The latest episode of AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead saw the shocking exposure of Charlie (Alexa Nisenson) to radiation.
She had been trying to access an elevator inside a building in order to gain the trust of those in power in the Tower.
The mission was dangerous, though, as some of Strands Rangers had already died, and there was the threat of radioactive walkers inside.
Even though she was successful with her task, things now look grim for this character.
Charlie has radiation poisoning
It is unclear exactly how Charlie got exposed to a level of radiation that made her sick so quickly.
In Episode 10 of Fear the Walking Dead, she had told Ali (Ashton Arbab) that she managed to evade any radioactive walkers. However, when kissing Ali, she then collapsed.
Charlie was taken back to the Tower, where June (Jenna Elfman) confirmed that the character was suffering from the effects of radiation poisoning.
Not only that, but June also informed Ali that Charlie should “make the most of every day” due to the level of radiation she had been exposed to.
So, how long has Charlie got? Or will this be like Alicia Clark (Alycia Debnam-Carey), who was exposed but seems to be living a normal life now — well, until she got sick from a walker bite and amputation.
Will Charlie survive?
With Charlie’s exposure, many viewers are questioning whether or not the character will die.
According to one of Fear the Walking Dead’s showrunners, it has been confirmed that Charlie will die at some point as a result of the radiation poisoning.
Showrunner Ian Goldberg spoke to Digital Spy and confirmed Charlie’s fate while speaking about her short-lived love affair with Ali.
During Episode 10, the pair shared a touching moment when Ali released all the butterflies that Victor Strand (Colman Domingo) had shut away in jars, and it was this scene and the metaphor of the butterflies that Goldberg confirmed Charlie’s fate.
“[Ali]’s realized Charlie’s a bit like that butterfly now,” Goldberg said.
“She is someone to him that is beautiful and is going to have a very short life because of her radiation exposure. So I think him freeing the butterflies is an act of wanting to show her how much he cares about her, but also because it really is a metaphor for Charlie.”
Since it was announced that Madison Clark (Kim Dickens) would return to Fear the Walking Dead, it seemed likely that there would be some sort of showdown between the pair since Charlie was the one who killed Madison’s son, Nick (Frank Dillane).
So, to have her suddenly written out ahead of Madison’s comeback seems like a way in which AMC might avoid this sort of conflict. However, as yet, there has been no confirmation when Charlie will die, nor when exactly in Season 7 Madison will return so viewers will just have to continue tuning in to find out more.
Season 7 of Fear the Walking Dead airs every Sunday night on AMC.