Margaux and I loved this week’s near-perfect episode of The Walking Dead.
Trevor: I know our main complain about last week’s episode was the lack of Carol. Well, problem fuckin solved, because “JSS” was a great episode for the RNC. And it went a long way towards establishing what looks to be one of season six’s major conflicts (non-Wolves division): not Rick vs. Morgan, but Carol vs. Morgan. The attack on Alexandria was a harrowing way to show the audience just how diametrically opposed these two are.
Margaux: “JSS” was also an effective anti-smoking PSA; one minute Carol is shaming pasta loving Shelley about her love of smoking cigarettes inside, the next, we watch Shelley get hacked in half by the quite literally deranged Wolves.
Trevor: Suck on that, truth.org! I liked the structure of this episode. It worked well as a companion piece to the premiere, and we finally got to see more of the Wolves, who, as best I can tell, are more anarchists than anything. They don’t seem to want to do much besides kill, which is a pretty terrifying motive, but could also lead to some narrative hollowness. The best villains will have clear motives, perhaps even some you can understand (the Governor had some good ideas), but what makes the Wolves so dangerous could also, ultimately, make them unremarkable.
Margaux: Agreed, as far as I can tell, The Wolves are just a collection of mentally disturbed people or some sort of post-apocalyptic Manson family. Regardless, “JSS” worked on a high tension, fast paced level, but all the hemming and hawing over the morality of it all (ie: Morgan vs Carol) slowed it down a bit. I mean, besides the obvious answer, Carol is always right, I don’t know how much longer I can stand Morgan’s “all lives matter” bullshit, especially when he surprisingly reasons with a couple of The Wolves, only to watch them skip off WITH a brand new gun. All lives cannot matter in this world, and maybe coming face to face with the man who almost killed him in last seasons finale helped him realize that because Alexandria is desperate need of the “Clear” Morgan, not the bo staff wielding pacifist he’s trying to convince everyone he is.
Also: for someone who thought Carol was a cop last episode, he seemed mighty surprised at all the ass kicking Carol was doing. STAND BACK AND TAKE NOTES DUDE.
Trevor: Everything you’ve said about Morgan is spot-on. You’d think he, more than anyone, would know how little reason matters anymore. I loved this telling exchange between him and Carol: “You don’t have to kill people.” “Of course we do.” Carol said it like it was the most natural thing in the world, then (in a sequence that must have been a thrill for Melissa McBride to film) disguises herself as a Wolf, forehead W and all, and goes on a killing spree. I seriously cannot commend The Walking Dead enough for what they’ve done with her character. This incarnation is vastly superior to the Carol we see in the graphic novels, and that’s by Robert Kirkman’s own admission (in that same interview, he said that as executive producer he’d never kill Carol, which is wonderful to hear).
And the end of “JSS” is a little on the nose, but an important shot nonetheless: Morgan and Carol walking away from each other, quite literally taking different paths. It will be interesting to see how this relationship progresses.
Margaux: Speaking of character 180s, I like to think of this episode as the one where Alexandrians stopped being nice and started getting real. Jessie for example, goes from one minute trying to convince her John McCain-esque son Ron (he can’t lift his left arm above his head because he’s abusive, dead Father beat the crap out of him so much) to stabbing the shit out of a Wolf in her own home (in front of Ron, kid cannot catch a break)with her hair cutting scissors. I’m really glad they haven’t made total victims out of their abuse survivor characters. Though I question how well that closet door would hold off someone, zombie or human, in the event of shit truly hitting the fan – aka Carol isn’t around to save the entire town’s ass.
Trevor: I’m looking forward to seeing how Carol is perceived after the Wolves’ aborted attack. This whole time, she’s been fooling them with her cardigans and casserole recipes, but the veil has slipped and the whole town has now seen what a badass she truly is. It’s a shame that we’ll probably see less of her goody-two-shoes facade, as that was one of TWD’s best running jokes.
Margaux: Well, considering the sewing circle Carol belonged to is now mostly dead, with the exception of Leslie, I think there’s still a chance of her attempting to keep up the ruse, but it’s now a matter of whether or not Carol feels like it. When the carnage has finally settled down and Carol sits on the steps, trying to wipe the blood off, she looked so depleted, part of me wonders if her homemaker facade was actually something she enjoyed. Murdering in cold blood takes it toll, especially after what happened with Lizzie, it was more self-preservation than anything. I think.
Trevor: That’s an excellent point I hadn’t considered yet. For such an action-driven episode, “JSS” raised a lot of questions about its characters. It struck me that this is The Walking Dead’s version of a bottle episode, its equivalent to Breaking Bad’s “Fly” (in execution if not in quality). This is a smart episode, but it doesn’t rob the audience of the visceral thrills that we tune in for. Pretty excellently well done, if you ask me.
Margaux: No argument from me on that front, I actually think these first three episodes (because we’ve yet to see the conclusion of the botched walker parade) will be the strongest in Walking Dead’s run since its first season. And I must say, I am not one for “origin stories”, but Enid has been an interesting and mysterious enough a character that learning how she ended up coming to Alexandria was telling, and also opens up the questions (and fans the theory) of if she knows or has been involved with The Wolves. Though we know a lot of what fueled their attack, though it’ll remain to be seen if they retaliate at some point, was the discovery of Aaron’s fallen backpack from last seasons finale, Enid has a penchant for going outside the gates – who knows who she’s run into along the way.
Trevor: The reappearance of the pictures from Aaron’s backpack shows a nice sense of internal memory on the show’s part. Actions (even and especially mistakes) have consequences, and the nihilistic desperation that so pervades this show is summed up perfectly in Enid’s motto/letter to Carl: Just survive somehow. Once again I have to applaud The Walking Dead for introducing heavy themes into an episode that presents itself as the Carol Peletier Wolf-Killing Variety Hour. You wanna talk stars, or is there anything else you’d like to hit on?
Margaux: Only that I think Daryl’s point of wanting to still go out and find people to recruit for the community, and hopefully they’ll be more skilled at defending themselves, will be another necessary argument. The issues I had with “JSS,” like how Enid’s motto was sort of a cornball letdown, and the “who’s right” disagreement can get in the way, it was a thoroughly enjoyable hour of The Walking Dead because Melissa McBride is a fuckin’ American treasure, right up there with The Rock, and she needs WAY MORE recognition. 4.5 stars.
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