‘Fear The Walking Dead’: Elizabeth Rodriguez Discusses Why Liza Left Her Son Behind And Hints At Trouble Ahead [Spoilers]

In Episode 4 (entitled “Not Fade Away”) of AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead, Liza Ortiz (played by Elizabeth Rodriguez) decided to leave her son and go with the medical crew in order to help the sick. Elizabeth Rodriguez explains why Liza made this choice.

Warning: This article contains spoilers about AMC’s Fear The Walking Dead. Please proceed with caution if you have not viewed all available episodes.

Liza Ortiz is probably the most qualified out of the main characters from AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead to deal with the zombie apocalypse. While she is not a fully qualified medical professional, she is a student nurse and has shown definite ingenuity when it comes to helping the sick when she has only limited supplies.

However, in Episode 4 of Fear the Walking Dead, Liza came under close scrutiny from Dr. Bethany Exner (Sandrine Holt) when she arrived to assess the sick within the L.A. quarantined safe zone. At first, Liza thought she might be in trouble for not being qualified, but Dr. Exner seemed eager to have Liza “pretend” a little longer. Some fans have already started to wonder if maybe Dr. Exner is already short of staff thanks to the apocalypse, which makes some sense as medical professionals would probably be the first in line when it came to dealing with the infected. Between them and the law enforcement in Fear the Walking Dead, it is likely many lost their lives just with dealing with what was considered at the time as an “unknown contagion.”

Thanks to Liza being completely forthright with Dr. Exner (perhaps a little too forthright thanks to Dr. Exner’s flattery of her ability — and maybe this was the reason for the flattery), the patients Liza had been attending in Fear the Walking Dead were whisked away late at night. While it was expected with Griselda (Patricia Reyes Spíndola), thanks to her badly broken ankle, the big surprise was when Nick (Frank Dillane) was also taken away. While Nick is presently in good health, he is a drug user, and it appears the medical professionals were willing to take anyone out of the quarantine zone who could be considered a risk. As was discussed in a previous Inquisitr article, it is possible the authorities in Fear the Walking Dead already know everyone is infected and are, therefore, taking people of the safe zone who are at risk of dying suddenly. For example, if Nick were to overdose while he was in the quarantine area, he would reanimate and potentially infect others.

But, to people like Liza Ortiz, all they see is someone like Nick being taken for no reason at all. According to Elizabeth Rodriguez, Liza left with the medical team because she felt a certain guilt at Nick being taken thanks to her telling Dr. Exner Nick was a junkie. Recently, she explained that scene to Yahoo TV and discussed why she had to leave her son, Chris (Lorenzo Henrie James), behind even though she had, up until that point in Fear the Walking Dead, been so protective of him.

“I had a lot of anxiety and concerns about that scene. Because up to then, you just saw her as a very protective mother… I think it has to come from what Exner said. I think it comes from, ‘Where can I help?’ And also the guilt of Liza not thinking Nick was going to be taken away. She thought he was gonna get actual help. So I think it was a second of just instinct, her getting on the truck.”

She also knew Chris would be protected where he was, whereas Nick and Griselda were going to a place where there was no one they knew to look after them.

“Chris would be protected. His father is there with him,” she told Yahoo TV.

Elizabeth Rodriguez also hints at upcoming complications at the medical facility she ends up at with Dr. Exner. While many Fear the Walking Dead fans have already assumed that the authorities are not to be trusted, it seems Liza will find that out soon too.

“There are situations coming up that absolutely make her insecure, being put in certain situations … she’s having to learn to rely on her instincts. To learn things she doesn’t have the luxury of second-guessing.”

Fear the Walking Dead returns to AMC with Episode 5 (“Cobalt”) on Sunday, September 27, 2015.

What do you think about Liza leaving with the medical crew in the last episode of Fear the Walking Dead? Let us know your thoughts by commenting below!

[Image credits: AMC / Justina Mintz]