The Walking Dead: Who died in Here’s Not Here?

Death is rarely escaped on The Walking Dead, and Season 6 episode 4 was no exception. Here’s Not Here sheds light on the transformation of Morgan Jones from crazy Clear guy to bo staff wielding pacifist. Let us review and explore the deaths along his journey in episode 4.

The episode begins with Morgan sharing his story with whom we presume to be the Wolf who attacked him at the end of episode 2.  A series of flashbacks begin as follows.

In a flashback to season three’s episode Clear, Morgan tells Rick that he was “supposed” to kill his wife, who had turned. He went on to explain that when he was unable to do it, she took a fatal bite out of their son, Duane, leaving Morgan alone with this tragic memory.

While we never see the death of Morgan’s son Duane on screen, Morgan appears to be reliving it at every turn. It may be up for debate, but I believe Morgan is talking to himself as he rants “you were supposed to”, “you had the gun”, and “you had the knife”.

At every turn he re-lives the event in his memory and blames himself for not using the “gun” or the “knife”. There is no moving forward. In paradoxical fashion, he finds his only purpose in life to be killing anyone and everyone, alive or undead, that crosses his path. It’s not about protecting himself or others, but rather the rote motions of clearing.

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That brings us to our first two deaths. Morgan annihilates walker after walker in the woods. We then see two men very much alive running in his direction. As they reach Morgan hiding crouched by a tree, Morgan pierces one through the throat and chokes the life out of the other. Yet, there appears to be no motive for Morgan apart from clearing. It is the only thing he knows to do, the only thing that shields him from the pain of his memories, especially the inability to save his son.

Morgan reaches a picturesque meadow  in the woods, and hears the bleating of a goat — signs of life. There is a cabin in the woods, and a voice.

Morgan’s first instinct is to kill the stranger. Instead he is swiftly taken “prisoner” by Eastman, the forensic psychiatrist who eventually helps bring Morgan out of the darkness of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).

We learn of Eastman’s own tragic loss and dark secrets all while he teaches Morgan the discipline of Aikido and shows him a way to embrace and protect life, as Eastman himself has learned to do.

Eastman has a goat, Tabitha, that serves as more than just a source of milk for cheese making. In my mind, she represents the fragility and vulnerability of life.

Morgan begins to feel a sense of responsibility for protecting Tabitha and begins to emerge from his sense of isolation. He also befriends Eastman and they prepare for a journey together.

However, as they travel to Morgan’s old campsite to retrieve supplies for the trip, Eastman falls prey to a walker bite, eventually becoming victim number three in the episode.

More loss ensues as Morgan returns to the cabin to find Tabitha being feasted upon by a walker.

With both Eastman and Tabitha gone, Morgan chooses to impart on the long journey that eventually leads to his reunion with Rick. We assume that he hones his Aikido skills and the practice of pacifism along the way.

But now in the present, in Alexandria, his new ideology is at odds with that of the other survivors. And we see that he is holding someone extremely dangerous prisoner. Will this decision take blame for future deaths? Only time will tell.

But for The Walking Dead‘s season 6 episode 3 Here’s Not Here, we have a total count of 3 human deaths:
— 2 unnamed men in the woods
— 1 struggling cheese maker named Eastman

And while not a human loss, let us not forget Tabitha, the sweet goat that first gave Morgan a reason to protect others again.

Until next week . . .