King County
- Episode aired Jun 1, 2023
- TV-MA
- 47m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
1.5K
YOUR RATING
Morgan's return to King County gets complicated when PADRE comes to collect.Morgan's return to King County gets complicated when PADRE comes to collect.Morgan's return to King County gets complicated when PADRE comes to collect.
Kim Dickens
- Madison Clark
- (credit only)
Colman Domingo
- Victor Strand
- (credit only)
Danay Garcia
- Luciana Galvez
- (credit only)
Jenna Elfman
- June Dorie
- (credit only)
Rubén Blades
- Daniel Salazar
- (credit only)
Grayson Bane
- Walker
- (uncredited)
John Eric Lee Smith
- Marty's Bandit
- (uncredited)
- …
Adrian Kali Turner
- Duane Jones
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- GoofsThe events Morgan is recalling in this episode took place in Georgia, yet previous to this episode, he was in Texas. In "The World Beyond" series, it is said that all of the Mississippi bridges were destroyed during the outbreak. So, if they are back in Georgia, this is the second time Morgan has crossed the bridge-less river, and traveled hundreds of miles trailed by a woman in a truck and folks on horse back.
Featured review
Revisiting King County brings back dark memories and triggers the most questionable part of his sanity in Morgan
Morgan returns to King County, Georgia on a quest to put down his zombified son, Duane. Grace and Mo follow him, as well as Dwight and Sherry, who were forced into hunting Morgan by Shrike. Morgan reveals his wife, Jenny, bit Duane after he couldn't bring himself to put her down when he had the chance. Morgan and Grace are eventually captured and forced to show Shrike's forces that they are telling the truth about Morgan's mission, but they find no sign of Duane. Dwight and Sherry kill the guards with them, unwilling to allow Morgan to be executed, and help Finch escape from Shrike's captivity.
Left alone, Grace confesses to Morgan that she is terminally ill from radiation sickness. While trying to escape from Morgan's burning house, Mo discovers her father chained up Duane in the attic years before during his period of insanity. With Mo in danger, Morgan is finally able to shoot Duane with the gun that Rick Grimes had left for him and buries Jenny and Duane's bodies. Shortly thereafter, a walker bites Grace, and Morgan vows to get her to June for help.
Recently, we've seen various works that rely on nostalgia to elicit emotions from the audience but fail to use it to enrich the screenplay as a whole. Fortunately, this is not the case with "King County," the fourth episode of the 8th and final season of "Fear the Walking Dead." It wouldn't be absurd to consider this one of the best episodes of the entire spin-off because what we find here is not an episode of "Fear the Walking Dead," but rather an episode of "The Walking Dead." After a third episode full of errors and inconsistencies, the series gifts us with a nostalgic fourth episode that simultaneously advances the story and concludes character arcs that started more than a decade ago.
One of the most forced aspects of the entire episode is the ease with which characters know where Morgan (Lennie James) is headed. The episode attempts to explain this inconsistency, but the justification is hardly plausible and makes it seem like the characters know his location just because the script needs them there at that moment. The episode features very well-written text rich in its most minimalist details and boasts highly competent direction. However, the scene where Finch (Gavin Warren) attacks Shrike (Maya Eshet) with a chair and easily escapes from the PADRE base seems extremely poorly conducted.
Additionally, it highlights an escalating problem with each episode: PADRE are the most foolish villains in the entire franchise. It is remarkable how easily characters escape the base or confront their "soldiers." As seen in the first and third episodes of the season, where Madison (Kim Dickens) and Mo (Zoey Merchant) leave PADRE's fortress with absurd ease, or how Daniel (Rubén Blades) manages to ambush and capture members of the group without any difficulty. These issues related to the group's incapability and how easy it becomes to subdue them removes all tension, mystery, and danger around them, making these new villains, instead of being threatening, laughable.
Revisiting this iconic setting from the first season of the main series brings back to this universe a taste of the sensation this work caused at the beginning, besides making us reflect on everything that happened to these characters over time. Revisiting the house where Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Morgan hid from zombies in the first episode of this universe reminds us and makes us rethink the entire journey these two characters had over the years, and reflect on who they were and who they have become. When the episode explores these settings, which were very well recreated by the way, it constantly makes us reflect and use this narrative mirror. This goes from the evolution of the characters to the entire work of scenery deterioration. How dead and destroyed this world is and how much humanity these characters have lost over the years.
Revisiting King County brings back dark memories and triggers the most questionable part of his sanity in the character. Then, he finds himself in a situation where he needs to gather strength to move forward or let his past literally kill his future, as in the scene where Morgan needs to shoot Duane to save Mo. This is not just a scene that shows the character managed to confront his "ghosts," but also a scene that shows he gave up his past, in this case his son, to dedicate himself to the future. The scene shows that he finally managed to detach from his old family so that he could live his new life.
Besides the hallucinations he has with his ex-wife Jenny (Keisha Tillis), which appear every time he needs to make a crucial decision. When he finally manages to ignore her, he sets aside his dead wife to care for and save his current wife, Grace (Karen David), who is dying. After ignoring Jenny and finally ending Duane, Morgan manages not only to let go of his past but also to commit to the future. And the scene that cements this character transition is when he buries his ex-wife and son, where he seals his past and places a white flower on their graves, symbolizing forgiveness and peace. "Forgiveness," as he says in front of their grave, and Peace symbolizes his current state of finally having managed to detach from his past. The white flower may also represent the character's passage to a new life and a new journey that lies ahead. These scenes are symbolic, and the text is very rich in finally putting an end to this story. In the end, what is conveyed is a feeling of conclusion, not only of a character arc but also of a cycle.
Left alone, Grace confesses to Morgan that she is terminally ill from radiation sickness. While trying to escape from Morgan's burning house, Mo discovers her father chained up Duane in the attic years before during his period of insanity. With Mo in danger, Morgan is finally able to shoot Duane with the gun that Rick Grimes had left for him and buries Jenny and Duane's bodies. Shortly thereafter, a walker bites Grace, and Morgan vows to get her to June for help.
Recently, we've seen various works that rely on nostalgia to elicit emotions from the audience but fail to use it to enrich the screenplay as a whole. Fortunately, this is not the case with "King County," the fourth episode of the 8th and final season of "Fear the Walking Dead." It wouldn't be absurd to consider this one of the best episodes of the entire spin-off because what we find here is not an episode of "Fear the Walking Dead," but rather an episode of "The Walking Dead." After a third episode full of errors and inconsistencies, the series gifts us with a nostalgic fourth episode that simultaneously advances the story and concludes character arcs that started more than a decade ago.
One of the most forced aspects of the entire episode is the ease with which characters know where Morgan (Lennie James) is headed. The episode attempts to explain this inconsistency, but the justification is hardly plausible and makes it seem like the characters know his location just because the script needs them there at that moment. The episode features very well-written text rich in its most minimalist details and boasts highly competent direction. However, the scene where Finch (Gavin Warren) attacks Shrike (Maya Eshet) with a chair and easily escapes from the PADRE base seems extremely poorly conducted.
Additionally, it highlights an escalating problem with each episode: PADRE are the most foolish villains in the entire franchise. It is remarkable how easily characters escape the base or confront their "soldiers." As seen in the first and third episodes of the season, where Madison (Kim Dickens) and Mo (Zoey Merchant) leave PADRE's fortress with absurd ease, or how Daniel (Rubén Blades) manages to ambush and capture members of the group without any difficulty. These issues related to the group's incapability and how easy it becomes to subdue them removes all tension, mystery, and danger around them, making these new villains, instead of being threatening, laughable.
Revisiting this iconic setting from the first season of the main series brings back to this universe a taste of the sensation this work caused at the beginning, besides making us reflect on everything that happened to these characters over time. Revisiting the house where Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Morgan hid from zombies in the first episode of this universe reminds us and makes us rethink the entire journey these two characters had over the years, and reflect on who they were and who they have become. When the episode explores these settings, which were very well recreated by the way, it constantly makes us reflect and use this narrative mirror. This goes from the evolution of the characters to the entire work of scenery deterioration. How dead and destroyed this world is and how much humanity these characters have lost over the years.
Revisiting King County brings back dark memories and triggers the most questionable part of his sanity in the character. Then, he finds himself in a situation where he needs to gather strength to move forward or let his past literally kill his future, as in the scene where Morgan needs to shoot Duane to save Mo. This is not just a scene that shows the character managed to confront his "ghosts," but also a scene that shows he gave up his past, in this case his son, to dedicate himself to the future. The scene shows that he finally managed to detach from his old family so that he could live his new life.
Besides the hallucinations he has with his ex-wife Jenny (Keisha Tillis), which appear every time he needs to make a crucial decision. When he finally manages to ignore her, he sets aside his dead wife to care for and save his current wife, Grace (Karen David), who is dying. After ignoring Jenny and finally ending Duane, Morgan manages not only to let go of his past but also to commit to the future. And the scene that cements this character transition is when he buries his ex-wife and son, where he seals his past and places a white flower on their graves, symbolizing forgiveness and peace. "Forgiveness," as he says in front of their grave, and Peace symbolizes his current state of finally having managed to detach from his past. The white flower may also represent the character's passage to a new life and a new journey that lies ahead. These scenes are symbolic, and the text is very rich in finally putting an end to this story. In the end, what is conveyed is a feeling of conclusion, not only of a character arc but also of a cycle.
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- fernandoschiavi
- May 3, 2024
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
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- Runtime47 minutes
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- Aspect ratio
- 16:9 HD
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