*Spoiler ahead*
Rick and his group have been through so much, encountered so much death and destruction, that heading into a scenario where, for once, everything seems on the up and up terrifies them. That’s partially what this week’s episode is about but let’s take a step back and start from the end of last week’s episode.
The survivors finally made it to Alexandria and were ready to enter the community, Rick having come to terms with the possibility of hope being there. Rick still isn’t convinced though and neither is most of the group. It doesn’t help that the first request from their new home is that they give them their weapons, just as the folks in Terminus asked of them. Thankfully, Alexandria’s leader, Deanna Monroe, seems to be less vicious than Gareth.
Deanna was a congresswoman, one so good that she states that if she hadn’t won reelection she would have became a poker player. Throughout the episode Deanna records interviews with the group to get an understanding of what jobs they are suited for. Her first interview, with Rick, gets the most time and it’s where she gets to show her proficiency in reading people and telling them what they want to hear, she’s a politician through and through . But she also isn’t feeding them any lies, at least not overt ones, Alexandria is an all around good place, easily the best place the group has been to, and that’s ultimately what gets them to stay.
There’s more interviews interspersed throughout the episode and they’re a fun device for the show to get us into some of the character’s heads. The best one comes from Carol, who uses the opportunity to play Deanna by acting wholesome and calls herself the “den mother” of the group. Her plan is to get a job in the community to learn more about the people. It’s a brilliant character moment and further solidifies Carol as one of the best written characters the show currently has.
Outside of Rick, Carl gets the most facetime this episode as we get to see him attempt to adjust to normal teenage life. He freezes up when some of the kids ask if he wants to play video games or pool, unsure what mundane choice to make. The most interesting aspect of Carl’s story this week comes from another newcomer to Alexandria, Enid, a quiet and withdrawn girl who no doubt experienced as much horror out in the wild as Carl did. Like Carl, by episodes end, we’re not sure what exactly her deal is either.
Rick, meanwhile, is still struggling with accepting Alexandria as welcoming and nice. The episode manages to convey Rick’s feeling to us by creating a mood where things seem peaceful. After four and a half seasons of constant tension and suspense the viewers, along with Rick, are thrown into normal everyday situations that manage to feel tense strictly because of how normal they are. We’re waiting for something to go wrong and so is Rick.
Elsewhere, Glenn gets put on the supply run team, lead by Deanna’s son, Aidan. Aidan, to put it nicely, is a bit of an ass and trouble naturally arises when he almost gets Tara killed. The whole thing feels just a little forced but it’s needed to give us at least one person who isn’t smiling and polite about the group’s arrival.
Throughout the episode, various characters mention that the people in Alexandria are weak. They haven’t been out in the world like our group and they haven’t experienced the things that our group has seen. Rick seems fine with this ultimately, he doesn’t believe the group has any weakness left in them and as he states in what ends up being the chilling final words of the episode. “But if they can’t make it… then we’ll just take this place.”
The Walking Dead offers up one of it’s best episodes of the season by giving us a new status quo, one that offers tons of potential, and provides us with a glimpse at our characters as damaged people trying to cope with the possibility of normalcy. The sky is the limit right now and we’ll see how far the show can soar.
Bits ‘n Pieces
- I didn’t mention Daryl in the main review but he is by far the one who is least on board with Alexandria. It makes sense, the last thing he probably wants is to settle down into suburban life.
- Rick gets a shave and gets offered the role of constable along with Michonne. Thing have come full circle for Rick Grimes, he’s clean shaven and in uniform again.
- Rick also meets a nice lady named Jessie who gives him a haircut. This is really just setting for whatever happens with the two down the line but it was nice to see someone so honestly nice.
- “We brought dinner.”
- “Looks like the Communists won after all.”
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