More truths are discovered as the bodies drop. What They Say:
Spend – While trying to secure a new home, Rick and his group face challenges, and question the utopia they find themselves in.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
While there are things to criticize with pretty much every arc of The Walking Dead, I find myself thoroughly enjoying this particular one because of the kinds of changes we’re getting. With the group in Alexandria, the focus has been heavy on just a few characters as they provide us the look at the place and how it operates, and how they’re looking to protect themselves from it in case things go bad, both in terms of getting out if necessary or taking it over. Getting this group out of the woods and away from walkers for the most part presents them with some really good dangers to work with when it comes to the residents here and just the visual changes to the group as they clean up and feel so out of place among everyone adds to the tension in a solid way. These may not seem like big changes, but they’re played so well and with a few levels to it with some characters that you spend all your time waiting for the other shoe to drop. And since it hasn’t yet, the tension just gets higher and higher as you wait.
This episode again unnerves us just by the peaceful nature of it as we start off with the simple quiet and serene nature of it all. While we’ve had our focus on other characters, this episode is bringing others into the fold more clearly and their issues with the place. For Father Gabriel, it’s certainly surreal to potentially have a small flock of some sort again after all that he did, and seeing him in the little makeshift church that’s been put together has him remembering all that he’s done and seen since the start of everything, but even more so since connecting with Rick and his group with how it all went down. His faith is struggling to be sure and in just a minute or so of quiet material, there’s a lot said about the man and the kinds of things that he’s coping with. Gabriel is one of the least defined characters so far, but the Alexandria arc could reveal some neat things about him.
Noah’s in a similar boat in that we know some things, but there’s still a lot of room to expand. What we see here is a smart moment in general as he’s now trying to get Reg to teach him about the things he’s done as an architect, though more so about the structure of the walls, how to build and reinforce them and other elements of the town. This is a good telling moment for Noah as he sees it as important in being able to do what he can should something happen to Reg, or just years and years from now. As Reg says, this makes it clear to him that Noah is becoming invested in the place and is thinking long term, which is what Deanna and the others have wanted so they get additional protection and skill sets that they need. There’s a few of these kinds of small moments across the start and it’s good to see how things are all coming together.
While we have Daryl and Aaron off on their own doing their round of ranging outside, we also get a materials run being made with equipment needed by Eugene and Reg in order to get the power grid running as some of the gear has stopped working. That puts an unusual group together overall, though familiar foragers included as well. Eugene is almost comical in not wanting to go, but considering what he’s seen and what he did to avoid death before, it’s not a surprise. With it being a mix of the familiar group and Alexandriates, we do again see that Glenn and the others are definitely more proactive and cautious compared to the way that the others are a bit more casual. Not exactly reckless, but they don’t have a lot of contingency plans in motion in case things go south. For Glenn and the others, things have gone south too many times and to not be as careful as they can is just far more dangerous.
Their trip to the warehouse is uneventful, but we see that their time inside to get what they need takes us back to some of the proper tension that we had back during the prison days with foraging runs. Working with flashlights and uncertainty, we get some good moments as they try and figure their way through, but what we see is that their experience is definitely a big positive here in securing what they need to do while Tara and Eugene go off looking for the gear. After the way the group had hit rock bottom for so long, it’s good to see them working in a strongly competent manner and coming across well for the Alexandriates. Not that things go smoothly as one of the walkers is done up in armor that’s free roaming, similar to how we saw Glenn back at the prison, and Aiden’s casual approach has him setting off one of the explosives that the walker was carrying. Good times, good times.
While Aiden ends up dead, the others are in rough shape but alive, but the event freed a whole lot of walkers that are now stumbling about. It’s not without its dangers as Tara is completely out and Eugene is useless, but it fits with who he is and adds to the overall tension as Glenn really has to ensure that everyone does what needs doing. I do like that Noah has become fairly competent and reliable, which is what people need to be in this world and Noah has spent enough time in the hard places to really understand that in contrast to the Alexandriates. But what we see is how Eugene does know enough to man up as the situation gets more tense as he really has to protect Tara while the rest are off to save Aiden, who isn’t quite as dead as they thought. It brings the right kind of tension to things and the unpredictable way a situation like this can go.
The show hasn’t shied away from the brutality before, and it doesn’t now either as the situation gets worse and worse. While I liked seeing Eugene going the cowards route but also protecting Tara, we see Glen and the others trying to save Aiden, but failing as time runs out and Aiden gets torn apart and eaten alive by the walkers in a way that’s filmed close and tight, making it even more disturbing. But we also see it turn rather comical as the couple of survivors here end up in a doorway where they’re stuck as the walkers come at from them both sides. This turns very dangerous because there’s little way out of it, though Eugene does help to ease things. But watching how panic sets in with Nichola and what it causes from there with Noah’s death, it’s going to be a moment that just may change Glenn in a big way going forward.
Abraham’s part in this episode is definitely well done overall as it works towards a few different things. He ends up with one of the work crews that’s ranging outside the walls to get more materials to expand the wall, since expansion is a sign of progress for them and greater security if they can bring in more people. Abraham’s struggling to find his place here, but it becomes clearer when walkers start appearing at the site and he shows that he knows what he’s doing, first by saving Francine when everyone else abandons her, and then by continuing to work on when others are ready to abandon the site after the walkers are dead. What we see by this, through Deanna, is that another of Rick’s group has assumed a leadership position and is vouched for by others.
In Summary:
Winnowing the cast down is a natural part of The Walking Dead, but each time things start to get tense, you really do wonder who it’s going to be. This time around, we get a situation that definitely get goes south in a big way as it progresses and the cost is significant across the board. There’s a lot to like in how some of the characters act, but also a greater pain because I felt like we were really starting to get to see who Noah was going to be. The impact on Eugene in the long term could be interesting to be sure, but also to see what Glenn may end up doing after the losses they’ve had in this very necessary venture. Abraham has a good storyline working along here, but we see smaller tangents that are moving along, from Gabriel’s near confession to Deanna about what Rick’s group has done to Carol’s discovery about what’s really going on in Jessie’s family, which is going to set Rick off as he’s now moving past Laurie at long last. Gabriel is the real snake in the grass here that’s starting to reveal himself in his fear and cowardice, and that could play out in some great ways down the line.
Grade: B+
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