It’s not so much what’s wrong with Morgan on The Walking Dead, but what’s right with him. I write a ton about The Walking Dead for Heavy.com, and a lot of my readers here don’t get to see those stories. So I’m going to drop in here for a moment to share how absolutely amazing I thought this week’s The Walking Dead was: Season 7 Episode 13, “Bury Me Here.” It was intense and I was really on the edge-of-my-seat for a lot of the time. But one of the most fascinating parts of the story revolved around Morgan and what drives him. SPOILERS through Season 7 Episode 13.
Morgan is tragic and honorable. Never more clear than in Bury Me Here. #TWD Recap Share on XMorgan is a tragic and honorable character. He descended into madness after his zombie-turned wife killed his son and turned him into a zombie, too. Morgan blamed himself: if he had only been willing to kill his wife, then his son would still be alive. His weakness (and his son’s subsequent weakness in not being able to kill his zombie mom) led to an insatiable desire to “clear” all zombies. And as this obsession took hold, he lost his mind.
Here’s an absolutely amazing video that looks at what happened to him:
After Benjamin’s death tonight, Morgan began descending into madness again. And of course he did, since he associated Benjamin with his son when he accidentally called Benjamin “Duane.” After Ben’s death, Morgan began seeing “CLEAR” in flashbacks and felt propelled toward what he used to be.
He only got “clear” of his previous madness because of Eastman’s help.
But he lost it all over again tonight:
It’s hard to know exactly what’s wrong with Morgan. He likely has severe PTSD (who wouldn’t in this world?) and terrible guilt over the death of his son that led to a weird obsessive-compulsive disorder focused on “clearing” zombies. He’s falling into that again, but this time he’s focusing on “clearing” the Saviors.
Morgan wants to CLEAR the Saviors. They won't know what hit them. #TWD Share on XHis obsession/guilt/sickness was passed on to Carol (or perhaps, she just fell victim to the same types of emotions.) She didn’t want to kill anymore either, but now she may have to again. They both may have to.
Ironically, Richard told Morgan that he would have to stop being a “good man” soon and that was OK. Little did he know that this meant killing him. (Not that he didn’t deserve it, let’s be clear. Richard was a sympathetic character, but he went off on his own plan without warning his group and put everyone at risk.)
I thought this episode was phenomenal. If Morgan can find a balance between who he used to be and who he became with Eastman’s help, he may just come out of this even stronger than he was before. But if he can’t, he may descend into a deeper madness that he will never escape.
I hope you’ll read some of the stories I wrote for Heavy about The Walking Dead too. Here are my favorites:
- Season 7 Episode 13 Recap
- What Did Benjamin Say to Morgan Before He Died?
- Morgan’s Back: The Best Memes
- Why Did Morgan Kill Richard?
- Spoiler Photos for Season 7 Episode 14
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