An Original 'The Walking Dead' Character Has Exited 'Fear the Walking Dead'

The midseason finale of Fear the Walking Dead aired this week, marking the departure of Lennie James’ character, Morgan Jones, who has been a central figure since his introduction in season four. Morgan was originally introduced in the pilot episode of The Walking Dead and later became a series regular in the fifth season before leaving to join Fear the Walking Dead in its eighth season. While Morgan was written off the show this week, his character was not killed off, leaving room for a potential return in one of the spin-offs, which seems likely given his importance to the franchise.

Before delving into the midseason finale, it’s worth noting that both The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead have never properly utilized Lennie James’ talent. He has been an underrated hero in both series from the start, yet the writing has often failed to do justice to his character. Despite this, James has consistently delivered outstanding performances. In fact, his British series Save Me showcases his exceptional abilities far better than most of his story arcs in The Walking Dead. Nevertheless, James continued to dedicate himself to the American series as an underappreciated workhorse. Considering James’ talent for writing, as seen in Save Me, it’s clear that he must have recognized the shortcomings of Fear the Walking Dead. Nonetheless, he persevered and gave his best performance week after week, enduring the challenging conditions of filming in Georgia or Texas heat. Although Morgan Jones was not my favorite character in either show, I have immense respect for Lennie James. I am always impressed by individuals who consistently put in the work, and James is a perfect example of that.

The recent episodes of Fear the Walking Dead have been leading up to Morgan’s departure, primarily by revisiting his iconic “Clear” arc from The Walking Dead. As a reminder, when Morgan returned in the third season episode “Clear,” he had descended into madness due to the grief he felt over losing his wife and son. During his fugue states, Morgan would ruthlessly dispatch hordes of zombies, unmatched by anyone else in the history of The Walking Dead universe. While there was a period in The Walking Dead where he became a pacifist proclaiming “life is precious,” which became annoyingly boring, his character on Fear the Walking Dead has had its ups and downs but generally remained the stabilizing force that held the group together, particularly after Madison’s departure.

Following the death of his partner, Grace, Morgan’s mental state began to deteriorate once again. He would black out and wake up having massacred countless zombies. He was unable to control himself, posing a danger to his daughter, Mo, and his friends. The midseason finale fell far short, failing to live up to the brilliance of Morgan’s return in “Clear.” Nevertheless, the episode depicted Mo, Morgan’s eight-year-old daughter, leading a group of PADRE kids on a mission to kill hundreds of zombies in search of a specific zombie carrying binoculars with GPS coordinates to a potentially significant location. Morgan helped Mo; Madison helped Morgan; and Daniel and his group all played their part in this endeavor to help Madison.

Ultimately, Shire, the co-leader of PADRE, was killed while hugging her zombified father, but the coordinates were recovered. However, Madison decided to prioritize finding the parents of the PADRE children instead of pursuing the coordinates. She aims to transform the place into a community for the future, a development that will unfold in the latter half of the final season.

Meanwhile, after accomplishing their goals, Morgan made the decision to embark on a journey with Mo in search of Rick Grimes. It remains unclear how Morgan learned about Rick’s disappearance since he hasn’t had contact with anyone from Alexandria, except for Dwight, who joined Fear the Walking Dead prior to Rick’s disappearance. Perhaps news travels in the post-apocalyptic world. Regardless, Morgan and his daughter set off in pursuit of Rick, which would likely position them for an appearance in the upcoming Rick and Michonne spin-off. This seems fitting as a bookend to the entire series, which began with Rick and Morgan.

It’s also worth mentioning that following the death of their child, Dwight and Sherry inexplicably ended their relationship, claiming they kept hurting each other. The connection between their child’s death and their breakup remains unclear, but the writing on Fear the Walking Dead has never made a lick of goddamn sense. They are now going their separate ways, with Dwight planning to return home, which could be Alexandria or The Hilltop, where he may reunite with a group from The Walking Dead and potentially kickstart another spin-off. Alternatively, Dwight might reappear in the latter half of Fear the Walking Dead, where Luciana and Strand, who have been absent this season, could also return to assist Madison in reuniting the children with their parents.

Finally, the episode’s conclusion teased the appearance of a character with a hook hand listening to Madison’s call on the CB radio. Many speculate that this character is Troy Otto, a villain from season three, who is may return as the antagonist in the latter half of the season, set to premiere in the fall.