So I'm late to the party with Fear The Walking Dead, and have only just reached this episode the same night I post this review.
Pretty sure anyone who's watched this show knows it's a bit of a mixed bag. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's not, occasionally it's brilliant, and other times it's a complete mess.
This episode however, stands as one of my favourites of all time.
Now let's get some of the few bad points of the episode out of the way first: John Dorie Sr was shooting at June, Dwight and Sherry early in the episode for...what reason again? Possibly assumed they were with Teddy but felt a little forced for the sake of an effective (albeit illogical) jumpscare. Not sure he'd be that willing to kill three strangers just because of an assumption.
Then there's the fact we're only just NOW meeting him?! Just a few episodes after we lost his son, Papa Dorie just miraculously shows up nearby...yikes.
OK, I'm done complaining. On to the good stuff.
I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say John Dorie Jr was one of, if not THE best series-exclusive character FTWD have ever given us. A kind-hearted gunslinger with grace, style, humour, strength, and intense loyalty, brought to life fantastically by Garret Dillahunt. His love story with June has been the beating heart of seasons 4-6, with the episode 'Laura' in S.4 easily taking the crown for best episode in that season by a country mile.
So after his tragic death earlier this season, and the recent tragedy with Grace's baby in the episode prior, an episode that focuses on John's legacy, his memory, his family, and the hole he left when he died was just what was needed to finally bring his story to a satisfying and heartbreaking end.
And who better to attempt to fill that hole than with his own father?
I've only seen Keith Carradine in one or two things prior to this, but I was beyond happy to see him show up in this episode and was pretty much sold on him as John's father almost immediately. Both Johns clearly share similar traits and skills, but whereas Junior managed to overcome the evils of the world (before and after the fall) and maintain his decency and integrity, Senior clearly had a harder time which shows in his initial bitterness and attitude towards June. Fortunately, by episode end, the light in his son shows up in the father, and I'm glad to see him pull through after being shot to meet Morgan and help our group in their upcoming fight against Teddy (not sure how he survived that kind of gunshot and was able to recover so quickly but hey, I'm not gonna complain about the writers not killing off another Dorie in the same season! One was rough enough!).
Speaking of reunions and first times, it's nice to finally see Dwight and Sherry finally resolve this frustrating issue of Negan being on her mind. Of course, both being victims of him, it would naturally be an issue and I'm glad to see it's being acknowledged. However, considering Dwight spent as long as he did searching for her only for them to basically split up after an all too brief emotional reunion, that particular plot line got tiring very quickly so I'm relieved to see the two finally get some happiness in by the end.
And what an ending it is.
I'm not ashamed to say I cried so hard at the letter scene, I had to pause Dwight and Sherry's fresh start just to pull myself together.
Since John's death, we've seen very little emotion from June, a perfectly natural and understandable reaction to losing the love of your life. You shut down, you isolate yourself, something June has done in the past so it's totally in character. We had a pretty cathartic moment where she murders Virginia and dons her late husband's hat in a very badass final scene, but since then her emotions and thoughts have been put on the backburner to address the likes of Teddy's cult, Daniel's memory problems, and Grace's complicated pregnancy.
But eventually it had to come to the point where you realise to move on, to forgive yourself, to keep on keeping on, you need to face what's happened and do what needs to be done right now: say goodbye.
So once June started breaking down midway through the letter, I was right there with her. It was a release like no other, an emotional explosion of pain and heartache and true love. Jenna Elfman delivers such an honest and raw performance of grief in that scene, the connection she shared with John as clear as anything, the impact he had on her, the impact he'll forever leave in the wake of his death on so many people. Along with Senior's stoic sadness knowing his son forgave him for his absence decades prior, and having the couple both John and June helped bring back together be at the grave site with them, I'm not sure how that scene could've been more perfect. Perhaps having Morgan there too might have done it, but seeing his joy and happiness meeting his father was satisfying enough.
As episodes of FTWD go, this may be one of my favourites to date. A welcome addition in the form of John's father adds the perfect amount of familiarity and intrigue, Dwight and Sherry finally get back to each other in all the right ways, and with a truly stunning performance from Jenna Elfman to top off the episode as June says goodbye to our favourite gunslinger in a climax designed to crack the hearts of even the most cold-hearted cynic.
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