Following episode three's explosive cliffhanger, "The Walking Dead" decided to take a detour for its fourth episode, entitled "Here's Not Here." Fans who are curious to know if Glenn Rhee (Steven Yeun) made it alive and unbitten would have to wait at least until next week before getting answers. For now, episode four was all about Morgan Jones (Lennie James).
For the first time ever, "The Walking Dead" used flashback scenes for one whole episode. Morgan is one character whose past has always been shrouded in mystery. The episode picks up from season three's episode where Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) finds him in an abandoned town. Morgan recounts his experiences prior to that moment.
Turns out that Morgan has accidentally set his hideout on fire, which resulted to him retreating to the woods on a mad walker-killing spree. One day, he encounters two random survivors who he kills easily. This drives Morgan even more mad, and he begins writing ramblings on the wall using walker blood.
One day, he meets another survivor and once again, tries to kill him. But the man knocks him out. When he wakes up, Morgan finds himself with food, beddings, and clothes, but he's now the captive of the stranger he tried to kill.
His captor, Eastman (John Caroll Lynch), gives him a book entitled "The Art of Peace." He now lives in a solar-powered cabin with his goat, but on his past life, he was a forensic psychiatrist from Atlanta. He asks Morgan what he does and Morgan answers, "I clear. Walkers, people, anything that gets anywhere near me. I kill them."
Eastman began his analysis on Morgan. He tells him that he's suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after seeing his wife and son turn. Morgan tries to break free, but is surprised to know that his cell has been unlocked the whole time. Eastman tells Morgan that he can stay and get his life back in order, or he can go, but if does, he won't allow Morgan to kill him.
Morgan leaves but lunges at Eastman. A suspense-filled battle between the two ensues, but Eastman comes out as the victor. Morgan goes back to his prison. Not long after, Eastman begins teaching Morgan the Aikido, a kind of martial arts that's meant to defend but not to kill. This is when Morgan begins to understand the art of peace.
One day, as Eastman and Morgan are out on a trip, they encounter a walker in the woods. Morgan recognizes the walker as the man he killed in the woods before he met Eastman, and he freezes. The zombie poses to bite Morgan but Eastman interferes and gets bitten instead.
Before dying, Eastman confesses that he has his own dark secret. His family was previously killed by an escaped prisoner. The zen-loving psychiatrist killed the guy, which made him realize that true peace can only be attained by never killing another living thing again. Morgan takes this to heart, and sets out to make his way back to Terminus.
The next scene shifts to the "now," and viewers find out who Morgan is telling his story to. In a shocking twist, Morgan is seen talking to the Wolf who viewers thought he had killed in this season's second episode. Turns out Morgan didn't, and instead only tied and locked him up.
The Wolf asks Morgan if he can change and be like him, and Morgan says absolutely. But then the Wolf shows his true colors and tells Morgan that if he survives, he will kill everyone in Alexandria. Morgan decides to leave the Wolf alone and goes off.
The episode ends with more mysteries. Who is this Wolf and will Morgan regret his decision of not killing him?
Vox called the episode "the show's best episode, ever."
"The script, by [Scott] Gimple, keeps a very close eye on what Morgan is going through. When it begins, he's almost feral, and by its end, he's found a shaky but lasting inner peace," the review stated. "This is an episode about learning to live comfortably with yourself, about forgiving yourself for things that have gone wrong, and about finding a way forward.
Fans can only expect more thrilling and meaningful episodes in the upcoming episodes. "The Walking Dead" airs Sundays, 9 p.m. on AMC.
