*Spoilers Ahead*
It’d be an understatement to say that The Walking Dead is something of a dark show. After all, it’s hard to get darker than a zombie apocalypse. The show so often wallows in it’s darkness though that it’s a breath of fresh air when it manages to do something a bit lighter.
“The Next World” starts off with a time skip, it’s never clear how long it’s actually been but it’s enough time for Alexandria to rebuild and for Carl to be back to reasonably normal. While I suspect we’ll be focusing more on Carl’s new one eye lifestyle in the future I’m not exactly looking forward to it based on what we get tonight. In which, he yells at Enid in the forest and then leads a zombie to Spencer and Michonne (more on that later.) Carl always wavers between being written like an actual kid and being written like literally any other random adult on the show. Sadly, it seems like we got the latter this week. Still, the change in status quo is welcome, especially after the hopeful ending to last week’s episode.
The show so rarely lets it’s characters have fun that Rick and Daryl’s story this week ends up being a breath of fresh air. Rick is back into the “trust people” side of his bipolar disorder and while Daryl is mainly concerned with getting supplies Rick comes along because he wants to find new people to come to the town. After his run in with Negan’s men Daryl is less than willing to trust anyone. That brings us to Jesus.
Rather, Paul Rovia, who is called “Jesus” by his friends. He runs into the duo as they’re attempting to open a vending machine and warns them of some walkers coming this way. It ends up being a ruse and the man steals their truck and takes off. What follows is a fun chase as the duo sneak up on Paul as he changes a tire and steal the truck back Paul follows after and even plays a game of tag with Daryl. Eventually, the truck ends up in the lake and Jesus gets knocked out. Daryl wants to leave him in a tree but Rick decides to take him back to Alexandria. Tom Payne’s portrayal of Jesus manages to keep a lot hidden about exactly who this guy is while still coming across as likable and fun even when he’s toying with our heroes.
Elsewhere, Michonne spies Spencer going out into the woods with a shovel and follows after him wanting to know what’s up. We eventually find out that Spencer saw his mother out here and wanted to give her a proper burial. It’s a nice side story that humanizes a character who was previously there to antagonize others while also setting up things for Michonne.
We end the episode with Rick and Michonne deciding against sharing their day with each other, they just want to unwind. That eventually leads to the biggest moment in the episode as the two end up falling into bed with one another. I personally never thought much of a romance between the two but the chemistry is clearly there and it feels way more natural than I was expecting it to. But that isn’t the only surprise we end on, as the two lie in bed Jesus enters and tells Rick that “we should talk.”
“The Next World” proves that The Walking Dead doesn’t always have to be dark and depressing to make us tune in and that maybe a little light once in a while can do us all some good.
Bits ‘n Pieces
- Rick apparently sleeps with his hand on Michonne’s ass so that’s one little fact I wasn’t expecting to learn tonight.
- I imagine the dynamic between Carol and Morgan will come into play when we learn a bit more about Jesus next week.
- “It is pretty stupid of us to go out there.” “Yup. Do it again tomorrow?” “Yup.”
- “What the hell is ‘pop’?” I’m glad the “pop” “soda” discussion finally happened on the show.
Jesse Swanson is a would-be writer, podcaster and funny guy who covers TV shows of all shapes and sizes. You can find him on Twitter @JesseSwanson