Maggie Grace on the Real Threat of ‘Fear The Walking Dead’

A feverish Althea (Maggie Grace) will attempt to weather her sickness and navigate a worsening [...]

A feverish Althea (Maggie Grace) will attempt to weather her sickness and navigate a worsening situation alongside for-now partner June (Jenna Elfman) in Sunday's Fear The Walking Dead.

"The cool thing with this series is that the big bad is never the zombies. It's always human nature," Grace told TV Insider. "We're all just vulnerable fleshy bags of water."

Al, typically more interested in survivors' stories than the survivors themselves, has since found her fate intertwined with the group previously shepherded by the late Madison Clark (Kim Dickens), who Al spurred to found the since-destroyed Dell Diamond baseball stadium community. In the wake of both Madison's death and a massive hurricane, that group is separated — and seemingly destined to be pulled back together.

"In the past, her closest and most stable relationship has been with a SWAT van, for heaven's sake," Grace said. "Now she's at risk of caring for this group. They need her and she needs them."

That means teaming with the flighty June — first "Laura," then "Naomi" — to chase down and reclaim Al's reinforced vehicle, while June attempts to reach lover John (Garret Dillahunt).

"Trust is earned in this world, and June has not exactly been straight-up," Grace said. Of Al's beloved van, "That's her safe haven, and she will risk anything to stay connected to it."

Despite acting mostly as a solo act, "She's still got more to lose, actually, after this… believe it or not," Grace teased. Al has spent the season building a friendship with the similarly distant Morgan (Lennie James), who is on his own detour with newfound traveling companions Sarah (Mo Collins), Wendell (Daryl Mitchell), and Jim (Aaron Stanford).

While Morgan intends to head home to The Walking Dead's Alexandria, Virginia, he'll first have to contend with a mysterious new threat — an unhinged, unnamed woman played by Tonya Pinkins — who audiences will learn more about this coming episode.

"We will certainly see her again. She's going to become perhaps an unexpected antagonist to Morgan and the rest of the group," showrunner Andrew Chambliss told EW.

"We will learn a bit more about that mysterious woman that we saw at the truck stop," added co-showrunner Ian Goldberg, "and we'll get a little bit more glimpse into what her goal is. We're going to see just how dangerous she is as well."

Sunday's episode, 'Weak,' marks the series directorial debut of Victor Strand star and first-time TV director Colman Domingo. Fear The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9/8c on AMC.

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