Daniel Salazar (Ruben Blades) has been with Fear the Walking Dead practically from the start. The second episode of Season 1 saw his introduction as Travis Clark (Cliff Curtis), along with his ex-wife and son, entered a shop to avoid the destruction occurring around them.
This shop belonged to Daniel and his wife, Griselda (Patricia Reyes Spíndola) and their daughter, Ofelia (Mercedes Mason).
Unfortunately, Daniel is the last surviving one left from his family and has been struggling of late as the continued zombie apocalypse wore him down so greatly that in Episode 10 he suffered a mental breakdown.
The Season 6 finale of Fear the Walking Dead saw his mental state questioned again after he heard a set of coordinates on the radio. However, Luciana (Danay Garcia) appeared to be the only one who trusted what he said.
Now, moving forward into Season 7, it appears their relationship will be explored further.
Luciana could become a daughter replacement for Daniel
Luciana is of an age where she could step in as a daughter figure for Daniel and it is a very real possibility for Season 7 of Fear the Walking Dead.
When questioned by Entertainment Weekly, one of the series showrunners spoke out about what to expect between Daniel and Luciana moving forward into the next season of Fear.
Ian Goldberg explained that in the Season 6 finale, Daniel was “buoyed by this friendship with Luciana, and the friendship, and the faith that Luciana shows in him” regarding the coordinates.
This faith pays off, too, as the coordinates were issued by Althea (Maggie Grace) and, when the group arrived there, a CRM helicopter flew them to safety just before the nuclear blast occurred.
Daniel will still have troubles moving forward in Season 7
While Daniel may be buoyed by Luciana’s faith in him in the Season 6 finale of Fear the Walking Dead, it will not be enough to singularly fix his affliction — but it goes a long way to setting him on the right path.
“I think he’s headed in the right direction,” Goldberg revealed.
“I would not say that he’s totally out of the woods. I think he’s still going to have to navigate the trauma that has resulted in this mental fracture for him. But I think the one thing we can say is that this relationship with Luciana that we see forged in this episode, and Luciana’s faith in him is definitely going to be explored in season 7, and will be part of bringing him back to his old self, or as much as that’s possible. Luciana is going to play a big part in that.”
Fear the Walking Dead has been renewed by AMC for a seventh season but, as yet, no release date has officially been announced.