Fear the Walking Dead season 8: June Dorie

Fear the Walking Dead’s seventh season was met with primarily negative feedback as fans were disappointed with the storylines. They were also displeased with the fact that Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey) left the series, that Madison’s (Kim Dickens) return didn’t happen until the final episode, and that she was never reunited with Alicia. Will season 8 be able to turn the series around?

One character who seems to have taken the back burner during season 7 is June Dorie (Jeanna Elfman). June is a resourceful, resilient woman who has suffered significant losses but has endured them with great strength. Even after the loss of her one true love, John Dorie (Garret Dillahunt), she pulled herself together to face whatever was next.

In season 7, we saw June in the bunker with her father-in-law John Dorie Sr. (Keith Carradine), as both tried to deal with their inner demons. The nuclear fallout was a good excuse to say isolated in the bunker, but June admitted she wasn’t sure she wanted to leave when and if it became safe.

Fear the Walking Dead – June Dorie

Season 7 seemed to put little focus on June other than the episode “Cindy Hawkins,” which focuses solely on June and Dorie Sr. She isn’t seen again for several episodes and then only briefly.

We do see her come against Howard (Omid Abtahi) after he kills Ali (Ashton Arbab), and he comes after Charlie (Alexa Nisenson). And then Strand (Colman Domingo) when she takes Mo and tries to get her out of the Tower. The remainder of the times she is seen, she plays the nurse, which she is good at, but she is underutilized for her other skills. In season 8, hopefully, we see June in a more prominent role, but I fear Madison will overshadow her.

Elfman is a terrific actress who has the potential to add much to this series. Especially when viewers are begging the writers to step things up. Season 6 was much better, and that is in part due to Elfman having a larger storyline.

Significant changes are coming in the eighth season as filming has moved to Georgia from Texas. Showrunners have promised a drastic change in the upcoming season. Let’s hope the changes are positive and not changes for change sake.

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