Fear the Walking Dead’s decision to kill off Logan (Matt Frewer) in season 5 represents a major missed opportunity for the AMC series. Introduced in the season 5 premiere, Logan was a recurring character who served as an antagonist to Morgan’s group. The character’s death in season 5 episode 13 ended his arc on the series, preventing him from further developing as a character in the upcoming season 6.
In Fear the Walking Dead season 5, episode 13, Logan and his men reach Polar Bear’s oilfields and have a standoff with the main characters, who refuse to cooperate. During this episode, Logan’s backstory is revealed, allowing viewers to finally understand his reasons for being so dead-set against helping people. Apparently, Logan tried in vain to save someone, because this was when Polar Bear was attacked by Sarah (Mo Collins) and Wendell (Daryl Mitchell). Due to this incident, Logan abandoned his ideals. Later on, Logan tries to convince a woman seeking help over the radio to commit suicide, but when she is rescued by Wes (Colby Hollman), Logan is visibly affected by his mistake.
Shortly afterward, Logan tries to put a stop to the violence between his people and the main characters, prompting Virginia (Colby Minifie) to put a bullet in his head. It was a surprising scene to say the least, considering that Fear the Walking Dead just spent an episode diving into his backstory and developing his character in a meaningful way. Of course, it’s clear now that this was done for the purpose of shock value and to give its main villain a big moment. It certainly made Logan’s death more unexpected and more emotionally impactful.
However, that being said, killing Logan was still a mistake for the series. Fear the Walking Dead made an impressive accomplishment when it took a character who had thus far been presented as an unlikable person seemingly devoid of any redeeming qualities, and turned him into a sympathetic character who viewers could care about. Logan’s transformation occurred a single episode, and it worked. When Logan realized that he almost succeeded in convincing a woman to unnecessarily commit suicide, it threatened to change everything that Logan believed in so strongly. It was an eye-opening moment for Logan, and it would have been interesting to see how this would have affected his character going forward in the AMC show’s zombie-infested world.
If Fear the Walking Dead had kept Logan around, he could have joined Morgan’s group. But, it’s unlikely that he would have immediately bought into Morgan’s philosophy wholeheartedly, which would have been a good thing. Fear the Walking Dead has reached a point where there isn’t much tension between the characters. Nearly all of them believe in the same things, even the former Savior, Dwight (Austin Amelio). Logan, who has already had tense interactions and interesting moral disputes with characters like Sarah and Morgan (Lennie James), would have made a great addition to the main cast.
More: Fear The Walking Dead Mistakes The New TWD Spin-off Must Avoid
