The Walking Dead Season 6 Episode 4 Review: All About Morgan

"The Walking Dead" took a surprising turn this week. Instead of showing us exactly what happened to Glenn, "Here Not There" devoted 90 minutes to Morgan's journey. While we all love Morgan and want to know how he went from bat shit crazy to zen master, we REALLY NEED TO KNOW IF GLENN IS STILL ALIVE. Thanks, I feel much better now. Back to Morgan.

When Rick and Michonne last saw Morgan in season 3, his mental state had greatly deteriorated. He sets fire to his fortress and wanders through the woods killing every zombie AND human on sight. "Walkers, people, anything that gets near me I kill them. I clear them." Great scene with the walker emerging from the fire at night!

I Feel Like A Ninja Turtle

Morgan happens upon a cabin in the woods. He plans to kill the guy but instead ends up in a cage. Like who keeps a cage in their house? A man named Eastman lives there with his goat Tabitha. He's from Atlanta and was a forensic psychiatrist pre zombie apocalypse. Time passes. Neither men speak for some days. Eastman eventually tells Morgan he has PTSD and can get better. Morgan is having none of it.

Morgan plans an escape but the cell door has been unlocked all along. Wouldn't you try that first? "You stay or you go. The couch or the door. Those are your choices. But I will not allow you to kill me." Stupid Morgan attacks him anyway. Eastman uses aikido to fend him off. Morgan silently goes back to his cell. Eventually he relaxes and starts to be trained by Eastman. Morgan must come to terms with what he's done and move forward. "It's about redirecting, evading and actually caring about the welfare of your opponent...To accept everyone. To protect everyone. And in doing that protect yourself. To create peace."

Eastman tells the story of Creighton Dallas Wilton. He was one of the many prisoners Eastman worked with. Eastman knew Creighton was a psychopath. Everyone else was completely fooled. Wilton later broke out of jail and killed Eastman's wife and two children. Eastman captured Creighton and brought him back to the cell. There it took Creighton 47 days to starve to death. Eastman thought the death would bring him satisfaction but it didnt. At least Creighton can't kill anyone else.

RIP Eastman & Tabitha The Goat

Eastman is bitten by a Walker trying to protect Morgan. Stupid Morgan. It's all your fault. Eastman is reconciled to the fact that he will die. Morgan buries him with a marker (just as Eastman had always done with the walkers). Morgan takes off walking again. With him is Eastman's lucky rabbit foot (which we see in other episodes).

You Really Should Take This Guy At His Word

In the last scene we learn who Morgan was retelling this story it. It's the same wolf he let live earlier. The guy point black tells Morgan what he plans. "I'm going to have to kill you Morgan. I'm going to have to kill every person here-- everyone of them, the children too. Just like your friend Eastman's children. Those are the rules. That's my code." Morgan contemplates what to do. Should he let him go? We know he will be a constant threat? I can tell ya what I'd do. It involves repeatedly beating him in the head with a stick. Morgan instead locks him a cell (just like what happened to Wilton). I think. I still like my solution better though.

Favorite Quotes:

"Get it before it gets you."- Morgan.
"Walkers, people, anything that gets near me I kill them. I clear them."- Morgan.
"Pointless acts. Everybody turns."- Morgan.
Eastman: "What's your name?" Morgan: "Kill me". Eastman: "That's a stupid name. It's dangerous. You should change it."
"You stay or you go. The couch or the door. Those are your choices. But I will not allow you to kill me."- Eastman to Morgan.
"It's about redirecting, evading and actually caring about the welfare of your opponent...To accept everyone. To protect everyone. And in doing that protect yourself. To create peace."- Eastman.
"I'm going to have to kill you Morgan. I'm going to have to kill every person here-- everyone of them, the children too. Just like your friend Eastman's children. Those are the rules. That's my code.

Grade: 4 Monsters (out of 5). This episode showed us a different side of Morgan. I just thought he was stupid when he let the Wolves live. But this shows us WHY he did what he did. I still dont agree with him though. As my daddy is fond of saying "bad guys need a five cent solution" (which translates to a bullet to the head). Bad guys hurt people because they enjoy it. Good guys hurt people because they're stuck in bad situations. That's the difference.

Also bonus points for John Carroll Lynch's performance. The last time I saw him was as the killer clown Twisty on "American Horror Story: Freak Show". Quite a change in pace.