Alycia Debnam-Carey, who plays Alicia on AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead, discusses how her character is healing and why she's choosing to survive on her own now. 

Q: Alicia tried to go off on her own before, thinking that being away from her family and friends was the best way to survive. Is any of that weighing on her now?

A: Yeah. We’ve seen Alicia go off on her own before and it reinforces the idea that she is better off on her own. The only thing that brought her back last time was her connection to her family – her mother and her brother – and she doesn’t have that anymore, so why should she be responsible for anybody else?... I think she’s feels better not being around people.

Q: Is there an underlying reason for Alicia seeking out the person soliciting help at the lumber yard?

A: I think Alicia being fixated on trying to save other people is part of her trying to redeem herself and make up for all the wrong she has done and the killing she was a part of. This is her attempting to balance that out again and find the core of who she was and who she used to like, which was someone who was compassionate and loving and caring and hopeful. She also wants to pay homage to her mother’s legacy, which is to go out and find people and save them. That’s what they did at the baseball stadium. They went out on missions to get people who were on the brink of destruction and death and brought them in...  She’s become fixated on the idea that this will fix her and make her better.

Q: What’s it like for her once she does arrive at the yard and realizes it’s too late?

A: When she sees that the person has already turned, that’s a big blow for her. She can’t win. It confirms how much she’s failed and that she can’t do what her mother did or be the person she used to be... Things will never be the same for her.

Q: Is Morgan’s decision to go back “home” another loss to process?

A: There’s a connection between Morgan and Alicia, but at the same time, she’s not open enough to receive any of the help he’s trying to give her. For Alicia, this is just another example of how you can’t rely on anyone. I don’t think it’s a disappointment, but it’s something that catches her off guard. She’s at a depressed point. She’s beyond disappointment and hurt... You can’t count on anyone. Morgan is saying that you can count on people, but she’s holding a mirror up to him and showing him that he’s no different from anybody else.

Q: Where does she find the courage to go on? What’s fueling her now?

A: We’re seeing a new version of her.  We’re seeing her completely untethered to any family and completely on her own. She’s trying to like the person that she once was and come to terms with her existence and perhaps honor her mother. Part of her is trying to process this grief and this loss. She doesn’t know what’s next. She’s been talked down from death and destroying other people’s lives and killing people, but I don’t think she knows what is next. I’m not sure she has hope or love yet. She doesn’t like herself. She’s not ready to tackle being with other people. Part of her journey is definitely to try to translate what her life will now mean.

Read another interview with Alycia Debnam-Carey.

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