'Fear the Walking Dead' Season 6 Episode 4: How different is Morgan's key from the ones given by Virginia?
Spoilers for 'Fear The Walking Dead' Season 6 Episode 4 'The Key'
While Season 6 of 'Fear the Walking Dead' is largely focused on an anthology format with character-driven, self-contained stories from episode to episode, there's still a deeper thread that's been running through the show - the mystery of the keys and 'The End is the Beginning' cult. The latest episode of 'Fear the Walking Dead' deepened that mystery just a little bit more, as Morgan (Leslie Jones) runs - or crashes, rather - into the only two members of the cult we've seen. Given that he kills them before they're able to talk, however, all we end up with are more questions than answers - but Morgan isn't the only one with a shiny new key.
At the end of the episode, Morgan is seen heading back to the Gulch. And along the way, he has what must be the first car accident since the apocalypse begins, as he meets the two people who were seen looking for the key back in Episode 1 - the people who were also spraypainting 'The End is the Beginning' on a wall. The two are confused by Morgan's presence, claiming they're there to meet someone to give them the key, and when they see Morgan has it, they attack him immediately. Was their meeting pure coincidence, or did Daniel Salazar (Rubén Blades) lead Morgan to them?
Whatever the key is, it's important to both Virginia (Colby Minifie) and the 'The End is the Beginning' members, but it's not the only key we've been seeing featured in the show. Victor Strand (Colman Domingo) got one in Episode 2, and in Episode 4, John Dorie (Garrett Dillahunt) gets one as well. Neither of them have been told what the key unlocks, but simply owning the key does seem to afford both of them major privileges under Virginia's rule. Considering the fact that Virginia has told Strand that she's building an army, it's possible that she's preparing for war -- meaning the keys could very well unlock a weapons cache.
Weapons and bullets are still a precious commodity in the apocalypse, and a stockpile of them could cement Virginia's rule in a major way - and would go a long way towards explaining why Morgan's key is so important. If the 'The End is the Beginning' cult is at odds with Virginia, then attaining what it unlocks would not only undermine her power, but become a legitimate threat to unseating her. However, it's worth asking if Morgan's key unlocks the same thing as the ones that the rangers get.
The keys that Virginia and her rangers display as a badge is a lot more rounded, while Morgan's key has a jagged edge at the bottom. They're clearly of different makes, which is notable, given how much priority Morgan's key seems to have. Either the show has overlooked the difference in keys, or Morgan's key unlocks something that's a lot more important than whatever the rangers have access to, only time will tell.
The next episode of 'The Walking Dead' airs on November 8 on AMC.
