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This article is about the Fear character. For other pages with the same name, see: Tess

He didn't think that everyone was bad. He just thought... that we should stay put. Try to survive where we were. That help would come someday. He was right. Thank you.
―Tess talking about Ben.[src]

Tess is a survivor of the outbreak in AMC's Fear the Walking Dead. She was a member of Morgan's group until the caravan was forcibly split up and resettled into Virginia's various settlements.

Overview[]

Since the start of the outbreak, Tess along with her son had not left their house, with her husband Ben always being the one to go out. For their safety, he also had set up landmines around the house so nothing can close to it. However, after his death, Tess and her son ends up being trapped in the house due to not knowing where the landmines are, needing the help of Morgan's group. Tess is initially in denial over Ben's death and believes he will return. However, eventually she accepts that he is dead and finally gains the courage to go out of the house and successfully help Morgan get off a landmine. After this, Tess becomes a member of Morgan's group, helping in any way she can.

Pre-Apocalypse[]

Texas[]

Nothing is known about Tess' life prior to or as the outbreak began, except that she lived on a ranch with her husband and son.

Post-Apocalypse[]

Season 5[]

"Channel 4"[]

Tess radios Morgan's group and says she's waiting for her husband to return with her son's asthma medication but won't come outside because of the landmines. When the group arrives, Morgan tells her they're recording the experience so they can prove to future survivors that they're legit. Tess explains she hasn't left the house since the onset of the apocalypse and Morgan promises to stay there until her husband returns.

After a while, Morgan radios Tess that they have the inhaler but she has to come outside to get it. He then breaks the news that her husband is dead and she needs to come get the medicine. She refuses to believe him and tearfully asserts her husband is still out there. However, Tess stops Morgan from pulling the firing pin off a landmine he has stepped on. She finally emerges from her house and admits her husband isn't coming back. She hands him a clothespin to use as Morgan tells the others to back up. He successfully takes his foot off of the mine and once out of range, it explodes. Morgan returns to give Tess and her son the inhaler. Tess is emotional as Morgan comforts her over the loss of her husband.

That night, Tess and her son join the caravan and enjoy dinner alongside them.

"210 Words Per Minute"[]

A short time since joining the caravan, Tess has become an active member of the community. Upon the caravan reaching one of the gas stations that had been turned into a supply stop, Tess asks Daniel if the coast is clear. After receiving an answer from him, she waves on the rest of the caravan to keep moving before returning to her assigned vehicle.

The next day at Bridgeview Mall, she mentions a ranch up the road that the caravan can set up camp at for the night. The group accepts her suggestion and proceeds to continue loading up the trucks with supplies from the mall, with Tess providing assistance.

"Leave What You Don't"[]

Tess arrives, along with Jacob and Annie, to help John and June kill the walkers at Tank Town and control the fire. The next morning, Tess and the rest of the group reunite with Logan until Doris and the others hold them up at gunpoint. He tells everyone to put their guns down and explains how he wants to continue Clayton's message after all. Suddenly, Logan and his crew are viciously shot and killed from afar by Virginia and her group.

Tess then listens as Virginia reveals she's been watching them and suggests they could all help each other. She can offer them things they want in exchange for keeping the oil fields running. They refuse so she orders her people to prepare to kill them. Luciana offers to stay to help them make gas if she lets the rest go and Virginia agrees. Tess and the group are then forced to abandon the place.

"Today and Tomorrow"[]

Tess calls Grace on the radio to report the loss of Tank Town. That night, Grace calls Tess to let her know that she and Daniel ran into truck issues and will be late to the rendezvous. Tess acknowledges Grace and tells her to call back if they need help.

"Channel 5"[]

Tess is among the survivors traveling with the caravan in search of a permanent home. She checks out a local retirement home to see if it is habitable while others scout nearby potential locations. After the locations are deemed uninhabitable, the caravan faces an uncertain future until that night, a walker from a Humbug's Gulch theme park 15 miles away wanders into camp, prompting her to check on the kids. That's when the survivors get the idea to head to the Humbug's Gulch in search of a home, so Tess and the others pack up and continue their travels, despite being forced to leave several cars behind due to the gasoline shortage.

The next day, the caravan come across a bridge in danger of collapsing. After several tense moments with Virginia and an oncoming herd, Tess and the others are forced to abandon the rest of their vehicles and flee across the bridge. She and the others watch in horror as Tom is killed when the bridge finally does collapse. Later, she rests with the other survivors before making the final 15 mile trek to the Humbug's Gulch. Eventually, she and the others finally reach their destination, only to witness it completely overrun with hundreds of walkers. Desperate, tired, and with no food or water, Tess and the others are forced to radio Virginia for help, facing an uncertain future.

"End of the Line"[]

Tess and the rest of the caravan survivors rest along the outskirts of Humbug's Gulch as Morgan contacts with Virginia for help. After the theme park is cleared of walkers, Tess attends John and June's wedding in the chapel.

That night, Tess and the caravan survivors are split up by Virginia into different groups as they are taken for re-settlement among her communities.

Season 6[]

"The Beginning"[]

Tess' fate remains unknown since being integrated into Virginia's network of communities, and more notably after the warheads launched by the doomsday cult caused major destruction throughout the state of Texas.

Killed Victims[]

This list shows the victims Tess has killed:

Relationships[]

Allies[]

Enemies[]

Appearances[]

Episodes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4
Season 5
Season 6
Season 7
Season 8
Appears Voice is heard
👁 Appears with no lines Appears in a flashback
Appears as a walker 🖼 Appears in a photograph/video
Appears as a corpse Appears in a hallucination/dream

Trivia[]

  • Peggy Schott first auditioned for the role of Doris which she did not get before being asked to audition for the role of Tess, which had a different character name at the time as part of the casting call.[1]

International Dubbers[]

Language Dubber Other Characters Voiced
Czech N/A N/A
French Christèle Billault Kim Larson
German Denise Kanty N/A
Hungarian N/A N/A
Italian N/A N/A
Japanese N/A N/A
Portuguese N/A N/A
Spanish (Latin America) N/A N/A
Spanish (Spain) N/A N/A

References[]

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