Alycia Debnam-Carey, who plays Alicia Clark on Fear the Walking Dead, talks about her favorite walkers ever, Alicia and Strand's evolving relationship and why she enjoyed this season's storytelling style.

Q: What was it like spending so much of the season fragmented from so many of your castmates?

A: It's strange in the fact that you don't see the same people on set every day and you feel like you have isolated storylines that maybe you don't know as much about. But, at the same time, it is sort of nice from a story point of view because what I did like about this season was that they had grouped particular characters together, which meant we could explore one-on-one dynamics more in-depth and I like that more. I think it gives us more time, especially in a show that is so action-heavy, that is so dominated by setups and stunt work and a big action kind of plot -- this allows for the character moments to shine through. So the more we get to focus on individual characters within a smaller number, I just feel it gives us a chance to explore the dynamics better, to get more out of the characters in that situation.

Q: What's Alicia's state of mind at the beginning of Episode 7?

A: Well, Alicia's been disappointed with not only how the relationship with Strand has gone, but also the plan that he proposed has now changed and left her a little out in the open and unprepared. I think for her, at this point, it's just about making sure she's ready again and doing her best to stay on top. I think she has a tendency to maybe allow other people to govern the situation and [to] trust those particular people in her orbit to follow through with their plans. And, you know, each season goes by, she's becoming more of her own person and more cunning in her own right, and I think this episode is another example of how she's incredibly capable when she's on her own and it's just about making sure that she and Charlie are set up in the best possible way to pursue whatever has to happen next -- whether that is get out, whether that is stay and try and navigate the situation. But I think it's about protecting themselves as best as possible.

Q: Why does she decide to answer Strand after ignoring him for so long?

A: I mean, I think Alicia knows Strand probably the best out of anyone, other than maybe Daniel. But she knows that, while his manipulation and his bargaining ways may be deceiving, they're also a part of who he is. And the fact that she knows that about him informs her that she can potentially use that to her advantage too. He's shown his true colors to Alicia and she ultimately understands that he's a con man, so she knows what she's getting into whenever he presents certain situations. And so, if there is something worth bargaining [for], then she's not going to say "no" outright. So, with Strand, there's always an air of possibility and a "what if?" question to things that Alicia's smart enough not to decline. I think in that particular situation, while she's still bristling at the fact that he's kind of betrayed her, she's willing to put it aside to see what he has on offer.

Read More: Victor Strand's Best Quotes

Q: Alicia says she's helping Strand because she wants to possibly team up with the people who took Dakota. Is that her real reason or is it because of what you were just saying about Strand and there always being an air of possibility with him?

A: Well, there is that too. I think if the previous is the umbrella answer, then this is more the specific answer of she wants to use what she can to her advantage too. Strand's not going to be so specific on what his plans are. He's not going to let her in on what is really going on. She's going to take matters into her own hands, and so if that is finding the people that could help her, then she's going to do that.

Watch: Inside Strand and Alicia's Split:

Q: What was it like filming the attack in the barn? That scene looked incredibly intense.

A: It was cool. It was a very long night. Whenever we have some fight choreography, it's always fun to perform and to do, and our stunt team is so awesome. We get the set up and the choreography done pretty quickly because we have to get in quite quick, so it is always like a dance in a sense. It's really fun when you get to actually do it. The setup of that whole house is just very different to [anything] we've seen on the show, and I thought it was a really cool exploration of a moment in this world.

It was also, in my personal opinion, the best that we've seen walkers look. I just loved how macabre and fantastical they were. It reminded me something more out of a fairytale than our typical zombie genre. I thought that was a really nice new look. To have something so different in Season 6 and for them to be my favorite -- when I say that, I don't say it lightly. They were my favorite ones because they... reminded me of something more like Pan's Labyrinth or fantastical like Greek beasts... And the special effects that create those looks, it's just a real achievement. I mean, the work that goes into them -- there were some that had crocodile scales and every one of them had different eyes. There were goat eyes and cat eyes. I thought it was just such a cool, interesting, different idea. I loved it. And then the silhouettes looked so different because they had the horns and it almost looks more devilish.

Q: Why does Alicia ultimately decide to go to Morgan's safe place with Dakota, instead of returning Dakota and gaining her own freedom?

A: It's the idea that there is a cycle to Alicia and pain and anger, and, if you do bad by someone, that pain that they can experience will only fester and then become more grief in the future and potentially then come back and hurt you -- and also that it's not going to change anything by fighting fire with fire, essentially. For Alicia, the one thing I do love about her as a character is that she has more compassion and more innate optimism, I think, than a lot of the other characters, even [more] than her mother. I think her mother was a little bit more raw and a little more unforgiving.

Alicia is ready to try and foster a better outcome and to try and achieve something that is better than where we left off, and I do love that about her. And I think it's one of the few things we've seen that is innate in her as a character, compared to the world around her too. She still maintains that, despite everything. And so her choosing to learn a lesson about "we don't want to create monsters" and there is no real way out of this unless we try and be compassionate to one another -- I think there is a through line there that ultimately is making her a better leader and a better survivor, strangely.

Q: Do you think it's true, as Strand says, that Dakota looks up to Alicia and trusts her?

A: I don't think that's a statement she's particularly holding onto. I think she may be aware that she might have a certain allegiance with a younger teenager because she herself was sort of in that position when the apocalypse really started. And we've seen it with Charlie too -- there is a sisterhood of sorts in these younger women, these younger girls where a bond is very important. But, I mean, she's also cautious.

Alicia doesn't have a huge trust bandwidth, I think. Someone asked me recently at a panel, "Who does Alicia trust the most?" and I'm like, "Trust is a fickle word in this apocalypse!" So she's always going to be careful going forward, and I think she's not about to take Dakota under her wing, but maybe she can be influential to her and make an impression on her. I think maybe that's why at the very end of this episode we do see her extend an olive branch, hoping that this is the right choice, that you are who you say you are and that there is a goodness and maybe we can excavate an optimism and a compassion here.

Q: Can you describe the evolution of Alicia's relationship with Strand?

A: It's a very special character relationship for me, obviously because it's kept [alive] the memory of a group of characters of which there aren't very many left. It connects that old family to this new family, and, despite all of Strand's manipulations and con man characteristics and his cunning, she knows that ultimately they share too much history now and share too much pain and share too much growth and survivalism. It bonds them, and I don't think that's something that's really going to just be so easy to throw away. I think they're now grateful that they're in it together, in a sense, and I think they always will be.

And the dynamic has really shifted from Madison and Strand being comrades to now Strand being more of a mentor to Alicia and then now them sort of becoming family and equals. It's a really interesting and true dynamic. It's unfolded by watching the series, and I think that's really special when you get to do something like that.

Read Next: From Carol and Daryl and Strand and Madison, the Best Duos in the TWD Universe

For more from The Walking Dead Universe including trailers, interviews and more, sign up for the newsletter.