‘The Walking Dead': Who Turned morgan Into Master Splinter? 

‘The Walking Dead\': Who Turned Morgan Into Master Splinter?

What the heck happened to Glenn? Looks like we’re going to wait a while before “The Walking Dead” answers that mystery — because Sunday night’s episode, called “Here’s Not Here,” is focused on another season one survivor entirely: Morgan Jones.

Morgan, played by Lennie James, has been a part of the fabric of “Walking Dead” since the beginning, showing Rick Grimes the ropes during his first hours in the apocalypse. Back then, he was battle-hardened and untrusting, willing to do anything to protect his son, Duane.

Rick and Morgan went their separate ways near the end of the premiere, and in the time between then and his next appearance, Morgan went through his fair share of things and stuff. The major headline: Morgan’s zombified wife took a big bite out of Duane, leaving Morgan all alone with a broken heart and a twisted brain, evidenced by his isolated looniness during season three’s “Clear,” often talked about as one of the best episodes of the entire series.

But what happened after “Clear,” once Rick and Morgan went their separate ways again? Somehow, some way, Morgan transformed from shoot-everything-that-moves mad man into a pacifist who favors a martial arts stick to guns every day of the week. The Morgan we know on season six is a man who rejects his killer ways of the past, believing that he and his fellow humans don’t have to murder each other in order to survive.

Naturally, Rick disagrees with that philosophy, but that’s another story.

story is about Morgan, and how his outlook evolved so dramatically. In episode two of season six, “JSS,” Morgan hinted at where the change came from, when Father Gabriel asked who taught him how to wield his bo staff. He answered with four weird words…

Naturally, this explains why Morgan’s got a Master Splinter thing going on this season, picking up on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles mentor’s proclivity for all things peace and cheese. And it’s also not a misdirect; Scott Gimple, the man driving the good ship “Walking Dead” forward, confirmed on “Talking Dead” over the summer that Morgan’s recent past includes “a small component of cheese.”

So, who is this Cheese Maker, and how did he or she curb Morgan’s enthusiasm for killing? Are there people from the past that could have influenced Morgan’s peaceful ways? Sure there are:

Remember him? He’s the dude who looks like the Penguin from “Gotham,” albeit with Bruce Willis’ hair from “The Fifth Element.” We know nothing about who Sam was between the time he left Rick’s sight in season four and the final moments of his life in the season five premiere. Who knows? Maybe the dude loved cheese!

We saw him stumbling on the road for a while, doing his best to atone for his sins. Most of that atonement happened in a small apartment with Lily and Tara, but who knows? Maybe he and Morgan healed together somewhere along the way first. Besides, The Cheese Maker is only a slightly more ridiculous nickname than The Governor.

Yeah, they said he died, BUT WHAT IF HE DIDN’T?

Really, it’s probably none of these people. The Cheese Maker is likely an entirely new character, hopefully a name actor, and certainly someone we’ll remember from this moment and forever moving forward.

Whoever he or she is, make sure to keep some cheesy snacks handy for Sunday night.

Likes pizza, punch and pie. Dislikes the Chitauri.