Famous Scene Between Rick & Morgan Finally Explained on Recent Episode of ‘Fear The Walking Dead’
Fear The Walking Dead season 8 made a significant callback to The Walking Dead‘s pilot episode, bringing back a pivotal conversation between Morgan and Rick. This reunion sheds light on a cryptic discussion that took place 13 years ago in The Walking Dead, where Rick mentioned Morgan’s wife. Fear The Walking Dead faced a challenging situation as the spinoff of The Walking Dead, particularly with the expectation that some beloved characters would make appearances. As a result, Fear The Walking Dead season 8 features Morgan, a familiar face from the original series, as one of its main characters.
However, striking the right balance becomes crucial for the spinoff. Neglecting Morgan’s involvement would render his presence pointless, while focusing too much on him risks overshadowing Fear The Walking Dead season 8’s primary antagonist, PADRE, and turning the show into a mere extension of the original. To mitigate this, Fear The Walking Dead season 8 primarily focuses on Madison’s character arc to ensure viewers care about the other characters. Nevertheless, in episode 4 of Fear The Walking Dead season 8, titled “King County,” the spotlight shifts entirely to Morgan’s story.
In this episode, Morgan reveals to Grace and Mo that Rick Grimes, the hero from The Walking Dead, had given him a rifle to put down his zombified wife, Jenny. This event occurred in The Walking Dead season 1, episode 1, “Days Gone By,” but Rick never explicitly explained the purpose of the weapon. However, his comment, “Scope’s accurate…” accompanied by a meaningful look, hinted at the implication that Morgan should eliminate Jenny before she became a dangerous threat. In “King County,” Morgan finally clarifies Rick’s true intention and confirms that he understood the underlying meaning.
Rick’s advice, characteristic of his pragmatic nature, was unsentimental yet helpful. Morgan acknowledges that his son, Duane, turned into a walker because Jenny bit him, a fate that could have been avoided had Morgan heeded Rick’s advice. This tragic event led to Morgan’s distressing amnesia, as the guilt over his son’s transformation overwhelmed him, turning him into a ruthless killer. Therefore, in “King County,” Morgan revisits the traumatic location to end Duane’s suffering.
The encounter between Rick and Morgan in The Walking Dead‘s pilot episode was significant. Rick wanted Morgan to accept that his zombified wife was no longer the person she once was. At that early stage of the franchise, Rick already displayed the necessary callousness to survive the ensuing 11 seasons. This encounter also highlighted the core difference between Rick and Morgan, which continued to shape their characters. While Morgan often froze in times of distress and conflict, Rick took decisive action. This divergence in their approaches created tension and made it challenging for the two characters to relate to each other throughout The Walking Dead’s run. In “King County,” this tension reaches its climax long after Rick and Morgan’s last encounter.
If viewers consider Morgan’s torment in both shows to stem from his failure to put down Jenny and save Duane, it becomes evident that Morgan could have avoided this fate by following Rick’s advice. Undoubtedly, the zombie virus in The Walking Dead franchise would have presented its challenges, but much of Morgan’s trauma could have been prevented had he listened to Rick. By refusing to kill Jenny, Morgan ultimately forced himself to eliminate both Jenny and Duane. In the grand scheme of things, Fear The Walking Dead‘s hero should have placed greater trust in The Walking Dead‘s leading man, Rick Grimes.
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