Brain-dead zombies hunger for brains but The Walking Dead want shoes . . . naturally. Both Carl (Chandler Riggs) and Morgan (Lennie James) have to lose their soles before they can bare their souls.
Shoe on the other foot
Carl angrily displays bravado to his father when he’s forced to man up in The Walking Dead episode “After.” Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Carl are on the run after the prison comes under attack by the Governor (David Morrissey). Carl antagonizes him by pointing out his wife’s side piece, Shane (Jon Bernthal), taught him how to survive. Rick passes out due to a fever so Carl leads zombies away from the house they are holed up in. Carl gloats that he no longer needs his father, who couldn’t protect any of them.
While searching for supplies, Carl is attacked by a zombie that manages to pull off his shoe. He locks it in a room and writes on the door, “Walker inside got my shoe. Didn’t get me.” His tough guy attitude belies how he’s really feeling. When his father stirs, Carl mistakenly believes he’s a zombie but he’s overwhelmed by emotion and unable to shoot him. Rick tells him to stay save before passing out again. “I’m scared,” sobs Carl.
The other shoe drops
Morgan faces his fear in the Fear the Walking Dead episode “The Code.” He meets the so-called twins Wendell (Daryl Mitchell) and Sarah (Mo Collins), who claim to be the ones leaving the care packages labeled: “Take what you need. Leave what you don’t. See you further on up the road.”
Rather than join them, Morgan insists he must go back for his friends. However, he experiences a panic attack and returns falsely claiming that the bridge was out. On his return, he encounters brewmaster Jim Brauer (Aaron Stanford), who is on the run after being kidnapped by the twins for his valuable skills. The twins recapture them and attempt to coax Morgan to reveal the location of Alexandria.
Morgan reluctantly gives up the information when he gets trapped on a the roof of a car surrounded by zombies. Nevertheless, they refuse to help him. Morgan insists they can’t just turn their back on him but Sarah retorts that’s exactly what he did to his friends. She reveals they knew all along that the bridge wasn’t out. Morgan uses a walkie-talkie to plead for them to come back not for him but for his friends. He admits to being a coward and explains that he couldn’t be what they need him to be, presumably a fighter. His pleas fall on deaf ears and he has to take matters into his own hands. Morgan starts kicking the zombies but they grab his foot and pull off his boot. He manages to make his way to one of the care package containing a pocket knife that allows him dispatch the zombies. The care packages had been mocked as a waste of resources by twins, who come back only after they realize Morgan gave them fake directions.
