Margaux and I are split on last night’s The Walking Dead.
Trevor: This seems like an episode that will become more and more polarizing the more it gets discussed. It was purposefully slow, meditative, lyrical – all those “critic” words that so often translate to “boring.” But “Here’s Not Here” never bored me. How did you feel about it? Let’s get some broad stroke reactions before we talk about the details.
Margaux: I will never be upset at having more John Carroll Lynch on my TV, especially if he’s not dressed up as a terrifying clown, but did I think “Here’s Not Here” didn’t need the entire 90 minutes to tell its tale, hell fuckin yeah. It almost felt like an excuse to shove more trailers and commercials in. That being said, “Here’s Not Here” also took away a lot of mystery surrounding Morgan’s character that I didn’t think was needed, I like not knowing too much of Morgan went from “Clear” to “All Lives Matter” – it gave him an edge, like a John Wayne type that strolls in and saves the day and doesn’t even want a thank you. Lastly, what I truly disliked about this episode is that the second we’re introduced to Eastman (JCL) and his adorable (and adorably named) goat Tabitha, it was a just a countdown until they were senselessly killed, which sucks.
Trevor: I agree with you that this episode shed some of Morgan’s mystique, but I’d argue that it’s necessary. Morgan’s absence has haunted The Walking Dead since the pilot episode, and that’s saying a lot for someone who only appeared in a few episodes (“Here’s Not Here” was predictably written by “Clear” scribe Scott M. Gimple, who seems to have a firm grasp of the character). Now that Morgan is back in such a big way, I think it’s necessary to show how he went from being nearly feral to some kind of warrior-philosopher. Especially if his ethos is going to clash against Rick’s (and Carol’s) all season.
Margaux: Meh. Like I said, it didn’t need a whole 90 minutes to do that. Spending the entire time in a flashback got old about half way through, especially when we end up sympathizing with Eastman – his story so harrowing and sad and even a little peaceful – just to watch him get bit stupidly felt like a waste of time when there are so many other cliffhangers happening elsewhere in the Walking Dead universe. I will say the breather from last week’s heart palpitation episode was much needed, but if this attempt at gaining a deeper understanding of what makes unstable Morgan tick, only gets him killed or makes him the new Rick, there will be an internet riot. Lead by me. Maybe I just straight up don’t care enough about Morgan because he only has two modes of crazy, and cannot get behind a character who constantly puts others in danger.
Trevor: That’s a fair point, but I think we just took wildly different things away from this episode. It seems like you got 90 minutes of wheel-spinning (and I agree, the overlong running time wasn’t entirely justified) whereas I got a mostly successful meditation on grief and PTSD. I think the fact that we disagree on the episode is appropriate for something so aggressively philosophical.
But let’s talk about something I think we both agree on: John Carroll motherfuckin’ Lynch. He’s been in the background of so much good shit (The Drew Carey Show, Zodiac) that it’s a pleasure to watch him sink his teeth into a role like Eastman. “Here’s Not Here” is ostensibly a showcase for Lennie James as Morgan, but Lynch steals the episode right out from under him. There’s genuine steel and sadness in his voice when he cautions Morgan, “I won’t allow you to kill me.” Lynch does the most with the time he’s given, which – shit, that sounds philosophical too. My bad.
Margaux: Maybe that’s my problem with “Here’s Not Here”: it felt more like Eastman’s episode than Morgan’s. And the fact that Eastman was a criminal psychologist who had seen the best and worst in people and accurately and easily diagnosed Morgan’s PTSD and coaxed him out of it only made me more pissed at Morgan for thinking he could do the same with the Wolf he refuses to kill and in turn, has put an entire community at risk as a result.
Trevor: Weirdly enough, I hope the show resists that impulse – the impulse to have Morgan be wrong, to prove Rick and Carol right, to have the Wolf escape somehow and kill someone we love. Not because I agree with Morgan’s mentality – I don’t – but because it’d be so predictable and a little didactic for TWD to come down hard on one side of the issue. I think that’s more or less the purpose of “Here’s Not Here,” to raise moral questions that haven’t been raised before. And whether or not you enjoyed the episode, I think it’s commendable that the show is still willing to try new things, six seasons in. At this point they could have Daryl squint at the camera for an hour in between crossbow kills and Tumblr would still fill up with gifsets. If nothing else it’s nice to know that the show still cares – and that its showrunner is so talented that he could write a character like Eastman.
Margaux: I loved that Eastman was a portrait of a man who, like Morgan, had lost everything (i.e.: his entire family) but refused to let it break him. He too was trying new things, like making cheese and planned to head to the coast because he didn’t want to be comfortable. It was refreshing to get a non-nihilistic take on the end of the world. And those Karate Kid montages were funny, very, “the student has become the master”; I half expected Morgan to snatch a fly out of Eastman’s hand.
Trevor: That’s a great point about Eastman. His unwillingness to give up on life was well-served by Lynch’s warm, funny, human portrayal. My favorite part was probably: “The door is open. Literally, your cell door is open.” Such a great reveal – and something I’m glad Morgan didn’t internalize too much, lest his dumb ass leave the Wolf in an unlocked house.
Margaux: “I clear” “What the hell does that mean?” – I laughed really hard at that line, half because I’ve wondered that myself and the other half was JCL’s delivery of the line. It was pitch perfect.
Trevor: I think it’s been established that I enjoyed this episode more than you did, but even if I hated it, Lynch’s performance would have saved it.
One more thing before we talk stars (unless there’s something you wanted to add): Steven Yuen’s name was omitted from the opening credits. I really hope this puts a lid on the whole “Is Glenn dead??” speculation.
Margaux: I didn’t catch that! But I seriously doubt that’ll help on the Glenn conspiracy theory front.
One minor detail I wanted to talk about. When Morgan is having his zombie bonfire while he’s still in full on CLEAR mode and a zombie rises out of the fire, coming toward him, that right there is exactly why they didn’t (and couldn’t) light that quarry of walkers on fire. You’d just get thousands of fireball walkers coming at you.
Trevor: If all the zombies on this show were on fire, this would be the only show I watch.
As far as stars go…I was inclined to give this 4. Something tells me you disagree. Last time this happened – with Fear the Walking Dead – we compromised with a 3.5. Is that okay with you, or did you have something even lower in mind?
Margaux: 3.5 was the exact score I was going to go with, there were a lot of great moments that would had a bigger and better impact if they weren’t so stretched out. And I’m glad we both agree that there isn’t enough John Carroll Lynch, just wished he made Morgan some eggs. You know, cause Fargo.
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