Sumith Prasad
AMC’s post-apocalyptic series ‘Fear the Walking Dead’ begins as the saga of the Clark family as they try their best to survive a zombie apocalypse. Nick Clark, the troubled son in the family, considers the apocalypse an opportunity to be a better person, especially by overcoming his drug addiction. He also makes several friends and enemies and becomes a pivotal character in many storylines of the series. Therefore, it isn’t a surprise that Nick’s death startled the ardent admirers of the show. But when exactly does it happen? Why did Frank Dillane depart from the cast of the post-apocalyptic drama? Let’s share everything you need to know about the same! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Nick Dies in Episode 3
Nick Clark dies in the third episode of the fourth season. Nick’s fate takes a wild turn when Melvin and Ennis, who form an antagonistic group named “Vultures,” arrive in the Clark family members’ lives. At the time, Nick, his mother Madison Clark, and their allies rely on the Dell Diamond baseball stadium for safety from the walkers who surround them. Melvin and Ennis also recruit a girl named Charlie as a spy. Charlie finds a place in the stadium, forming a bond with the Clarks who include Nick. When the Vultures’ actions pave the way for an enormous herd of walkers to end up in the stadium, Madison deals with the same. She allows her family members and friends to flee by sacrificing her safety.
Believing that Madison got killed at the stadium while dealing with the walkers, Nick kills Ennis. Nick’s action infuriates Charlie, who has been considering Melvin and Ennis as her family. To exact her revenge for killing Ennis, Charlie kills Nick in the third episode of the fourth season. Although Alicia Clark and Luciana see Charlie running away, all they are able to do is just weep over Nick’s dead body with Victor Strand. “Charlie lost her parents and she witnessed Ennis getting killed violently, who was her caretaker. She’s just a kid going through the unimaginable,” Alexa Nisenson, who plays Charlie, explained her character’s decision to kill Nick to AMC. “She’s not even thinking about the consequences afterward. She feels this is what she had to do. She’s angry and lost and she felt like she had no choice,” the actress added.
Leaving Nick Behind: Dillane’s Decision for Change
Frank Dillane left ‘Fear the Walking Dead’ because he wanted the same. “I had been doing it for three or four years, the show has undergone many changes in terms of different people in charge, all of this stuff, and I just felt like the beginning of this season kind of felt like the end of an era with this show,” Dillane explained the reason behind his decision to leave the show to EW. “And television is hard work, and you have to shoot a lot. I also missed Europe very much. I’m not American, so after a while, I get quite homesick and all of those things. I also felt like we had achieved what needed to be achieved in the first few seasons, so I thought it was time to keep moving,” he added.
Dillane also wanted to portray new roles, which contributed to his decision to part ways with the post-apocalyptic drama. “I had been playing Nick for four years and I was ready to play some different characters,” the actor said in the same EW interview. “One of the first things we were tasked with when we came on to run Season 4 was to really find a story that would give Nick a fitting sendoff,” showrunner Andrew Chambliss told TV Guide. “He’s been with the show from day one, so it was very important to us and to Frank to find a death for him that was emotional and one that would ripple forward throughout the storytelling,” he added.
Dillane was “sad” to part ways with his co-stars and crew members of the show upon deciding to leave the show. “It was very sad [to leave the cast and crew of the series]. The cast, I love them very much. They’re very close friends. The crew, we had been chopping and changing the crew so much. I won’t get into names, but it was very sad to leave them and the show. But I can’t think about it too much. At the end of the day, it’s life. Onwards and upwards, you know?” the actor told The Hollywood Reporter.
Read More: Fear the Walking Dead: Who Are PADRE? What Does it Stand For? Explained
