Divert your eyes if you haven’t yet seen the latest episode of Fear the Walking Dead, as the show parted ways with one of its most beloved characters. In what was originally supposed to have been the last episode of Season 6’s midseason ending, before COVID messed up plans and kept the show off the air for much longer than anticipated, Garret Dillahunt’s John Dorie met his maker.
The unexpected turn of events came when Virginia’s sister, Dakota (Zoe Colletti), shot John and pushed him off a bridge to keep him quiet about her having killed a ranger. And though fans had hoped he would somehow survive, the show was very clear that this was the end, as John’s zombiefied body washed up, with June, his wife, having to deliver a knife to the head.
According to Comicbook.com, Dillahunt approached showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg about Dorie’s demise back in Fear The Walking Dead Season 5, and together they came up with this exit strategy.
“I don’t remember exactly when, but [John’s death is] something we’d been talking about since Season 5.” Dillahunt told Entertainment Weekly. “And then we had a lot of conversations between 5 and 6 about how John would exit. And they came up with this great idea—great, and tragic, and wonderful, and believable in this world for how to get him off the show. And, at the same time, propel the story forward.”
Garret Dillahunt Finds New Opportunities
Dillahunt further explained that while he loved his time on Fear The Walking Dead and the character he played, he was looking for new opportunities.
“I get a little antsy after a while, and I’m not a kid anymore, and I have some things I wanted to do. And I’m just fortunate it worked out,” the actor said. “I can’t imagine what goes into logistically planning these series. There are so many moving parts, there are so many people involved. It’s a feat of almost engineering for these showrunners, and [Walking Dead chief content officer Scott M. Gimple], and the writers to navigate all the obstacles in general, putting a TV show on, let alone the needs of their actors. I just feel very fortunate that they were willing to hear it, and consider it, and then come up with a great idea that made everybody happy.”
Happy? It’s hard to believe that fans will be happy that John is no longer among the living, but previews of the season ahead does look exciting as Morgan and company battle Virginia and her rangers. Let’s hope the killing —at least of the “good guys—is done for now.
Will you miss Garret Dillahunt’s John Dorie? Fear The Walking Dead season 6B airs every Sunday on AMC.
