tells Jack to find the portable radio with Alicia so that they can contact their leader, Connor. Alicia assures Madison she will fix the situation.
Daniel asks Madison to distract Vida while he loosens his bonds. Madison asks Vida about the pregnancy. As Daniel works his bonds, Madison asks Vida if the baby has been moving. She baits Vida by wondering if a dead baby would turn inside her belly. Vida threatens to shoot Madison.
Connor boards the Abigail with two other armed pirates and admires the boat. He invites Travis and Alicia to join his community but says he has no need for the others. He grants Alicia’s request to transport her family safely to shore. Alicia and Travis are taken away. Reed and the bodyguards stay behind to guard the remaining captives.
Luis shoots the pirates with a rifle from his raft, and Madison stabs Reed with the crowbar during the melee.
Onboard, Madison tells Nick and Luis what happened to Strand. Luis refuses to cross the border without Strand. On the Zodiac, Madison pulls up to Strand in the Zodiac and hoists him aboard and heads back to the yacht.
"Captive"
Daniel tells Madison that they can use Reed’s relationship to Connor as leverage over Connor. They locate Connor’s base by scanning the radar for a cluster of five boats. Madison steers the Abigail north. Luis orders Madison to turn the ship around, reminding her that they only have a small window of time to cross into Mexico. Madison refuses to abandon her family and asks Strand if she would’ve been better off leaving him in the water. Strand agrees to give Madison half a day to rescue Travis and Alicia.
Daniel advises Madison to let Nick and Chris help fight Connor’s group and urges her to stop treating them like children. Madison ignores his advice.
In the wheelhouse, Madison forbids Strand from sending Nick on any more errands. Strand argues that Nick knows how to survive and that he saw Nick’s potential within minutes of meeting him. Madison says Strand has never seen Nick in the throes of addiction and worries that Nick is using again. Madison forbids Nick from pulling any more stunts.
On the radio, Madison tells Connor that they’re holding Reed and will trade him for Travis and Alicia. Connor agrees. After signing off, Madison hears a gunshot. Chris has killed Reed. Madison comforts Chris. They overhear Luis complain that the trade is now dead. Chris realizes that he just destroyed any hopes of getting Travis back peacefully. However, Reed's brain remains undamaged. Daniel places a hood over Reed’s head.
Madison prepares the Zodiac. Nick insists on delivering Reed to Connor but Madison refuses to let him go. She leaves with Reed in the Zodiac.
On the pier, Madison hands Reed over to Connor. Connor’s men release Travis. Connor removes Reed’s hood and is immediately bitten by the Infected Reed. She and Travis then fight off the other pirates brfore heading back to the Zodiac. Madison sees Alicia on the ship deck who jumps into the water. Madison and Travis rescue her in the Zodiac and return to the Abigail.
"Sicut Cervus"
The Abigail approaches a Mexican flotilla that is guarding the border. Strand tells Madison to hide everyone below deck. From the engine room, the group listens to men's conversation with the two military officers. Gunfire erupts and the group carefully make their way upstairs. Strand steers the Abigail toward the Mexico coastline.
On land, Strand leads the group into town. They find a pile of dead parishioners in front of the church. A herd of infected parishioners emerge and attack. Madison is overcome by an Infected and fights for her life. Chris watches her struggle from a few steps away and does nothing to help. Alicia screams at him and saves Madison herself. The group piles into Thomas’s truck and flees.
At Thomas Abigail's gated estate, Celia, Luis’s mother, greets them. A maid asks the group to check their weapons. Everyone complies.
Madison overhears a conversation between Nick and Celia. After Nick leaves, she warns Celia that Nick is impressionable.
Madison brings food to Thomas and Strand in their room. Thomas asks Madison to look after Strand when he dies.
Alicia tells Madison about Chris’s threat to hurt her if she told their parents about what happened at the church. Madison confers with Travis about Chris and worries that Chris is sick. Travis defends Chris and angrily wonders why Madison won’t offer the same support to Chris that he always gave Nick. Madison decides to sleep in Alicia’s room for protection while Travis sleeps with Chris.
Chris enters Alicia’s room and says Alicia’s name. He picks up a knife from the bedside table. A gunshot rings out, waking Madison and Alicia. Alicia sees the knife and screams at Chris. He runs outside.
"Shiva"
She is present when everyone runs to Thomas’s room, where Strand has just shot Thomas in the head. Celia screams at Strand for shooting Thomas instead of allowing him to turn. Celia forbids Strand from burying Thomas and attacks Strand when he declares that Thomas wasn’t her son. Celia orders Strand and those he brought along with him to leave by the next day.
Madison tells Nick and Alicia to quietly pack supplies so that they can flee to the Abigail and escape Celia’s clutches. Alicia refuses to return to the boat. Nick defends Celia.
After Nick returns to the estate with an undead Luis, Madison confronts Nick about his fascination with the dead and asks if Celia told him to find Luis. Nick argues that Celia merely wanted her son back then offers to bring Travis back, as well. He tells Madison that the Infected will not touch him. “I will not die,” he declares.
Madison tells Strand that she’s worried about Nick. Strand is unsurprised that Celia was able to indoctrinate a young and vulnerable addict. He invites Madison to join him on the Abigail, but she refuses to leave without Travis.
Madison implores Celia to let Strand stay. Celia refuses and tells Madison that she must learn to accept the Infected just like Nick does. Madison asks Celia to help her understand. Celia takes Madison to the cellar and enters the cell to show Madison all of her infected present. Madison closes the gate, locking Celia in.
As Madison finds Alicia and Ofelia, a fire suddenly consumes the estate. Madison runs into the storage room and sees Jorge unconscious on the floor and leaves him in search of Daniel but leaves to save herself.
Strand pulls up in the truck and urges them to get in. Nick walks up to Madison and says he couldn’t find Travis. He suspiciously asks where Celia is. She doesn't answer. “She was right about us,” he says. “We destroy everything.” Strand forces Madison into the truck as Nick turns his back on her. They watch a blood-slathered Nick walk away untouched among the Infected as Strand and the women flee the compound.
"Grotesque"
Madison appears in a flashback, waves at Nick. They are taken to a private room, where in Madison tells Nick why his father isn't visiting; he died in a head-on collision. Nick breaks down and screams in grief. Gloria looks in the room and sees Madison hugging Nick.
"Los Muertos"
After searching for days for the others north and south of the compound Madison agrees with Victor that they need to go back to the Abigail for water and other supplies because they cannot keep scavenging. When the Abigail is missing from where they docked it, Madison, Victor, Ofelia, and Alicia go to an abandoned hotel for supplies and shelter. When Alicia goes off with Ofelia to scavenge supplies, Victor insist on making Madison vodka martinis to drown her sorrows. Victor acknowledges he missed the fact that Madison is a "southern bell" with her defenses down Madison shares details of her past with Victor including that she was originally from Alabama and she used to bartend to put herself through college. It's not long before Madison calls out Strand's martinis as "bullshit" and she starts pouring them both tequila shots instead. As they drink and imagine themselves meeting back when the world was still the world , Victor confesses he would have flirted with Madison if he saw her alone at the bar and that he is simply "a seducer of people." Madison shares with Victor that Alicia may be right and that she'll never see Nick again,that her husband was a lost soul of sorts who may have actually committed suicide and that her son Nick is also a lost soul whose slipped further and further away from her since his birth. Madison says that despite the dark past she chose to spite the past and be a mother and that she chose wrong. When Victor tells Madison she is nust drunk, she insist she's not and continues to drink with Victor. She toast to "motherhood" , drinks and then smashes her glass. She gets another glass toast to "false hope" and smashes that glass. Victor plays the piano, while Madison continues to smash glasses after toasting to "family" and to "Nick". The noise attracts the infected to them. Though they try to fight off the infected Victor and Madison get trapped by the infected behind the bar.
"Do Not Disturb"
Madison appears at the end of the episode when her and Victor save Alicia, Elena and Hector from walkers. Madison and Alicia hug after knowing each other are both okay while Victor, Elena and Hector block the door from walkers.
"Pablo & Jessica"
TBA
"Pillar of Salt"
TBA
"Date of Death"
TBA
"Wrath"
TBA
"North"
TBA
Season 3
Madison will appear in Season 3.
Killed Victims
This list shows the victims Madison has killed:
- Art Costa (Zombified)
- Reed (Caused)
- Connor (Caused)
- Celia Flores (Caused)
- Derek (Before Reanimation)
- Brandon Luke (Zombified)
- Alejandro Nuñez (Before Reanimation)
- 1 unnamed member of Connor's Pirates (Caused)
- Numerous counts of zombies.
Relationships
Travis ManawaTravis is Madison's fiancée, and it is known that they love each other very much. Travis met Madison during his time as a teacher and eventually fell in love with her. While their relationship sometimes struggles due to complications within their respective families, such as Travis's strained relationship with Chris and Madison's struggle to keep Nick off drugs, they are shown to deeply care about each other and will do anything to keep each other safe. Nick ClarkSince Nick is her son, it can be assumed that Madison loves him, and she worries about him due to his drug habit. However, due to his drug habit, Madison is often impatient with Nick and unwilling to believe him at the start when he told her what had happened at the church-- possible because of hearing similar crazy stories in the past. Nick's drug habit dominates much of their relationship. However, when he was taken to the compound by the military, Madison was willing to accept the torture of a soldier in her neighbor's basement if it meant getting Nick back, showing that her children take priority. Madison is greatly relieved to see Nick alive and well in the military base and escapes with him and others to Victors boat. On the Abigail their relationship is just a strong as before. Like Alicia Madison is very protective of him and his well being calling him an idiot for diving over to a sinking ship. She is also reluctant to trust Nick to go alone to an Island for supplies but eventually lets him. Its possible to see that Madison is starting to see the maturity in Nick. When Nick chooses the dead over his family and goes missing. Madison is heartbroken and worried for son and in hope that Nick is alive. She even takes risk without thinking of the consequences. Such as when the narcos are interrogating Fransisco and his wife about Nick and Madison just walks in and even turns on the lights to the hotel. When reuniting with Travis and leaving the hotel. Madison,Travis and Alicia end up in La Colonia and ask Alejandro where Nick is. Which he says North. Showing she will do whatever it takes to get her son back. Alicia ClarkMadison and Alicia share a good daughter and mother relationship. Madison often looks to Alicia to help out Nick with his constant drug abuse and she is thankful for Alicia's support in Nick. When the two are together on Victor Strands boat, there relationship is strong. However it is shown that Madison is extremely over protective of Alicia as she is very reluctant to accept her request to scout out an island for supplies for the group and Ofelia's gun shot wound. Madison also threatens Victor saying if as much as looks at Alicia or anyone in a wrong way, she will kill him. Liza Ortiz
Madison and Liza were implied to not get on much pre-apocalypse. This is probably because Liza is Travis' ex-wife. When Nick was forcibly taken by the soldiers to the medical facility, Madison blamed Liza. When Madison and the others came to rescue her, Nick and Griselda from the facility, Nick was trapped and unable to get out locked doors, away from the zombies, but Liza came and unlocked the doors, saving Nick. Madison was presumably very grateful for this. Madison watches Liza hug Chris, getting teary. As Liza goes to the ocean front, Madison follows her, knowing something was wrong. Liza reveals her scratch to Madison's shock. Liza asks Madison to euthanize her, but she refuses and can't bring herself to do it. Madison tries to talk Liza out of killing herself, but is unsuccessful. Travis ends up putting Liza down. Maddie is very sad about her untimely death and remained respectful at her funeral. Art Costa
Madison and Art knew each other well before the outbreak, both working in the same school. When Madison came into school late one morning, Art expressed his concerns that she had fallen victim to the flu that had taken one third of the students in the faculties of the district. She said that she was fine and that they had found Nick. Art also expressed concern to her son and asked what had happened to him. The following day, Art questions the staff why they are all in the same room crowded together. At Madison's request, he looks at an Internet video that Travis shares, and he closes down the school based on Travis's and Madsion's concerns. A few days later, Madison ignored Tobias when he said that Art was dead, believing that he was only sick. She tried to help him,but he attacked her and Tobias. When Tobias was in danger of being bitten, Madison grabbed a fire extinguisher and relentlessly bashed Art's head in. She seemed shocked at what she had done, but quickly moves past the death of her friend and flees the scene. When she alone several hours later, she washed off Art's blood from her clothes and begin sobbing. Tobias
Before the outbreak, Madison Clark was the guidance counselor at Tobias's school. With Tobias being bullied at his school quite frequently, he visited her several times, not always by choice. One day, he got into a fight with his tormentors and was officially suspended by Madison. When he came back to school, he tended to avoid her. When the outbreak first began, Tobias tried to smuggle a knife into school with him for protection. When the school principal attempted to search him, Madison covered for him and announced that it was a couple of coins that had set off the metal detectors. She took Tobias into her office to have a talk with him away from everyone else. Madison took his knife away and locked it in her desk. He asked for his knife back, and she immediately assumed that he was being bullied again. She asked him why it was that he felt the need to carry a knife around in a "safe" environment, and asked him if he realized that she could expel him from school just for finding a concealed weapon. He tried to explain that the unchecked virus outbreak spreading across five states was enough to worry him, but she shut him down, claiming that he was making too much of a big deal over nothing. He grimly asks for his knife back again, but she refuses. He leaves her office. When school is closed early by the principal the next day, Madison sees him on the bus. She waves at him, but he does not acknowledge her. Madison looks disheartened at that. When Madison heads back into the abandoned school to find the necessary drugs for Nick, she goes into the security office to break open the confiscated items cabinet. Tobias surprises her when he announces himself behind her. He asks why she is trying to get into the drug cabinet, and she admits that her son needs it. Tobias says that he came to the school to scavenge for supplies, knowing that the school would be one of the last places to get looted. He asks again if he could get his knife back, and she relents, going back to her office and handing it to him. They decide to hunt for food in the cafeteria. Tobias explains to Madison that he believes that the outbreak could mean the end of their lives as they know it. She denounces his claims as foolish, thinking that the situation would be resolved within a few days. Tobias warns her that he knows how much people want to believe that, and how desperately they would cling to the idea when they are wrong. In the cafeteria, they find the storage room and load a cart full of food to be taken outside. When the metal detectors go off at the doors, they rush to find another exit. Out the fire escape, the principal stumbles around a corner, bleeding. Madison asks if he is okay. Tobias, however, sees that he has reanimated and that they need to run. Madison is attacked by the zombie, but Tobias pulls him off of her, inadvertently throwing himself down a staircase with the principal on top of him. As the zombie attacks him, Madison bashes his head in with a fire extinguisher, saving Tobias. They retrieve the food and leave the building, Madison driving him home. At Tobias's house, Madison offers to take him and his family back to her house for safety, but he declines, saying that he doesn't need help now that he has enough food. He bids her goodbye, and enters his house without taking the food in her trunk. Susan TranAlthough not much is known about their relationship. Maddy and Susan were both neighbors before the apocalypse and presumably both had a positive relationship as Maddy trusted Susan to babysit her children. Maddie was tempted to put her down and was shocked and saddened when the military put her down. Daniel SalazarAside from familial relationships, Madison and Daniel seemingly have the strongest relationship out of anyone in the main group. Even though they first encounter each other in a scene Madison's living room that sees Daniel killing Peter Dawson, Madison is rather open to his ways quickly. This is contrasted by how eager Travis is to not agree with Daniel's methods. After Madison escapes the Safe Zone for a brief venture out into the Dead Zone, she openly confides in Daniel what she saw. Their relationship is further strengthened when Madison allows Daniel to torture Andrew Adams in order to get information on Nick and Griselda's whereabouts. By the end of the first season, it appears as if Madison and Daniel have developed a sense of trust between each other. Melissa GearyMadison have a positive relationship. Melissa is very curious of Madison's prior occupation which makes Maddy a little suspicious of her. However when Melissa reveals to Madison she wants her to take care of her son and daughter she accepts. Maddy is deeply saddened at Melissa's sudden death at the hands of her undead daughter. Victor Strand
Like pretty much everyone on the Abigail except her son Nick, Maddy has a very tense and untrustworthy relationship with Strand. At first she is very thankful for Victor for saving her family and bringing them to safety on the boat. However as time passes she remains very suspicious of his destination and his true motives. She also notes how tired he is from not sleeping and wants to know what he is in store for the group. Maddy also dislikes Strands dislike for her daughter who he finds a detriment to the group to which she threatens him with his life if he threatens anyone in the group to which is states slightly amused that she cannot take a life. Maddy begs Strand to bring aboard Alex and Jake on the boat to which he instantly rejects. She also witnesses Strand cutting the rope on Alex and Jake's life raft to which she now holds a hatred for him. Strand himself believes that their conflict arises over Nick-- telling Madison that he saw, even in the depts. of withdrawl, Nick's potential and that Madison, being his mother and knowing him all his life, does not recognize what he is capable off. However, after the destruction of Valle de Guadalupe, their relationship has greatly improved as she, Strand, Alicia and Ofelia are seen working and helping each other on searching a new safe haven after Abigail went missing. They begin to trust each other too at this point. Maddy and Strand then share a bond with a few glasses of vodka upon discovering the hotel and begin to get drunk and reckless at the same time with their surroundings as walkers soon charge in around them. They manage to get through all the walkers as Maddy decides to apply Nick's gut trick and tells Strand to do so. They're also just in time to help Alicia, Elena and Hector after being chased by walkers. The two then continue to trust and help each other as they work together to help the two groups in the hotel who are hostile to one another to form a mutual alliance. In Pillar Of Salt, after Strand gets stabbed by Ilene for 'killing' her daughter, Strand calls for Madison and she is shocked and quickly comes to his aid. She, Elena and Oscar then go to a supermarket guarded by local gangs to get some needed supplies for Strand. |
Appearances
Fear The Walking DeadSeason 1
Season 2
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Trivia
- The casting call for this character used the name Nancy Tompkins.
- This character's official name was revealed in a press release by AMC on May 11, 2015 as Madison Bennett, though her surname was later changed.[3]
- Madison is the first main character to kill a walker.
- Madison is the only main character to appear in every episode of the series, whether it be in present time or in a flashback.
References