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The Walking Dead: East

"It's all a circle. Everything gets a return."

This was very much a penultimate sort of episode, leaving us with a huge cliffhanger for what will undoubtedly be an intense season finale.

How about the adorableness of Glenn and Maggie taking a shower together with some artfully placed mist (and some sad bruises)? Rick and Michonne sharing an apple and some gentle caresses as they woke up snuggled together? Sasha giving Abraham a cigar, with love clearly in her eyes? I'm actually resenting all of the lovely reminders of the positive progress that Rick's warriors have made toward regaining their humanity and reinstituting something resembling a normal life, because I just know the next episode is going to pull the rug out from under us.

So Carol decided to leave because she couldn't kill to defend her people anymore. And yet, twelve klicks down the road, what happens? She has to kill a bunch of guys. Which she can do because she was smart enough to actually sew an Uzi or whatever in to the arm of the really big coat she was wearing. (It was Tobin's coat.) She actually sobbed as she begged the Saviors in the truck to just leave because she didn't want to kill them. If Carol knew that she might still have to kill to save her own life, why the hell did she leave Alexandria in the first place? She can't rewind her life and become Nancy from Montclair, no matter how hard she tries.


Which, of course, was all part of our Rick versus Morgan debate. How can you survive during an apocalypse without killing to defend yourself? It's interesting that Rick said that he wouldn't exile Carol for killing Karen and David now, and that he was actually sort of cool with Morgan's confession about the Wolf guy. It's all a circle, everything gets a return. Morgan saved Wolf guy, Wolf guy saved Denise, Denise saved Carl. Except that Denise is dead now, and it looks like Morgan just exiled himself. Instead of a circle, isn't it more like, what goes around, comes around? Kill a bunch of Saviors, and they'll show up at your door?

Daryl couldn't stop thinking about Denise's death being his fault (it wasn't, even if it was a guy Daryl didn't kill and it was done with Daryl's crossbow). So Daryl took off on a mission of revenge, and Michonne, Rosita and Glenn went right after him. Doesn't anyone think that maybe there's a problem with four of Alexandria's best warriors running off and getting captured without even checking with Rick first? No, wait, that's seven of their best warriors, since Rick and Morgan took off after Carol, too. And now, Carol is off somewhere bleeding, Michonne, Rosita and Glenn were captured, and Daryl was just shot. I'm pretty sure that was Daryl. Note how Dwight said, "You'll be all right" so that the Walking Dead fandom wouldn't go on a "Daryl's dead" panic?

Shouldn't there be martial law in Alexandria right now, a plan in place, everyone inside and ready for battle? Or was it deliberate plotting, to leave six of their best warriors outside the gates when the Saviors stop by next week (I assume)? Yes, most of those six warriors have been captured and/or wounded, but it feels a bit similar to what happened when the Megaherd rolled over Alexandria, doesn't it?

Bits:

-- The episode title was "East" because Carol went east. Dwight and the Saviors were to the west.

-- The Alexandrians were planning to hide some of their guns in case they're overrun again. That was smart.

-- The Johnny Cash song about "It's All Over, Let Her Go" was a good fit for scenes surrounding Carol's departure.

-- Carl was looking at a gun in the armory that had a strange decoration: a baseball bat surrounded by barbed wire. Anyone who has been reading anything about what's coming knows what that is.

-- The guy Carol shot that walked away (he was called Miles) overheard everything Rick and Morgan said while they were by the truck. But the Saviors in the truck already knew about Alexandria. I don't think Miles heard anything particularly interesting. Maybe I'm wrong.

-- What was up with the guy who was looking for his horse? Did he kill all of those recently dead people?

-- Another new term for walkers: "the wasted." Nah. Doesn't have a ring to it.

-- The fans have been going nuts about Maggie being killed after Lauren Cohan appeared with short hair. Enid cut Maggie's hair in this episode right before Maggie doubled over in pain. I hope Maggie isn't losing her baby.

-- Plus Glenn's last glimpse of Maggie was in the rear view mirror. Geez, no foreshadowing there.

Notes from Talking Dead

This week's guests were Yvette Nicole Brown, Denise Huth (co-executive producer) and Sonequa Martin-Green (Sasha). As per my usual reaction to cast members, and this time Sonequa Martin-Green, it's amazing how gorgeous they all are when they're clean, made up and not covered with blood.

Chris Hardwick said, and he's right, that whenever an episode starts with people doing it, it never ends well. They're in the shower together! Oh, nooo! Chris also said that if Daryl Dixon dies in next week's episode, someone else will have to host because Chris himself will be in a fetal position. Yvette Nicole Brown said that Dwight was not worthy of taking out Daryl. Martin-Green talked about Sasha's scenes with Abraham.

There was a clip of Greg Nicotero talking about how they use medical textbooks for realism when designing walkers and humans with wounds. Why doesn't this surprise me? We also heard that the walker that looked like Carol was Melissa McBride's stunt double.

Quotes:

Rick: "The world's ours and we know how to take it. Everything we need is right here inside these walls. We're not losing any of it again."

Morgan: "I'm not right. There is no right. There's just the wrong that doesn't pull you down."
Rick: "It hasn't pulled me down."
Morgan: "I think it will. 'Cause I know you."

Rick: (re: Carol) "That woman is a force of nature."

Glenn: "It's gonna go wrong out here."
And he was right. Glenn was the voice of reason this time, and only Michonne listened to him.

Morgan: "You out here because Carol is your friend?"
Rick: "I'm out here because Carol is my family."

Rick: "Michonne did steal that protein bar."
Morgan: "I know."

Abraham: "You afraid to go back to it? Let somebody close?"
Rick: "Yeah. Yeah."
Abraham: "Me too. But now, I think I'm that much more ready to tear the world a brand new asshole. Any second now."
Rick: "Yeah. Any second."

Next week: the ninety minute finale of this kick ass sixth season. I'm sure it's going to be a blood bath, and as much as I love this show, honestly, I'm kind of dreading it,

Billie
---
Billie Doux loves science fiction but hates horror, and is confused about why she loves The Walking Dead so much.

5 comments:

  1. I thought this episode was pretty good. Pretty slow but a lot of the characters are in danger and I'm looking forward to next week! That scene at the end with Maggie reminded me of a certain scene in the Dawn Of The dead remake that came out in 2004 (I think) I hope I'm wrong though. Anyway one more episode to go and then I have an empty void to fill till October. In the meantime I'm probably going to try and finish Lost.

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  2. argh. I'm only at episode 4 of this season (the Morgan-centric one), that picture with Glenn on the frontpage just spoiled the next one(s) for me :(

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  3. I think what I love most about this season is how self-aware it is. It's refreshing for a show that takes itself so seriously so often. TWD seems to have taken some of my biggest criticisms (plot contrivances, meandering pace, ridiculous character decisions, dramatic speech-making, indiscreet symbolism) and used them to tell a really effectively engaging story. So many things in this episode felt like the writers and actors winking at us: Richonne lying naked in bed chomping on an apple together and talking about how "the world is theirs." Or, as you pointed out, Dwight telling us the audience that Daryl is alright for now.

    This is the first episode in a long time where all the characters have done foolish things, yet it didn't take away from my enjoyment. I loved Glenn's interactions with his people in the west, and Rick and Morgan's conversations in the east. I like Rick and Morgan's dynamic almost as much as Morgan and Carol's. I also loved Rick and Abraham's talk near the end, it felt like two soldiers returning from war; it also reminded me of the comic, where Abraham sort of fills the role of Daryl to Rick.

    When I saw Carol in that spiked car, I texted my mom (a big Carol fan): "Mad Max: Carol Road." For as much of a badass as she is, and as great as Melissa McBride is at playing the character, Carol's actions often confuse me. It would be a shame to lose both her and Daryl, though.

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  4. lol someone tell me if this episode is worth watching because when i heard that daryl might be dead i was like ok imma pack my bags and leave this fandom. THEY CANNOT KILL DARYL DIXON OFF THEY CANNOT THEY CANNOT THEY CANNOT I WILL GO EAT THE WRITERS' FACES OFF.

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