Fear the Walking Dead season 3: Mercedes Mason leaving

Fear the Walking Dead season 3 episode 14 brought many different things to the table, but the most dramatic one came via Mercedes Mason. The actress, who played Ofelia Salazar on the show for the past few seasons, is now taking her final bow. Ofelia was killed off on Sunday’s episode, and in a way that was certainly sad. While Daniel Salazar got to reunite with his daughter, she wasn’t actually among the living at the time in which it happened. Her death ends a run in which we saw multiple sides to the character — she became close to the Clark family at points and Walker at others. We waited for so long to learn where she was and in the end, the character isn’t going to be sticking around.

Speaking on the subject of her exit in a new interview with TVLine, Mason had the following to say about learning that this episode was going to be the end of the road for her.

“If I remember correctly, I found out around Episode 10. [Showrunner Dave Erickson] is aware I was trying to start a family, and he’s heading off the show, so it was like, ‘Okay, a lot of things are going to be changing at the end of the season. If we maybe let Ofelia go, how dramatic can we make it?’ With the fact that fans have been waiting for the reunion, I think there was something so tragically sad and beautiful about Daniel never actually getting to his daughter, then him being the one who actually has to put her down [lest she turn].”

In terms of delivering a big shock that shakes the show to its foundation this was a very effective one. Fear the Walking Dead has done a lot this season to really make you believe that nobody is safe — in the second episode of the two-hour premiere we lost Travis, and just last season Travis’ son Chris died. Now, we’ve also lost Ofelia and the ranks are really starting to think out. The Clark family is lucky to all still be there, but given where they are right now there’s little guarantee things will stay that way. Remember that we’re starting to see Nick chase some of his old addictions once more, Alicia’s somewhat lost (even if she is more badass than ever before), and we’re starting to see Madison continue to put herself in harm’s way. We at CarterMatt do think that, at some point, this could have some devastating consequences for her. We’re just not there yet.

What did you think about this Mercedes Mason – Fear the Walking Dead surprise?

Were you shocked to lose the Ofelia character at this point in the show’s run, and where do you think that the story on the show is going to go from here? Share now in the comments!

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