Fear the Walking Dead season 6’s new villain – John Glover’s Teddy – makes John Dorie’s death even more disappointing. Teddy’s first episode reveals that he shares a strong connection to Garret Dillahunt’s John Dorie, who lost his life in the midseason premiere. After struggling with thoughts of suicide for an entire episode, John was fatally shot by Dakota (Zoe Colletti).
John’s departure from the spinoff series was followed up by the death of Virginia (Colby Minifie), which has allowed the show to move on to a new threat. Now, Morgan (Lennie James) and the others are up against the people who attacked Tank Town and spread the message, “The End is the Beginning”. Fear the Walking Dead season 6, episode 11, “The Holding”, officially introduced the new villains, along with their leader, a mysterious and charismatic individual named Teddy, who has expressed an interest in resetting civilization so that everything can start again. Somehow, he has managed to convince dozens of people – including Wes’ long-lost brother – into joining him in his mission, even if it means taking innocent lives in the process.
Teddy’s first episode on Fear the Walking Dead all but confirms a fan theory that he’s the serial killer mentioned by John in episode 4. John told Rabbi Jacob (Peter Jacobson) about a “two-bit mortician” his father was after during his days as a cop. Apparently, this person had murdered several women and brainwashed many others into buying into his beliefs about “death” and “new beginnings”. Considering that Teddy’s people use embalming fluid like morticians do, the number of people who are blindly following him, and the similarities between his teachings and the serial killer’s, it’s become abundantly clear that Fear the Walking Dead was setting up Teddy through John’s backstory. The link between the two may cause viewers to miss John’s presence even more going forward.
Teddy being revealed to be the serial killer John’s father incarcerated may not have a big impact on Morgan’s group, but it could have been huge for John. After all, his father’s past decisions were key to John’s season 6 story. By planting evidence, his father sacrificed his own reputation and alienated all of his friends, but he did it because he believed it was the right thing to do. After that, his life fell apart and he found himself alone. Refusing to go along with Virginia framing Janis (Holly Curran) caused John to head in the same direction. What’s so important about all this is Teddy was apparently at the center of the hardships he experienced in his youth. John’s family was ruined by this person.
It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if John had been given a chance to discover the truth about Teddy and help Morgan’s group bring him down. But how John would have reacted to his emergence in Fear the Walking Dead season 6 is a question that won’t be answered. Admittedly, this missed opportunity doesn’t seem to be at the fault of the writers, given that it was Dillahunt’s choice to leave the series. Even so, that won’t stop fans from wishing that John – who was arguably one of the show’s most likeable and unique characters – was still around to fight Teddy.