EPISODE SIX
Tonight's episode of The Walking Dead cast a pretty wide net and covered a number of different characters, locations and subplots. One of the criticisms levelled at The Walking Dead in the past (oh and there have been many) is that some episodes have been too self-contained and insular. You know the ones I mean, where we spend the entire episode in the company of one or two characters and by the end of it, the storyline doesn't really seemed to have progressed very much. Episode six was the antithesis of this, yet I fear that there will still be some who aren't happy. What do people want!
An episode that covered so much ground could have ended up feeling too thin and disparate but on the whole it was handled pretty well I thought. Instead of feeling fragmented, things felt quite fluid and the switching between characters gave the episode an energy and sense of urgency.
The show now seems to be at a place where the characters seem to be splitting off on their own or into couples/small groups, each with their own particular agendas and missions. Firstly, we have Rick, who after his fisticuffs with Daryl, heads off to fulfil the next part of 'the plan'. I wonder if the next part of the plan involved him being naked and held captive, because that's what happened. And he can't really have been surprised surely? Did he really think that Jadis would be up for a deal? He must have thought those polaroids were going to swing it I guess. But they didn't. To be honest, I'm pretty baffled that Rick thought it was even viable in the first place. Those Mad Max Mo Fo's are not to be trusted. Plus the way they speak is pretty infuriating.
Meanwhile an injured Michonne and Rosita ventured out to see the Sanctuary to put the former's mind at rest. Of course, it was never going to be a simple car ride. The discovery of a couple of saviours concocting a plan to get the walkers away from the Sanctuary by blaring out music through gigantic loudspeakers was an important one because it shows us that the saviours aren't quite as doomed as we think they might be. Luckily, Rosita literally missiled one of them to death whilst Daryl and Tara took care of the other (and the loudspeakers) by ploughing into the side of their truck. Problem solved.
Elsewhere, Carol is doing her best to try and get Ezekiel out of his funk. His malaise is understandable but it was always going to happen. His level of confidence was bordering on the arrogant and now he's been taken down a peg or two he might be a slightly different type of King when he resumes his throne. Carl continues to forge his own path and takes Siddiq under his wing, giving him food and drink and helping him 'release the souls' of a troupe of walkers. I know we are conditioned to being suspicious of every new character we come across in this world but he seems genuine enough and who knows, he could be a useful weapon in the war that is currently raging. He's certainly a dab hand at dispatching walkers...
Aaron and Enid are heading out on some kind of roadtrip and then we have the dilemma at Hilltop. You have to admire Jesus' philosophy and his desire to maintain a clear difference between the group and the bad guys, from a moral perspective. Maggie obviously values his opinion but doesn't quite share his sentiments and her decision not to kill the prisoners and to move them inside hilltop into a makeshift prison is not done for sentimental reasons, or even philosophical reasons. It's strategic. They could be used as bargaining chips. It may seem a bit cold but most viewers will see the sense in it. Just as they will probably see sense in throwing Gregory into the prison along with the captive saviours. Of course he whimpers and begs, but then we'd expect nothing less, he's a coward. We've been here before though haven't we? Where a kind or sympathetic act or decision has come back to bite our heroes squarely on the ass – and I can't be the only one who thinks that we may see history repeat itself sometime soon...
