The shocking sight of a familiar face means double trouble for Morgan Jones (Lennie James) on Fear the Walking Dead. Warning: this story contains spoilers for Season 7 Episode 2, “Six Hours.” Facing the nuclear fallout to find food for Baby Mo, Morgan and Grace (Karen David) can risk just six hours of radiation exposure outside the safety of the submarine where Teddy (John Glover) launched his warhead arsenal. When strangers searching for Padre try to abduct Mo, the orphaned daughter of Isaac (Michael Abbott Jr.) and Rachel (Brigitte Kali Canales), the clock is ticking to get back to the sub before time runs out for the “nuclear family.”
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Morgan and Grace’s road trip takes them to ground zero of the nuclear zombie apocalypse, where hunting hound Rufus takes off during wasteland survivors Fred and Bea’s (Derek Richardson and Maren Lord) attempted kidnapping of Mo.
“Who the hell is that?” asks Grace of the sinister silhouette of someone, their identity disguised beneath a hazmat suit and the blinding beams of a vehicle. The silent stalker advances, ignoring Morgan’s orders to halt their approach.
“Take another step, and I’ll shoot,” Morgan warns, finally firing three shots. Walkers attack, and the supposedly-shot-dead stranger drives away — leaving Morgan and Grace to guess the identity of who it was that came after them on the road.
The episode ends around a campfire, with Rufus chowing down on an opened can of beans. The stranger opens a burnt box marked “MORGAN JONES.” In the box: the reanimated head of the bounty hunter Emile LaRoux (Demetrius Grosse). Now unmasked, it’s revealed the stranger is Emile’s identical twin brother, Josiah (Grosse) — and he vows vengeance on Morgan Jones.
Emile mentions an unnamed brother in the Season 6 premiere, “The End Is the Beginning,” when Rufus sniffs out USS Pennsylvania crew member Walter (Damon Carney). Emile takes Walter’s head and his key to a beached submarine.
Before Emile can deliver the key to Teddy’s followers in Galveston, Texas, Pioneers leader Virginia (Colby Minifie) calls in a bounty on Morgan Jones. When Emile tracks Morgan to the Valley Town where Isaac is hiding a pregnant Rachel from Virginia and her Rangers, Morgan kills Emile with his own ax.
Morgan leaves Emile’s decapitated head in the box marked “Morgan Jones” and radios a warning to Virginia: “Morgan Jones is dead. You are dealing with somebody else now.”
“When we see a figure walk up to the burnt box that says ‘Morgan Jones’ and we see that figure lift the head up, and we see him take his mask off and we realize it’s Emile’s face looking back at walker Emile, we realize that he actually had a twin brother,” Fear co-showrunner Andrew Chambliss says on Fear TWD Episode Insider. “When we cast Demetrius Grosse in the role of Emile and we saw his audition and then we saw his dailies come in, we knew he was an amazing actor and he really brought something special to this role.”
“We wanted to find a way to bring this character,” Chambliss added, “or to bring Demetrius back, even if it wasn’t as Emile.”
Josiah is on the hunt for Morgan in the upcoming Season 7 Episode 4, “Breathe With Me,” premiering November 7 on AMC. Follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter for all things TWD and stay tuned to ComicBook for coverage all season long.
