‘The Walking Dead’ Season 6, Episode 4 Recap: The Making of Morgan

Morgan is the future. Carol is the present.

I predict it won't end well for Morgan personally, but he'll serve as an impetus and influence that barbarism and vicious savagery as necessary as it is is unsustainable.

Sooner or later Rick will realize the need for self preservation and survival is ultimately useless if it means the prospect of an apocalyptic hellscape for Carl, Judith and the younger generation.

Carol transformed from zombie bait into a ruthless survivor and would seem to be more well suited for the long term than Morgan , but he's on to something with his transformation and I believe his impact will be to turn the tide and direction.

Rick will realize that sheer, brutal survival isn't enough and the emphasis will switch to an attempt to build a peaceful, healthy world out of the ruins of civilization.

Of course with plenty of carnage and mayhem along the way.

I can't help myself . . Predictions for Morgan & Rick--he is going to attempt to turn/redirect his Wolf and fail. This will shatter him b/c, tho he may not know it, he is trying to prove to himself he is no longer the "wolf" he used to be. Morgan will then revert to his suicidal-killer mode only to be brought to a middle path by Rick. Rick also has a melt down as he realizes his kill-them-all-do-it-now failed to fully protect his family, group, community. So, both Morgan & Rick will be brought back to their personal ground zeros due to their extreme stances, and help each other find a middle ground.

NOTE: remember Morgan's little argument w/Carol in JSS? "I had this. You don't have to kill. You don't like it." Doesn't make sense in the middle of a vicious attack. But it does is you see he was really trying to work out the conflict between his old and new self.

A recurring theme here with Morgan. Who else will he sacrifice to his reluctance to administer the kill-(or REkill-)shot?

The walker-wife he couldn't bear to shoot eventually bit their teenage son, which precipitated his descent into madness.

The hostile stranger he couldn't bear to shoot eventually turned and bit the teacher who gave him the road back to sanity.

Ookay. I think Morgan's next teacher needs to be a bit more comfortable with The Carl Grimes Method™ -- look at that former child crosswise and receive an instant sunroof.

Observations/questions on 2nd viewing of Here's Not Here:

--Morgan painted an "A" on one of the rocks. What. Does. A. Mean.??!!?? Please! Someone tell me what it means! This is at least the 6th time it's shown up. Morgan used it, the Termians used it, Sam used it . . .

--Morgan twice repeated, "16 hours in 19 on the floor." What does that mean?

--You can clearly see Eastman struggling w/the impulse to kill Morgan a couple of times, just as Morgan does in JSS.

--Eastman said, "I'm sorry," to Morgan just before he knocked him out & put him in the cell. Morgan said the same to "his" Wolf in JSS. Morgan mirrors Eastman in what Eastman said and did--except, he locked the door the where he stashed the Wolf.

--Morgan mirrors the Wolf he captured. When Morgan was in a cell, he told Eastman he was going to kill Eastman if he got out, which is what Morgan's Wolf said to him. And Morgan did try to kill Eastman as soon as he stepped out of the cell. Conclusion--Morgan is a "nutshell" of the apocalypse in extremis: indiscriminate, vicious killer and protector of all life at all times.

I enjoyed this episode, but I think it could've woven into a few episodes like Michonne's backstory. It was a okay deflection away from the craziness of the first three episodes. Let's just hope it's not a trend.

Re people getting bitten by walkers: if they're Alexandrians who've lived for 2-3 years in comparative luxury w/o walkers around corners or behind trees, they're stunned by their new reality. If it's Rick, he's just discovered the jar of baby food & is having an "oh s#%^ moment about his pointedly defended decision to stick w/herding the herd instead of heading for home--after all he's been through, this would be the colossal f-up of all time, and it's understandable he would lose sense of time & place. I've never seen him look so scared since he 1st entered Atlanta. If someone experienced doesn't hear walkers treading on leaves, then, as someone on YouTube suggested, perhaps there's been hearing loss after long-term exposure to gunfire and explosions. Failing all that--it's a TV show.

TPTB should have placed the goat on contract status. Far more interesting a character than any of the fools Rick and Morgan and the gang encountered in Alexandria. And whatever happened to talented Tovah Feldshuh playing strong women? I hope she's getting paid well for this thankless gig.

Any time I have to endure a martial arts montage set by a creek or other body of water, I require a barf bag nearby.

I got goose bumps mid episode when it occurred to me perhaps Crighton Dallas Wilton was the man living in the cabin. He killed Eastman and took over his identity. Morgan has no idea who his salvation truly came from.

Disappointed. I'm not a fan of Morgan. 90 minutes of touchy feely, give-peace-a-chance nonsense was awful.

I found this episode frustrating. I continue to become frustrated with the writers believing we are that dumb; Carter being bitten by a zombie behind trees that for no reason is standing still and not moaning in the middle of nowhere, last week you had the Alexandrian that was standing with the others looking down on a wounded AGAIN in the middle of the forest and you have a walker not only be silent but walk on leaves that make no sound and bite him in the back, uh hello?!? no one has peripheral vision? Rick is in the RV and doesn't close the door knowing their are a kazillion zombies out there but he is going to sart the RV and drive off,then this week Morgan not once leans up on the bars?
I find it hard to fathom that for someone that considers all life precious now he can shrug off the responsibility that someone he did not finish off came back to kill someone he respected and had come to care about. I would be beside myself and feel someway somehow responsible. Sorry, I just didn't see how this episode was meant to make us feel how Morgan loves life when he was responsible for his friends death by killing someone and not feel guilty about the repercussions of his actions.

This episode didn't cause The Walking Dead to jump the shark, it jumped a whale... boring from beginning to merciful end. It left me wishing the Eastman character survived because he was enormously interesting (akin to the British psychologist/chef on Bones) and that some walking nobody bit Morgan who, in turn, bit the dust.

It seems the only interest Morgan engenders as a character has been gifted to him by viewers. Looked at objectively, he's a mess. Whether he's willing to kill or not, whether he has a dark side or not, it's all irrelevant because either way, he's just plain dreary, and last night, dreary came super-sized.

The Walking Dead has become directionless, and the fact is, they want it that way. We don't want any glimmers of hope creeping in now, do we? So they're left with trying to find ways to make the same-old different. Well, they succeeded "brilliantly" then with this episode, The show is usually deadly, but this episode was deadly dull.

Morgan was kinda a jerk to the couple at the end. At least he didn't kill them. But still he took their food, which he did not need. He also took their last bullet, which also he did not need. And he did not direct them to the perfectly good empty cabin they could use as that guy's leg rehabilitates. If Morgan was really nice he'd travel with them to Alexandria. Every life is precious, so keeping them alive would be honoring that.

Love Lennie James and John Carroll Lynch.

Hate predictable story lines that echo every '80 low budget karate movie.

Best parts of the episode were the departure: seeing a spot that works amongst the apocalyptic horror, i.e., solar panels, domesticated animals. JCLs goat cheese reactions were priceless. Could have done with more of that and less of the absurd training footage. JCL was perfectly cast as a forensic psychologist, not so much a martial arts master. If Akidio is the art of protecting yourself and your opponent, the master did a horrible job.

I think the hamlet could have been better served as a safe retreat from Alexandria.

Disappointing... 90 minute episode that advanced the plot by about 3 minutes. Could have been a webisode or DVD bonus; with so many characters and 12 episodes in the season, this is not how I would choose to allocate precious time.

Had a hard time believing Lynch (in girth, during a crisis, and also as a vegan), and his cold, matter of fact delivery.

Easy to say you won't kill after you've gotten your justice.

Too many characters die from the stupid walker bites - it is a lazy contrivance, and made no sense here for the supposed aikido master.

Generally love the show, but this was a fail in my book.

For those on the Glenn watch, my guess is the mysterious return in some form is as DNA in Maggie's belly...

I loved this episode, which was predictable after studying aikido and loving that too. Just FYI, the three characters making up the word ai-ki-do are Harmony, Energy, and Way, which one could translate as 'a way of harmonizing with the universal spirit'. The 'ai' is also the character for 'love'.

I've only had to use aikido in defense a couple of times, but it was highly useful for physical harmoniousness or something; since studying it I still trip over things, but I don't fall down. When things fall off my desk I catch them, left hand or right. The times somebody forced me to use it on them, I could have broken bones but didn't, didn't need to.

So I recommend it highly for everyone that would like some self-defense ability, or just a method of being prepared for sudden physical mishap.

The storyline was excellent too, of a wise man managing to make a life for himself in the zombie apocalypse, and managing to save Morgan from total devolution. It answered a lot of things about the rabbit's foot, the cheesemaker, the stunned and bemused expression on Morgan when he held Judith, and his overall changes and outlook.

And it was a great stand-alone episode too, most of the rest are part of some larger story, there's only a few like this that have an entire tale encapsulated, and I think they're some of the best episodes.

Can hardly wait 'til Sunday now. And by the way, GLENN LIVES! Either that or he shall have become more powerful than we can possibly imagine.

We needed a "breather"? It's a weekly show.

A wonderfully acted and splendidly produced episode, but nothing new. It's kind of what I imagined Morgan's life to have been like in the intervening years.
Eastman did not go through the collapse of civilization and the values he's taught to Morgan are fine if there are two people involved in a conflict.
But it's not Morgan vs the Wolf. Morgan's decision to free the Wolves has resulted in death and destruction, and his NOT killing the captive Wolf promises more of the same.
I hope Carol comes by real soon.

I thought this was a great episode with one of my favorite characters.
You know, for all the whining about how TWD kills off black characters, Morgan and Michonne have been given the richest backstories of pretty much any the other characters. Maybe, that's why Michonne is my other favorite character.
And, John Carroll Lynch, a journeyman actor I've seen for years with never even knowing his name, was so wonderful and so real. On Talking Dead, too.
As much as goats with their cloven hooves and cat eyes freak me out, I liked Tabitha, too.
I trust that Morgan has seen the flaws in his logic about the preciousness of a life that wants to kill him and everyone he knows...something about the pause before he took out the key to lock the Wolf in the basement.

I don't worry about Yeun not being in the credits since he wasn't in the episode. I want Glenn back.

If leaving Yuen's name off the credits turns out to be a red herring--another red herring?--then the critics who say TWD producers are ruining the integrity of the show are correct. Right now, it's a fun and frustrating mystery w/lots of clues. Let's hope this isn't an Agatha Christie ex machina that'll turn TWD into what its haters have always called it--just another zombie show.

Aikdio, and Morgan use a Jo staff, not a Bo staff. :-)

I thought that the young Wolf to whom Morgan told his story had been bitten by a walker. That'd make his time in lockup (as a living prisoner, anyway) much shorter than 47 days.

Nice to have time to reconnoiter and gain some insight. The artful camera work and editing added to the story instead of confusing it like E1.

Didn't someone in E2 or 3 say that adapting was the key to surviving? Having a code is a good base to build from, but strict, all or nothing adherence only leads to those pesky, profound questions commonly expressed as, "But if I do that, I'll die, or the people I love will die." Again, how important IS survival in this world? (And Morgan could have been the Original Wolf. Had the Wolves known of his Clear self, they'd have worshiped him. If he slips from that code-chain, and we've seen him struggle with it already, EVERYBODY better run!)

While the expected many will decry a 90-minute "nothing happens" episode, I think it's a comment on the current state of things. It's also the calm before the coming storm, and it adds a more dramatic dynamic re how people's choices, i.e., kill or be killed, will shape the group.

Just a reminder about that Del Arno Foods trailer truck just sitting there at Alexandria's gate like an unopened treasure chest.

Another comment...while Lynch hit it out of the ballpark with his performance, I want to give kudos to Benedict Samuel (had to really search to find this out), who plays the Alpha Wolf at the end of the episode. His 5 minutes is also entirely gripping and out of the ballpark for its portion. Walking Dead really gets the most amazing actors - he's Australian, Lenny James and Andrew Lincoln is English, and the show is the most highly cast with fabulous African-American actors.

Eastman was certainly a surprise. I hadn't pictured Morgan's Jedi master as an overweight, balding, middle-aged white guy.

I loved the episode; after the increasing amounts of shock and gore, we needed a quiet episode...it was shows like this that got me hooked on the series in the first place. Perhaps it was a bit predictable (I figured Eastman was going to die by saving Morgan, and the goat too) but the length didn't bother me. In fact, I think it needed to be that long for the restoration of Morgan's humanity to be credible--I liked it being "two steps forward, one step back", rather than a little chat, a little food and he's sane again.

It was a beautiful episode, and thought it was well worth the 90 minutes because this wasn't a journey/transformation that should have been rushed - it only works if you see what a difficult turn it was for Morgan.

In much the same way, the episodes that followed the Governor (after the first attack on the prison) needed to be allowed time t show his attempts to reform and then his descent back into manipulation and paranoia.

Contrast that with a show like, say, Blacklist, which is about 8 hours worth of amazing storytelling/character development stretched out to try to fill 22 episodes.

In Aikido, the ideal and the goal is to do as little harm as possible to the attacker.
In TWD, it is a beautiful thing that Eastman was able to live in such a way in such extreme circumstances.
None of us live in such a place. Our choices are easier.
And yes, sometimes the level of defense may have to be commensurate with the level of the threat, but Aikido allows you the choice. It makes you aware that you have the power and the responsibility to choose the appropriate level of response.

The tv show needs to be 90 minutes long because the commercials are getting longer. If you cut out the commercials, the show is barely 60 minutes, which is about the length of tv shows on the premium channels.

Morgan as a character is like a non-lethal version of Forest Whitaker's "Ghost Dog." But the problem with Morgan's insistence on a code is going to get others killed instead of just himself. He seemed to be realizing that by the end of the Wolves' attack.
By the way, the "do" of aikido is the Japanese borrowing of the Chinese "dao" (tao). It is a general term in these usages and perfectly translated as "way," describing both a physical and mental path.

Clear has long been my favorite episode, but there was nothing in this one that couldn't have been covered within the usual timeframe. Devoting so much time to Morgan's arc makes me think that the wolves he doesn't kill will destroy Alexandria, and at least one character we care about. So Morgan, aren't their lives precious, too?

The season is bogging down and the Glenn twist is a sign of that. If Glenn is to die,he should be with Maggie.If he is to survive,this will strain fans sense that the core group will survive. Who could suffer next? Rick's son? We kind of know with Hershel's death that all our vulnerable but the producers are now toying with us as they did with the Terminus stay last year. Also,Talking Dead with Chris H. is becoming way too supportive of the producers. Yes,it is their show but the host should push back more at plot points which increasingly are not helping fans understand this season or care about the Alexandria community.

Touching and heartbreaking episode - loved it. Great acting and story. So sorry to see Eastman go.

Steven Yeun's name was left out of the opening credits.