The midseason premiere of The Walking Dead has finally arrived, along with a number of reemerged questions, like: Will screaming Sam get Rick, Carl, Michonne and the rest of the gang killed in the midst of Alexandria’s walker horde? Will Negan’s crew slaughter Daryl, Abraham and Sasha? Or will Glenn and Enid be able to save a pregnant Maggie from the walker-surrounded town?
These burning questions are all very valid, but according to one of The Walking Dead’s cast members, you should be asking something else as well. Lennie James, who plays the newly returned Morgan, recently chatted with Entertainment Weekly about his character and the remainder of season 6 lying ahead. Last we saw Morgan, he was dealing with his own crisis as a member of the treacherous Wolves escaped Morgan’s prison and took one of Alexandria’s citizens, Denise, as a hostage.
It’s clear that Morgan is dealing with his own crisis - not only because of Denise’s situation, but also due to his clash with Carol, who firmly believes that Morgan should have killed the Wolf from the beginning. The two have contrasting philosophies, as Morgan evolved from a bloodthirsty kill-at-all-costs type, to a peace-loving, “all life is precious” persona. Carol, on the other hand, adheres more to Morgan’s prior beliefs: do whatever it takes to survive. This internal power struggle is magnified even more, as Rick shares Carol’s sentiments. And as we have learned over the course of the past two seasons, Rick is not willing to compromise.
So how will this all play out (assuming everyone survives). Will Morgan and Rick be able to coexist despite their radically different philosophies? Lennie James broke down the issue, saying:
“The short answer is yes and the long answer is yes in that, yes, absolutely they are going to be wrestling with that. One of the things I enjoy most being in the show is the fact that it doesn’t forget its history. It doesn’t forget the history of its themes. It doesn’t forget the history of the characters.
You know, the first time the two of them met, Morgan stuck a gun in Rick’s face. The second time they met, Morgan tried to kill Rick on more than one occasion, and the only time they have had a kind of peaceful coming together has been in the last time they met, and that was highlighted by the fact that Rick had just put a bullet in somebody’s head.
So their relationship is a little bit more tumultuous than people remember it being. They’ve kind of always at some point in their relationship been at odds, and this is a kind of continuation of that. Whether or not they can continue down the road and coexist together, we’ll have to wait and see.”
James’ explanation certainly makes sense, but it will complicate things for Rick and the survivors going forward. Speaking of survivors, a number of them will no longer hold that title after Sunday’s sure-to-be bloody episode. But, at least we know Morgan makes it through, and his survival should set up tons of interesting conflict for The Walking Dead in the remainder of season 6.
The Walking Dead season 6 midseason premieres airs 9 p.m. ET this Sunday, Feb. 14 on AMC.
