Fear The Walking Dead Episode 511: Madison’s legacy lives on

The painted trees that Alicia has come across on Fear The Walking Dead have many fans guessing who could be writing these inspiring words. Now we know exactly who’s been painting them.

The latest episode of Fear The Walking Dead featured Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey) and Victor (Colman Domingo) being introduced to Wes (Colby Hollman). They meet under less than ideal circumstances as Logan (Matt Frewer) totals Wes’ motorcycle in response to Morgan’s gasoline standoff. He calls them for assistance and the trio set out on a mini-adventure of sorts.

Warning! Spoilers for the latest episodes of Fear The Walking Dead follow.

On this journey, they discover Wes wound up in an altercation with another survivor prior to encountering Logan. They fought over a manuscript belonging to Wes which seems frivolous in the apocalypse. However, the words inside of it hold great meaning.

By the episode’s end, Alicia gets her hands on the aforementioned manuscript. She begins reading it and comes to the end where there’s a short quote written: If you’re reading this, that means you’re still here. Once Alicia sees the quote, she realizes Wes painted the trees they came across. He seemed to possess the most cynical mindset out of anyone currently on the series but Wes had some rather inspiring words to share in the book.

What’s interesting is how Alicia takes Wes’ lead and paints a tree of her own. She became inspired by Wes’ courage and sought to impart words of wisdom onto others too. Though the more intriguing bit is who Alicia’s noteworthy quote came from.

What Alicia writes on her tree is the quote “no one’s gone until they’re gone,”. Longtime fans of the series will recognize the line as something Madison Clark (Kim Dickens) said many times during her run on Fear. Alicia clearly wrote it as a tribute to her mother, in memory of what she did for them.

People tend to forget there was no kind of service for Madison after her death in Season 4. Alicia and Nick (Frank Dillane) never had the opportunity to bury a body or even craft a symbolic burial plot, so this tree symbolizes a headstone for Madison. The only thing it lacked was Madison’s initials, though Alicia likely left them out on purpose—that way journeyers can focus on the quote rather than who it came from.

It is worth mentioning that Alicia also draws a bird alongside Madison’s quote. The species is unclear but the graphic resembles a phoenix. If that is what Alicia intended, it could be symbolic of Madison’s exit as she burned up in the Stadium during her final scene.

Whatever the case may be, seeing Madison’s words written on that tree is bound to inspire fellow survivors. She used that quote to save others and it may be of use to someone else in the future. Let’s just hope those words of wisdom continue to spread so Madison’s legacy lives on.

Were you excited to see this tribute to Madison Clark? Let us know in the comments section below.

Fear The Walking Dead Season 5 airs Sundays on AMC. Seasons 1-4 are currently streaming on Hulu. Season 5 streams exclusively on the AMC app. 

(Source: Entertainment Weekly)