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The Walking Dead: Crossed

Carl: “You can’t stay in one place anymore. Not for too long. And once you’re out there, you’re going to find trouble you can’t hide from. You’re going to need to learn how to fight.”

The momentum is building toward the midseason finale next week and so far I'm enjoying the ride.

Each of our subplots was moved forward this week, with a little bit of time spent on each splinter group. I'm expecting that next week the Grady will become a bloody destroyed mess mostly at the hands of our little crew. Of course I am wondering what Lamson is going to do. He was working the angles right from the start so he is smart and a survivor. He is still a 'good guy', as much as anyone can be these days but he is likely to gum up the works and his actions will require the fire fight that Tyreese was worried about. If our group is very lucky, Lamson will be trying to institute the plan that Shepherd tried to put forward. My biggest concern is who will die in this next episode as it seems to be working up to that. Will Carol not make it out of the hospital? Then there's Beth and Tyreese. Even though Daryl looked like he was in danger this week I'm not sure that the TV powers that be could afford to lose him from the cast (I stopped reading the graphic novels when one of my favourite characters was killed - yes, I am a baby about such things).

The who will die issue is a problem for each of the splinters. I did have a few difficulties with plot holes this week. Some of the decisions made by the group moved the plot forward but didn't make any sense. Only Sasha was left to guard the hostages and they weren't particularly secured. It was so obvious that Lamson was going to escape. Sasha is smarter than to let someone go behind her. Or why would you leave Maggie alone with a seriously injured man and another who is on the verge of losing it? Not to mention the horde of walkers who might notice them at any time. I would think it would be smarter to split two and two. So I am worried about Maggie.

Finally, Rick left again?! Carl's face as he watched his dad leave was pitiful. You think Rick would want to stay with Judith and Carl now that they have been reunited. It would have been very interesting to watch Daryl and Michonne take point on the hospital thing. Now we have Michonne, Carl and Judith at the church alone, and while I think Michonne and Carl make a formidable team, the preacher has just breached their defenses. Walkers aren't likely to be smart enough to find that hole in the basement, but a human might. This lovely lottery of death just reminds us that in this post-apocalyptic world no one is safe at any time and as Carl says, you have to learn to move and fight or die.

The action in this episode was great and likely to ramp up next week but the overarching themes were also very evident. This episode made it apparent, at least to the characters, that the old world is gone and only the strong and those with an unstoppable survival instinct will last. That doesn't mean that you leave 'the weak' behind. Maggie continues to care for Eugene (who is more useful than he might think) and Carl tries to help the preacher become more of a fighter. Mercy is still something that Daryl and Tyreese try successfully to get Rick to consider. However, he might regret that in the long run. Abraham is someone with that survival instinct. He thinks that he should want to die after having his hopes dashed but then realizes that he actually doesn't want to. You can see the pain on his face as he faces Maggie. It will be interesting to watch how that changes him.

The preacher is an interesting conundrum. I'm not sure if he is supposed to illustrate the futility of religion in a situation like this but he seems more upset about his church being destroyed than about the many deaths on his conscience. I first thought that it was another cowardly act to leave the church and then for a moment thought maybe he felt like a burden and Michonne and company would be safer without him. That didn't last long. I think the preacher is the worst kind of coward, the kind who hides behind religion. He will be an excellent illustration of the ongoing choice between surviving in the new world or dying because you hang onto the old. That rusty nail in the foot is not going to help. I hope he has had a recent tetanus shot.

Bits and Pieces

Tyreese is still a very sweet man. I loved how he tried to help Sasha. If something happens to her, will that be the thing that drives Tyreese to kill?

GREATM = Glenn, Rosita, Eugene, Abraham, Tara, Maggie. Cute.

Why did Dawn give the keys to the drug cabinet to Beth? Is she trying to make her an ally? It certainly looks like she needs them.

Nobody figured out how to filter water before this? Really? I know they had to illustrate how Eugene was actually useful, but still...

What I could live without: I said the walker stuff didn't get to me anymore. I was wrong. The walkers melted to the asphalt -napalm? Daryl using the skull as a weapon. The woman walker eviscerated by the preacher. He couldn't end her because she was wearing a cross. He obviously no longer believes in heaven.

How lucky to find guys with netting in their jackets.

Is that a grenade that Tara found in the backpack? That could come in handy.

Quotes

Michonne: “We all owe Carol.”

Glenn: “What’s... what is GREATM?”
Tara: “Us, group name, solidarity, band of brothers. I’m thinking of getting a tattoo on my knuckles.”

Rosita: “Seriously, my six-year old nephew didn’t pull this shit."

Tara: “Just stay here, guys, don’t get up. There’s nothing for you in Washington.”
Rosita: “That’s not funny.”
Tara: “It’s not not not not funny.”

Maggie: “It’s never gonna get any better than this.”

Michonne: “I just wanted to tell you. I just wanted to let you know. That the things that we do are worth it.”

Rick: “You’re still a cop.”
Lamson: “No. The real ones are all gone.”

Maggie: “Did you want me to shoot you?”
Abraham: “I thought I did but I didn’t.”

Glenn: “You know, the more I think about it maybe it wasn’t completely not not not funny. Hey, don’t even look at it.”

6 comments:

  1. I liked the pacing of this one. The balance of forward momentum and character exploration was well done. Plus, I really enjoyed getting a week where we checked in with everyone. I know that can make for an episode that feels less cohesive as an individual unit, but after weeks of focus on different groups, I was happy to spend a little time with all the characters.

    It’s interesting that you are worried about Maggie. I wasn’t worried about her at all after this episode. After the Eugene revelation --- on top of losing both her father and sister within the last two weeks (show time) --- I was expecting her to be suicidal. But both Maggie and Tyreese seemed quite strong this week, ready to face what comes next on their terms, while still reaching out to help others deal with heavy blows. Tyreese and Sasha had some particularly lovely scenes, and Maggie telling Abraham to get over himself while barely restraining her own grief at the loss of purpose was a nice moment for her character. And the follow-up with the water bottle was nice, too. It still feels like a refreshing change of pace to see people being hopeful in the wake of tragedy, instead of nihilistic and suicidal. I love it!

    Similarly, I really liked Daryl siding with Tyreese on the “we don’t have to kill everyone” front. Rick has perhaps bought in a little too much to the “kill” side of the kill-or-die equation. All things in moderation, Rick. Maybe he’s starting to recognize that a bit, after Daryl had to talk him down twice. His brief reaction to Officer Bob’s comment that all the real cops are gone was certainly notable. Of course, as you say, maybe next week we’ll see that they should have gone with the “kill everyone” plan and his initial approach will be validated. I kind of hope not. I like having room for hope. And we already got the “I told you so” outcome after they didn’t go back to kill all the Termites. Let’s follow a different path this time.

    I’m with you again on the gross walker stuff. None of it made me laugh this week. It was all “Ewww!!! Gross!!!” Good job, Practical Effects Team.

    It was a yo-yo that Tara found in the backpack. She was playing with it as they walked back to the fire truck. So sweet and funny. I like her more and more every week.

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  2. I'm a fan of Daryl's, and the way he treated Rick in this episode is one big reason why.

    Much agreement about the water filter, Doc. I wonder if they're reacting to fans complaining about them never getting sick from the water?

    Much agreement about Sasha getting sidelined by Officer Bob, too. She's too smart for that. I wonder if it was because the guy's name was Bob?

    And much agreement about the gross-out scene. I thought I'd reached the point where they couldn't get to us any more, but those melted walkers, and what Daryl did with one of them, just horrible.

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  3. @Jess - thanks for the yo-yo. I didn't put that together for some reason. Maybe I was hoping it was a grenade! @Billie and Jess thanks for the comments. They are often about things I thought about but left out because you can't stuff everything into a review. For me, with other shows, the comments sometimes make the review that much better.

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  4. Thanks for the nice review!

    Really agree with everything that's been said.

    The water filter really bugged me. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out. How did they get clear water before that? If the way Glenn is acting is any indication, then they just filled a bottle, looked at the water's color and threw if away if it wasn't clear enough. Not the best way to survive, if you ask me...

    Also agree with the comments about Sasha. I kept thinking "oh come on, she's not actually going to be that stupid, is she?". Aparently she was.

    And Daryl, EWWW!

    One more thing.
    You are worried about Maggie because she's alone with the huge borderline crazy guy, the unconcious fake scientist, and the potential walkers all around.
    I'm extremely worried about Maggie because Eugene made weird noises when waking up, and we couldn't see anything when Maggie went to him. When I saw that, I was absloutely convinced that Eugene was dead and waking up as a walker.
    Maybe it's just me...

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  5. I'm pretty sure Eugene mumbled out a "Help!" He made the walker-like groaning noises, and Maggie and Abraham reacted with caution, but then they heard the word and responded with relief. I think that's why Maggie called out "I'm coming!" as she jogged over. She was responding to his cry for help. The audio was a bit garbled, but I'm pretty sure I heard "help." So, if we need to worry about Maggie, it probably doesn't have to be on account of Walker Eugene. :)

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  6. Thanks! I really didn't hear Eugene's "help", so I freaked a little. In my defence, the sound quality of the streaming I watched wasn't very good...

    I'm feeling better now! Not that I care much about Eugene, but I do like Maggie, she's pretty (I'm superficial like that).

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