Margaux rejoins me to talk about last night’s Negan-heavy episode of The Walking Dead.
Trevor: Am I losing my mind, or have the last two episodes of The Walking Dead been kinda good? Don’t get me wrong, both “The Big Scary U” and “Some Guy” have their issues, but they’re much better than early-season entries like “Monsters.” I think this episode really struck the right balance with Negan; it humanized him without trying to make him look sympathetic, and it gave Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Seth Gilliam a chance to actually act (but Negan is still, by and large, a horribly written character). I want to pull back on the throttle a little, because this certainly wasn’t a perfect hour of TWD, but more of it worked than didn’t. How did you feel about it? Am I way off base?
Margaux: I think two things would’ve greatly improved “The Big Scary U” besides renaming this episode, “The Return of Shittin’ Pants.” One, it was over an hour long, and did not need to be, Jesus this show barely need to be 45 minutes. Two, it sort of lost any momentum when they nonsensically cut to Rick and Daryl. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good dude fight, but it felt rushed and perfunctory. That being said, I did enjoy last week’s episode more than this weeks mainly because I thought the story of Zeke losing his facade (and tiger, RIP Shiva) was far more compelling than spending time with Father G and Negan, two characters we already know and who don’t say anything new while trapped in that walker bait trailer. Sure, you can try to argue that we learned Negan capital L loved his first wife whom he cheated on, but really, I’m tired of nameless and faceless wives of characters being used to redeem assholes. It would’ve been more effective to get more into how Negan helped guide kids in his previous life as a…tutor? Big Brother at the Boy and Girls Club? Little League coach? We never do find out, but actually would’ve liked to.
I thought “Big Scary U” was incredibly uneven at best, but we’re both in agreement that Jeffrey Dean Morgan (and Steven Ogg for that matter too) really carry off some truly appalling dialogue that shouldn’t work. No wonder the promoted Steven Ogg, he gives good creep.
Trevor: I’m glad you brought up Steven Ogg, because a lot of my notes are about him. He has a truly compelling intensity (and a hell of a mustache) and his presence really puts viewers on edge. Everything seems like a threat, even “I made these with genuine Hilltop sorghum!” I really appreciate his performance, and I could use ten times more Simon on this show.
Margaux: Motherfuckers on this show LOVE to talk up sorghum pancakes.
Trevor: As for Morgan, we have always agreed that he deserves better than this show. Maybe if this were on premium cable, and Negan could be as profane as he is in the comics, it would be a different story. But sanitizing Negan for basic cable just turns him into a juvenile cartoon.
Margaux: Negan talks like Dr. Seuss with a 1st grade education. It makes me bananas. Why does a grown ass man need to rhyme so much?! It is not scary. If I wanted to revisit shitty poetry, I’d just log back into my old LiveJournal.
Trevor: I think he talked about dicks four times in “Big Scary U.” I wasn’t even keeping track, it was just impossible to avoid. However, I think Morgan does anger well, and I liked seeing him get truly pissed off in the meeting. And I have to admit, he sold this line well: “I like killing people.” Morgan and Ogg, for the most part, seem like missed opportunities.
Margaux: Well, he says he likes to kill people and then goes on to not only backtrack (“only if they deserve it” and “people are a resource”); he does a considerable amount of non-murdering. He discovers Father Gabriel hunkering down with him and somehow they ended up in some quasi-Rick and Glenn friendship by the end. If killing is your thing, you’re doing a really bad job of proving that. Ed Kemper, Negan is not.
Trevor: And if we’re talking about solid line readings, I really enjoyed the way Seth Gilliam realized, “I think I’m here to take your confession.” (The Walking Dead has really made me appreciate the little things, good God.)
Margaux: That line read made me laugh so loud I woke up my dog. That fucking stupid smirk he gives camera after delivering that clunker of a fucking line too. Jesus did not rise on Easter for you use his name for this kinda bullshit. Find your purpose, fine, but stop with this repenting shit – this largely pointless, greater discussion about “who is really the bad guy now” (and the whole “Rick is gonna get people killed”; that is not new ground, let’s retire it). Maybe this bit would’ve worked with a character who is less self aware (Tara, for example), but this was never going to work with Negan. What really bumps me about it is it’s a shitty writer-y impulse, like “oh I know a clever way to bury this.” You could almost hear Scott Gimple patting himself on the back over that one.
Trevor: I think, almost in spite of itself, TWD has done good character work with Gabriel. He’s no longer the traitorous coward who tried to sell out Rick at Alexandria. Look at his body language in the trailer: he’s relaxed, calm even. Doesn’t even flinch when Negan raises Lucille. Gilliam has a very expressive face and it serves him well.
Looking back over what we’ve written, it seems like our opinions on this episode are diametrically opposed. Which is fine! We don’t need to agree 100% of the time (that’s what Halt and Catch Fire reviews were for). What say we switch gears for a second and talk about something we agree on, the dopey-ass fight between Rick and Daryl.
Margaux: Oh man, Rick vs Daryl: the battle of NNNAAAAOOOOO . I mean, there’s not much to say. They find explosives, Daryl – rightly – wants to blow up the Sanctuary. Rick, for some unspeakable reason, thinks it’s best to involve the fucking Trash People – yes, the same people who’ve ALREADY BETRAYED THEM. Daryl punches Rick in the jaw, Rick could’ve literally thrown the bag of explosives ANYWHERE but at the truck LEAKING FUCKING GAS EVERYWHERE. Does so anyway, truck blows up, they have a “aw shucks” moment and Rick has to walk home. Rick is the Cartman of the group now? All “screw you guys, I’m going home.”
Trevor: My biggest problem is that the show is trying so goddamn hard to sew discord between Rick and Daryl. TWD keeps inventing characterization for people, and suddenly Rick and Jesus are pulling the tried-and-true “what about the civilians” defense, which has barely held water since Clerks talked about non-combatants on the Death Star.
Margaux: I literally wrote in my notes, “ask Kevin Smith about his thoughts on the Death Star, ASK HIM.”
Trevor: And we haven’t seen the Trash People (I think they’re called the Scavengers, but I like your name better) all season, yet Pollyanna McIntosh is in the credits of every episode despite no sighting of Jadis. The only redeeming part of this little detour was Andrew Lincoln’s reading of “Choke hold’s illegal, asshole.” (I was big on line readings last night, sue me.)
Margaux: I saw McIntosh’s name in the credits for this episode, and when Rick alludes to some other puzzle piece that is of course vital to their “plan” – of which we’re still in the dark about, but we keep getting some fucking Rashomon “from all perspectives” instead of them just telling the damn story. But hey, here we are again, agreeing that Rick’s “chokehold” line was the best part of their bro-down. And yes, characters suddenly having beef where there previously was none is about as transparent of a grab for narrative tension as a Housewife from Real Housewives starting shit at her own engagement party just to get more screentime except Housewives are better at it than Rick, Daryl, and Gimple.
Trevor: I really don’t like that TWD keeps going back to this well, showing us one day over the course of a half-season. It didn’t work in season six, and it’s not working now.
Margaux: The one thing that, against all odds, worked for me was the “if Negan’s dead” emergency board meeting. It was interesting to see the dynamic of the Sanctuary brain trust attempt to make decisions on behalf of everyone, and the one thing they seem to agree on is there is a rat in their midst (uh doy). It was a little too quick and convenient that Eugene put the pieces together despite the fact that he has a vested interest in figuring it out as quickly as possible – he is suspect number 1 due his Benedict Arnold-like nature. But the whole blood paint on his hand to the canvas bag dot connecting seemed to really fall in that assholes lap. Forgive me for wanting to see Eugene die a horrible death, but the second he opened his mouth to chime in I really wanted him to shut the fuck up by sticking another pickled cucumber in his pie hole.
Thoughts on that helicopter Rick spots? That was by far the most compelling part of “The Big Scary U” as it is a giant unknown.
Trevor: It’s compelling as hell, but regardless of the work done in the last two weeks, I don’t know if I trust this version of The Walking Dead to deliver.
Margaux: Fair enough. Best not to have expectations for The Walking Dead.
For me, “The Big Scary U” was a big W for whatever. I’m still a little miffed that Negan and Gabriel managed to make it through 10 times the amount of walkers and live, and yet, a motherfucking tiger couldn’t survive five shitty zombies in a ditch.
3/5
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