If there’s been one complaint about Fear the Walking Dead of late, it’s that the show has not been killing off big characters.
Fear the Walking Dead Season 7 Episode 12 said goodbye to two of the show’s better characters.
After some shocking scenes, Omid Abtahi’s Howard was thrown from the top of Strand’s tower, but the actor knew that his character had a shelf-life going into the series.
“He was only to be a part of the show for a certain number of episodes,” Abtahi tells TV Fanatic exclusively.
“So I wasn’t surprised so much that he was dying. I was very much surprised by how he died. I was surprised that it was, you know, John that did it,” he adds.
“I was surprised that Victor decided to, no matter how loyal Howard was, to send him over the edge, but all that being said, if anyone was going to do it, I’m glad it was a Keith’s John Dorie Sr.”
Keith said he learned of John’s demise as he headed back to resume production on the back half of Fear the Walking Dead Season 7.
He recalled a conversation with showrunners Ian Goldberg and Andrew Chambliss in which they felt that for the story, a significant death had to occur.
“They felt that for John Dorie to meet his end was as large an impact as they felt they could deliver. So I completely understood, but I was disappointed, of course, because I really loved being a part of the family and working with all of these extraordinary people, but I also understood it, and that’s storytelling.”
“You’re there to serve.”
Keith said that as he was reading the episode, there were several hints about where it would go.
“I knew that I was going to be meeting my end, but when I saw how they constructed that and what they gave me to do well, you know, I just had to say, ‘Yeah.'”
“And you went out on top, me not so much,” Abtahi said of John Dorie’s demise.
“You went out from the top,” Keith added with a laugh.
“There you go, yeah,” Omid responded before addressing the reaction online to Howard’s demise.
“I gotta tell you, Paul, it’s been, I’ve seen a few of the reactions online, and people are very happy that Howard is gone, and I take that as the biggest comment.”
“I mean, I was doing my job.”
Keith shared that he would have questions if fans were happy about John’s demise but maintained that he stays away from social media.
Omid shared that he got to interact with a lot of the fans during a Twitter takeover over the weekend and that fans were upset that John was gone.
“You’re very much loved, dude,” Abtahi said of the fan response to John.
With the two stars out of the show, I asked them which side they predicted would win the looming battle.
“If I were going to make that kind of a prediction because I have no information, I’m no longer a part of that cycle, but just because I’m old school, I would like to believe that the good guys will win,” Keith shared.
“I know that oftentimes with good guys and bad guys, there’s a kind of a gray area. Who’s really good? Who’s really bad? Why are they doing what they’re doing?”
“I think there’s a sense that Morgan, I mean, I would hope that his team would prevail.”
As for Omid:
“This is a very cliche answer, but it’s just something I believe. I don’t think there are winners in war. I think people are going to suffer on both sides, and that’s just me taking a wild guess. But, I would like to believe that good would also prevail.”
When asked what they would miss the most about the series, Omid said he was happy to interview alongside Keith because he didn’t know if he would see him again.
“It’s just a lovely, lovely group of actors and crew members. I’ll always miss that for sure,” he shares.
“I’ll have to second that. It’s the people,” Keith added.
“That’s what the experience is all about. That’s all you really get when you do these things. The result is the result, and you hope that you’ve done something that will stand the test of the viewership and entertainment and all of that.”
“But while you’re doing the work, that’s all you really come away with is that experience. This was an extraordinary one because of the people involved, and I will miss them. I do miss them.”
Fear the Walking Dead continues Sundays at 9 p.m. on AMC.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.