Victor Strand

Victor Strand
Personal Details
Status	Alive
Age	Early 40s
Gender	Male
Actor	Colman Domingo
Biography
Occupation	Salesman (Presumably)
Physical Attributes
Ethnicity	African-American
Hair	Black

“	Children are the definition of "Dead Weight"	”
	— Victor to Maddy, We All Fall Down

Strand is a character in AMC's Fear the Walking Dead. He first appears in the episode "Cobalt", and is portrayed by Colman Domingo.

Biography

Background

Strand is a man who came from humble beginnings but has become educated, and polished. His father was a strip-mall preacher and his mother left home. He is very capable, but he is not a practical man- for example, he needs Travis to figure out that the engine's water intake is blocked-, nor is he initially a man of action- he is willing to do what is necessary but does not manage to shoot many of the Infected in the head when trapped in a corridor with Nick in "The Good Man", and manages to make enough noise to wake the dead when trying to row away from The Abigail in "Blood in the Streets", Season 2).

He likes good clothes, high-end hotels, expensive and tasteful jewellery, fine wine and brandy. Before The Fall he was willing to break the law when it suited him, or when he needed too.

Strand is described as sophisticated and mysterious. From his conversations, he implies that he was some sort of salesman, but not an insurance salesman (as he displays distaste at insurance companies), before the apocalypse. After Strand and the rest of the group board the Abigail, Strand begins to take on a more dictatorial personality, forcing the group to abide by his rules and refusing to allow anyone else to board the ship regardless if it saves their lives, even hacking away a rope attaching Alex and Jake's raft to The Abigail and leaving them in the middle of the ocean.

Season 1

"Cobalt"

Strand has decided to taunt Doug Thompson

Strand is a good looking, well dressed and very clean African American man. He's standing in what looks like a wire cage holding area, he's talking to to a seated, and very distressed looking, Doug Thompson. Strand taunts him, telling Doug he can't protect his family, that his wife will turn to another man who will be able to protect her and her daughters. Strand is relentless in his humiliation of Doug Thompson who breaks down and cries, attracting the attention of the guards who take him away. Strand says to the guards, "I don't know what came over him." Strand then turns his attention to someone else in his were fence cell, Nicholas Clark.

In the holding cells, the soldiers come and check everyone's temperature. Strand's is normal while Nick, in the throes of heroin withdrawal, shows a fever. They start to take him but Strand bribes one of them, Sgt. Melvin Allen, with diamond cufflinks to leave Nick there. In the holding cell, Strand is explaining to Nick why he saved him. He wanted to "obligate" Nick, so that he would help him. Strand has picked up that the soldiers are leaving, and he has a key.

"The Good Man"

Once the walkers begin attacking the military base in which he and Nick are being held, Strand reaches for a key their cell (which Nick stole) and uses it to open the door so they can escape. Despite the pleas of the people in the other cells he refuses to help them, telling Nick that to do so would risk their own safety.

He leads Nick through the base, coming across the soldier whom he has been bribing and leaving him to be eaten by a walker, stealing back his cufflinks and the soldier's gun. Multiple walkers then appear and chase them down a hallway to a locked door.

It looks like the walkers are going to get Nick and Strand, but Liza is able to open the door in time. After this Strand helps the rest of the group make it out of the base.

After reuniting with Chris and Alicia he leads the group to his house, a temporary pit stop before taking them to his boat offshore.

Season 2

"Monster"

Aboard the Abigail, Strand refuses to stop his boat to bring on a bunch of survivors stranded in the middle of the ocean and a reluctant Travis ultimately sides with him. Strand eventually learns that Alicia has been talking to a man named Jack on the radio and becomes angered with this, threatening to throw anyone overboard that doesn't abide by the rules. Daniel Salazar shows a blatant distrust of Strand and tells Travis that he has been keeping an eye on him since they've been on the ocean. Later, the group discovers a capsized yacht with bullet holes riddled through it and Nick retrieves the ship's log as Strand discovers that they are being pursued by possibly the people responsible for the shooting.

"We All Fall Down"

Maddie, Travis, Chris, Alicia and Nick leave to investigate a signal that they saw on the beach while Daniel Salazar stays behind in order to keep an eye on Strand due to his distrust and concern that he will abandon them if they all leave. While waiting aboard The Abigail, Salazar paces around Strand who ultimately leaves to make a phone call to an undisclosed party. Salazar picks open a locked box in the room and finds a map to Mexico as well as an GSG5 semi-automatic rifle, which borrows it's design from the MP5 series. When the group returns with Harry Geary in tow, Strand initially refuses to allow him aboard as, to him, "children are the definition of dead weight" but it looks as though he is about to be forced to keep him - due to Maddie's insistence. However, Harry's older brother Seth takes his brother back at gunpoint as the boat departs. 

"Ouroboros"

A plane crashes leaving 5 survivors at sea 1 horribly burnt; after killing off a couple 3 survivors are left drifting. After leaving the island, the group still heading south encounter a blockage with the yacht. Travis dives under to investigate whats causing the blockage. While Travis continues repairing the yacht, Daniel, Chris, Alicia and Nick head ashore to get some supplies needed. Chris wanders off alone and finds a plane crash survivor with his spine broken, who then asks him for help forcing Chris to kill him. Daniel meets an asian girl, 1 of the survivors of the plane crash being followed by a herd of WD. Nick falls off a cliff and is almost bitten by a zombie. The group are attacked by the herd barely make it off the coast heading back to the yacht.

"Blood in the Streets"

The group lets a family in distress board the Abigail; Strand's past begins to come to light; Nick looks for an associate of Strand's.

"Captive"

Strand recovers in The Wheelhouse from the hours he spent in the water (episode "Blood in the Streets"). He listens as Daniel tells Madison that they can use Reed’s relationship to Connor as leverage over Connor. They locate Connor’s base by scanning the radar for a cluster of five boats. Madison steers The Abigail north.

Luis orders Madison to turn the ship around, reminding her that they only have a small window of time to cross into Mexico. Madison refuses to abandon her family and asks Strand if she would’ve been better off leaving him in the water. Strand agrees to give Madison half a day to rescue Travis and Alicia.

In Spanish, Luis tells Strand someone is waiting for them and they need to go, but Strand says “he” would understand. Luis counters that he only has enough money for two people to cross the border. “Everything is a negotiation,” replies Strand, as Daniel listens in.

In the wheelhouse, Madison forbids Strand from sending Nick on any more errands. Strand argues that Nick knows how to survive and that he saw Nick’s potential within minutes of meeting him. Madison says Strand has never seen Nick in the throes of addiction and worries that Nick is using again.

It's Strand that spots a cluster of five boats docked along the shore and tells Daniel that they’ve arrived at Connor’s base.

Nick and Strand monitor the pier through binoculars and see that Connor only has Travis.

"Sicut Cervus"

At sea The Abigail approaches a Mexican flotilla that is guarding the border.

In The Wheelhouse, Luis prepares to meet with his military contact on the flotilla guarding the Mexican border and pay for their passage. Strand sees military officers approaching in a boat. Concerned that a second officer is coming as well as Luis’ contact, he orders Madison to hide everyone below decks.

From the engine room, Madison’s group, that is everyone aboard except Strand and Luis, listen to the conversation between Strand, Luis and two military officers, Daniel translating for the group. Gunfire erupts after the officers insist on searching the boat to make sure no Infected are aboard.

When the lights go up and the engines start again, Madison’s group charge upstairs.

Strand steers the Abigail toward the Mexican coastline, as they near the coast the flotilla stop firing on them, Strand says this is because the flotilla think that whatever is on land will kill them anyway.

On land, Strand leads the group inland, they go inland far enough for some members of the group to be asking Strand if it's much further. They find a pile of dead bodies in front of a church, the bodies are being eaten by a dog. Strand spots Thomas’s truck and calls Thomas’s name, he runs around in panic looking for Thomas and calling out for him. The group fight off a herd of infected parishioners who arrive because of the noise.

Strand drives them to the Abigail family's gated estate where the gate opens automatically as the car approaches. Inside the gate people are calmly working in the vineyard and near the main house, Celia, Luis’ mother, greets them. Strand tells her that Luis is dead. "He’s one of them now." Strand says. "Then he’ll find his way back" she replies; on hearing of the death of her son she is upset, but not grief stricken.

Celia takes Strand straight to Thomas’s bedroom. Thomas is bitten and has a blood-soaked bandage on his arm. Strand helps him into bed, he understands what the bite means and blames himself for not being there sooner.

Madison brings food to Thomas and Strand in their room. Thomas asks Madison to look after Strand when he dies, she doesn't refuse exactly, but she stops short of promising to care for Strand.

Strand urges Thomas to end the suffering and let go of life. “I could go with you,” Strand says, offering to kill himself so that they can remain together after death.

Celia brings the wafers to Strand and Thomas and commends Strand for deciding to die with Thomas. She leaves the room and locks it.

Thomas dies and stops breathing. Strand kisses him.

Strand searches Thomas’s bedroom drawers.

A gunshot wakes the household.

In Thomas' room Strand sits next to Thomas with a gun: Thomas has been shot in the head through a pillow, the two communion wafers are still where Celia left them. Celia and the staff, as well as Madison and Nick enter the room. Celia looses her temper at Strand, claiming he killed Thomas and denied him life. She slaps Strand, and goes to slap him again, but is stopped by Madison. She tells Strand he has until sundown to bury Thomas.

Madison stops Celia from slapping Strand a second time.

Strand digs a hole to bury Thomas is while Daniel watches. Daniel tell him that he should not bury Thomas in such an unholy place.

After the funeral Celia tells strand and his companions to leave. Her mind is changed on the matter of the Clark family staying because Nick bought back Celia's son- meaning Strand will be leaving alone.

Strand reappears after Daniel has set fire to the vineyard. He loads Madison, Alicia and Ofelia into his truck and convinces Madison that nick is a lost cause.

"Grotesque"

Strand did not appear in this episode.

"Los Muertos"

Madison, Alicia, Strand and Ofelia drive around Tijuana in search of Nick. Alicia calls the search futile and insists they return to the The Abigail. Reluctantly, Madison agrees.

They arrives at the shore and find the Abigail missing, stolen by the Mexican military Strand assumes. Alicia suggests they take refuge at a nearby hotel. Before they leave the beach where they landed, which still has the the Abigail's Zodiac sitting on the sand, using driftwood, they write a message for Travis and Nick, "Abigail Lost Head North."

They drive to the Rosarito Beach Hotel’s pier and assess the situation from afar.

Madison’s group pulls up to the hotel and enters the lobby through barricaded doors, behind them, unseen, an Infected watches them enter the hotel from another building and claws at a window. Strand rings the bell at the front desk to flush out any Infected. No reaction though, from either the dead or the living.

Madison’s group looks for supplies in the hotel ballroom.

In the hotel bar, Alicia and Ofelia leave to search the hotel rooms above for supplies, Madison tells Alicia "No" but she goes anyway. Strand offers to make Madison a drink.

The two drink martinis at the hotel bar.

After a while, Madison and Strand move on to Tequila, get drunk and tell each other their life stories, or part of their life stories at least. Madison tells Strand about the death of Nick and Alicia’s father Stephen Clark: he was driving home from work and his car drifted into oncoming traffic. Strand assumes he fell asleep but Madison explains that, despite what she told her kids, she thinks their father killed himself. She worries the same darkness lives in Nick.

Madison flings her glass against the wall, pours more drinks, then flings another glass. Strand bangs on an out of tune piano.

Across the street, a trapped group of Infected pounds on the door of a gift shop, provoked by the noise in the bar.

Infected begin to swarm the hotel bar, Strand eventually notices.

They fight the Infected and become trapped behind the bar.

"Do Not Disturb"

At the end of the episode, Strand is seen briefly helping to barricade a door in the hotel after Madison pulls Alicia, Elena and Hector to safety from the swarm of walkers outside.

"Pillar of Salt"

Strand is stabbed in the stomach by Ilene Stowe who is angered with him over killing her daughter Jessica despite her being a walker and doing it to spare her husband Pablo from having to do it himself.

"Wrath"

Strand warns Madison against telling Travis about Brandon and Derek being at the hotel after she realizes they are the two guys that Chris left with and he was killed in a car accident as it could likely break Travis and compromise their positions in the hotel. However, Travis ends up spotting Brandon and Derek when Madison and the others try to exile them and Strand tries to no avail to stop his pursuit.

"North"

Following Travis brutally beating Brandon and Derek to death over Chris' murder, Strand tells Madison that she has to abandon Travis as it was her decree for nobody to lay a hand on another person. Madison and Alicia refuse to leave Travis on his own and Strand refuses to agree as he is not going to die for another person. Alicia later kills Andres Diaz to protect Travis when he has a gun on him and Strand helps Alicia, Travis and Madison escape before they are found. Strand decides to stay behind with the others and hands Madison his gun as they depart.

Appearances

Season 1 appearances
Pilot	So Close, Yet So Far	The Dog	Not Fade Away	Cobalt	The Good Man

Season 2 appearances
Monster	We All Fall Down	Ouroboros	Blood in the Streets	Captive
Sicut Cervus	Shiva	Grotesque	Los Muertos	Do Not Disturb
Pablo & Jessica	Pillar of Salt	Date of Death	Wrath	North

Trivia

• Strand was called "Benjamin Booker" in the casting call for this character.
• Victor Strand's nickname on twitter is "Boat Dick", apparently...
• First openly LGBT character on Fear The Walking Dead.
• Initial theories suggested that Strand was connected with the people who took down the boat riddled with bullet holes, since Salazar found his gun in his crate. But this theory was debunked quickly, because the gun that Daniel found in Strand's crate is a Heckler and Koch MP5A2 sub-machine gun which uses 9 millimeter rounds, which is too small of a caliber to make holes of that size.

Image Gallery

Strand in "Cobalt".

Strand bribes Melvin to keep Nick.

Strand speaking with Nick.

Thomas Abigail, Strand's boyfriend

Strand, Madison and Celia, moments after Strand shot Thomas to prevent him reanimating

Strand, as he appears in Dead Run

Strand in the cafe on Catrina Island

Strand, as seen in the trailer for Season 3