Summary:
My prediction for Here’s Not Here
So right off the bat I’m mildly upset. It appears Here’s Not Here is going to center around Morgan – whom I love as a character – but goddamnit I want to know if Glen is dead and Rick is going to get the RV started!!!
The episode kicks off with Morgan remembering the pain and agony of losing his son to his zombie wife. We then cut to him killing walkers in the woods before piling them up to be burnt.
Which then brings more walkers in. I think he’s mildly manic at this point and is taking out his “revenge” on the undead for losing his son. Of note, he still believes in carrying guns at this point, even though he is only using it as a club. He then kills two young men who are following him before realizing they aren’t walkers.
Morgan paints the letter “A” on several trees as well other crazy messages before moving on to a new area. As he’s walking through the woods he finds a small cabin in the woods and is knocked unconscious by an affable fellow named Eastman who conveniently has a cage in his living room to keep Morgan secure. Eastman also appears to have some skills with the short staff.
As Eastman kills a few walkers and tries to make goat cheese without much success we learn that Eastman was a forensic psychiatrist who would previously evaluate criminals in regards to there ongoing risks to society. Morgan is still in the thralls of his PTSD, suffering from the shock and trauma of losing everything he had. Eastman stays calm and just keeps Morgan talking. Morgan tells Eastman he kills people, anyone who comes near him. Eastman then asks Morgan if he’s saved anyone – which brings a brief but powerful pause. He saved Rick.
Morgan is still raging. He wants to kill Eastman even though the guy has been helping him, or at least trying to. The cheese maker tells Morgan the cell door has been unlocked all along and he can stay or go, but he won’t let himself be killed. Morgan pushes the cell door open and begins to act like he’s going to walk before turning to attack Eastman.
There is a brief fight and for a moment it looks like Morgan is going to kill Eastman before the larger, heavier Eastman prevails. Eastman tells Morgan he has two choices again, the door or the couch. Morgan goes back into the cage and closes the door.
The next day Eastman tries to get Morgan to go with him. When Morgan won’t he instead asks if he’ll just keep the goat safe. Of course while Eastman is out Morgan is forced to kill some walkers who have come in for some fresh goat. Morgan then takes one of the bodies away from the homestead – possibly to burn – and we learn that Eastman is more into burying the dead. There is a field where he buries the walkers and puts up their names if he can. This then becomes the first time Morgan and Eastman work together.
We then got a short montage of Eastman and Morgan training as Morgan becomes human again before learning a bit more of Eastman’s back story and why he embraces Aikido so strongly.
The next scene starts with Eastman telling Morgan they need more supplies before they can start to go look for other survivors. Morgan tells him he knows where they can find those supplies. Which brings us full circle – back to the camp where the episode began. Seeing the death and talking to Eastman brings the sadness back for Morgan – until Eastman makes him run through his Aikido forms again.
Then the kid who Morgan strangled shows up as a walker and Morgan freezes. Which gets Eastman bitten when he pushed Morgan out of the way.
For a moment we think Morgan might be reverting. He moves through the woods and kills a walker before coming upon a man and a woman. For just a split second Morgan appears to be on the verge of killing them – before letting them go and returning to Eastman’s home. Unfortunately the goat is being eaten and Eastman is struggling to bury their latest walker kill.
Morgan gives him the license and tells him to sit down. As Morgan is working among the graves we see the wooden sign for the man who murdered Eastman’s family. It turns out he actually did bring his families killer out to the cabin – and did let the man starve to death in the cage. Only it didn’t bring him any peace. He said he didn’t find any peace until he decided never to kill again. When he drove back into civilization to turn himself in he found the world had already ended.
As Eastman is dying he tells Morgan he could stay in the cabin – there is food and power – but he shouldn’t. He should go out and find people. Being alone is no way to be. Eastman then goes to get his gun so he can end it before he turns.
The last thing we see is Morgan leaving the cabin behind, clutching Eastman’s rabbit’s foot. Morgan is on his way to finding people. He’s ready to not be alone any longer. Which kicks us back to the here and now. This whole time Morgan was telling one of the wolves how he came to find peace. Only the wolf lets Morgan know he’s going to keep on killing if he survives. He has his own code. Morgan leaves him in the basemen and locks him up. (I’m sure that won’t come back to haunt him.)
The very last thing we hear as Morgan is leaving the basement is someone screaming – “Open the gate.”
Things I loved about this episode…
- Watching Morgan’s descent into crazy. It was quite powerfully done.
- “Please don’t shoot my goat – I’m still learning to make cheese.” – Eastman
- “The doors been open all along.” – Eastman
- The psychology behind Morgan going back into the cage and shutting the door before Eastman pushes it back open – only for Morgan to kick it shut again. Morgan’s not quite ready to come back to the world yet.
- “I fixed your spear.” – Eastman handing Morgan his spear – now with the tip cut off so it is a clean, non bloody – short staff.
- Eastman telling Morgan the story about the prisoner Crichton and why he has a cage in his cabin. “I have come to believe that all life is precious. That is why we’re having oatmeal burgers.” – Eastman.
Things that I didn’t like about this episode…
- That they leave us hanging as to whether Glenn is really dead and whether Rick is going to get the RV started.
- Where is Morgan going to the bathroom in the cage?
- Eastman is just to trusting of Morgan on those first few nights. Come on, the guy just tried to kill you and you are willing to just let him loose in your house.
- Eastman getting bit while saving Morgan and his long slow death.
- Come on Morgan – you’re leaving a wolf alive in the basement? Some people just have to die.
Firsts…
- First appearance of Eastman.
- Fist time we learn where Morgan learned Aikido as well as why he became anti-killing.
- Learning where Morgan got his rabbit’s foot. (It was the rabbit’s foot that Eastman’s daughter gave him the day before he discovered Aikido.)
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