‘The Walking Dead’: Morgan’s Brutality Is the Other Midseason Shocker

Jlabay
TV The Walking Dead
TV The Walking Dead

SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers from the Season 8, Episode 9 of The Walking Dead, entitled “Honor.” Proceed with caution.

The Walking Dead returned and hit fans with a heavy episode full of sad goodbyes between Carl Grimes and his loved ones. Though Carl’s death was foreseen by many, Morgan’s brutal evolution proved to the midseason premiere’s big shocker.

Morgan’s Carnage Begins

In the previous episode, Ezekiel’s fate was left open-ended as The Kingdom was overrun with Gavin and his Saviors. However, Morgan returned and watched as the king got captured.

Carol met up with Morgan outside The Kingdom to rescue Ezekiel. Carol wanted to take the safe approach and tiptoe around the Savior guards, but Morgan seemed fixated on taking them out.

The duo came upon several Saviors who were putting out the fire that Ezekiel created to help get his people out safely. Morgan charged into combat, almost relishing it.

Morgan’s combat when engaging the Saviors has always been brutal, but in this episode, it got up to a whole new level. His eyes seemed colder and his strikes more precise, almost like he was adapting more as a killer. It even came to the point where it scared Carol (the person who previously tried to talk him out of his pacifist ways). Morgan’s carnage only got worse as he pursued a group of enemies that didn’t need to be slaughtered. It felt scary how deeply he had fallen at that point.

Juxtaposition With Carl’s Death

While on his deathbed, Carl told Michonne that the world could be better and that people could co-exist peacefully with one another.

Morgan believes the complete opposite. He was convinced that the world couldn’t change – that people couldn’t change – and with that, he knew he had to do what must be done with his questionable actions.

For Morgan, there is no hope of a peaceful tomorrow. There’s only the kill-or-be-killed present.

Morgan’s Influence on Henry

Morgan continued to kill any Savior that stood between him and Ezekiel. In one of the grossest scenes in the show’s history, he brutally reached into the bullet wound of one of his foes and pulled his intestines out.

Injured and alone, Gavin went on his knees and begged Morgan for mercy. Carol and Ezekiel tried to talk Morgan out of doing anything too rash, but he repeated that he had done what was necessary and lifted up his spear.

However, Gavin’s neck was suddenly stabbed from behind. As Gavin’s body collapsed, fans learned that it was Henry who killed him (to avenge his brother Benjamin’s death). Ezekiel embraced the young boy as he repeated Morgan’s words, saying he just had to do it.

So, what will happen to Morgan next? Is he too far gone? Will his violent ways alienate him from the other survivors? We already know his character is leaving for Fear the Walking Dead. These questions are hopefully addressed later in upcoming episodes of The Walking Dead.

I'm a Programming Producer at FANDOM and I love dramas like The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, and The Sopranos. I also enjoy playing video games, especially games like Fallout.