"The End Is the Beginning" is the first episode of the sixth season of AMC's Fear the Walking Dead. It is the seventieth episode of the series overall. It premiered on October 11, 2020, the same night as "The Blaze of Gory", the second episode of the first season of The Walking Dead: World Beyond. It was written by Andrew Chambliss & Ian Goldberg and directed by Michael Satrazemis.

Plot[]

Mortally wounded Morgan must decide whether to help a desperate stranger while a mysterious bounty hunter tries to finish what Ginny couldn't.

Synopsis[]

The sun is beating down on a beach as a walker is approaching a man who is spray painting the words "THE END" on a red wall.

Later at night, Emile sits at a campsite where he hears someone near him. A man stumbles up, saying he has been pursued for days. Emile offers the man food and asks for his name, which he says is Walter. Emile talks about how humans and beans have been tied together since the beginning. Walter asks what's in them, so Emile leans in close and says it's a family secret. A barking dog startles Walter. Emile praises the dog, Rufus, and Walter looks scared. He asks how he knows the dog's name to which Emile replies that it is his dog. He then proceeds to decapitate Walter, and he leans down to reveal to his recent kill that the secret ingredient was tabasco. Later, Emile puts Walter's head in a box. He then gets a call from Virginia who needs his help tracking down Morgan Jones, but she doesn't know if he's dead or alive. She promises him all the gas he needs if he gets the job done. Emile pledges to find Morgan, sets the basket with Walter's head in his truck, and prepares a box for Morgan's head.

Morgan wakes up, but his eyes are bloodshot red. He's in a limo and walkers are passing by. Just as he starts to notice his surroundings, the window is shot out by Virginia's riders as they pass through. They don't see Morgan in the car. He gets out, struggling to move. His arm is bandaged, and his beard has grown. A walker approaches him and stops but doesn't seem to care about him. After it passes, Morgan announces his presence so that the walker comes back, and he tries to kill it with his stick. Morgan climbs up into an old water tower that has a rope there to haul supplies. Morgan has been away long enough to make this water tower his own sanctuary with mattresses and supplies, including medicine. He scribbles some coordinates on his bag and heads into town, limping along. He checks the inside of a police car and finds a gun, but the clip is empty. He looks up and sees a baby crib in a shop window. There's a little mobile hanging over it, and he is reminded about Grace and her baby. As walkers approach, he stumbles and lands away from his bag, but the dead continue to disregard him. Someone comes along and kills them, and he almost kills Morgan but he immediately stops him. The man says he's never seen walkers turn away from a meal. When he spots Morgan's wound, he asks an interesting question: "How long has it smelled like that?" Morgan isn't interested in his help because he says the man is in danger if he gets too close. He notices Morgan's wound is infected. It's gangrene. He offers Morgan some pickle chips and says his name is Isaac. Morgan is afraid of getting to know him because he has lost so many people. Isaac is more interested in why the dead ignored him. They're interrupted when Rufus and Emile wander through along with a few of the dead.

Emile calls out to Morgan, saying he has nothing to fear. He then chops off a walker head. Emile is scooping out walker guts when Isaac greets him. He sees that the walker didn't eat Morgan. He pulls out a drawing of Morgan and asks if he has seen him. Isaac asks why he wants to know, but Emile says it's part of the social contract that he answers him. Emile wonders if he knows Isaac, but Isaac would never forget someone with an axe like he has. Rufus is scratching at the door of the store where Morgan is hiding. Emile sees Isaac sweating and wants to go inside. The bloodhound charges inside and finds Morgan's scarf and blood, but Morgan is gone. Emile doesn't believe Isaac's story about getting tangled up in it when he fought off the walkers. Emile starts smashing things in the store, attracting walkers. He tells Emile that he better not be lying about Morgan being outside somewhere. Isaac runs outside and fights off walkers. Morgan makes it back to his shelter and he wakes up to find Isaac trying to fish the bullet out of the wound. He tells Morgan he needs his help because his wife is 8 months pregnant and might need oxygen and support if the baby comes early. He needs a gun to fight them off. Morgan gives him the gun he found and Isaac loads his two bullets into it. The bullets won't get them far, but Morgan could walk them right past the dead. Morgan realizes that he never told his name to Isaac, who admits he'd seen Morgan's tapes at a truck stop. Morgan says he doesn't "do that" anymore, becoming defensive. He wants Isaac to go. Isaac aims the gun at Morgan and says he needs help and doesn't have any options. They're interrupted once again when Emile backs his truck into the water tower, knocking it over. When Morgan wakes up he sees Emile approaching with Rufus and Isaac fighting off walkers. Emile is upset that Isaac lied to him. Emile says Morgan is already dead. Morgan aims the gun and shoots Emile, but just to wound him. They steal the truck and drive off, leaving Emile and Rufus behind.

Down the road, they come to a washed out road and Isaac says that they will have to take the long way. Morgan wants to go back because the tower is his big reason he keeps going. He says someone else stitched him up. He heard gunshots and passed out, and when he came to he was patched up with a message: "You don't know me but I heard your message. You need to do the same. You still have things left to do." Isaac realizes he was keeping the water tower for someone else but he points out that he will never be safe. He vows that the place they're going is safe and he will take care of Morgan's family if Morgan helps care for his. Morgan agrees and they set off on foot, together. Isaac asks who made the cut for the water tower. He knows names from the tapes, and he knows Grace as "pad thai". When he asks if Virginia split them up, Morgan gets defensive again. He thinks Isaac is leading him into a trap, but Isaac explains he was one of Virginia's rangers. He only kept it a secret because he wanted Morgan to trust him. He saw the tapes and couldn't believe Morgan was giving away what Virginia was charging for. He and his wife ran away when she got pregnant. They found a place that is safe and he wants Morgan to be part of it, but the bullet needs to come out. He knows Morgan is leaving it in because he thinks he deserves it. Isaac leads Morgan to a dam. They need to clear out the walkers, but first he needs Morgan to get through with a backpack to give the supplies to his wife Rachel. Once they fortify the gate, no one is getting in. Isaac will go the long way, and hopefully he makes it before the baby arrives. Morgan gives him the gun and they part ways. When Morgan reaches the bottom of the ravine the walkers pass him by, but the effort has worn him out and he collapses. When he makes too much noise a walker goes after him but Isaac shoots it and urges Morgan to keep going. When they start swarming Isaac he calls out to them, saying he's right there. He kills them as Isaac works to fight them off. There are a lot of walkers but they're both able to fight them off pretty well. Unfortunately, more walkers keep coming. Morgan gets back up and keeps going once Isaac is clear. Soon they're all dead and the entrance is secure. Morgan hands him the backpack and says it's better coming from Rachel's husband. As they walk through, Isaac explains that he used to fish in the lake with his grandfather. The lake is gone because the dam gave out. On a map, all you see is a lake so there is no way Virginia would ever find it. The lake had flooded an old town, and that's where Isaac and his wife are. They arrive to find Rachel in labor. She sees Morgan and smiles. They need to get ready for the baby.

That night, Morgan is standing watch when Isaac says it won't be much longer until the baby arrives. Isaac says his grandfather told him the story of how they flooded the town. They'd been looking for his fishing cabin but found the town, and thanks to the lake the ground is fertile, meaning they can rebuild. Morgan says it's not his mission, but his mission was to help him get Isaac back. There's the sound of a dog barking, Emile has found them. Isaac says Emile only does what he does because someone paid him. Isaac urges Morgan to fight for his people, but Morgan is ready to give everything up to protect them. Outside, he offers himself to Emile in exchange for the others. He falls to the ground and waits for Emile to approach. Emile promises that Morgan won't even feel it. Morgan closes his eyes and waits but Isaac tackles Emile to protect him. Morgan hits Emile with his stick, giving him time to urge Isaac to get away. Isaac reveals that he'd been bitten on the way to finding a gun, and so his mission was to find someone to help his wife because he doesn't have much time left. Morgan realizes that this changes everything. Isaac says he changed and so can Morgan. When Emile wakes up again, they fight. Emile digs his finger into Morgan's wound. Incapacitated, Morgan is on the ground while Emile fetches his axe. He looks over to see the note and manages to grab his stick, using it to block the axe. He stabs Emile through the chest. Morgan grabs the axe. "You didn't do it then, and you won't do it now," Emile says. Morgan chops his head off. He staggers to the steps and tells Isaac that he told his friends to live. "Just live." He hears a baby crying and Isaac staggers to his feet to go meet his child. Morgan says he's going to rest for a bit. He blacks out.

When Morgan wakes up, Rufus is licking his head. He's all bandaged up and there's a tray beside the bed with the bloody bullet in it. Rachel says Isaac insisted on taking it out. She's feeding the baby. Morgan asks if it's a boy or girl. "We have a daughter. We named her Morgan." She says it was Isaac's idea. Morgan asks where Isaac is, and Rachel's eyes fill with tears. Later, she shows Morgan Isaac's grave. He says he owes it all to Isaac. Emile's head is still alive, and he spots the key that was around his neck. He moves to take the stick back, but when a walker approaches he pauses and looks at the axe. He tosses the stick aside and uses the axe to kill the walker as Emile's head watches.

Elsewhere, Virginia's team rolls up in the SWAT van. They come across a roadblock made of walkers. Pioneer ranger Hill calls Virginia over as there's a box there with Morgan's name on it. The box is moving. Inside, though, is Emile's head. She laughs for a moment, and then she looks around cautiously. She takes the radio and calls Morgan, saying that she wants him to listen. She thought she needed Morgan to be dead "for this to work" but she only needs his friends to think he is. If he tries to convince them otherwise, she will kill them. After a moment of silence, Morgan radios in. "Morgan Jones is dead, and you are dealing with someone else now." Morgan watches her in the distance, dressed in Emile's clothing and rides off.

Back at the beach, the man finishes painting his message. He uses the spray paint can to kill the walker and tells his friend that "they" should have been there by now. They need the key and will have to wait elsewhere. "THE END IS THE BEGINNING", the message says, and it's written on the red hull of a massive submarine.

Other Cast[]

Co-Stars[]

• Damon Carney as Walter Schowski
• Craig Nigh as Hill
• Joseph Castillo-Midyett as Cigarette Man
• Stephen Brodie as Young Man

Uncredited[]

• Unknown as Morgan
• Wyatt as Rufus
• Carl Thomas as James
• Keeli Koonse as Ranger
• Bobby Lee Osborn as Ranger

Deaths[]

• Walter Schowski (Alive)
• Emile LaRoux (Alive)
• Isaac (Off-Screen)

Trivia[]

• First appearance of Rufus.
• First appearance of Rachel.
• First appearance of Morgan.
• First appearance of Hill.
• First appearance of USS Pennsylvania.
• First appearance of Valley Town.
• First appearance of the Doomsday Cult.
• Only appearance of Walter Schowski.
• Only appearance of Emile LaRoux. (Alive)
• Only appearance of Isaac. (Alive)
• The title of the episode, "The End Is the Beginning", refers to the graffiti that the two men spray paint on the side of a beached submarine.
• Starting with this episode, Mo Collins (Sarah Rabinowitz), Colby Hollman (Wes) and Zoe Colletti (Dakota) have been added to the opening credits.
• Morgan apparently abandons his staff for good in favor of Emile's axe.
  • In "Alaska", Morgan recovers his staff and turns it into the new handle for the axe, effectively combining his two weapons.
• It is revealed that gangrene causes walkers to ignore living survivors as the smell of the wound masks their scent.
  • This is the first time in the entire Walking Dead franchise that someone successfully camouflaged themselves from walkers without using any walker parts.
• It has been at least 5-6 weeks since the events in the episode "End of the Line" although it's unclear as Morgan states that he hasn't been thinking about the time has passed since he got shot by Virginia.
• The person who saved Morgan from the brink of death remains unknown as Morgan himself doesn't know who the person was.
• This episode marks the first time that Morgan has directly killed a living person in Fear the Walking Dead continuity.
• This episode was originally meant to air in August 2020; however the release date was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• This is the first time a new episode of Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: World Beyond aired the same night.
  • The second episode of Season 1 of The Walking Dead: World Beyond is played directly after this episode.
• According to an early screener, a callback to "Days Gone Bye" is featured in this episode.^[1]
• The cold open to this episode is very similar to the cold open of "What's Your Story?". Both feature two living characters by a fire at night and the first word of dialogue is "Is Someone There?".
• This is the second episode to feature only one main cast member, after "Close Your Eyes".
• This is the first season premiere of Fear the Walking Dead in which Alicia Clark doesn't appear.
• On DVD commentary, it was stated that the original title of the episode was "Morgan Jones Is Dead".

Episode Highlights[]

TBA

Goofs/Errors[]

• Several zombies featured (and killed) in Season 5 are seen in this episode, including a female zombie killed by Isaac that was about to attack Morgan, as well as a Shelby lookalike killed by Morgan at the dam.
• Morgan finds an automatic and checked the magazine to find it empty, but, as the slide was not locked back, there could be one in the chamber.
• When Isaac is asking about Morgan's wound, he mentions he used to be a Corpsman in the Marines. Navy Corpsmen serve with the Marines, but they are still Navy.

References[]