Well, that was an hour wasted. All of the frustrating flaws with this second half of the sixth season of “The Walking Dead” come into focus with penultimate episode “East.” The Saviors suddenly being tricksy, Carol suddenly being riddled with guilt, and Rick and Co. suddenly deciding that all of them should leave somewhere safe on a wild goose chase – well, actually, scratch that last one. Poor decision making from Rick et al. is not something new to this most recent cluster of episodes. That is a constant of this show that we’ve just learned to accept.
But really, where do we all stand after “East”? Carol is
still gone. Morgan is out there searching for her. Daryl, Michonne, Rosita, and
Glenn are all captured by that Savior Dwight, like a bunch of dumbasses. Maggie
is in horrible pain; something is wrong with her and Glenn’s baby. And Abraham
is a real smug son of a bitch now that he and Sasha are together. For an hour
of television, even an hour of “Walking Dead” television, not that much of note
seemed to happen in “East.”
Let’s get down into this week’s water treading.
+ “When they come
for us, we’ll end it. … This won’t be like before. … These people know what to
do now. … The world’s ours, and we know how to take it.” Rick CANNOT get
more delusional and overly confident than he is this episode, can he? From bragging
to Michonne about how great his leadership is to then refusing to acknowledge
to Morgan that some human decency is needed in this world, Rick seems extra off
his game this week. Sure, they’re building up Alexandria’s defenses, they’re
pumped to have the food from the Hilltop, and they think the Saviors won’t be a
problem. But isn’t it an issue that Carol and Maggie were so easily kidnapped?
Doesn’t the weirdness surrounding everything with the name “Negan” worry Rick
even a little bit?
What’s frustrating here is that we’re supposed to buy
Rick’s complete assuredness in himself, even though time and time again in the
past few episodes they’ve been caught off-guard by the Saviors. It’s clearly a
setup for something terrible going down next week, and Rick’s consistent
head-in-the-sand approach isn’t particularly fun to watch over and over again.
+ “Maybe Daryl’s
gonna get himself killed.” I won’t even discuss this subplot that intensely
because there is no way Daryl is dead, even though Dwight possibly shoots him
at the end of the episode (“You’ll be alright” is Dwight’s last line), because
straight DROVES of people would quit this show, and the writers aren’t that
ballsy. But again, we’re supposed to buy our characters acting like idiots.
Daryl leaves, so Glenn, Michonne, AND Rosita go track him down? And ALL managed
to get captured? What were the Saviors doing, just hanging out in the woods and
waiting for them all this time? I don’t mind the Dwight vs. Daryl dynamic – it’s
interesting to see Daryl built out as a character with regrets, and of course
he would think killing Dwight would right some of his wrongs – but I think it’s
so forced this episode, and it again makes our protagonists suddenly seem like
all idiots.
Although, I will admit: Dwight’s “Hi!” was hilarious and
I loved it. That guy is such a troll, and I treasure him for it.
+ “I’m not really
from anywhere. I’m not really going anywhere.” “The Walking Dead” keeps
trying to sell us on Carol’s increasing panic and self-hatred with her
dissolving into tears upon meeting the Saviors on the road, which was so
uncomfortable and outside of her character that I could barely pay attention during
the scene. And then she killed practically everyone in that car anyway before
walking away; how long was it between her disappearance and Rick and Morgan
showing up? Only a few minutes? Where did she go? The timing of that whole
sequence was kind of suspect.
Initially I thought Carol was faking with all this, but
the show’s insistence that Carol is actually Going Through Something is so damn
tiring. It means either two things: that Carol will die soon, which would be
terrible, or that Carol will snap back to her senses and abandon all guilt and
regret when something awful happens to the group, which again suggests that
someone major is going to die next week. And if so, why have we been watching
Carol cry all this time if it means nothing in the long-term? Bring back “force
of nature” Carol, please.
+ “People can come
back, Rick. … All life is precious.” Morgan finally comes clean to Rick
about keeping that Wolf hostage, his subsequent confrontation with Carol, and
the fallout including Denise, and Rick is … fine with it? For a man who was
just telling Morgan that he would murder his own people if they put him in
danger, Rick’s reaction to Morgan admitting that he had, in fact, PUT THEM IN
DANGER was unbelievable.
I mean, I guess it showed that Rick is a major hypocrite,
but still, I thought this interaction didn’t track with who we’ve seen Rick be.
Morgan being honest about his past and his future – loved the line “If I don’t,
don’t come looking,” because with Morgan, you truly believe he’s done with
Alexandria at this point – is finally forward progress, but he has to find
Carol and bring her back, right? I can’t imagine the show cutting both of them,
not with how much time they’ve spent developing each of them as warrior badasses
in their own way.
And some odds and
ends:
+ Not only does Alexandria have running water, but
running HOT water? How is this place better outfitted than my goddamn apartment
after my neighbor showers and uses up our entire supply? Ugh. Your sensual and
intimate shower offends me, Glenn and Maggie!
+ Bad Savior guy has Carol’s rosary. What are the chances
on them using it as some kind of fake-out to trick Rick and Co. in next week’s
season finale?
+ Why would Sasha be carrying Abraham’s cigar during her
shift? Look, it’s nice you all are in love now, but that shit is gross.
+ Rick and Michonne eating an apple together in bed
probably inspired a bunch of new, and gross, erotic fan fictions. You should be
ashamed of yourself, Internet.
+ “Jesus came through.” The writers are just deliberately
referring to Jesus by name for shits and giggles, right?
+ “A woman like you, no weapons, no protection, no clue. You
really shouldn’t be out here alone.” Oh, are you implying that Carol could be
raped, writers? Because IT’S WHAT YOU IMPLY EVERY DAMN TIME THERE IS A FEMALE
CHARACTER ONSCREEN WITH A BAD GUY, SO YEAH, WE GET IT.
+ Were the Saviors doing Jennifer Lawrence-style Mockingjay
whistles as they came out to surround Glenn and Michonne? That was weird and
unnecessary and I kind of liked it.
+ Maggie cut her hair, because apparently it was “getting
in my way.” And then she had major pregnancy pains, because there was NO WAY
that wouldn’t happen.
+ SPOILER ALERT,
re: clips from next week’s finale episode: Hey, Jeffrey Dean Morgan. I see
you’ve brought Lucille with you. Sup?
