It’s been a rough season six on Fear the Walking Dead. Lost friends, lost babies, and lost minds. In “J. D.,” June (Jenna Elfman) finds a new lead on Teddy (John Glover) and his people that also leads her to someone from John Dorie’s (Garret Dillahunt) past.
June walked away from Morgan’s (Lennie James) community after killing Virginia. She’s building a hospital and helping the people from Virginia’s communities. Unfortunately, she couldn’t get to Grace (Karen David) in time to save her baby. One thing she recognizes is that this new threat affects all of them.
This episode is directed by the ultimate Geek Girl and huge Fear the Walking Dead fan, Aisha Tyler.
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June arrives at Morgan’s community to check on Grace and Morgan meets her at the gates. He blames her for losing Grace’s baby because they had to drive to her instead of June coming to them. June and Grace think the radiation in Grace’s system had something to do with the baby’s death. But Morgan says it’s because June couldn’t do the one thing John wanted. That’s why June couldn’t stay in the community and why she wasn’t there when Grace needed her. June walks away without another word.
COUPLES THERAPY
On her way back to the hospital, June goes in search of gas. She marks the location on a map and finds John’s letter in her pocket. June hasn’t read the letter yet and puts it back in her pocket to read later. She runs into Dwight (Austin Amelio). He overheard her conversation with Morgan and wanted to check on her. She and John saved him at the Gulch and he is returning the favor. June admits that Morgan was right. She did the one thing John didn’t want her to do. She blames herself for John leaving the way he did.
Sherri (Christine Evangelista) arrives. Dwight says she requested him to meet her but he doesn’t know why. Sherri, who’s as high-strung as usual, checks all of the cans for gas, but everything is gone. June says she’s going to look for Hill (Craig Nigh). He may know just as much as Virginia did about the new threat.
Speaking of threats, someone starts shooting at them. June thinks it’s the spray painters. She wants to take the shooter hostage, but Sherry starts shooting at him. June goes after the shooter, while Dwight and Sherry cover her. June finds an RV and breaks in, using her jacket to keep her from cutting herself as she climbs in. There is a murder wall inside with newspaper clippings, maps, and pictures. Whoever was shooting at them is also looking for the spray painters.
June hears someone pull a shotgun on her and she turns to see a man (Keith Carradine) behind her. He thinks she’s one of the spray painters, but June says they are on the same team. The stranger says they don’t want any part of these people. June wants to share information, but this stranger thinks he has all of the answers. June gives him some new information. He asks her to prove that they are on the same side and take him to the orchard that was recently hit.
J. D.
June drives the RV as the stranger holds the gun on her. He calls her sweetheart and June hates that. He tries to make it sound like he’s doing her a favor and calls her sweetheart again. She makes a sharp turn and causes the RV to swerve. The stranger falls and when she stops, June is able to pull her gun on him. He sees the initials on the handle of the gun and asks where she got it. The J. D. on the handle are his initials and he says the gun belongs to him. He’s John Dorie … Senior.
Sherry rides a horse very fast down the road to look for June. Dwight is behind her, telling her to slow down. He’s worried about the horses. She doesn’t understand why he’s really following her. He says he starved himself trying to find her. If it weren’t for John and June, he wouldn’t be here. They changed everything for him. He asks why she’s there, but she won’t talk.
June and her father-in-law get to know each other a little better. He doesn’t even ask where John is because he already knows that John is dead. June tells him that John became a cop, like his dad. She realizes she lost her jacket with John’s letter inside. J. D. won’t turn around for a letter though.
June tries to start the RV, but it’s stalling. J. D. finds a walker stuck inside the engine. June thinks she can rev the engine and get it out, but the walker just breaks apart and parts get stuck further inside the engine. The RV starts leaking walker guts and transmission fluid, rendering it useless.
LOOKING FOR REDEMPTION
Sherry rides her horse so fast that it kills over and dies on her. She shoots it in the head and is ready to go again. Dwight stops her to talk. Sherry comes clean saying she’s going home to kill Negan (Jefferey Dean Morgan). She went with him to find June so she could say goodbye. Dwight gets it and offers to help her get on her way after they find June. They get the horse and leave, along the way, finding June’s jacket.
June finds a story about Teddy. J. D. tells her about his connection to Teddy. Teddy Maddox was a mortician who is also a preaching serial killer. J. D. says Teddy was spewing “The End is the Beginning” nonsense in the 70s. J. D. put him away for life.
A few months ago, J. D. saw that message pop up again. He went to the prison to make sure Teddy was dead, but he was gone. J. D. says Teddy ruined his life. When he put Teddy away for life, he framed him to make sure Teddy would go to jail. He did the wrong thing for the right reason. People treated J. D. like a hero, but he didn’t feel like one. This is the main reason that he left John and his mom. He didn’t feel worthy and thought everyone was better off without him. That’s why he never showed up at the cabin.
At the mention of the word ‘cabin,’ June realizes that Hill is at John’s cabin. J. D. doesn’t want to go to the cabin because that’s where he left John 40 years ago. June says John died at that cabin. She’s going back because Hill could have information that will save lives. He also has the twin to the guns. That’s enough to convince J. D. to go with her.
REMINISCING
Along the way, June finds out that Teddy would embalm his victims because they weren’t worthy. Teddy wants to destroy the world and he’s very good at selling his beliefs. So anyone who follows him will be well-armed. June tells J. D. that John gave her a candy wrapper ring when they got married. He laughs because he proposed to John’s mom with a Juicy Fruit wrapper. Like father, like son.
Dwight and Sherry find the RV and all of the information on Teddy and John Dorie Sr. They also find a note from June that Hill is at John’s cabin. Sherry thinks Hill may have a truck she can use to get back to Virginia. Dwight says John took some gas when he left too. Looks like Sherry is going home.
J. D. hurt his hand so June offers to patch him up. They head to Bill’s store. J. D. tells her more storied about John while she works on his hand. She lets him know that John became a great marksman, just like the other John Dories’ in his family. J. D. says John wrote his initials in the back room of the store. When June goes in to look, J. D. locks her in.
J. D. says June is the closest thing to family that he has now. He’s leaving her behind to protect her. She accuses him of abandoning her like he did John. She says he never got over the guilt of leaving John behind. He reminds her that she’s carrying a letter from John that she can’t read. So who’s feeling guilty right now? June says they need to work together, but J. D. is already gone.
OVER THE HILL
Sherry finds John’s truck on the bridge and it starts up. Dwight asks if Sherry really wants to kill Negan. Will she come back? Sherry says that’s her plan, but she doesn’t know what’s going to happen. He asks if she’s really ready to say goodbye. They hear banging in the distance and go to find out what the noise is.
J. D. arrives at the cabin and goes in to look around. Someone has definitely been staying there. The medical supplies that June left behind are still on the table. J. D. hears someone outside and checks it out. It’s just a walker. J. D. kills it, but Hill comes up behind him with John’s other gun.
Hill takes J. D.’s rifle and another walker walks up. Hill turns his head to look at it and J. D. pushes him. He punches Hill, taking the pistol and killing the walker. J. D. lets Hill know that he’s John’s dad. He asks Hill about Teddy, but Hill doesn’t know who that is. J. D. says he’s the leader of the spray paint gang. Virginia was never able to get anyone to talk. All Hill knows is that they are planning something big.
J. D. tells Hill to leave, so Hill taunts him about John being dead. He grabs for the pistol and they start fighting. J. D. sees John’s grave marker and stops. Hill grabs the rifle and shoots J. D. Someone walks up and shoots Hill in the head, killing him. J. D. grabs for John’s marker and sees June hovering over him before losing consciousness.
REMEMBERING JOHN
When J. D. wakes up in the cabin. He gets up and goes outside. Dwight gives June’s jacket back to her and she checks to make sure the letter is still there. June finds J. D. inside the truck and says he should be in bed. He says the truck was supposed to be John’s first car. They were going to work on it together.
J. D. says he didn’t run from John because he didn’t care; it’s because he does care. She was right, he was punishing himself, his wife, and John. He did come back and happen to see John one summer. He looked so happy. John had a light in him and J. D. was afraid he’d snuff it out. That’s when he decided that John was better off without him. He went to the cabin and left the pistols on the porch and left.
June says it’s not too late for either of them. She takes the letter out of her pocket. They gather Dwight and Sherry to have a proper funeral for John. June tells J. D. about when she met John. She reads the letter out loud.
In the letter, John apologizes for leaving her behind. He hopes she will forgive him like he forgave his father. He knows his dad did what he did because he loved him. John is doing the same because he loves June. He will try to get back to her. June starts crying as she reads the letter and Sherry looks at Dwight. John says June taught him that doing good was worth fighting for like how he fought for her. June is the light that guided his way.
LET’S GET TO WORK
Sherry decides to stay. She doesn’t want to say goodbye to Dwight. J. D. changed her mind because he’s been chasing Teddy his whole life. He missed out on his whole life. And she doesn’t want to be like that. Negan is just an excuse for why they can’t be together. She saw how Dwight changed and became the person he once was. Sherry is afraid that she won’t be able to do that. Dwight says he changed, but he’s not the same person. Sherry doesn’t have to be that either. He suggests that they start over and Sherry agrees.
June gives the wedding rings back to Dwight. Dwight says she doesn’t have to, but June says she does. Dwight takes them and prepares to leave. June gets in the truck with J. D. while Dwight and Sherry take the horse. They all return to Morgan’s. June introduces Morgan to J. D. and Morgan is delighted to meet him. She also tells Morgan that J. D. knows everything about Teddy Maddox and the people that follow him.
June tries to apologize, but Morgan says she did exactly what John would have wanted her to do. June wants another chance to help, so Morgan says she can start with Grace. Grace is standing at the door of the church and turns her head away when June looks at her. June says she will check on her. J. D. is ready to get to work to stop Teddy. He says he won’t stop until they are all dead. So Morgan says, “let’s get to work.”
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News Editor, Senior Contributor, and Press Editor. Coordinate breaking news, trailers and press releases. I also contribute reviews, recaps and interviews. Creator of the Indigenerd Wire, a column dedicated to the Indigenous creatives in pop culture.
GGA's resident Indigenerd, a little bit rez, a little bit classy...with a love for all things Star Wars, zombies, science fiction, and Indigenous. My ultimate goal is to start my own podcast.
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