Everyone is separated yet again on Fear the Walking Dead. In “Cindy Hawkins,” John Dorie Sr. (Keith Carradine) and June’s (Jenna Elfman) fallout shelter is threaten by outsiders and inside by the ghosts of Teddy’s past. 

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At the end of season six, John Sr. and June found Teddy and Dakota at a fallout shelter. Dakota lost all hope in humanity and killed Teddy, leaving John and June to take the shelter. At the beginning of this episode, it’s been 25 days since the nuclear explosion. And according to June, they have to wait 340 days until they can go topside again.

They get into a routine of John waking up to June cooking breakfast. They spend their days playing board games. John sends a message out on a short wave radio, letting people know they are there. And they end the day with a drink. This goes on for 70 days before something shakes up the shelter, causing the pantry to fall over. John discovers a hole in the wall behind the pantry.

SECRET ROOM

June finds John in trouble on Fear the Walking Dead

Jenna Elfman as June – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 7, Episode 3 – Photo Credit: Lauren “Lo” Smith/AMC

John and June get up to investigate and find Teddy’s torture room.  There’s still blood on the table he used to tie his victims to. June doesn’t like and wants to board the room up. But something about it irks John. He can’t stop thinking about it. The thought of Teddy’s victims keeps him awake at night. There’s on victim in particular. Cindy Hawkins. 

Teddy confessed to killing 23 women. He embalmed them while they were still alive so they wouldn’t have a new beginning. Of the 23, John only found 22 bodies. Cindy Hawkins was the only body they didn’t find. He promised her mother that he would find her and it bothers him that he was never able to keep his promise. He thinks the room can give him some clues as to where Cindy is buried.

The shelter shakes again. There is a crack in the shelter and dirt is trickling in. John is afraid they will have to leave. June is unsure because they don’t know anything about the radiation levels. they have suits, but she’s not sure the suits will keep them safe. She coats them with something to keep the suits airtight.

One night, John hears knocking on the shelter door. He tries to wake up June, but she’s fast asleep. John goes to investigate and hears a woman call for help. He puts on one of the suits and goes topside. John is pretty sure he’s seeing Cindy Hawkins (Brittany Bradford) asking for his help. He hears a gunshot and June is standing in the opening. She shot Cindy, but it wasn’t Cindy. It was a a walker.

STRANGER DANGER

June spots three individuals in gas masks watching them. She and John quickly go back inside. They don’t know who these people are. They were holding guns, so they did not look friendly. John checks the radio. A man’s voice says they want in. The shelter shakes and they hear knocking.  Whoever it is, they are determined to get in.

June tries to make John get some sleep, but he ends up back in Teddy’s torture room. He hallucinates that Cindy Hawkins is begging him to find her. John becomes consumed with finding Cindy. He figures out that Cindy was taken somewhere near her boyfriend’s house.

June wakes up and finds him talking crazy. She notices that his hands are shaking. He starts looking for their liquor, but it was on the pantry when it fell. They are out. June asks John about how much he drank before the explosion. He says half a bottle a day. And since they’ve been under ground, he drank at least two glasses a day. John is pretty sure Teddy has some stashed somewhere, but that’s gone too. June offers to give John a sedative to help him rest while he goes through withdrawal, but he refuses. To keep John safe, June boards up the torture room.

GHOST WHISPERS

John prepares for the worst on Fear the Walking Dead

Keith Carradine as John Dorie Sr. – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 7, Episode 3 – Photo Credit: Lauren “Lo” Smith/AMC

Later that night, John has trouble sleeping. He still hears Cindy asking for help. John can’t take it and pulls the boards off the torture room. June wakes up and injects John with a sedative to calm him down. His movement cause the ceiling to collapse, knocking out June. When he wakes up, John puts on a suit and tells June that he has to find Cindy. He promises to return for June.

John goes outside and sees three people trying to open the hatch to the shelter. He snaps out of his withdrawal hallucinations to save June. The people get the hatch open so John starts shooting them. They shoot back. John kills two of them before the third jumps into the shelter. June hears them enter, but she trapped under a beam that feel from the ceiling. She finds a broken board to defend herself with. As soon as the stranger sees June, John shoots him in the head.

John apologizes and they decide it’s time to leave. June is afraid to leave. She got so comfortable in their routine that it scares her to make any changes. Because of the intruders the shelter is not safe anymore. Plus the fact that the intruders were out there for days helps their chances of finding a safe place outside. They put on their suits and head for the hatch. The ground collapses in before they can start climbing to the top.

UNLIKELY SAVIOR

John wakes up to June sitting by his side. They are all cleaned up and in a room with a nice big window. June says John was knocked out for days. They survived because they had on the masks. Someone heard their calls on the radio and got there in time to save them. That someone was Victor Strand (Colman Domingo).

John doesn’t like that Victor saved them. He hasn’t forgot how Victor double crossed Morgan (Lennie James) at the submarined. Now he’s reluctant to take anything from Victor. Victor is happy to see June and John. He knows they will be valuable to his community. He also wants John to help him figure out who the people are running round in gas masks. And when John looks outside his window, he knows he has no choice but to join Victor. The building is surrounded by walkers. 

Meanwhile, Morgan shows up at the fallout shelter. He heard John’s messages and raced to their location to help them. He calls to June on the radio to let her know that he’s there, but it’s Victor who answers. Victor gloats about doing what Morgan couldn’t. And now he’s going to be greater than Morgan could ever be. 

Morgan doesn’t care what Victor built. If he can help people then that’s great. But if Victor hurts anyone that Morgan cares about, he will go after him. Morgan promises to do to Victor what Victor tried to do to him in the submarine. But Morgan won’t miss. 

RELATED: Catch up with our Fear the Walking Dead Recaps Here!

Fear the Walking Dead airs Sundays on AMC. You can also stream new episodes early on AMC+.

 

 

 

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