The Hurt That Will Happen

"The Hurt That Will Happen" is the second episode of the fifth season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series Fear the Walking Dead, which aired on AMC on June 9, 2019 in the United States. The episode was written by Alex Delyle, and directed by Jessica Lowrey.

This episode marks the first appearance of Grace (Karen David).

Plot
After encountering another roadblock warning of high radiation while searching for the missing Althea, Morgan encounters a woman named Grace while dispatching two walkers in a trap. Grace explains that due to a power plant meltdown the year before, there are over sixty radioactive walkers in the area. Simply getting close to the walkers risks survivors becoming contaminated, causing Morgan to permanently lose his contaminated fighting stick. As the former operations manager of the plant, Grace blames herself for the deaths of her friends and is on a mission to find and eliminate the radioactive walkers, herself terminally ill with radiation sickness. John and June locate the campground where Max and his siblings possibly came from only to discover that the residents succumbed to radiation sickness after fighting off a herd of the radioactive walkers. Grace sets out on her own to hunt down the rest, promising to keep in touch. At the same time, Victor tracks down Daniel Salazar who helps him make contact with Luciana. Though convinced of the problem, Daniel refuses to lend his plane to Victor who he feels will only make things worse based off of past experiences. After passing out following a walker attack, Luciana wakes up to discover that someone has cut off walker heads and strung them from a billboard at the truck stop, causing the group to become convinced that they are getting close to something someone doesn't want them to see.

Reception
"The Hurt That Will Happen" received somewhat positve reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, "The Hurt That Will Happen" garnered a 69% rating, with an average score of 8/10 based on 14 reviews. The sites critical consensus reads; ""The Hurt That Will Happen" introduces a promising new innovation to The Walking Dead lore -- radioactive zombies! -- but this installment's pacing is as lethargic as a walker."