Fear The Walking Dead Theory Victor Strand Is Season 7s Main Villain

Fear The Walking Dead season 6 ends in even more apocalyptic fashion than usual, but does the finale set up Victor Strand as season 7's arch villain?

Is Victor Strand set to become the main villain in Fear The Walking Dead season 7? Compared to past efforts, Fear The Walking Dead season 6 enjoyed a much warmer reception, with viewers praising the quicker pace, the uniqueness of each episode, and John Glover's creepy cult leader. Despite consistently impressing, however, Fear The Walking Dead season 6 closes on an odd note. After Teddy's missile launch proved successful (more or less) in the penultimate episode, the finale is merely a collection of vignettes revealing how each of the main cast fare during the calamitous blast.

Morgan and Grace rescue Rachel's baby and narrowly avoid being caught in the missile's deadly shock wave. June and her father-in-law hunker down in the bunker Teddy was planning to use, Dwight and Sherry join a random family in a storm cellar, and the rest are picked up by an uncharacteristically charitable CRM chopper. That leaves only Fear The Walking Dead original Victor Strand, who makes his way to the top floor of a building complex and watches the carnage in a scene that probably should pay royalties to Fight Club.

The CRM's reentry into Fear The Walking Dead might suggest the Civic Republic will be future main antagonists of season 7. After all, World Beyond revealed exactly how depraved this military unit could be toward outsiders. But while the CRM certainly have a presence in Fear The Walking Dead's future, the franchise's overarching villains will very probably be saved for Rick Grimes' upcoming movie. Fortunately, Fear The Walking Dead's season 6 finale lays the foundations for another antagonist. Will Colman Domingo's Victor Strand finally turn into the arch-villain he always threatened to become?

Strand Has Finally Accepted His Dark Side

Ever since his debut in Fear The Walking Dead season 1, Victor Strand has been a difficult man to pin down. Introduced as a con artist, Strand was self-centered and ruthless, possessing the charm of a salesman, but all the guile and stomach needed for a zombie apocalypse. As viewers learned more about the character, Strand looked to be enjoying an upward trajectory, morally speaking. Sure, he had a few setbacks (shooting Daniel in the face wasn't a highlight) but, overall, Strand was evolving into a team player. Even after resuming old habits in Fear The Walking Dead season 6, Strand was still essentially a good guy - both in Alicia's eyes, and the audience's.

That all changed in the second-to-last episode of Fear The Walking Dead season 6. As he and Morgan Jones desperately sought to halt Teddy's missile launch, Strand saw an opportunity for glory, and shoved Morgan into a nearby crowd of undead. This being Morgan, Strand's ploy failed, but the needless delay allowed Teddy to make his twisted dream a reality. Following this unquestionable moral low, Strand could either plead forgiveness, or double-down on being a jerk. Instead, he tripled-down.

Surviving Teddy's nuclear assault triggers an epiphany for Strand. He doesn't need to be a "better" man like Alicia wanted - it's these darker traits that have allowed him to survive so long, living through everything from zombie hordes and brutal dictators, to a literal nuclear disaster. Whereas Strand previously saw his impressive record as good fortune (or, more accurately, the product of working hand-in-hand with fellow survivors), he's now convinced that grifting is his survival instinct, and exactly what'll guide him through a post-outbreak world. This moral revelation marks a drastic change in Strand's Fear The Walking Dead journey. For 6 seasons, Domingo's character has tried desperately to fight his worst instincts. Even when Strand did the wrong thing (at the dam, for example), he was at least trying to be a hero. Now that Strand has finally embraced those dastardly ways, the only question is how low he's willing to go.

Strand Lucked Out During The Missile Blast

Few Fear The Walking Dead characters will be having fun when season 7 begins. Those lucky enough to reach shelter won't be well-stocked enough to avoid venturing onto the radiation-drenched surface for long, while Daniel's group are heading straight into the jaws of an even worse enemy than Teddy. As ever, Strand landed on his feet. Rushed into the nearest building, Strand encounters Howard (also known as The Mandalorian's Dr. Pershing), who has been preserving as much art and human history as he can during the end times. Ever the man of luxury, this suits Strand perfectly. In addition to the whisky, record collection and fine art, Howard also seems to have ample essential supplies in his top floor mega-apartment, and is skilled enough to use the undead as a deterrent.

These new surroundings provide ideal foundations for Strand to form a brand new settlement with himself at the top. Howard doesn't exactly seem the type to complain, meaning Strand can muscle in on the historian's base camp, living a life full of modern conveniences, while the people he recruits dwell on the lower levels, literally and figuratively beneath him. Before the blast, Victor was already leading the remnants of Ginny's Pioneers; if he can find them again, he'll have a (mostly) willing band of minions to do his bidding. With Sherry elsewhere and Rollie dead, he might amalgamate the remaining members of their group into his new hierarchy also.

How Teddy's Blast Helped Strand

Despite betraying Morgan, Strand's intention to stop Teddy's nuclear launch was entirely genuine, but in a curious twist of fate, the explosion will actually benefit Colman Domingo's character in Fear The Walking Dead season 7. The blast has divided Morgan's people, and no one's entirely sure what remains of the dam they lived in until recently. All of the showcased survivors find themselves in a far worse position than Strand, and will soon become desperate for supplies and shelter. From his ivory suburban tower, Strand could make himself the self-appointed chief of the wasteland, Mad Max-style, demanding exorbitant prices for his (Howard's) supplies because everywhere else was destroyed by the bomb. Characters like Dwight and Morgan may have no choice but to beg Strand to food, which Victor himself will no doubt delight in.

Strand's power might be cemented by the impending demand for radiation meds in Fear The Walking Dead. As Grace points out, those who survive the blast will be beset by radiation worse than Chernobyl, damning every character to a slow and unpleasant demise. Howard has proved himself adept at raiding museums, and could easily have a supply of medications among his collection. If Strand can create a monopoly on food and drugs, he'll effectively become the kingpin of Fear The Walking Dead. Customers shouldn't expect competitive rates.

Is Strand Vs. Alicia Fear The Walking Dead's Ending?

Victor Strand is the natural choice for Fear The Walking Dead's big villain in season 7 - not just because he embraced his inner darkness and sits well-positioned to seize power, but also because of how his fall would resonate thematically. Heading into its seventh season, Fear The Walking Dead likely doesn't have much left in the tank. Instead of introducing a brand new character to serve as final boss, Strand presents a far more satisfying choice. Audiences have watched Victor develop gradually over a period of years, and followed his uneasy walk along the moral tightrope. Strand finally falling onto the side of evil gives rise to a final enemy that bears significance to Fear The Walking Dead as a whole, not just a single season.

Strand going bad also gives an opportunity for Alicia Clark to play the hero one last time. Another Fear The Walking Dead original, Alicia now stands as the show's de facto protagonist after the rest of her family fell along the way. Moreover, Alicia is the one person who still believes in Stand's capacity for virtue, and a strong survivor's bond exists between them. Should Strand hoard resources and exploit survivors in need, Alicia would naturally oppose him, creating a direct fight between former friends for the Fear finale. Alicia has made wrong turns of her own over the past 6 seasons, and remains unsure of her place in the apocalypse. Defeating Strand (or trying to lure him back to the right side of history) would be a fitting end to Alicia's arc - and to Fear The Walking Dead as a whole.