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The Walking Dead: Remember

Daryl: “We brought dinner.”

Rick and our group have found civilization, but is civilization even possible anymore? If it is, can our group return to their civilized selves or would they even want to?

Alexandria is the perfect situation. It was a planned, self-sustaining community that, during the crisis, was set up with supplies for evacuees. Again, luck has played a big role in survival as there just happened to be large steel plates from a shopping mall under construction nearby and a professor of architecture to figure out how to best build the walls. In another stroke of luck (well, not for the evacuees), most of Northern Virginia was effectively evacuated, so there are few people or walkers to use up resources or make life difficult.

This 'perfect' situation has a down side. As Carl observes, the people here are weak. They have certainly faced adversity but not life on 'the outside' for any extended period of time. They really don't understand how the world has changed and they don't have the skills to live outside their walls. Deanna is smart enough to know that they need Rick's group. They need them and they need their skills. I liked Deanna. She's smart, no-nonsense and she is more aware of the community's situation than most. Her son, Aidan, is a self-proclaimed douche bag who thinks he knows much more than he does. I'm concerned that his ignorance will get one of our group hurt or killed. The rest of the townspeople we met seemed to be 'babes in the wood.' Enid seems to be an interesting exception.

Our group is having some difficulty adjusting. Rick certainly looks more civilized but he is ready to take the place down if necessary. Being a constable, along with Michonne, gives them a certain amount of power and access that could be useful. Carol was creepy and hilarious. As an abused woman she has played the part of a dutiful wife before and now she is using it to camouflage her strength. I almost laughed when she had trouble taking off her gun. She smiled way too much. I wonder if Deanna managed to read her accurately. Carol is planning to be the ace in the hole.

I felt terrible for Daryl. He has been the one who has been most at home in the new world but he does not fit in this kind of civilization. While Rick and Lori may have looked at these kinds of houses as a dream for the future, such houses were never a part of Daryl's reality. He mistrusted them and the people in them before the apocalypse and I'm pretty sure that cops were not Daryl's favourite people either. Daryl does not want to be in Alexandria but he is staying for his family.

The sense of the ludicrous continued in this episode. Running water and electricity would be important but cocktail shakers? Video games? Aidan's claim that he had been in the ROTC and therefore was equipped for this new world just seemed ridiculous (I really enjoyed it when Glenn leveled him). If this community is going to survive, people need to be trained and 'civilization' needs to be different. Trying to recapture or hold on to what once was seems, to me, a recipe for disaster.

Bits and Pieces

In facial hair news, Rick's beard and all other facial hair are gone. It is nice to see his face but really, how many razors are left in the world? It seems a waste of resources to me. On the other hand I would like to see Daryl cleaned up — just once.

Rick has lost his hidden gun. This is worrisome not just because he doesn't have a back-up now but also because that means someone took it.

My guess is it was the men Deanna exiled and that is not a good news story. She seemed to think that exiling them meant certain death, but if they were the kind of men who were trouble in civilization, then they probably survived and are pissed.

Politicians and transparency don't seem to go together but maybe they do for Deanna. Still, filming the interviews was weird.

Rick winding his watch was an interesting moment. It was tantamount to saying yes.

I wasn't surprised that they all slept in the same house. I was surprised that they didn't seem to set a watch.

Quotes

Rick: “You should keep your gates closed.”
Deanna: “Why?”
Rick: “Because it’s all about survival now. At any cost. People out there are always looking for an angle. Looking to play on your weakness. They measure you by what they can take from you. By how they can use you to live.”

Deanna: “If I didn’t win re-election I was going to be a professional poker player. I’m not kidding.”

Deanna: “Looks like the communists won after all.”

Enid: “Pull it together, sport.”

Carol: “Have you taken a shower yet?”
Daryl: “Mm-hmm.”
Carol: “Take a shower. I’m going to wash that vest. We need to keep up appearances, even you.”
Daryl: “Hey, I ain’t starting now.”
Carol: “I’m going to hose you down in your sleep.”
Daryl: “You look ridiculous.”

Glenn: “We need to make this work.”
Deanna: “Why?”
Glenn: “Cause we were almost out there too long.”

Aidan: “You three need new gigs. You’re not ready for runs yet.”
Glenn: “I’m pretty sure you got that backwards.”

Carol: “If we get comfortable here, we let our guard down, this place is gonna make us weak."
Rick: “Carl said that but it’s not gonna happen. We won’t get weak. That’s not in us anymore. We’ll make it work. And if they can’t make it, then we’ll just take this place.”

22 comments:

  1. really liked this episode. Great review. Deanna said she banished 3 guys b/c they didn't work out. Enid, the girl, has only been there a few months and she sneaks over the wall and into the woods. I think she may be a plant for another group ( lead by one or more of those that were banished), maybe they're the same group that attacked Noah's mom's community in Richmond.

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  2. I forgot to add that my favorite scene, aside from carol trying to remove the gun from around her shoulder, was Daryl pacing in front of Deanna's camera still holding the possum in his hand.

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  3. I really loved the tension they got out of how weird and unsettling it was to see our little band of survivors in this kind of setting. And the way they flipped the script on Rick’s little speech to Deanna by the end was great. It was a lovely twist stinger on the “Rick returning to a respectable look” elements.

    Seeing him in that uniform at the end really stunned me, because it just doesn’t seem to fit him anymore. He’s not the guy he was when this all started. You can shave his face and dress him up like a cop, but he’s not going back to being that guy. Which, of course, was reinforced by his last line. I don’t think he’s play acting the part quite as much as Carol is here --- she was so glorious this week! --- but he’s not settling back into his old life and ways, no matter what exterior appearances may indicate. That should set up some interesting tension not just with the Alexandria folks but with Michonne, who really wants to make this thing work and seems willing to throw herself into it with less reserve and caution.

    I liked Deanna a good bit, too. But it definitely feels like there’s more than meets the eye going on here. I’m definitely wondering about the three men that she exiled. Was one her husband? He seemed conspicuously absent. Were the exiles connected to Enid somehow (as Kate suggested)?

    Potential quibble: What’s with the wall supports being on the outside? That seems like it might be a problem if a big cluster of walkers comes up and starts pushing on your walls.

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  4. Carol's interview was probably my favorite part of this episode. "I'm lucky they even took in little old me. Could I join the Junior League or something?" Talk about secret weapons. I also loved how hard it was to detach her from her great big gun. And Daryl with the possum.

    I bet it was the other "new" girl with the backpack who took Rick's secret gun out of the blender.

    Were there possible romantic vibes between Rick and the blonde woman who cut his hair?

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  5. One more thing -- I loved how they all kept sleeping in the same room, even though they had houses and bedrooms of their own. We're a group. We stay together until we're sure.

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  6. Praise zombie Jesus, the beard is finally gone!

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  7. I didn’t feel like anything we saw between Rick and Jessie (the blond woman) in this episode was played for romantic vibes. It just felt more like her trying to help him and him letting her help. They connected on a human level, but it didn’t play as flirty or romantic to me. Even the shirtless scene had this uneasy undercurrent that kept it from feeling “sexy.” It could develop into something more down the road --- likely after some misunderstanding with her creepy husband takes things in a bad direction --- but I don’t think they were going for that at this point.

    Carl, on the other hand, was definitely crushing on Enid. His “Hey! Cute girl! How do I behave?” looks had me chuckling almost as much as Daryl dragging that opossum all over the place and then gutting it on the porch.

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  8. Jess, you noted the supports being on the outside of the walls. A friend of mine brought that up as well. I'm not sure why it was designed that way. You'd think you'd want the supports on the inside, like how they used the logs at the prison pushing against the fence...

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  9. Billie, I also noticed the romantic vibes between Rick and the woman who cut his hair (I think her name was Jess?). Notice she mentioned her sons but failed to mention her husband. Then the husband showed obvious signs of jealousy in his encounter with Rick.

    Side note: in Talking Dead they said that Norman Reedus wanted Andrew Lincoln's beard so after filming the shaving scene Andrew Lincoln gave him all the trimming from his beard and they're still sitting in Norman Reedus's refrigerator. =)

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  10. Awesome comments everyone- thanks! I also loved Daryl and the possum. It seems like he has changed the least of our group. @Jess I don't think that Michonne is as settled as she appears but like Glenn she knows that they were almost out there too long so she is a bit desperate for them to have a break. She has been down the road and come out the other side because of the group and she doesn't want anyone else to have to go that way if she can help it. I noticed that she wasn't out on the porch for the end speech but I think she is much more onboard with what Rick is saying than it might appear. Maybe Rick is letting her be enthusiastic because she needs to be. I love how they take care of each other that way. I can see a scenario where Deanna asks Daryl to leave and that is a deal breaker for the group.

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  11. Billie, the romantic vibes were there. I'm not a fan of the comics so I don't know if she was a character from them or not but it seems she's being set up to play a love interest for Rick for sure. And why not? her husband seems like a real winner...

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  12. Haven't watch just yet, wanted to know if it worked or not. However, the fact that there is an Enid who somehow survived but snuck off in the woods gives me cause for a half cheer/jeer. Note. This Enid wouldn't sneak off into the woods cause she knows the rules of horror and apocalyptic films/TV shows.

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  13. Poor Daryl. This type of community is just not his thing. Pre or post apocalypse. He is never going feel comfortable in a place like this. The first time he goes on the other side of the wall it'll be like a giant weight is lifted.

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  14. Doc, it's not that I think that Michonne seems settled, just that she seems more eager for this situation to work out than Rick, Daryl, and Carol. So she might be dropping her guard a bit more than them. She seemed very anxious to get her job assignment and extremely pleased and relieved when it finally came. So I'm concerned she may be less cautious. Of course, maybe she's being the right amount of cautious and Rick, Carol, and Daryl are being overcautious.

    It's funny, even though I don't agree that they are actively playing up any romantic vibes between Rick and Jessie yet --- he really just seemed too wild and traumatized in all their encounters to me --- I do still agree that it is probably where things are headed with those two characters. Whether it felt sexy in the moment or not, that kind of initial meeting makes for a hell of a "meet cute" for some subsequent development. And the jealous and hostile husband seems somehow destined to create the very thing he's needlessly concerned about at this point.

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  15. On other thing I wanted to add. As a DC metro resident, I'd love them to give a little more back round on the evacuation of Northern VA. They're living relatively walker free. Did they block off the bridges from DC to VA or blow them up? Being that Deanna is a former congresswomen does she know if any of the military bases in the area held out and if so how long? Just curious and considering they came to DC in part to hopefully find answers I assume Rick and Deanna will have a conversation along those lines. Kind of how they probed Jenner for info. I'm done :)

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  16. Regarding the wall supports, I have to think that the guy who designed it never dreamed of the possibility of "roamer" herds. And with the scarce population in the area (which seems a little too convenient to me), it evidently hasn't been a problem yet.

    And Carol. My appreciation for her as a character just continues to deepen. Remember Helpless Season One Carol? Me neither.

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  17. I really liked this episode a lot more than I expected.

    I loved how they explored the way each character deals with this return to normal life.
    Loved Carol's innocent smile.
    Loved Glenn punching the douche bag.
    Loved Reedus' acting. He's fantastic.
    Loved Daryl with the possum. Until he gutted it on the porch. Ew.

    I didn't really see any romantic vibes between Rick and the blond woman. The only potentially romantic vibes I felt were between Rick and Michonne. They seem to be getting closer in each episode. But maybe I'm just imagining things.

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  18. To those wondering about the beams being on the outside, this is actually more effective (against a mass of zombies) than them being on the inside.

    It's called tension bracing, the beams are secured firmly on both ends, to the wall and to the ground. As a horde of zombies pushes against the wall, the earth will act as a counterweight.

    If they were on the inside, then the wall could crumple under the force, or the beams could buckle (and this is *exactly* what happened at the prison fence.

    Imagine stretching your foot out on your car dashboard and the airbag deploys. Your leg (acting as a support beam inside the wall) would buckle at the knee from the massive external force, leaving you with shredded ligaments and rotters inside your walls.

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  19. @anonymous - thanks for the explanation. So now my question is - should they brace from the inside as well or leave it be?

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  20. Doc:
    I LOVE your reviews. :)
    Everyone:
    I LOVE your comments. I think I've said this before here but Doux greatly adds to my TWD watching experience. So, thank you for that.

    I just wanted to add that the filming of the interviews struck me as super creepy. Like Sex, Lies and Videotape uneasy.
    And speaking of sex, if people don't start having unruly amounts of it soon, I am going to revolt. I don't have any preference of the combinations, just make it happen, TWD.

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  21. @Heather: That's exactly what I thought, too.
    They're safe and clean and I'm sure they can find some birth control methods (they seem to have everything in that town), so I'm expecting lots of sex scenes very soon.

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  22. I thought Carol's ruse was extremely clever, but Deanna absolutely must know it's an act. She's a politician with a poker face who has been vetting this group for her own purposes. We don't know how long Aaron was spying on them but he surely has adequate information on their true characters. Otherwise I don't think Deanna would've given such powerful roles to Rick and Michonne so quickly after their arrival. I'm on the fence whether she is good or evil, but she's definitely not the transparent person she claims to be and is certainly playing the group and playing the long game.

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