Spoilers Fear the Walking Dead - Season 6

Fear the Walking Dead
Season 6 / Episode 13 - "J.D."

June: Morgan refuses to allow June to look in on the still-grieving Grace, his reason being that June was not around (choosing to start a hospital elsewhere) when Grace needed her. Morgan does not want to hear what Grace herself believes: that the baby died due to absorbing the effects of the radiation. He thinks June is not there for Grace--but for herself (suggested guilt).

June works her way toward the dirty camper; once inside she seems several old newspaper clippings tacked to a board--all having to do with the arrest and conviction of a sadistic mortician...who is revealed to have been Teddy (once known as Theodore Maddox) the leader of the End is the Beginning group. June caught off guard by the shooter--an elderly man who demands to know who she is, and is associated with; June reveals she's searching for the EISB group as he is, with the gulch being one of the possible locations the man had missed. He forces her to drive the camper to the gulch, but she swerves the vehicle to knock the man off of his feet. Aiming her gun at the man, she's stopped cold as he recognizes the "JD" inscribed on the handle, and claims it belongs to him--John Dorie, Sr..

June wonders about his lack of curiosity about his son's current whereabouts and life, but J.D is a quick study, noting that the expression on her face, the two wedding rings she wears as a necklace & the gun gives him a clue as to what's happened to his son.

In the case of Teddy, JD explains how as a former policeman, he "did the wrong thing for the right reasons" --and felt his life of lies would have hurt / brought down his wife and son, so he reaffirms that leaving was the best thing he could have done for them. J.D.--once he spotted Teddy's "End of the Beginning" call-signs (including embalmed walkers), he realized Teddy had escaped prison and started his nonsensical campaign again. JD explains Teddy embalms certain victims to "preserve" them--preventing their moving on to the afterlife.

Initially, JD did not want to go the cabin, as it was where he left John as a child, but June (who met..and lost John there) pleads with him to to make the trip, as she believes Hill--Virginia's lieutenant--is there and might have useful information about Teddy's group...and he also has John's other gun. Stopping at a bait store, JD locks June in a closet (to protect her), telling her that she's the closest thing to a family he has left; June argues that he's still punishing himself (as in the past when he left his family), but JD counters that she's no different, carrying around a letter from John that she's yet to read...

Dwight and Sherry find June's jacket (with the letter still in a pocket), the clippings about Teddy and a note (from June) explaining where they were headed.

Making his way to the cabin, JD runs into Hill, who has become a squatter, and a rather violent one at that. Coming to blows, the older man surprisingly holds his own against Hill, but is distracted at the sight of John's grave marker, giving Hill enough time to shoot JD in the lower back. June (with Dwight & Sherry) shoots Hill, and saves JD's life.

June, J.D., Dwight and Sherry stand at John Dorie's grave site, listening as both June and J.D. read "junior's" letter. Father and widow are brought to tears over John's words--revealing he forgave his father long ago, and how June was the best thing that ever happened to him. The quartet returns to the dam settlement, where Morgan apologizes to June (who will tend to Grace), and meets John's father. JD wars of what kind of threat Teddy poses, and how they need to work together to deal with the coming threat.

Dwight and Sherry: The episode did put some effort into elaborating on Sherry's obsessive personality, self-imposed distance from Dwight. Her problems stem from being a forced "wife" and sex slave to Negan, and now she's planning to return to Virginia to kill him. Plot-wise, this cannot hold up for a couple of reasons--one, when Dwight reuinited with Sherry, surely he told her that Negan and the Saviors had been defeated, so there would be no reason for her to return, other than to seek revenge.
Next, if Dwight was aware of Negan being imprisoned and informed Sherry about this, then she would have to assume that no one back in Alexandria was going to allow her to just walk into the town and execute Negan against the plan and wishes of Rick and Michonne. In other words, she seems like she's just fueled by wild emotionalism, rather than reason when considering the entire situation.

What's worse, is that Dwight told her the truck would only get her as far as Louisiana--then what was Sherry prepared to do? Find more gas from typically scavenged cars?

In the end, Dwight and Sherry decide to start over, with June giving her wedding rings to Dwight for obvious reasons, and with that, Sherry is actually fulfilling one part of Grace's dream--that she would eventually join the dam settlement.

NOTES:

The series made the unexpected connection between John's backstory and this season's Big Bad through his father and Teddy. I can imagine Keith Carradine's JD is not going to become a regular cast member, so his story might wrap up with Teddy's, which would be a bit of poetic justice.

With Hill's death, this episode marks the end of the last loyalists of Virginia.

Only three episodes left in season 6.

GRADE: A.

 

Turns out todays Instagram takeover is by Aisha Tyler, from Archer and Who's Line Is It Anyway?, who directed tonight's episode. I did not realize she was a director.

 

I don’t know about subs...but on land...you need two keys both turned at the same time. On pawn stars, a set of titanium R-7 keys were sold. It actually needed a wooden match of a sort...

Damnation Alley and C-SPAN recently showed the inside of a silo, IIRC.


In truth...there have to be two pairs to launch. These are called negative controls. That I know of...there has never been a backlit “red button” capable of launching any nuke. You need to have *keys* turned simultaneously.

ONE-TWO-THREE turn...
ONE-TWO-THREE re-lease....that’s the cadence

Two keys more than a handspans across at the minimum...

Try to launch out of a beached sub? Not good.

 

Pretty good episode this week. We get some great stuff with June still dealing with the aftermath of Dorie's death, and then she runs into his father John Dorie Sr. who himself has a tragic backstory with him abandoning his family forty years prior for reasons that are connected to the End Is The Beginning folks,. We get some pre-apocalyptic background on Teddy and his connection with Dorie Sr. Meanwhile, Dwight and Sherry work through their relationship troubles and though things aren't entirely patched up, they could be improving.

This was a really well-done and enjoyable episode this week. Rather than just having this villainous group be a menacing threat, they're establishing a personal connection to our heroes, even if it is a newly introduced character, which certainly adds a new dimension onto things.

 

So, do you think the End is the Beginning group will last into the next season?

 

Possibly, though it's too early to say for sure. I suspect if they do, it'll only be for the first few episodes of the next season, capping off this storyline and setting up for what will be next season's story arc.

 

A good episode all around.
It was nice to meet John Dorie Sr., who had a very surprising connection Teddy. Their connection was a nice way to give us some backstory for Teddy.
This was a good way to have June work through John Jr.'s death while still giving us some significant new story material. And she even got to use all of stuff she left at the cabin to save John Dorie, just not the one she thought she would.
We also got some good stuff for Dwight and Sherry. I'm glad they look like they might be working things out, I've wanted Dwight to get a happy ending with her.
I wasn't real clear on where they were going at the end. I know she decided not to go after Negan, but I wasn't sure if they were going back to Valley Town, which is the name of Morgan's new community according to the Walking Dead Wiki, or somewhere else?

 

Fear the Walking Dead
Season 6 / Episode 14- "Mother"

Alicia: Alicia rests in a locked room, and as part of the indoctrination process, a loop of Teddy saying "You have been here before.." (and a few additional lines) blasts out of a mounted speaker. Later, Teddy explains that the group is moving to another location, and trying to convince her to fall in with his group. Naturally, Alicia resits, promising that the only thing they'll get from her is something they do not like. Riley has had enough and aims his gun at her, wanting to be rid of her; at that moment, as Riley ignores Teddy's orders, Teddy (standing behind Riley) reaches between Riley's legs to grab the man's testicles, inflicting great pain on the lackey.

Later, Teddy prepares to go on a personal mission, taking Alicia with him; Riley bitches about the decisions, only for Teddy to warn him against questioning him again. Soon, a school bus of new recruits arrives..with Dakota being one of the passengers. Alicia blurts out that the girl murdered a friend, and almost killed her own mother. Teddy seems fascinated by the fact that Dakota ended up having someone else do the job (not technically true), and invites her along on his trip. Alicia refuses to go anywhere with Dakota, but Teddy reminds her that she has no choice.

Teddy gives the key to Riley, telling him if he's not back in a day, he will know what to do...

Alone with Alicia, Dakota claims Morgan and the others were discussing how to deal with Teddy's group, but "its getting bad." Dakota decided to track Teddy's people in the city, eventually overhearing their plans to move to a well-stocked facility, leading her to pretend to be a recruit, in the hope of killing Teddy. Alicia's resentment of Dakota is off of the charts, pointedly saying that there is no "we" in reference to anything Dakota said.

On the road, Teddy drives by the sign leading to the Dell Diamond Baseball Stadium where Alicia's mother died; Alicia says if this was supposed to break her, it's not going to work. Instead, the trio arrive at a cemetery, where Teddy opens the vault to a coffin containing his mother, who died long before the ZA. He lovingly holds the corpse, and reveals that he intends to take the corpse with him...

While driving, Teddy notes that all three have lost their mothers, and goes on to say that he had a vision for the world, but ended up in prison for it. That all changed with the advent of the dead rising. Alicia asks about the purpose of the keys, but gets no answer. Suddenly, they blow a tire, spin out--sending the corpse of Mother Maddox flying to the ground. As if Teddy could not be creepier, he cradles the corpse, kissing it...

A pack of walkers approaches, but are handled by Alicia and Dakota; Teddy is sort of frozen as a walker tries to bite him, but he's saved by Cole--one of the former stadium residents. He claims he, Viv, Doug and others managed to survive, thanks to Madison. After making a judgemental remark about Strand, he seems a bit prodding, asking Alicia where she lives and why Teddy's group is out so far and asks her to kill Teddy so she can join his group--repayment for what Madison did for them. Alicia cannot, of course, as she's still trying to learn the secret behind the keys and its relation to Teddy's plans.

Cole warns her about the unsavory types who trap travelers and steal heir belongings...

Teddy stares at Alicia, telling her she reminds him of her mother--Alicia reminds him that she's not joining his group. Without warning, Cole is joined by an armed, masked group, admitting that they are the "unsavory types"--with Doug and Viv among them. Alicia argues that they've become the kind of people they once fought, but she's interrupted by Teddy, who says they will not have to deal with groups like this once the surface is destroyed. Angered, Cole and the others aim their weapons at Teddy, demanding the location of his destination. Teddy coldly refuses--even after Cole (who witnessed Teddy's emotional scene with the corpse) fires his shotgun to the corpse, blowing its face away. Teddy just stares--remaining unfazed by the act.

The reason Teddy is not bothered is due to the corpse not being his mother after all--he just lied about that to enter the general area where he believed the people Madison saved might be. Cole and his group fix and intend to steal Teddy's truck, with Cole almost begging Alicia to come with them. When she says she needs to uncover the plan Teddy has for everyone--and that many could die from it, Cole fires back, asking why anyone--namely Strand--is not out looking for her.

Cole threatens to kill her if she does not go with his group, and after Alicia refuses, Cole prepares to kill her, but is distracted by a group of advancing walkers. As Cole's group shoot at the dead (with Viv and Doug bitten while watching each other), Alicia attacks Cole, grabbing a pistol (she aims through the gaping hole in a walker's chest) and shoots him after saying he wasted everything Madison died for. Alicia also tells a pleased Teddy that he's wrong--all people do not need to die, just people like Cole.

After Alicia kills the reanimated Viv and Doug, Dakota mentions that its not so hard (to kill people she knows), but Alicia dismisses Dakota's unrelenting nihilism--and Dakota herself, noting that she's looking to make a better place. Aiming her gun at Teddy, the psycho reveals the purpose of the keys--to launch a missile from the beached submarine at Galveston, which he believes will kill everyone. Now that she knows the plan, Alicia decides to shoot Teddy, but is stopped by a now armed Dakota, who says Alicia will have to kill her, too. Alicia uses Teddy's walkie-talkie to contact Morgan, but receives Strand; asking if she can trust him (he confirms she can), she begins to warn him about Teddy's plan, just as Riley and others arrive and disarm Alicia, with Riley--once again--itching to shoot her. Teddy's caravan drives to what used to be a lavish resort, which houses an underground bunker, which Teddy explains the government built in the 1950s as a possible sanctuary in the event of war. Teddy locks Alicia in a vault, stating that she will help his plan go into effect (SEE NOTES), and leaves a frightened Alicia protesting--everything.

Teddy: Flashback--on death row, Teddy scrawls variations of the "End is the Beginning" / "Planets natural order"--type messages on a notepad, as a reporter on his TV talks about what can only be the beginning of the zombie apocalypse. Teddy turns the TV off, and tries offer comforting words to a panicking inmate who is being taken to face execution. Sometime later, the electrically locked bars of his cell open--as in the case of the other cells, just as the executed inmate-turned-walker marches down the block with two guards--also turned. Teddy stabs an attacking guard in the head, grabs an old photo of his mother and runs from his cell, telling the dead guard that what's happening isn't bullshit, but "revelation".

Riley: Just the kind of eager-to-kill zealot that audiences will love to see meet a terrible end.


NOTES:

So that's it--the keys will launch a missile. The biggest problem with this plan is that the sub's reserve power would be long gone after this many years out of service in the zombie apocalypse. Further, Teddy and his entire group must be out of their minds if they believe one or even a few missiles will obliterate all of those living on the surface.

Teddy claiming Alicia will help his plan go into effect has to be a reference to her friends falling into a trap in an attempt to rescue her, or they will be at ground zero of the missile strike.

Dakota's rejection of hope was turned up in this episode; some might argue that she was a convenient plant to infiltrate Teddy's location and help Alicia, but going on and on with her worldview--clearly antagonizing Alicia--cannot be her putting on an act, and of course, she threatened to shoot Alicia. I hope this is not just misdirection to explore that possible redemption arc I referred to a few episodes back, as Dakota's every act on screen (and what she admitted to behind the scenes) makes her a psychopath.

NEXT WEEK: Morgan brings the axe out of retirement, as he and the rest of the gang attempt to stop Teddy and Riley aboard the submarine....

GRADE: A.

 

Alycia Debnam Carey started her Instagram takeover for tonight's episode a couple hours ago.
The intro video she did was the first time I've ever actually heard her talk with her real accent.

 

On some of the 'behind the scenes' features on the DVDs she goes between her natural speaking voice and her 'acting' voice.

 

Instagram is the first place where I've started to see a lot of BTS stuff for Fear.

 

Well, I see once again the internet is wrong, and this was not the long-heralded return of Madison to the show. You'd think one of these days the fans would realize she really is dead and not coming back. But they won't. I look forward to next season's "oh this is totally Madison's return" and the opportunity to sneer when they're proven wrong.

Actually, this was a pretty good episode. We get more insight into Teddy and how messed up he truly is, and though his attempts at turning Alicia to his side are failing it does seem Dakota's starting to drink his Kool-Aid as the two of them bond over killing their mothers. I'm a little unclear on how Dakota even showed up, is Morgan actually trusting her to go on a mission, or is security at the Dam Paradise poor enough that she escaped?

We reunite with Cole and a few other residents from the Stadium in season 4, only now they've turned to villains attacking people and taking their stuff. While I have nothing wrong with this storyline, I find it a bit of a missed opportunity Cole and Strand didn't get to reunite, given Cole was Strand's potential love interest in season 4 and it would be interesting to see how the two of them react to each other now.

And so we finally learn the keys are indeed launch keys for the nuclear missiles aboard the beached submarine we saw back in the premiere. I'm pretty sure it takes more to launching a nuke then just turning the keys, but I'll wait until they actually go into details on this in the coming episodes before I comment further on that matter.

 

You know I think I most most of my interest in the show when John Dorie died but these last few episodes have resparked my interest. I think John Glover is already on the path of bring one my favorite villains on any of The Walking Dead shows.

 

People think she's coming back? I don't remember there being anything to make me think she was anything other than dead.
I've liked Alycia Debnam-Carey going back to her time on The 100, so the heavy focus on Alicia already started this one off in a good place for me.
Wow, Teddy really is just completely nuts.
I forgot about the other people at the stadium, so I didn't recongize Cole or any of the people with him.

I was confused about that too.
Definitely looks like Dakota is switching sides to Teddy and co. I wonder if they've decided turn her into a full on baddie instead of redeeming her?
I had been assuming the key was for the sub, so that wasn't really a surprise.

 

Yeah, it's a persistent theory that just won't go away. Everyone kept insisting she'd be back by the end of season 4, then when the painted trees first popped up in season 5 everyone thought Madison was behind that. Even in the first half of season 6 there were people thinking she was in the trailer, then when details about this episode were released, everyone figured it was about her and she was the titular Mother. It's even gotten to the point that AMC is even starting to stoke the flames and troll these fans. Just before the midseason premiere aired, they issued a list of words not to search hashtags for if you wanted to avoid spoilers, and Madison was one of them.

Do a Google search and you'll see how much people believe Madison will be back.

 

For some reason, TWD franchise has some fans who con themselves into thinking certain characters who were verified to be dead were making a comeback--and not as a flashback. As you point out, they were posting this about Madison, and some did the same about TWD's Beth, Carl, and others who disappeared for whatever reason. This also applies to FTWD's short-lived teenager Tobias, a character some were making wild and unfounded reasons why he would survive and should be brought back to the series. Yeah, nevermind that bombing mission in Southern California...

She could be a plant, but her constant harassment of Alicia could not be a part of the plan, since no one allegedly sending her on a mission could guarantee Alicia would not kill her.

I agree, but how long would power last on a beached sub so many years into the ZA?

 

I think Madison will show up with Tobias. Maybe in the final season. The urge to come full circle is always a tempting place to go when a show is ending.

 

The part I'm wondering about is radiation. The sub obviously has at least one nuclear missile aboard it, but with no maintenance or anything since it was beached presumably near the start of the apocalypse, well, that can't be the healthiest thing to be around. Whoever goes aboard to launch is likely committing suicide to do so. Though I guess Teddy's followers are crazy enough to voluntarily do so.

 

Or Teddy himself. He is the one with the vision and also crazy enough to do it and has already shown he doesn't care much about dying because well he is crazy.

 

The teasers show Teddy and Riley in what appeared to be military control room...