Six Hours
Written by Ian Goldberg & Andrew Chambliss
Directed by Michael E. Satrazemis
Directed by Michael E. Satrazemis
"You said six hours is the longest that either one of us could be out there. You said that, right?"
— Morgan Jones
Grace contends with her lost will to go on as she, Morgan, and Mo struggle to endure the fallout.
Tropes:
- Arc Words: “Padre” comes up again, this time brought up by Bea who suggests it’s some sort of safe place they can reach.
- Avenging the Villain: It’s revealed that Emile’s twin brother is hunting Morgan to avenge his late twin.
- Continuity Nod: Morgan tells Grace how he already lost a child, referring to Duane, who died between Seasons 1 and 3 of the mothership show.
- Crazy Homeless People: Bea and Fred have been driven almost entirely insane and give off this vibe. That said, they’re still collected enough to know to not shoot the walkers to avoid drawing more and getting splattered by residue from the impact, and
- Death Seeker: Though Morgan is now determined to keep himself and his makeshift family alive, Grace still doesn’t want to live after previously resolving to end her life to avoid the fallout and reunite with Athena. She outright tells Morgan she doesn’t want to live anymore.
- The Determinator: Morgan has been reinvigorated by taking in Mo after previously agreeing to kill himself and Grace.
- Facial Horror: Bea was burned so badly that she lost her nose.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: Rufus is show eating some food at a camp owned by the mysterious driver who was hunting Morgan earlier. It’s then shown that the man is Emile’s brother, explaining why Rufus is comfortable living with him. He presumably saw his original owner’s brother as family as well.
- For Want Of A Nail: Mo crawling for the first time accidentally uncovers a huge stash of food, including powdered milk that will last for months.
- Kick the Dog: Howard tells Morgan he’s not welcome at Strand’s community since, as the previous episode showed, Strand holds him responsible for the fallout and wants to prove his merciful, idealistic ways wrong. He doesn’t mind telling Morgan this to his face just to gloat on Strand’s behalf.
- Offing the Offspring: Fred murdered Emma when she wouldn’t stop crying due to a sickness strongly implied to have been radiation poisoning. He tries it again with Mo, who he and and Bea see as a replacement.
- Outside-Context Problem: Fred says that a storm blew a lot of fallout to Louisiana, meaning that people presumably far away from any detonation site now suddenly have a nuclear hell to deal with that they didn’t see coming.
- Pet the Dog: Howard came to the sub as Strand wants to give Grace a chance to join his community. Howard also sounds willing to consider taking Mo with him when Morgan begins asking him to take her with him.
- Promotion to Parent: Morgan and Grace were forced to take in Mo as their own, but it’s caused a lot of strife for Grace in particular.
- Replacement Goldfish: A major theme of the episode that is discussed, and part of the reason Grace is particularly miserable. She is reluctant to care for Mo due to the loss of Athena. After meeting Bea and Fred, who are at the opposite end of the spectrum due to being insane and wanting Mo to replace their own lost child, she is able to start coming to terms with Athena’s death and adjust more to being Mo’s new mother. At the end of the episode, Morgan insists to Grace that she’s not replacing Athena.
- Trauma Button: Grace becomes a horrified wreck when “In Dreams” comes on the tape.
- Villainous Legacy: Even long after Virginia’s death, Morgan is being hunted by the twin brother of the bounty hunter she sent after him.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: From Morgan and Grace’s perspective, they’ve lost Rufus who wandered off on his own. The end of the episode shows he’s joined up with Emile’s brother.
"Mr. Jones may have got the best of me today... but there's always tomorrow."
