What happened?
Rick, Michonne and Carl take a trip to the sheriff department hoping to retrieve weapons only to discover the town has been converted into a booby-trapped, walker-ridden fortress guarded by a somewhat deranged Morgan. Whilst Rick tries, and fails, to get Morgan to join his group Carl and Michonne bond on a detour to get a photo. The gang get their weapons and head back to their people.
Thoughts
Something of a luxurious episode all told since, by the end, the only thing that had been advanced in plot terms was the extra weapons and ammo the group had acquired and the consolidation of Michonne as a fully paid-up member of Rick's gang. The rest of the episode was mostly dispensable, though did all come with the saving grace of providing longterm fans with a conclusion about the character Morgan, seen in the first episode and never since. There once was a time, mostly during Season One, where Rick would send his radio messages to Morgan and there was always the distinct feeling he may as well have been talking to the trees. . .
It was a terrific surprise when the mask was pulled back and Morgan was revealed. I totally did not expect that!
Morgan clearly had not had a fun time of things since Rick left. Having apparently not been picking up the radio as Rick instructed he had, instead, wound up watching his wife, the walker he could not kill, take his son's life before he put her down permanently. Left alone with intense loss and regret his sanity had rapidly unravelled.
Pretty understandable, considering.
I liked that Morgan's inability to kill his wife had had such devastating consequences since last time we saw him he was weeping, unable to pull the trigger on his wife caught in his crosshair. That moment, seen in retrospect, has been given far more weight due to what we know eventually transpired.
I thought Rick's determination to bring Morgan back with him was stemming from more than just because this man once saved his life. It was played as subtext, but I interpreted it as Rick needing Morgan to come back around as a necessary sign for Rick himself to feel he could come back from the madness he had teetered into. It turned out Morgan was beyond salvation in that manner and it was curiously left to Michonne to assuage Rick's mental issues with her omission that she saw visions of her old boyfriend. (I think that reveal was also a confirmation that Michonne wasn't a lesbian despite all perceptions to the contrary!)
I liked that the show went back and took care of Morgan, and didn't see the need to try and tie things up with a more comforting resolution in the process. It had often crossed my mind that Morgan could be a character that would turn up out of the blue and yet, even in thinking it, I didn't genuinely believe it would happen. I mostly assumed his was a character we met in episode one and would not see again. His plight is a clear sign of how this harsh new world can twist and contort people. The lesson was perhaps obvious to Michonne; without the likes of Rick and Carl and the rest she could become like Morgan, or that poor backpacker begging for a ride and found dead at the end. Trying to go it alone in this world results in madness before death, or just a plain, miserable death.
The point that Rick didn't even entertain helping the backpacker whose plight bookended the episode was interesting. Note how the expected conversation between our heroes about whether or not they should take the backpacker with them didn't even occur. Collectively they had forged a unified belief that it wasn't an option. Yet, incongrously, Rick persevered with Morgan for the reasons I suggested above, about saving his own belief in his recovery. But that the episode ended with the dead backpacker suffering the final indignation of having Rick stop and pick up his backpack for whatever goods they could use for themselves only highlighted the twisted morality of this new world. The life of a madman versus a screaming innocent and the madman, through loyalty, was deemed the more worthy of saving. Rick's group showed they could use whatever the backpacker had, and were also in a position were more manpower could work in their favour back at the prison - but strangers are not welcomed in easily and, so it goes, they are left by the roadside to die if that option is available.
Carl's growth from boy to man is being handled well. This episode showed he still has lingering tendencies towards making risky decisions, though nothing close to how he was in Season Two. Thanks to Morgan's vest he didn't have to be responsible for shooting a man dead as Rick fretted over, though the taking of a life will never compare with having killed his own mother. None-the-less, Carl has maintained a level head and, most importantly, kept his soul intact. In Carl there is hope for humanity; a future where people emerge decent and righteous despite a world of hellish morals.
Is Rick cured of his insanity issues now? The little pep talk from Michonne, and his quip about how he sees things and so let her drive, suggested to me that it's a matter that has been kept on the backburner for now but is in no way over. Just a little more stress could prompt further mental visitations and, as I have stated before, whilst I know this will make for arduous viewing I think it's right for investing belief in the show and characters.
The episode presented an interesting change of pace for this season, feeling exactly like the brief departure from the norm Rick, Michonne and Carl had experienced by going on this road trip. It was by no means a great episode, though the return of Morgan made it feel worthwhile and confirming Michonne as a proper member of the group means that's a matter that no longer needs to be dragged out or debated. She's one of them now. Ready and willing to fight alongside them back at the prison. They have few people but, heck, they sure do have a lot of guns. If there's a fight coming then they have ordnance to give it more than a shot.
What was the best part?
Runner-up for best scene was Carl and Michonne, in the bar, getting the photograph. From Michonne stabbing the walker behind the bar through the head with cool efficiency, to the chase around the room from the pack, it was an adrenaline-jolting moment. But the real gasp wow of the episode was seeing Rick attempt to shoot, whilst not getting shot, the masked man that stalked him from the rooftop and along the booby-trapped street. It was a great action scene in and of itself but then, of course, the mask was ripped away and, holy moly, it was only bloody blast from The Walking Dead past Morgan!
What do I think will happen next?
My previous opinion that Rick was taking Michonne and Carl on an assassination attempt of The Governor proved incorrect, as he was instead gathering arms. So it seems the plan is to make a fortress out of the prison and defend the place with their mighty arsenal. The sneak previews for the next episode indicated that a very tense meeting between Rick and The Governor had been arranged by Andrea, so I can well imagine that being a pivotal scene but one where neither man is willing to back down. Even if they both agree to draw a line under their differences (blood has been spilled on both sides) I suspect neither of them would trust the other enough to let down their guard and not seek to take out the other one before they did the same. Looking forward to seeing Rick and The Governor go head to head, though. . .
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