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You didn't do this. I did. He doesn't deserve this. He shouldn't have to suffer for my mistakes. (...) He saved my life--twice now... Now I have to take his. I thought I was doing the right thing, thought I was keeping a promise. I thought it was about Emile... The whole time, it was about me. I didn't want to let him go.
―Josiah to Morgan while comforting a dying Rufus.[src]

Josiah LaRoux is a former antagonist and a survivor of the outbreak in AMC's Fear the Walking Dead. He is the twin brother of Emile LaRoux and served as the primary antagonist of the episode "Breathe With Me".

Overview[]

At first, Josiah seems similar to his brother, a cold and remorseless killer. After he finds Emile's decapitated head, he vows to get revenge on his killer. He finds Sarah and forces her to help him find Morgan. However, it soon becomes apparent Josiah is not a bad man and is shown to be honorable, fair, and patient. At one point, he buries the dead, claiming they deserve respect. He also agrees to help Sarah find her brother. When Sarah begins to panic after seeing a leaking warhead, he helps comfort her and remains optimistic about them finding Wendell. Sarah keeps her promise and lures Morgan over to them, but tells Josiah he isn't going to kill him because he is not a killer.

Eventually, Josiah finds Morgan and fights him despite Sarah's pleas to stop. In an attempt to get justice, he tries to use Emile's head to bite and kill Morgan. However, this would indirectly lead to Rufus' death, when he is bitten by Emile. Josiah is immediately filled with regret and remorse, blaming himself for his death. He lets go of his grudge against Morgan, admitting that it was not about a promise he made to Emile, but his inability to let him go. Josiah's promise to Sarah is also fulfilled, when they find Wendell at Strand's Tower, though she is not allowed to see him. Feeling complete, he leaves Sarah and Morgan on good terms. Later Josiah returns after saving Alicia Clark and becomes a member of the group.

Pre-Apocalypse[]

Location Unknown[]

Before the outbreak, Josiah worked as a park ranger for fifteen years with his identical twin brother Emile. Together, the two ran search and rescue with the help of Rufus. On one occasion, Josiah got lost in the midst of a forest fire while rescuing some lost hikers. Emile refused to give up on his brother even when everyone else insisted that Josiah was dead and Emile kept getting trapped in the smoke searching for him. Eventually, Rufus found Josiah thanks to Rufus and Emile insisted that he could feel that his brother was still alive, something that Josiah never believed.

Post-Apocalypse[]

Season 7[]

"Six Hours"[]

When Morgan and Grace are preparing to leave with Bea and Fred, a car's headlights approach from behind in the fog. A spotlight suddenly turns on and the engine revs. Morgan tells the others to hide as he aims his rifle. The silhouette of an armored man steps out of the car and begins walking toward Morgan, who warns him to stop before shooting him once. Stumbling a bit, he continues walking and is shot another two times, falling down and going motionless. Morgan takes his attention off him to handle the oncoming walkers and an endangered Mo. After handling the situation, Morgan notices him driving off.

Later on, he is seen at his campsite, now with Rufus, who came with him at some point during the altercation. He sits on a log and observes the box labeled for Morgan's head, with Emile LaRoux's still-reanimated head inside. He removes the lid and gently holds his head close to him, before removing his hazmat mask, revealing himself to be his twin brother. Josiah tells his zombified brother that Morgan may have beat him today, but there was still tomorrow.

"Breathe With Me"[]

When Sarah finds Rufus and the zombified head of Emile in Josiah's parked car, she is suddenly approached by Josiah who holds her at gunpoint, telling her to step away from his brother. Sarah questions why his brother's head is in a box with Morgan's name written on it. Josiah threatens Sarah, saying she will help him lure Morgan into a spot so that he can kill him, or he will find and kill Wendell, who he heard the two talking about over the radio. Sarah reluctantly makes contact with Morgan, asking him to meet.

Before preparing to leave, Josiah notices Sarah's anti-radiation medicine, saying she will give him and Rufus some if they are exposed. Sarah refuses, saying they are for her brother. Seeing a couple walkers approaching, Josiah removes his shovel-pickaxe like weapon and kills them, before starting to dig graves for the two. Watching, Sarah questions why Josiah would dig a grave for walkers. Josiah claims the dead deserve respect. After completing the graves, the two hear Rufus barking in the distance, rushing to the scene. Upon seeing a stalker releasing walkers near a barking Rufus, Josiah holds him at gunpoint, saying he should kill him for putting Rufus in danger. Josiah has the stalker strip down and has Rufus sniff his clothes for any scent of Wendell. He retrieves a red piece of clothing, demanding the stalker to show them where he found it.

Upon being led to a barn full of walkers, Sarah finds Wendell's unoccupied wheelchair, covered in blood. Entering a state of panic and anger, Sarah prepares to kill the stalker before he releases the walkers from their pens, running off. Josiah begins fighting off the walkers, before running back to his car. Sarah, who had gotten to the car first, sees Josiah coming and, in a panic, starts to drive off without him. Catching up before she can leave, he jumps into the passenger seat, berating Sarah for almost leaving him for dead. Sarah angrily yells that they are done, before opening Josiah's door and attempting to push him out. In the panic, Sarah drives the truck over a hill and into a ravine, knocking the two out.

Waking up hours into the night, the two come to their senses, with Rufus fortunately uninjured in the back seat. Sarah notices the leaking warhead close by, and begins to panic again. Josiah tries to calm her down. Sarah, in grief, explains how she knows her brother is dead, but Josiah disagrees, saying that she wouldn't be looking for him if he was dead. He explains that during his time as a park ranger, he was caught in a forest fire, and his brother Emile insisted on trying to rescue him even when the other rangers said Josiah could not have survived. He says that Emile persisted because he would have felt if Josiah was actually gone, and that he felt the loss of his brother when Morgan killed him. He says Sarah would have felt the same if Wendell was dead. He also mentions that Rufus was the one to enter the smoke and save him that day.

Upon getting out of the wrecked van, the two kill the surrounding walkers before Morgan approaches. Shocked at seeing Emile's face again, Morgan confusingly says that he had already killed Josiah. The two begin to fight, with Josiah successfully tackling Morgan to the ground. Sarah yells at Josiah that he is not a killer, before he takes his brothers head out of the box and prepares to let it bite Morgan. When Sarah tackles Josiah off of Morgan, the head rolls to the side. Rufus, seeing his old master, rushes over to the zombified head but is bitten on the muzzle, causing the fight to stop. Sarah splits Emile's head in half. Seeing that Rufus was bit, Josiah regretfully embraces Rufus, tearing up at his fatal mistake while Sarah and Morgan watch.

At a campfire, Josiah lets Rufus rest against him while he pours some hot sauce in a heating can of beans, feeding them to Rufus. He says that beans are his favorite food, and hopefully would help bring him some peace. Morgan says that he is sorry for Rufus, and Josiah takes the blame for it, saying that his desire for revenge was not about Emile but about him. He says Rufus had saved his life twice now, and now he had to take his. Morgan compliments Rufus, saying he is a good dog. Sarah tells Josiah about how, when she was born, her mother died having her and that she was unable to breathe unless her incubator was placed beside an infant Wendell. She says she understands why Josiah did not want to let his brother go, because she feels she can't breathe every second she is away from hers. At some point off-screen, Josiah puts down Rufus out of mercy, and is later seen completing his grave, patting down the dirt and leaving the can of beans at the top. Morgan tells the two that Wendell may be with Strand at the Tower, and the three leave Rufus's gravesite.

In the morning, the three arrive at a post set up outside the tower. Picking up the phone to contact the inside, they are suddenly approached by Howard and another armed guard. Strand approaches, telling Sarah that Wendell is in the Tower, but that she is not permitted to join the community. He says that Wendell can come out, but can't go back in. Accepting this, Sarah asks that Victor doesn't tell Wendell that she was there. As they leave, Sarah reacts in tears to her decision, with Josiah coming to her side, guiding her to breathe with him. She says she did not want to let him go, but Josiah insists she did the right thing and did what he could not do. Morgan offers Sarah and Josiah to come back to the USS Pennsylvania with him. Josiah denies, saying he is probably exposed to radiation and they wouldn't want a sick man to deal with, but Sarah offers him the anti-radiation pills she intended to give to Wendell. He thanks her. Josiah still says he needs more time to process the loss of his brother and dog, and Sarah offers him to join them if he changes his mind. Josiah leaves the two.

"Amina"[]

After Alicia passes out near Strand's Tower, she wakes up being carried to safety by Sarah, Dwight, Luciana, June, Daniel, and Josiah. Dwight explains that they heard her SOS and Josiah introduces himself to Alicia. Sarah explains that Josiah is a friendly and that he had gotten to Alicia before they did. "Good thing too, or you'd be a part of that herd," Sarah comments. Josiah and the others are confused by Alicia's continuing insistence that there was a young girl with her, but June points out that Alicia is burning up while Josiah insists that she was alone when he found her.

With Alicia intent on going back to the Tower to find the little girl, all of the group, including Josiah, decide to back with her and help clear the tunnel to the Tower. The group succeeds in clearing the tunnel for Alicia, but Josiah warns her that they can't be sure that the tunnel will be stable for long. Alicia orders the rest of the group to go back to the rafts and wait for her to radio them if she finds out where PADRE is, listing the various reasons that her friends can't risk their lives on this mission. Reluctantly, they all agree to leave.

Later, Josiah is amongst the people who flees the area on the rafts.

Season 8[]

"Anton"[]

Victor Strand reveals to Madison Clark that the members of Morgan's group who weren't taken in by PADRE washed ashore in Georgia and were struggling to survive. While everyone eventually died, Josiah was not among the deaths as he had left the group and went elsewhere, leaving him with an unknown fate.

Killed Victims[]

This list shows the victims Josiah has killed:

  • Rufus (Out of Mercy)
  • Numerous counts of zombies and possibly unnamed people

Relationships[]

For a more in-depth look at Josiah's relationships, read here; Josiah LaRoux (Fear)/Relationships

Allies[]

Enemies[]

Appearances[]

Episodes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4
Season 5
Season 6
Season 7
Season 8
Appears Voice is heard
👁 Appears with no lines Appears in a flashback
Appears as a walker 🖼 Appears in a photograph/video
Appears as a corpse Appears in a hallucination/dream

Gallery[]

For more images of Josiah LaRoux, please visit Josiah LaRoux (Fear)/Gallery.

Trivia[]

  • The name Josiah was originally used for Emile LaRoux, but for reasons unknown, the name was changed at the last minute. Instead, they used the name for his brother.
    • The surname LaRoux derives from the Old French word "rous," meaning "red," or "red-haired, suggesting Josiah and Emile trace their ancestry to French colonies.
  • Josiah was mentioned by his brother, though not by name, in "The End Is the Beginning". After Emile gives Walter some cooked beans, Walter compliments them and asks what's in them (tabasco sauce). Emile tells him it's his brother's secret recipe, and that he'd kill him if he "spilled the beans".
  • Alongside Eastman, he is one of only two known characters to take the time to properly bury their walker kills.
  • In "Anton", Strand mentioned that everyone on the rafts who were not taken to PADRE had died. This line was written to explain what happened to all of the other characters who were not seen in Season 8, though writer Nick Bernardone confirmed the throwaway line was not meant to include the bigger characters such as Sarah, Wendell, Jacob, and Josiah. The line was meant for the minor characters such as Maya and Sabrina and all of the extras seen in "Amina". However, since Josiah was never mentioned or seen again, nor was the actor scheduled to be part of Season 8 or given conclusions to his story, he is left with an unknown fate, especially after the 7 year timeskip. At the conclusion of the show, showrunner Andrew Chambliss confirmed that Sarah, Wendell, and Jacob had survived and were part of Luciana's group, but did not mention Josiah.[1][2]

International Dubbers[]

Language Dubber Other Characters Voiced
Czech Zbyšek Horák Ozzy
French Jean-Paul Pitolin Lee Everett
Armando
German N/A N/A
Hungarian N/A N/A
Italian N/A N/A
Japanese N/A N/A
Portuguese N/A N/A
Spanish (Latin America) N/A N/A
Spanish (Spain) N/A N/A

References[]

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