What I love best about reviewing “The Walking Dead” is that all our favorite members of Team Rick get their chance to be in the spotlight. On last week’s episode, we finally get to see the Wolves in action and it is horrifying. Sweeping through Alexandria like army ants, they killed blindly and without mercy. Luckily we had burka-of-Death Carol and bo-staff Morgan to save the day. For now, the town is safe, but I’m not too sure about Rick and the others.
Rick
Last week we saw the frustration on Carol and Morgan’s faces as they surveyed the damage done by the wolves. This week starts with Rick, Glenn, Michonne and the others running towards the town to see why that damn horn is blasting. The people with Rick are not accustomed to fighting walkers every freaking day. Unlike Rick and his team, they haven’t realized that there is no success, no winning against the dead. Some are beginning to doubt Rick and that is a sure way to die.
Rick tells Michonne and Glenn to get back to town even if the townies can’t keep up. Heath overhears the conversation and it makes him distrust everyone connected to Rick. The truth is that Glenn and Michonne were stuck with the townies (yes, this is my name for anyone from Alexandria) that have no idea about life outside of the wall or what it’s like surviving against a swarm that just doesn’t stop coming at you.
I was out of breath watching Andrew Lincoln as Rick running towards the town. We sometimes forget that the actors are working in uncomfortable weather and situations just to make sure the scenes seem real to us. That said; it was a rough night for Rick. He’s worried about his family, he’s worried about his friends who are not answering the walkie and he’s got to be exhausted fighting the walkers. This might be why he cut his hand in a fight with a few strays. Does getting walker blood into an open cut make Rick change? It might if you’ve read the comics… let’s hope it doesn’t. Tonight, Rick had to kill the wolves that Morgan let escape in the last episode. No good deed goes unpunished on “The Walking Dead.”
Glenn
The nerdy kid from the first season has become a knight in shining armor. I hadn’t realized it until Yvette Nicole Brown, who was a guest on “Talking Dead,” said that Glenn never killed a human. He always gives people a second chance. He’s true to his character. How else could you explain his giving Nicholas a second chance after Nicholas tried to shoot him?
Michael Traynor has done one hell of a job making us hate Nicholas and yet cheer for him when he does something right. Nicholas did the right thing by killing the boy he left behind. It has to be hard for an actor to come into an established show knowing that your character is a big jerk. Nicholas was a jerk, but Glenn gave him a second chance and, I think Nicholas did appreciate this gift. Maybe that’s why he went with Glenn to set a building on fire as a diversion.
Daryl
I don’t understand what’s going on in Daryl’s head. Why would he break away from Abe and Sasha? We are watching our favorite characters change in ways that leave us uncomfortable. Daryl took off in the direction of the town, at least that’s what I’m assuming he was going. He’s changed and I don’t know him as well as I thought. In the end he returns to the caravan of walkers led by Abe and Sasha, but what was it worth? What can he do? There are so many walkers.
Michonne
She, of all the characters, surprised me the most in the way she took to living in the town. I was a bit worried that Michonne had lost her touch; gone soft, but she is a born warrior and a loyal one. When Heath mouthed off about Rick, Michonne put him in his place. She tried to keep the people entrusted to her safe, but a lot of townies died in this episode. David died before he could get that note to his wife. We also lost Annie and… the list goes on and on.
Conclusion
The futility of the last two episodes makes it very hard for loyal fans like me to watch the show. We have gone through so much sadness and horror over the last six seasons and, I wonder if we can take anymore. But, like our heroes, we must.
Things are not going well for Rick. He can’t get the RV started and he had to fight off a few nasty wolves. One of them had a jar of baby food in his pocket. Rick’s hand is cut and there is a herd of walkers heading his way. He has to help Abe and Sasha lead the herd away from the town. He could use the RV’s horn to attract the herd of walkers, but the RV won’t start.
The one thing that “The Walking Dead” has taught us is this: no one is safe! We saw acts of courage tonight and we saw people acting cowardly. Sturgess ran away only to be killed by walkers. Heath finally got the message and fought to save Michonne and Scott.
We lost a beloved character tonight, although his name was missing from the weekly memorial to the dead. Nicholas tried to be brave, but that sound, that constant moaning got to him. He did remember to thank Glenn before putting the gun to his head.
Glenn, our knight in armor, was knocked into the herd by the weight of the dead Nicholas. I thought that maybe Nicholas’s body protected Glenn. I thought that Rick would ride to the rescue in the RV. I thought that Morgan would show up with his bo staff. No one came.
Steven Yeun had a special place in my heart. He was a young street wise young man who grew into the role of leader. I think he would have made a good leader. He was a young man in love. He had plans. He reminded me of my grandsons who are now both in the military. When Glenn was around, he calmed people down and made them think clearly.
Scott Gimple did send a message to Chris Hardwick. He didn’t have to, but he did. He knew the fans would be heartbroken. We are. Scott tried to console us. He can’t. We are the walking dead and we have learned the hard way that no one is safe. I won’t say RIP to Glenn. Not yet. We can’t grieve until we see the body.
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