How Morgan Crosses Over to ‘Fear the Walking Dead’

Lawrence Yee
TV The Walking Dead
TV The Walking Dead

One of the original characters from The Walking Dead is departing to join its sister show, Fear the Walking Dead. Ever since it was announced Lennie James would make the move, fans have speculated what causes his character Morgan to leave Rick Grimes’ group.

Fans were introduced to Morgan in the very first episode of The Walking Dead. He shelters Rick after the police officer wakes from his coma following the zombie outbreak. He and his son Duane stay in Atlanta after Rick leaves to find his family. At some point, Duane is killed, and Morgan goes insane from grief.

Descent to Darkness

The Walking Dead Jesus Morgan
Morgan uses his aikido skills against his friend Jesus

In Season 3, Rick and Morgan reunite, but Morgan doesn’t recognize Rick in his disturbed state. It isn’t until Season 5 that Morgan appears at Alexandria, joining the community in its fight against the Wolves, and later Negan’s Saviors. Fans learn via flashback that between Seasons 3 and 5, Morgan learns aikido and how to wield a staff from a man named Eastman.

Season 7 and 8 show Morgan’s transformation from a pacifist to a cold-blooded killing machine, particularly after the death of his ward, Benjamin, at the hands of the Saviors. At one point, Morgan calls Benjamin “Duane,” the name of his dead son. He entered a trance-like state and murders many Saviors at the satellite outpost. Later, he attacks Jesus over what to do with prisoners. Morgan doesn’t believe they should be shown mercy.

After returning to Hilltop, Morgan lies to Benjamin’s brother Henry, saying that the Savior Gavin killed him (when in reality it is Jared). Morgan is about to kill Gavin when Henry stabs him in the neck from behind. Carol is deeply disturbed by these actions and tells Morgan that he is “not fine.”

With only a handful of episodes left, it seems the final confrontation between the Saviors and Rick’s group is what drives Morgan away. The newly released trailer hints that it’s his decision to leave.

Revealing Quotes

“Back east, there was a fight, a big fight,” Morgan says in Fear’s Season 4 trailer. “I didn’t know how to make it stop. Good people died. I lose people and then I lose myself.”

Losing himself may refer to losing control, as he’s been driven to homicidal rages in the past. What drives him to this point? The ghost of Gavin may hold the key. A bloody Gavin appears to Morgan in hallucinations, repeating “You know what it is. You were supposed to.”

These aren’t random words. They were previously uttered by Morgan himself, way back in the Season 6 episode “He’s Not Here.” In the episode, Morgan says, “You had the knife, you had the gun. You were supposed to. You know you were supposed to!”

What Morgan was supposed to do was kill his zombified wife Jenny. His inaction led to the death of his son; Jenny killed Duane off-camera, and Morgan has suffered since. The death of Benjamin serves as an additional trigger, as Morgan saw him as a son. Does Morgan kill to the point where Rick’s group fears and banishes him? Or does he impose self-exile so he’s not a threat to his friends?

What’s Next

Somehow, Morgan makes his way from D.C. to Texas. He’s definitely worse for wear, wearing mismatched shoes and sporting a leg wound. Whether he received that wound during a fight with the Saviors or on the road hasn’t been revealed, but one thing’s clear: he’s on his own.

Fans will find out as he transitions from one show to another. Fear the Walking Dead returns April 15 on AMC.

Lawrence Yee
Lawrence is Editor in Chief of FANDOM. He grew up loving X-Men, Transformers, and Japanese-style role playing games like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. First-person shooters make him incredibly nauseous.