Fear the Walking Dead 401: Four to Fear
By Jamie Brewer
Morgan hoped to leave his demons in Virginia as he crossed over to season 4 of Fear the Walking Dead. Now in Texas, his journey continues with new personalities and all-too-familiar dangers.
The season 3 finale of Fear the Walking Dead left many questions that still need to be answered. Morgan’s arrival also assumes a time gap spanning a couple of years. So, what we knew about Madison, Nick, Alicia, and Strand is part of an incomplete history.
Assessing the powers-that-be in new and unfamiliar territory begins with what we know. And in the new world, what we don’t know, we should fear.
4. Morgan
Morgan arrived in Alexandria at the end of season 5 of The Walking Dead. Eastman’s training had given him the inner peace he required to live among other people again and to be part of a community. However, after a confrontation with the Saviors claimed the life of his young protégé, Benjamin, he began to spiral out of control. Fast forward to the final days of “All Out War” and his once-pacifist ways were long gone. Morgan killed frequently, without hesitation, and sometimes in cold blood.
Morgan didn’t plan a trip to Texas to make new friends. He chose seclusion in Virginia, and when that wasn’t enough, he left the East Coast entirely. His current set of circumstances are not by choice and he’s made it clear to his new traveling companions (John and Althea) that his company is temporary.
"“I lose people, and then I lose myself”. – Morgan Jones"
Morgan seems unconvinced that what he sees is real or a construct of his broken mind. Because of this, his instinct to kill remains strong and his choice to remain a loner is as much for his protection as it is for others.
We all like Morgan, but in this new context, it’s unclear if his time on the road has provided him with the healing he needs to be among others again.
3. John Dorie
John Dorie is a delightful new character. Sadly, if we’ve learned anything from Fear the Walking Dead, it’s that nice people don’t last very long on their own. Unless they have a few unique survival gifts, like John Dorie. For starters, he’s an old-school quickdraw with his six-shooter. And he’s deadly accurate.
First impression: John seems like a decent guy. His uncommon, positive demeanor and his generosity make an enchanting combination. On the other hand, there’s still a lot we don’t know about him. He claims to have spent the last year searching for a woman he met early in the apocalypse. He also says he hasn’t spoken a word to another living person during that time. While the living population has been drastically reduced, it’s a little surprising that he wouldn’t have encountered anyone at all during his time spent searching for her.
Where kindness is a lost art in the new world, it may just be that John is a rare find, uncorrupted by other human contacts. While we hope that’s true, what we don’t know about John Dorie still outweighs what we do know – and that’s enough of a reason to remain wary…at least for now.
2. Althea
Althea has given us no obvious reason to mistrust her, but there is still very little we know about her. How did she get a S.W.A.T. armored vehicle? Who built the lever-operated multiple machine-gun firing add-on? She introduced herself as a journalist to Morgan, later insisting on getting his “story”. Seems innocent enough, right? We actually haven’t seen a documentarian in the new world. It would make sense that someone would be making a historical record of these events.
On The Walking Dead, Deanna used a video camera to interview Rick’s group upon entry into Alexandria. This, however, was used as more of a vetting tool than to preserve history. In our real-world, pre-apocalyptic lives, we’re taught to be suspect of strangers requesting our personal information, so it’s not at all surprising that Morgan is reluctant to share the details of his journey with her either.
Althea seems quite comfortable in these dangerous times. She is well-armed, well informed and unfazed by the violent world around her. What makes her so well qualified to survive under these circumstances? We’ll need to know more about Althea before we can take her at face value and commit to trusting her.
1. Alicia
As newly-minted traveling buddies John, Althea, and Morgan cruised down the highway, I wondered if we’d ever see anyone from the “Clark Party”. Then it happened. A mysterious female blocking the road. As impressive as Luciana, Nick and Strand were in their militia formation, Alicia is the one who put herself in the most danger. Serving as bait, Alicia lured Althea in close before making her move. And clearly, this was something she had done many times before.
In season 3, Alicia matured quickly. She also had to make some incredibly tough calls while left in charge of the ranch. Like Morgan, Alicia has witnessed terrible things and has been transformed as a result. We don’t know what has happened to her since season 3 but based on her actions in the season 4 premiere, she has continued to evolve as a fearless survivor. And that makes her especially dangerous.
Next: Power Pair for Fear the Walking Dead 401: What's Your Story?
Find out who to fear next week by watching Episode 402: “Another Day in the Diamond” on AMC, Sunday at 9 PM EDT!