WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Fear the Walking Dead Season 6, Episode 9, "Things Left to Do," which aired Sunday on AMC.
Since their introduction, Fear the Walking Dead has encouraged viewers to sympathize with Dakota, a prisoner of her ruthless sister Virginia. That is until it's revealed little Dakota is capable of cold-blooded murder. Sunday's episode of Fear the Walking Dead wrapped up the drama between Virginia and Dakota. However, audiences come to learn the two aren't siblings but mother and daughter -- much to Dakota's surprise. Ultimately, Virginia's obsession with keeping her daughter safe led to her downfall, which parallels the storyline of one of The Walking Dead's most brutal villains.
Virginia is a villain; there is no denying that. She's killed countless people, hunted Morgan down and essentially enslaved the Fear the Walking Dead protagonists. She governs her people by a simple rule: anyone who threatens their future or needlessly harms one of their own will be killed. Since her Season 5 appearance, Virginia has upheld her ground rules, killing people like Logan, who she deemed a threat. However, in Season 6, she breaks her own rule. After discovering her sister murdered Cameron because he caught her sneaking out of Lawton, she creates a scapegoat. As a result, Janis is killed for Dakota's crime, and John smells a cover-up.
Later, Dakota murders John -- who knows she's guilty -- to preserve her innocence, even though he insists he won't tell. Morgan eventually figures the whole messy situation out. He informs Virginia's people of the cover-up, and it's ultimately Virginia's hypocrisy -- not following her own rules -- that leads to her downfall. Despite this, Morgan chooses to save Virginia's life and whisks her away from the angry mob. While in hiding, she confesses to Morgan that Dakota is actually her daughter, not her little sister, as everyone, including Dakota, believes.
The confession is surprising but explains Virginia's obsession with her "sister." Because she was a young mother, Virginia implies her parents -- Dakota's grandparents -- raised her daughter as their own. It's not entirely clear why Virginia killed her parents. Regardless, Dakota resented her for it. While Dakota's resentment is the driving force of her character, guilt is Virginia's. It seems Virginia feels guilty for not stepping up for her daughter in the pre-apocalyptic world. Now, she is preoccupied with keeping Dakota safe and giving her the best life possible. Despite this, Virginia's actions to protect her daughter get her killed in Season 6, Episode 9's conclusion.
Virginia's motivations are similar to The Walking Dead's Alpha. As the ruthless, sadistic leader of the Whisperers, Alpha governed by the rule that weakness -- physical or emotional -- needed to be purged to ensure the group's safety. She used this law to justify countless acts of cold-blooded murder. However, when it came to enforcing her punishment on her rule-breaking daughter, Lydia, Alpha couldn't do it. She spared Lydia's life, hoping she would find some sort of happiness and safety in Alexandria. Alpha lied to her people, claiming she murdered Lydia for her betrayal. However, much like Virginia, Alpha gets caught in her lie, and the preceding events ultimately result in her death.
Virginia and Alpha maintained that everything they did -- even the horrible things -- was for their daughters. Ironically, both of their daughters hated them for it. The resentment didn't stop them from trying to keep Dakota and Lydia safe, though. As a result, they broke their own rules and lost the loyalty of their respective groups. While Virginia and Alpha are inarguably villains, sacrificing themselves for their daughters showcases the power of motherly love in a bittersweet moment. Although it might be a little cliché, it's notable that both hard-core antagonists share the same weakness -- their children.
Fear the Walking Dead stars Lennie James, Rubén Blades, Colman Domingo, Danay Garcia, Maggie Grace, Garret Dillahunt, Jenna Elfman, Alexa Nisenson, Karen David, Austin Amelio, Mo Collins, Zoe Colletti and Christine Evangelista. New episodes air Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on AMC.