Walking Dead Wiki

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I didn't see... I didn't see the man... the man... the man at all... at all... at all. I saw upon the stair he wasn't there there again today. Oh, how I wish he stayed away. When I came home tonight at 3:00... Today, I didn't see the man at all. I saw... I wish he stayed away. Today, when I looked around the hall, I couldn't see him there at all. I saw, when I went up the stair, a little man who wasn't there. He wasn't there again today. I wish, I wish he stayed away. When I came home tonight at 3:00, the man was waiting there for me.
―Phil reciting a poem which are his last words.[src]

Phil McCarthy is a survivor of the outbreak in AMC's Fear the Walking Dead. He is a resident and one of the four founding fathers of the Broke Jaw Ranch community.

Overview[]

When Phil is first shown, he had been scalped by Qaletaqa Walker and left to have his brain eaten by crows. By the time Troy's team finds him, he is shown to be brain dead and unable to think properly. He seems to be completely delusional and out of it, not seeming to notice Troy's team in front of him and reciting a poem, while often stuttering and repeating what he had just said. Madison puts Phil out of his misery by stabbing him in the head.

Despite his cruel death, no one at the Ranch seemed particularly saddened by his death. Jake Otto later states that although Phil was part of the Ranch since the beginning, he admits that he wasn't a good man. Like the other founding fathers, he is a brutal, ruthless, and racist man even before the outbreak. He and the other founding fathers had lynched three Native American juvenile delinquents and covered up the crime.

Pre-Apocalypse[]

Southern California[]

Nothing is known about Phil's life prior to or as the outbreak began, except that he helped to build the Broke Jaw Ranch community. It can be inferred he enjoyed poetry, as he has memorized the Antigonish. He also became friends with fellow ranchers Jeremiah Otto, Vernon Trimbol, and Russell Brown. At some point, the men came into conflict with residents of the Black Hat Reservation. Under Otto's direction, Phil and the other men camped out one night and lynched three Native American juvenile delinquents. They hid the bodies to cover up their crime and were never investigated or prosecuted.

Post-Apocalypse[]

Season 3[]

"Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame"[]

Phil is discovered by Madison, Troy and a few other men. He is tied up to a chair and recites the poem Antigonish (repeating the same lines over and over) as a crow eats bits of his brain. Madison uses Troy's knife to put him down.

"Brother's Keeper"[]

Phil's body is finally buried by Troy after he seeks refuge at his outpost.

Death[]

Killed By

Following an attack on his outpost by Qaletaqa Walker and his men, Phil is tied to a chair on Qaletaqa's orders and then has his head scalped in order for him to die a slow, painful death by being eaten by crows.

After discovering the massacre at the outpost and Phil tied to a chair, Madison puts him down by stabbing him in the brain.

Killed Victims[]

This list shows the victims Phil has killed:

Relationships[]

Allies[]

Enemies[]

Appearances[]

Fear the Walking Dead[]

Season 3[]

Trivia[]

  • According to Troy Otto, he has a penchant for using weapons in .22 (5.56mm) caliber.
  • The poem he is reciting after he's been scalped is "Antigonish" by William Hughes Mearns.[1]

References[]

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