Last week, during The Talking Dead, AMC announced that Lennie James — who plays Morgan Jones — would be crossing over from The Walking Dead and into Fear the Walking Dead. No one predicted it. It came as a surprise to literally everyone because, from a timeline perspective, it made no sense. Fear the Walking Dead is about two to three years behind The Walking Dead, so for Morgan to leave The Walking Dead and join Fear the Walking Dead, he’d need to die on The Walking Dead. We’d then pick up his story on Fear the Walking Dead during that time between season three and season five in which he was absent from The Walking Dead.
There’s a huge problem with that, however. We know where Morgan was during the events of Fear the Walking Dead. He was in and around Atlanta with his son, Duane, for the first year of the apocalypse, and after the death of Duane, Morgan continued to remain relatively near The Walking Dead cast, including time he spent near Terminus. Beyond that, he spent a lot of time with Eastman (the cheesemaker) near his cabin, which was also on the East Coast.
Season four of Fear the Walking Dead will be set in Houston, Texas. How could Morgan possibly get from the Atlanta area to Houston and back in the small amount of time in which he was unaccounted for?
Obviously, he can’t. That can only mean one thing: Fear the Walking Dead, like The Walking Dead, will also feature a huge time jump. At the very earliest, it means that the timeline for Fear the Walking Dead will pick up in season four after the All Out War. (Morgan did leave The Kingdommers a few weeks ago on The Walking Dead, but trailers for this week’s episode show that he has rejoined Alexandria’s effort as a sniper stationed outside The Sanctuary).
So, no: Morgan won’t be killed off on this season of The Walking Dead. He can’t be, if he is meant to join Fear the Walking Dead as a series regular. Moreover, Morgan still has to get from Alexandria to Houston, Texas, and that takes time, so it’s very possible that Fear jumps several years into the future and syncs up with The Walking Dead‘s timeline.
It’s a smart move on AMC’s part because if ratings falter for Fear the Walking Dead, it gives the show some room to do a couple of things. If they are on the same timeline and the two shows share a character in common, crossover episodes in the future are a possibility. Beyond that, should AMC decide to merge the two shows in the future, being on the same timeline and sharing a character makes that transition relatively seamless.
The best news of all, however, is that it means Morgan Jones will not die on either series in the near term. In fact, it gives Fear a huge veteran appearance, not just in terms of a familiar presence and an outstanding actor in Lennie James, but in terms of having someone skilled in the zombie apocalypse. Morgan could immediately step in as the new leader for Madison’s group on Fear. Alternatively, if his mind goes as it did in the season 3 episode, “Clear,” Morgan could transition into a very formidable villain on Fear the Walking Dead.
