The Walking Dead “Bury Me Here” 

Whether The Kingdom likes it or not, the war against The Saviors is coming soon and it’s coming to their doorstep.

We see Morgan at the beginning of this installment of The Walking Dead, titled “Bury Me Here,” still very much a man of peace. That man is gone by the end credits.

Carol made her way to The Kingdom wanting to question Morgan about the state of Alexandria. I figured Carol would be smart enough to see through Daryl’s lie about everyone being safe. Carol may not want to kill anymore, but she knows that doesn’t stop others from inflicting pain and death.

Instead of fessing up, Morgan offered to take Carol back to Alexandria to go find out for herself. Not getting the answer she was clearly looking for, Carol went back to her home. She also left while ignoring a chance to teach Benjamin her ways of the walker kill.

It’s no secret Richard has been wanting things to escalate between The Kingdom and The Saviors. He is fully on the side of a war needing to be had. So his little jaunt outside the compound spelled trouble immediately. Early on in the episode, we saw Richard digging a grave. Who was he digging this grave for?

Back at The Kingdom, Morgan and his surrogate son, Benjamin were continuing to bond. Benjamin gifted Morgan with a painting. They both smiled. Smiling always means trouble is around the corner on this show.

As if right on cue to hint at the devastation to come, Richard had a chat with Morgan before they all set off to do another drop for The Saviors. He apologized to Morgan for their less than congenial relationship since they first met. He claimed he knew that Morgan was a good man.

But Richard also warned Morgan that the time for being a good would soon be over soon. He didn’t want Morgan to feel guilty when that day arrived.

As the group was on their way to the drop off site, they were blocked by some strategically placed shopping carts making out the the shape of an arrow pointing them around the corner to an open grave with a sign above it saying, “Bury me here.” Unless you weren’t paying attention to Richard before, this was definitely the grave he started digging earlier.

Once the group met up with The Saviors, tensions were running at an all time high. They were short one cantaloupe. Ezekiel was sure he counted correctly, but it was too late. The Saviors are drama queens so one missing cantaloupe was enough for Jared to aim his gun at Richard’s head. However, instead of shooting Richard, he shot Benjamin.

Racing against Benjamin bleeding out, they made it far enough to Carol’s house. Before he died, Benjamin used the words that he had been taught by Morgan about peace and not hurting your opponent.

Morgan immediately started having a panic attack. He flashed back to everything that had happened to him since the fall of society. He held a knife up to his wrist, but ultimately didn’t hurt himself. His freak-out moment was all worth it though simply because he found the missing cantaloupe hidden where they had stopped in the road earlier.

Coming as a surprise to absolutely no one, Morgan confirmed via Richard that he was the one who hid the cantaloupe. He set up the roadblock, the grave, and the missing fruit all in the name of escalating the war with The Saviors.

Unfortunately, Richard’s plan to be the one to die didn’t work. Benjamin became the sacrificial lamb Richard intended himself to be. He then explained to Morgan how his lack of action cost him his family early on after everything fell apart. He wouldn’t be that man now.

Richard decided they shouldn’t let Benjamin’s death be a waste. They should use his death as a way to lure The Saviors into a false sense of security. When they thought The Kingdom was falling back in line, that’s when they would strike along with The Hilltop and Alexandria.

Yeah… Richard had no clue he had awoken the beast within Morgan. When they all returned to the drop off spot to give The Saviors their one measly cantaloupe, Morgan attacked Richard in front of everyone, killing him with his bare hands.

Much to everyone’s shock and confusion, Morgan revealed that Richard had been behind everything that occurred the previous day. As Morgan was unleashing all his rage, I couldn’t help but think he was working on two levels. The first being his pure anger at Richard for causing Benjamin’s death.

The second being he was fulfilling Richard’s plan. Richard got to die for the cause just like he planned, and Morgan’s attack makes it seem like The Kingdom understands their place and are falling in line.

Killing Richard has unraveled Morgan. He even accidentally said his son’s name instead of Benjamin’s when explaining the situation to Ezekiel. Morgan has spent so much time trying to be a man of peace, but peace seems unattainable in this new world.

After burying Richard’s body in the grave he dug for himself, Morgan took on a bunch of walkers. I know Morgan is a wreck right now, but is it bad if I say how relieved I am?

Nothing has frustrated me more than Morgan and Carol’s lack of action recently. They have refused to be the people they need to be in order to protect the people they care about, and as a consequence people have suffered and died. The zombie apocalypse is not place to be a pacifist.

Carol finally learned the truth about Alexandria when Morgan showed up all bloody and distressed looking on her doorstep. Carol looked devastated, but I think she knew deep down that Daryl lied to her about everyone being okay.

Instead of leaving like he planned, Carol insisted he stay at her place while she took up residence back at The Kingdom. Back in the compound, Carol told Ezekiel they needed to get ready to fight. THANK YOU!

I have been waiting for The Kingdom to get on board with Rick’s plan to take down The Saviors. The time for action is now.

Leftover Thoughts and Questions

• What is with The Saviors? Did Negan somehow find all the remaining jerks left alive?
• There are cracks to some of these Saviors. Gavin genuinely seemed a little upset Benjamin had died. Maybe kids are off limits for him.
• Will Morgan just use his newfound aggression to kill walkers, or will he help The Kingdom take on The Saviors?

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9/8c on AMC.

Check out a sneak peak of the next installment titled “The Other Side.”