'Fear the Walking Dead' Season 6 Episode 1: [Spoiler] kills one of the most interesting new villains on show
Spoilers for 'Fear the Walking Dead' Season 6 Episode 1 'The End is the Beginning'
From the moment it started, 'The Walking Dead' franchise has displayed the very worst of humanity, exploring what depths people sink to once the world is gone and the strongest must do whatever they need to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. The franchise has been filled with a number of excellent villains, and it can be hard for any new villains introduced to truly stand out, but Demetrius Grosse's unnamed bounty hunter from the Season 6 premiere of 'Fear the Walking Dead' certainly made a strong impression. Sadly, after Morgan Jones (Lennie James) killed him in battle, the life of one of the series' best villains was tragically cut short, with his own ax, no less.
Hired by Virginia (Colby Minifie) to find Morgan Jones and to ensure his death, once and for all, the bounty hunter tracks his play with uncanny efficiency. Aided by his dog, Rufus, the bounty hunter appears to have his own innate and unerring sense for how to track his prey, making him quite a formidable foe. Adding to his intimidation factor is his weapon of choice — a makeshift ax with a blade sharp enough to cleave a head off walkers and humans alike with a single blow. It's a memorable weapon, and alas, the one thing keeping the bounty hunter's memory alive as the series goes forward.
What made the bounty hunter truly memorable, however, was not how intimidating he could be, but his politeness. Stories are better served through deals and negotiations rather than high stakes violence, and the bounty hunter has a fascinating reverence for the idea of the social contract. It's a warped view of the civilization that was lost in the apocalypse that he is attempting to bring back, and he bargains with a winning smile that doesn't quite reach his more threatening eyes. Even when he's chopping the heads of strangers in the woods, Demetrius Grosse's bounty hunters is one of the more charismatic performances on screen.
Though the bounty hunter was obviously more of a lone wolf than a leader, he still would have made a great character for the show to include in future episodes, especially when it comes to establishing high-risk stakes for the survivors to make — devil's bargains to get him off their backs. Sadly, after Morgan unceremoniously beheaded the bounty hunter and sent his head back in a box to Virginia, we won't be seeing the bounty hunter's winning smile again anytime soon.
The next episode of 'Fear the Walking Dead' airs October 18 on AMC at 9 pm ET.