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The Walking Dead – Here’s Not Here Review

Does “Here’s Not Here” provide a satisfying look into Morgan’s backstory?

To be fair, “Here’s Not Here” is actually not a terrible episode. The acting prowess of John Carroll Lynch against a feral Lennie James is top-notch for the entire episode, an episode that basically amounts to a bottle episode. Eastman (Lynch) slowly reining in the crazy that was a broken Morgan is believable and emotional satisfying, despite the eventual and unsurprising grim end.

Ever since Morgan reappeared in the series following the group around, we as an audience have been curious in how he went from crazy kill everyone Morgan to super zen keep everyone alive Morgan. Back in season 3 of “Clear”, Morgan was begging Rick to kill him, doing everything he can to both destroy everything and force nature to take it’s course and end his existence.

Lennie James as Morgan Jones and John Carroll Lynch as Eastman - The Walking Dead _ Season 6, Episode 4 - Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC
Lennie James as Morgan Jones and John Carroll Lynch as Eastman – The Walking Dead _ Season 6, Episode 4 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

Likewise, the feral Morgan attempts to force Eastman to kill him on multiple occasions, only to be reminded time and time again that he himself is his own worst enemy, a victim of his PTSD in an understandably grim reality. Chipping away at Morgan’s self built walls, Eastman eventually gets though to Morgan and instills an idea that all life is precious, no matter how evil it may be. Eastman buying all the walkers he kills is a nice touch in returning their humanity to them, undoing the evil idea that they represent.

“Here’s Not Here” stands pretty well on its own as an episode, and that is probably the biggest problem with it. After the trauma of the first three weeks of this season, “Here’s Not Here” feels like a giant speed bump on the narrative road of the season, bringing all story momentum we’ve had so far to a grinding halt. This is even compounded by being an extended 90 minute episode, which to me felt like a needless extension considering half the episode involved Morgan sitting silent in a jail cell with only a goat to act against.

Other Observations

  • Steven Yeun omitted from the credits and another screw you to the audience.
  • Eastman only had about 20 or so graves in the field, but he buried at least six people in the last couple days. Are there other fields? It’s been two years since the end of the world so surely there would be a lot more graves.
  • What exactly was the point of going back to Morgan’s camp? Couldn’t they have found that crap elsewhere?
  • “What’s your name?” “Kill me.” “That’s a stupid name. It’s dangerous. You should change it.”

By Kien Tran

Based in Dallas, Texas, Kien Tran is an avid television enthusiast. After spending hundreds of hours wasting away on a couch, he decided to actually do something creative with his hobby and created this very blog.

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