Guest Blog by Robert Mills, Destrus76's Mind Debris
The Walking Dead; Season 7, Episode 13
“Bury Me Here”
Five Points From Episode 7.13
**Beware SPOILERS in our discussion**
Bury me here. There was a lot buried in that grave besides Richard in this episode. We buried Morgan's pacifism. We buried Carol's ignorance about what Negan did. We buried the Kingdom's naivety in believing the Saviors were reasonable. Continue to the end for my death predictions.
Follow @SUPERflixMoviesMorgan’s breaking point
So Morgan knows that this was all a setup and Benjamin died as an unexpected martyr. Richard and his repeated attempts to spark a war with the Saviors are finally successful. No more waiting. This theme echoes through Richard, Carol and Morgan’s storyline. Morgan has been sitting passively by, unwilling to take a life even in the most dire circumstances and now his young friend and protege is dead as a result. The question comes back...what is the right course? It's a dilemma we struggle with as we watch Morgan and Carol switch roles from aggressors to passive bystanders. Do the survivors in this world have to force action? Will waiting to take action ultimately result in losing the right to determine your own course of action?
Morgan’s decision
He knows he has to kill. This world will not allow him to live without taking life...so he takes the life of the one person who pushed him over that edge. It's a powerful statement. Morgan took a life to try and head off the war. So, it is still hard for us to get behind Morgan. We know the war has to happen. We want revenge. Morgan looks like he is back to living in the world.
The Triumph of Evil
Does he really still believe that war with the Saviors is avoidable? Morgan kills off Richard. Yet, he lets Carol know what happened to Glenn and Abraham. The action vs inaction comes around full circle in the closing moments of the episode. The quote "the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" is lurking like a spectre behind the scenes. The moment of truth is coming. The war is starting. It’s starting somewhat quietly, but the aftershocks of tonight’s episodes will reverberate through the final few episodes of season 7 and on into season 8.
Carol wants answers.
Carol likes to play secrecy games, but doesn’t like it when everybody else keeps secrets from her. The look in her eyes, and the tears, gives it all away. She knows that everything isn’t okay. She knows that Daryl lied to her, as well. Is she emotional because she doesn’t know what’s happened? Is she blaming herself for not being there to help protect others? More on this to come...because this is a very heavy thematic episode which gets to the heart of what this whole season has been building towards. Carol is back and she begins her war prep with a little gardening. Classic Carol.
Order Balanced on a Canteloupe
It's a more delicate balance than you would think, ruling by fear. Order must be maintained yet if you keep pushing and pushing the people that supply food to them, something will break. Negan knows this and he makes sure it is always the other side who breaks because he breaks them. His lieutenants have small compassions or heavy hands. Killing Benjamin was the Kingdom's breaking point. The Saviors are really too stupid to understand when they have someone willing to work for you that you maintain the status quo. The war with Negan begins with a canteloupe.
BONUS Perspective
The episode was a powerful step back in the right direction, heavy character drama over forced, cheap dramatic tricks. Last week's episode was another attempt to balance the heavy weight of the show with a lighter side. The show does heavy with artistic excellence and fumbles the lighter side from time to time.
The heaviest moment since the beginning of the season. Morgan buries Richard with his daughter’s backpack. You can only assume that she was buried there as well. This fully explains the exact location of the roadblock and why that grave left specific instructions to “Bury Me Here.”
Upcoming death predictions
Sasha. She is on a dangerous road. She knows it.
Morgan is going to kill the Savior that killed Benjamin