Morgan has finally snapped, Benjamin is dead, and Carol is on the rise in The Walking Dead’s ‘Bury Me Here’. Richard’s unending need for a war to break out resulted in tragedy and his own death at the hands of Morgan. He thought he’d escaped the need to die and was ready and willing to use Benjamin’s death to be a leader in the upcoming war. Talk about poetic justice.
Also, is it just me or have these seasons gotten slower every year. I understand build up, it’s the essence of good storytelling, but I’ve found myself aching for things to move faster in the war against Negan. This back and forth between the different locations is to blame for that. The Walking Dead has so many chess pieces on the board that they have to give them equal time before the grand finale.
I truly miss the days when it was just Rick & Co. against the world.
The Fall of Morgan
In Benjamin he saw a part of his son. He saw an opportunity to have that bond with someone again – someone he could guide, someone he could mentor, someone he could care about. Richard took it all away and Morgan couldn’t stand for that. From the moment that he confessed what he’d done, Richard became the physical embodiment of the apocalypse and Morgan had to snuff it out before it could cause more damage.
Additionally, I think Morgan could see how lost Richard was. He was willing to sacrifice himself to start a war and didn’t mind the fact that there would be losses once it started. Now I understand that all great wars have loss. But Richard was pushing the Kingdom into something that they weren’t ready for. War will come for the Kingdom, it is inevitable with the Saviors, but it is their choice and they need to prepare for it.
Like Carol, Morgan needs to find a balance between the man he was before and the man he is now. The fault of Morgan is that after he lost his child he went from one extreme to another – lost and paranoid man to zen master who wouldn’t even kill unless it was absolutely necessary. Hopefully his stay at Carol’s home will give him time to figure out what kind of man he wants to be next and what he wants to fight for.
The Rise of Carol
The Carol we see rising is not the same woman from before. She’s stronger, more assured, more in touch with her emotions. And I know people hated that she separated herself from the group. They called her selfish, a coward, for sneaking away. But it came from a place of love, she wanted to protect them from herself, and she needed it to find out what kind of woman she wanted to be in the apocalypse.
Before the apocalypse she was a victim of abuse, struggling to keep herself alive and protect her daughter. When the apocalypse started she began adapting to the new world order with the pain of the last one still with her. The loss of her husband, swiftly followed by that of her daughter, gave her no room to figure out who she wanted to be. She just became hard, she pushed all the pain down, and transformed into someone she didn’t even recognize.
The Carol we see right now knows what she is capable of and has found a semblance of peace for what she has done. She’s ready and willing to fight for those she loves and to finally start living. (Maybe with Ezekiel? Daryl?) Carol knows she can’t hide anymore and that the world has continued moving while she stood still. It’s her time to start moving with it.
Predictions for What’s Next
First off, there’s no way that Negan’s going to die. Rosita and Sasha are deviating from the norm in hopes of killing him, but you know how these stories go, and one of them will die instead. The fact that the actress that plays Sasha has a new show coming around, points the finger at her.
Rick could also be the next one to bite the bullet. He’ll do anything for his people and if The Walking Dead wanted to shock us and take a risk, this would be it. But then again, we still remember what happened to The X-Files when Mulder left or The Vampire Diaries after Elena left, both shows ended up being on borrowed time.
The war with the Saviors, which is just around the corner, is a fight for power in the region. With the Saviors having a strong foothold in the area, they will only be weakened in the upcoming war, not decimated. Fear is a strong and powerful thing, and they know how to wield it. And for all we know, there might be someone waiting in the shadows, ready to take the little bit of control the Saviors will lose.
Maybe they’re worse than Negan. Maybe they’re better. And maybe we’ve already seen a glimpse of them, their faces covered with the flesh of the dead…
Additional Notes:
- Someone hurt Jerry.
- Why would you hurt Jerry?
- He’s just trying to eat his cobbler!
- We will fight for Jerry!
- P.S. The girl with the overalls is the realist person on this show.
Favorite Scene from The Walking Dead’s Bury Me Here:
It’s just Carol Peletier, out for a stroll.
Check out the trailer for next week’s episode:
The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9/8c on AMC.