Fear the Walking Dead: Bury Her Next to Jasper's Leg (Episode 6.06)

The cryptic title of this week's episode becomes immediately self-evident when Paige (a woman seeking to escape Virginia and her rangers) commits suicide rather than explaining the meaning behind her spray painted message: "The End Is the Beginning".

Subsequently, Virginia's rangers are instructed to gather any useful information and then "Bury Her Next to Jasper's Leg", an ominous request that quickly sets the tone for the remainder of this week's episode.

As the title sequence wraps, viewers are quickly thrust into a high-stakes operation, as June (and her apocalyptic rescue assistant, Sarah) are forced to conduct an emergency appendectomy on a man named Malcolm.

Unfortunately, Malcolm dies before June is able to do more than create a small incision, and as she refuses to accept her failure, June is nearly killed by his reanimated corpse.

Nonetheless, John and June Dorie are soon reunited, with John proposing a plan for the couple to flee Lawton and escape to his cabin -- John is convinced that he won't last long under Virginia's reign, admitting that he should've accepted Janis' escape plan when he had the chance.

While June is hesitant about leaving all of her friends behind, she agrees to do what is best for her husband -- until Luciana radios with news of an emergency at Tank Town.

Luciana's attempt to spearhead Virginia's most critical project "goes up in flames" when one of their wells literally does so, leaving many victims severely burned.

Meanwhile, Wes is left with shrapnel lodged in his stomach, though Virginia is willing to leave him and countless others behind -- she believes that they are responsible for sabotaging her oil project, spreading "The End Is the Beginning" as their destructive philosophy.

Wes vehemently denies these allegations, stating that he simply enjoys painting (as viewers learned when he befriended Alicia in Season 5).

However, Virginia's aggression in this confrontation is rather off-putting for June, who quickly finds herself in a position of power following a second large explosion.

With Virginia and June trapped together amidst the wreckage, a nearby walker bites into Virginia's hand -- June must make a decision: amputate in hopes of sparing Virginia's life, or watch the fever overcome her.

In this sequence, June accuses Virginia of allowing innocent people to die with her ceaseless questioning, pressing an axe down on Virginia's throat as she begs for her life.

Rather than immediately obliging, June uses her walkie to guide Luciana and Sarah through the process of saving Wes -- seemingly committed to sacrificing Virginia to salvage her relationship with her husband.

However, when Virginia brings Dakota into the conversation, insisting that June has "no idea what it's like to care so much about somebody and not be able to help them", June's mindset quickly changes -- she amputates Virginia's hand and cauterizes the wound with hot metal.

With Wes and Virginia both in stable condition, the Dories reunite on differing wavelengths -- June seems to be in good spirits, having gained an edge over Virginia, reuniting Sarah and Wendell and forcing Virginia to allow her to open a proper hospital.

Unfortunately, June is tired of running and is ready to make a difference, while John cannot justify remaining under Virginia's rule -- at a literal fork in the road, he drives in the opposite direction and splits from June, much like Dwight and Sherry's brutal separation at the end of Episode 6.05.

Only time will tell if Al and Isabelle will soon be reunited, but viewers must hope that someone will break the unfortunate trend set for Fear the Walking Dead relationships in the near future.

What are your thoughts as we approach next week's midseason finale?

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