‘Fear the Walking Dead’ Season 6, Episode 3 ‘Alaska’ Recap: The Things We Do For Love

Oh, how the plot thickens for Fear the Walking Dead season 6. We’re three episodes deep, and it looks like we are all here to stay.

It’s nice to look forward to the show every Sunday again. It’s nice to see great writing and sensible direction guide the show as it did before. And it’s definitely nice to ease into this new format with stories like this keeping us engaged throughout the episode. What a time to be a fan again, am I right?

Episode 3 zeroes in on Al (Maggie Grace) and Dwight (Austin Amelio) this time. Titled “Alaska,” it’s the first episode to have occurred in just one night, but definitely one of those that proves the show is on the right path. Virginia (Colby Minife) has our duo on investigative duty, sending Al and Dwight in places way out of the Pioneer domain. But as they uncover different scenarios in different locations, Al eventually discovers an indirect connection with a dear friend along the way. That connection drives a dilemma between doing what should be done and following her heart—with the latter something Dwight supports entirely. I never thought this partnership would work, but after “Alaska,” the Al-Dwight duo is a fresh, new offering 10 times better than what we got with John (Garret Dillahunt) and June (Jenna Elfman).

Again, before we proceed with everything that went down on Fear the Walking Dead Season 6, Episode 3, a fair warning: this is a SPOILER-HEAVY review, so read at your own risk.

Fear the Walking Dead 6X02 Recap

If there’s one odd addition to tonight’s episode, it’s the opening scene with Morgan. So let’s get that out of the way first.

We basically got a backstory of Morgan’s new weapon—a cross between Emile the Bounty Hunter’s ax and Morgan’s trusty staff—and an update on his new settlement with Isaac’s wife, Rachel (Brigitte Kali Canales). It turns out that Morgan goes back and forth from the dam to the main Pioneer camp to smuggle supplies to Rachel. “I’ve got somebody on the inside,” Morgan says, possibly referring to Daniel (Rubén Blades). He then contemplates his past and all it took for him to get here.

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“I’ve been sixteen different somebodies since it all ended,” Morgan says, partnered with a symbolic montage of him forging Emile’s ax and his staff together. “I’m scared, Rachel. Scared, I’m not gonna be the man they knew.”

Ummm… okay. It’s a nice look into how Morgan’s current character came to be, so I guess it’s still necessary, so people don’t forget that he’s the new Rick of Fear the Walking Dead.

No Plague Can Stop Al from Getting With “Beer Lady”

Al and Dwight’s adventures begin with an excursion into a funeral home-turned-camp-turned-Walker-territory. Virginia’s tasked them to figure out what happened to places overrun by Walkers so that they, in turn, could learn how to prevent that from happening in their camps and territories. To make the job a little more interesting, Al and Dwight engage in a fun game of guessing where the Walkers they kill come from by looking at their driver’s licenses. Oh, and they’ve got GoPros on them, too. I think it’s Ginny’s way of fucking with them, “so, you like taking videos, huh? Then take one for me.”

As they split up to clear out the area, Al gets radio chatter from a search party called Ground 17, who’s bound to refuel at a certain drop site Baker. Eventually, we figure out that Ground 17 is Isabelle, you know, the helicopter pilot who crashed in season 5 and who Al developed romantic feelings for but couldn’t reciprocate because she’s part of the helicopter people (which we also now know as the Civic Republic, thanks to The Walking Dead: World Beyond)?

It’s crazy how it all slowly connects to Rick, and I can’t wait to see all three shows converge in the Rick Grimes movies (however long it might take to film).

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After Al’s brief Walker fight, Dwight celebrates the small win with a small crate of terrible-tasting beer. But their celebration is cut short when Isabelle (endearingly called Beer Lady by Dwight) pipes in through the radio again, allowing Dwight to deduce that Al has been tracking her movements ever since they parted ways.

And just like that, Dwight encourages Al to screw everything that they need to do and meet Isabelle at drop site Baker. It’s crazy what you could do for love, ’cause Dwight has this all planned out—Al goes after Isabelle while Dwight fools Ginny by finding a freshly-turned Walker that looks like her, mess up its face, and pretend that it’s Al’s Walker version. Heck, it’s the same thing he’d do if he found out Sherry was out there (oh, more on that later).

That night, Al and Dwight arrive at drop site Baker—a multi-story office complex somewhere in the city. They are greeted by a dismembered Walker lying around, which also happens to be a guy from Alaska, something Dwight has wanted to find in their weird game of “Family Feud: Zombie Edition.”

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But the office complex has a catch, though. It’s populated by a small group of survivors who are slowly succumbing to the Bubonic Plague. Yep, the building’s filled with rats. The group is led by Nora, who initially thinks of them as hostile, but eventually asks for their help upon finding out about their investigative job in the GoPro footage. Al refuses, however, because she’s seen the plague take effect before, and with no antibiotic in sight, these people are done for. She pulls Dwight aside, and they begin their slow ascent to the helipad up top.

Nora did say that she had a former colleague who went up to meet the helicopter people on the rooftop, only to get shot. So the question is whether or not Isabelle will do the same to Al and Dwight when she sees them waiting. Again, love is a drug that makes you do risky shit, so Al still insists on meeting her—kill or be killed in the process.

Getting on top of the building proved more challenging for the duo, though. They might’ve found a shortcut in the building’s piping system, but it’s still infested with rats, eventually infecting Dwight. But just when all hope is lost, Nora decides to step in and help. They’re good people, after all.

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But now Al has a tricky ball in her hands—will she push through with meeting Isabelle, the love of her life, or will she stay and try to find meds for Dwight and Nora’s group?

It all comes to a head when the trio clears out one more floor before the rooftop access door. Nora breaks down at the sight of all the people she lost. Dwight pushes Al to finish what they started while he looks for meds. What a tricky sight we’ve got, boys!

Tearful Goodbyes and a Shocking Reunion

After a rousing speech from Dwight about what he’d do if he saw Sherry alive, Al heads to the rooftop alone to wait for Al. But something changes in her. After watching Dwight’s goodbye video on the GoPro, Al decides to stay. For the first time since seeing Isabelle, she contacts her on their channel and warns that drop site Baker is infected with the plague, turning Isabelle’s helicopter away. But not before revealing herself to Isabelle indirectly, though. “I just want to say… it is good to hear your voice; because there aren’t many people left,” Al says. “Copy that,” Isabelle responds after a slight beat.

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But little does Al know that the supplies intended for Isabelle lying on the rooftop has enough antibiotics to treat everyone infected with the plague—how convenient!

Al returns to Dwight (who admits that she couldn’t bear losing another brother) and distributes the meds to everyone infected by the plague. With the office complex uninhabitable, our duo helps everyone find a new place to live. As they leave, though, Al notices that the plague must’ve been brought there on purpose. When they first entered the building, the same “The End is the Beginning” line was sprayed on the wall, and Al discovered a fresh can of spraypaint lying on the floor.

Whoever these pieces of shit might be, they could prove to be a worthy foe to the Pioneers—that is if Virginia sees them as a threat.

The episode ends with daylight catching up to them and a random voice piping into Al’s radio. “I saw your signal flare, is someone in trouble on the roof?” the voice says, much to Dwight’s shock. He knows that voice. In fact, he’s married to that voice! He runs outside and sees Sherry, in the flesh, waiting for that sweet hug he’s been wanting to give for a long time.

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‘Fear the Walking Dead: Alaska’ Overall Verdict

“Alaska” was an episode that I never thought I’d like, but loved every bit of it right after. It’s slow-paced but peppered with amazing chemistry between Al and Dwight—a duo I never thought would work as well as the Fear the Walking Dead version of Carol and Daryl (minus the whole muted romance thing). Colman Domingo (who also plays Strand) did this episode right by directing it in an emotional no holds barred manner. It doesn’t offer up the same thrills as the first two episodes, but it does come packed with good acting and amazing writing for a show that’s been suffering from a writer’s plague for the past two seasons.

We need more Al & Dwight in our lives right now. We could all use a good friend once in a while.

Fear the Walking Dead continues Sunday, November 1st, with “The Key” at 9/8c on AMC.