‘Fear The Walking Dead’ Season 2, Episode 13: Did Travis Actually Kill Chris?


Episode 13 of AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead explained just why Travis Manawa ended up at the Rosarito Beach Hotel. However, is AMC withholding information that could shock the audience in the Season 2 finale?

Spoiler alert: This article discusses Episode 13 (entitled “Date of Death”) and the Season 2 finale of AMC’s Fear The Walking Dead. Please proceed with caution if you wish to avoid spoilers.

At the end of Episode 12 of AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead, viewers saw Travis Manawa (Cliff Curtis) arrive at the Rosarito Beach Hotel. This is the very same place his partner, Madison Clark (Kim Dickens), is staying with the rest of the group he left in an effort to help sort his son out.

AMC’s ‘Fear the Walking Dead,’ Season 2, Episode 13, ‘Date of Death,’ Travis turns up at Rosarito Beach Hotel. [Image by Richard Foreman, Jr./AMC]

It was discovered, over the course of Episode 13 of Fear the Walking Dead, that Travis was left behind by Chris (Lorenzo James Henrie) and the group they were traveling with. Travis was traumatized at being separated from his son after promising his ex-wife, Liza (Elizabeth Rodriguez), that he would look after him. Travis’ recollection of events that led to his separation from his son, Chris, show that Travis tried everything within his means to get Chris to leave the group and stay with his father. Chris, however, went against his father’s wishes, citing their varying opinion on how to survive the zombie apocalypse as the reason he wanted to stay with the group and then allowed to have his father cast out.

As Fear’s showrunner, Dave Erickson, pointed out in an interview he did with Entertainment Weekly, Chris cast his father out as a way to protect him as Chris knew just how dangerous the group could be to someone like Travis.

“That scene where he dupes Travis, it’s really about helping his friends, but also about trying to protect his father because what you don’t see and what I imagine happened is there were scenes outside of that barn between Chris and Derek and Brandon in which they were basically suggesting that if Travis continues to obstruct, we’re going to have to do something about it. So in some respects that action was really Chris protecting his father. Which is a little bit ironic, but that was the motivation.”

AMC’s ‘Fear the Walking Dead,’ Season 2, Episode 13, ‘Date of Death,’ Chris wrestles with Travis. [Image by Richard Foreman, Jr./AMC]

However, are Travis’ recollection of these events reliable? After all, as Forbes points out in their recap of Episode 13 of Fear the Walking Dead, Travis’ “regret is impenetrable and his guilt absurd.” This is especially so since Travis really had no say in Chris going with the group and having his father expelled from it. So what if Travis’ obvious distress in Episode 13 of Fear the Walking Dead is because his version of events are different to what actually happened?

Is it possible Travis actually killed his son? While there is no concrete evidence to suggest so, the level of guilt he displays in Episode 13 could lead viewers to at least suspect Travis is guilty of more than just being separated from his son. This is further evidenced when Travis reveals to Madison in Episode 13 that if he and Travis had never met up again, then he would not have had to reveal to anyone what happened between Chris and himself. Could this have been a hint at something more sinister?

Another interesting thing to note is the fact Travis traveled on foot to the Rosarito Beach Hotel. However, at the very end of Episode 13, viewers saw two members of the group Chris was traveling with turn up at the gates of the hotel as well. These men were traveling by truck when they left Travis behind, yet Travis beat them to the hotel. So, could there be a reason Travis arrived there before them? Is it possible Travis’ time frame does not match up with what he told Madison?

Finally, when the two men, Brandon (Kelly Blatz) and Derek (Kenny Wormald), turn up at the hotel, Chris was not seen with them. So, for the second week in a row, viewers are asking where he is. According to Dave Erickson, Chris’ story will be explored in the Season 2 finale of Fear the Walking Dead.

“Chris is out there. We will answer the question of ‘ Where’s Chris?’ in the final two episodes, and that’s part of the story to be told.”

As yet, AMC has only released five images so far from the Season 2 finale of Fear the Walking Dead. None of these images show either Chris or Travis, so the fate of Chris Manawa is still up for debate. You can view the images below.

As we revealed last week, the Season 2 finale of Fear the Walking Dead will run as a double episode, with AMC screening Episodes 14 and 15 on Sunday, October 2.

What do you think will happen in the Season 2 finale of AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead? Let us know your thoughts by commenting below.

Season 2 of AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead returns Sunday, October 2, with Episode 14, titled “Wrath,” and Episode 15, titled “North,” at 9 p.m. ET.

The official synopsis for Episode 14 of Fear the Walking Dead is below. Please note, these synopses have changed since last week when AMC published them to their schedule. The original synopses can be found at this previous Inquisitr article.

“Madison struggles with Travis’ return.”

The official synopsis for Episode 15 of Fear the Walking Dead is below.

“Travis’ actions cause turmoil at the RBH [Rosarito Beach Hotel].”

[Featured Image by Richard Foreman, Jr./AMC]

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