Fear the Walking Dead Season 6 Episode 13 Review: J.D.
Paul Dailly
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Keith Carradine is an exciting new addition to Fear the Walking Dead.
Fear the Walking Dead Season 6 Episode 13 introduced us to John Dorie Sr, gave us a final goodbye to John Dorie Jr, and gave us some much-needed insight into Teddy and his band of misfits.
From John's first scene, it was evident he would be a big new addition to the world of the series, and the reveal about who he is was flawlessly executed.
June had been shunned by Morgan and was struggling in the aftermath of her husband's death, so for her to find a blood relative of her husband really helped her grapple with the insurmountable loss.
June could have disappeared for episodes on end, pondering her place in this post-apocalyptic world, but the death propelled her thirst to get answers about Teddy, and in turn, wipe out the End is the Beginning group once and for all.
John Sr. and June working together to save what's left of humanity from this cult will be a therapeutic process. They said their final goodbyes to John at a funeral; something I didn't think we would get given his death occurred on Fear the Walking Dead Season 6 Episode 8.
June was struggling to accept the loss, but finally reading the letter allowed her to begin the process of moving on, and that shows how strong she truly is.
The writers have managed to mold her into a character that seems half Madison and half Carol from The Walking Dead, and watching her arc unfold has not been without its bumps.
Her arc fell apart on Fear the Walking Dead Season 5 due to questionable writing, but all of the characters have been better served on Fear the Walking Dead Season 6.
Teddy being revealed as an escaped serial killer was not as surprising as it should have been. In his handful of scenes with Alicia, it was clear he was a calculated man who was adamant about inflicting his views on the world.
John has obviously traversed these streets for a long time and has a personal connection to the case. The payoff from a throwaway line from his son from several episodes ago was also a good way of showing that the writers approach the story more convincingly.
Instead of making things up on the fly, they're looking to the past to make sure these storylines are satisfying for all of the characters involved.
Whatever Teddy has planned, we should be worried. He's managed to assemble a huge crew of people to work for him, in what I can only describe as a cult. He's all about an ending starting a new beginning, meaning that he has a nefarious plan for what remains of humanity.
Given that The Walking Dead Season 10 was set several years after Fear the Walking Dead Season 6, I'm going to assume the characters manage to take him down, or at the very least, avert his plan.
The beauty of a villain like Teddy is that he wasn't in the original comic book, meaning that we don't know what to expect with him. Unless the good group manages to blow up The End is the Beginning in one fell swoop, there are bound to be stragglers leftover that will proceed with the plan.
The newspaper clippings strewn over the RV were a good way to show the audience how much John knows about Teddy. And now that he, June, and Morgan have a common goal, they should all be able to work together to dole out some much-needed vengeance.
You could see the pain behind June's eyes when Morgan questioned whether his and Grace's baby would have survived if they didn't have to travel ahead of the birth. It's a question I pondered myself, but I never thought the show would actually address it in a meaningful way.
For Morgan, this death is hitting him hard because he has lost so much in his life, only recently opening himself back up to the hope that some of the people he works with could have normal lives.
I hope that June bringing John to the doors of his compound allows them all to put their energy into taking down the overarching villain instead of arguing about past actions.
My best theory is that there will be some skeptics of John in Morgan's camp, meaning that people will struggle to pay much attention to this new arrival's commentary on the villain. It's only natural to have skeptics, but it would be nice if all of these people worked together like a well-oiled machine.
Morgan needs to run a tight ship to get answers.
I wasn't as fond of the Dwight and Sherry relationship drama as I have been in the past. Sherry is still struggling with what happened with Negan, and Dwight desperately tries to prevent a breakup.
It's all pretty tragic, but less is more with this type of storyline. Both Sherry and Dwight had storylines that mattered earlier on Fear the Walking Dead Season 6, allowing them to show new layers to their characters from the original series.
The writers need to decide where they see these characters long-term because I'm starting to get the impression they don't know what to do with them.
If we're going to have them sulking it out at each other during their minimal appearances on the show, is it really worth it?
"J.D." was another solid episode of the series, proving that it's only getting better with age. There's a lot to find out about John Dorie Sr., and I'll have a full interview with Keith Carradine on Monday at 10:00 ET, so return to TV Fanatic for that.
What did you think of the big arrival?
Do you think Morgan and June are ready to move on?
Are you as tired of Dwight and Sherry's bickering as I am?
Hit the comments.
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Catch new episodes Sunday at 9/8c on AMC.
Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
