Air Date: Sunday, November 1, 2015 at 9/8c on AMC
Rating:
“Walkers, people, anything that gets anywhere near me, I kill ‘em. I clear. ” – Morgan
Morgan is more than meets the eye.
The Walking Dead (TWD) gives us a Morgan (Lennie James) centric episode and I could not be happier. There is a deep unknown when it comes to Morgan’s story. We’ve missed out on a lot since his first encounter with Rick (Andrew Lincoln) in season one. Every bone that’s thrown in reference to Morgan, I happily scoop up. He’s the one character I’ve never forgotten, am always excited to see, and look forward to learning more about. So how does “Here’s Not Here” round out the Morgan mystery? With the road to redemption.
What I like most about “Here’s Not Here” is director Steven Williams’ use of the camera in order to distort various scenes. The fishbowl lens pulls the viewers attention to a central focus. You can’t look anywhere else but at Morgan, getting sucked into deciphering his actions. The blurred, pulsating effect reflects Morgan’s thoughts fluctuating in the same way. The push and pull of his wavering ideals is hypnotic. Morgan is not a simple character to dissect. Here he is, out of sorts and on a rampage—his thoughts and state of mind are not the best—and the camera shots help to breakdown the bigger pieces of his story.
What Do You Think About…?
Eastman breaks Morgan out of his mental cage.
Eastman (John Caroll Lynch), the cheese maker leaves a serious impression. This is how you introduce a new character. This is the way to create do a filler episode that doesn’t feel like a filler episode at all. Eastman is an out-of-the-box character. He’s a vegetarian, which, when you think about it, is kind of ironic. “Everyone turns” eventually and what do they eat? Sorry, Eastman. I digress. He helps Morgan just as much, if not more than, Morgan helps him. How long has Eastman been in that cabin all alone? And why does he bury the walkers he kills? Is that a sign of Eastman’s mental instability or is he making a point? With the line, “I have come to believe all life is precious,” we learn something about Eastman. He hasn’t let go of his humanity. He realizes the walkers were once someone’s wife, husband, or child. They should be treated with some modicum of respect because of who they once were. There is a sense of dignity in what Eastman does.
Morgan is indeed a killer. We didn’t know the motive behind Morgan’s actions before Eastman diagnoses him with PTSD. I think his quest to be peaceful comes from a deep place. Morgan’s conscience is his constant friend. What he does eats at his soul, and that is something Morgan can’t hide or run from. “Pointless acts; everybody turns.” These words hit hard. Morgan’s act of clearing has a point but he feels it’s still pointless. So why do it? Because it gives him something to do. It gives him a reason to continue.
This graveyard holds knowledge we haven’t even tapped into yet.
Morgan kills a walker with his hands tied in front of him. What do you think happened to that person, knowing what we know about the people in this post-apocalyptic world?
Why doesn’t Morgan try the cell door before trying to find another way out of his cage? The significance behind the unlocked door to his cell relates to the door in his mind. All Morgan has to do is try the door and see how easy it is for him to break free of his confinement. He simply needed to be told there is another way.
Memorable and funny lines
Eastman: “What’s your name?”
Morgan: “Kill me.”
Eastman: “That’s a stupid name; it’s dangerous. You should change it.”
**
Eastman to Morgan: “I will not allow you to kill me. I will not allow that.”
How powerful are these words? Eastman takes away the choice of being a victim to someone else’s desire/need to remove him from the earth. The writing hits so hard in “Here’s Not Here.”
**
Morgan: “I said not here.”
Eastman: “That’s the thing, Morgan. Here’s not here.”
Morgan doesn’t want to have his come to Jesus moment in a place where he was essentially in a bad place. But it might have been the thing that broke Morgan out of his mental cage.
**
Overall
This walker is someone Morgan killed. Just how long was Morgan with Eastman because the decomp on this walker is major.
The writing, Williams’ direction, and acting by both Lynch and James makes “Here Not Here” one of the best episodes of the season. It moves at a slower pace yet doesn’t feel sluggish at all. I was riveted to my screen, didn’t want it to end even after the full 90 minutes, and am still gathering my thoughts on how awesome “Here’s Not Here” is in the whole of the TWD universe. And, in full disclosure, I’m sad for Morgan. His story is one of many, as we know. He can’t be the only person suffering PTSD after all that has happened. Some handle it differently but others react like Morgan end up broken. Most of his sayings are phrases trapped in his mind, coming from a place of blame and guilt. Morgan blames himself for a lot and has serous guilt over being alive when his loved ones are not. The Walking Dead has no qualms about showing the consequences of actions, whether positive or negative. What Morgan does or doesn’t do ends up biting someone else in the back (too soon?) and is one more thing for him to live with. Now, as you think back on past episodes this season, what else can you say Morgan has left behind to bite someone in the back? This is like Carl (Chandler Riggs) not killing the walker who causes Dale’s (Jeffrey DeMunn) death all over again. I understand the need for peace and that “all life is precious” but some people don’t have the compassion needed to tap into their humanity to accept the life offered them. How do the survivors deal with the people who want to kill them because “those are the rules” they must abide by? And last, but not least, I’m not holding onto hope that Glenn (Steven Yeun) is hiding out under a dumpster. I no longer have that kind of hope. Let me know what you think about “Here’s Not Here” by dropping me a line in the comments section below or tweet me @ellemoe.
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Photo credit: Gene Page/AMC © 2010-2015 American Movie Classics Company, LLC. All rights reserved.
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