Rick Grimes and Morgan Jones, brothers in arms.
That’s been the story of Andrew Lincoln and Lennie James’ respective characters ever since their paths crossed in 2010, but seven years on, it seems The Walking Dead duo has reached a whole new level of friendship. And it can all be traced back to last night’s gripping, edge-of-your-seat finale, “How It’s Gotta Be.” Spoilers to follow!
Designed to close out the first instalment of The Walking Dead season 8, AMC’s midseason finale dialed the tension up to 11, later revealing that Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs) had suffered a walker bite just as “How It’s Gotta Be” neared its conclusion. Yes, that means Riggs’ on-screen favorite has been reduced to a ticking time bomb, and will depart the series when it returns from hiatus in 2018. We’re not crying; you’re crying!
What’s more, the ramifications of Carl’s impending death will become widely felt, according to Lennie James:
It really does [affect the relationship between Rick and Morgan] and actually the way that the writers and storytellers on this one kind of handled it, has been really kind of clever because it has manifested in actions, not necessarily words. It’s kind of manifested in what the two men do for each other how they stand side by side, how they stand back to back and it’s is almost so deep…
The Morgan Jones actor sat down with ComicBook.com to discuss all things The Walking Dead, and it was here where he pinpointed a silver lining to Carl’s death: the loss of Chandler Riggs’ character will only bring Rick and Morgan closer together.
Morgan and Rick have kind of been mirroring each other all the way through their journey they were at the beginning two men defined by their families and defined by their women that they married and their children they had. That has been their main focus of survival throughout this kind of apocalypse and now they are, they are both abreast of two of the main things that identified who they were and what they built their lives upon and each point when a major thing happens to each of them that it is no coincidence that they happen to come across each other or they touch base or they bump back into each other.
The second, conclusive chapter in AMC’s all-out war will be with us early next year when The Walking Dead season 8B drops. Chances are it’ll premiere in February, and thanks to the network’s full-frontal promotional campaign, we already have an inkling of what’s to come.
