Final Thoughts from The Walking Dead Episode "Here's Not Here"

OK, I'll admit, I was as curious as the next person when it came to Morgan's transformation from being half insane and violent to his current self. But, I'm not sure if the series really needed to dedicate a whole episode focusing on his friendship with Eastman and how he became the person he is now.

This is especially true given the fact last week's episode ended on a cliffhanger with Glenn (Steven Yeun) apparently dead and Rick (Andrew Lincoln) surrounded by walkers. I find it really hard to believe the writers couldn't have found a way to use the extended, 90-minute episode to follow up on those stories while, in between, showing us his past.

The second we were introduced to this new character, I pretty much figured he wasn't going to survive the episode and even pinpointed the moment he was going to get bitten.

This is mostly because, when we were first reintroduced to Morgan, he was traveling by himself. Naturally, that means either Eastman decided to stay behind or died. The latter made much more sense given Morgan's transformation because there are times when he still seems very tempted to kill but is holding back, as though he's trying to honor Eastman's memory.

I know this is a bit of an odd question given the nature of this episode/show. But, to give milk, the goat needed to be pregnant (and she sure did look pregnant in a couple of those shots). Yet, as far as I could tell, he only had the one goat. So, unless, out of pure luck, he found her in that state, it is something I'm sincerely curious about.

It's probably just me, but I just don't see how keeping the Wolves' leader locked in one of the houses inside Alexandria's walls will turn out to be a good decision. Perhaps Morgan will work his magic on the man and make him a productive member of the community. But, I can't help but feel this is going to backfire.

At minimum, if his captive is discovered, I fully expect it to cause some serious tension between him and Rick (assuming Rick is still alive). I also wonder if maybe he'll have to choose to break his peaceful vows and kill the other man in order to save someone else.

My wife and I decided to watch this instead of watching the Green Bay Packers play on Sunday Night Football. As it turns out, it was an ugly game and we didn't miss much. However, I honestly don't feel this episode was a much better choice. 

While there was some incentive to show Morgan's story, the decision to dedicate a special 90-minute episode to it really doesn't make a lot of sense, especially since it could easily have been summarized, over a series of short flashbacks, without us losing much in translation. I personally think I would have preferred to see that and had the episode answer our cliffhanger questions at the same time.

My Grade: C