Margaux and I talk wolves and the brilliance of Melissa McBride in this week’s review of The Walking Dead.
Trevor: Goddamn, I love this show sometimes. “Forget” was a pretty damn good episode.
Margaux: Buttons the horse getting eaten by walkers was literally the worst thing The Walking Dead has ever done in all of its 5 seasons. I was screaming “NOOOOOOOOOOOO” through my fingers at the TV throughout the whole scene, something I haven’t done since season 1.
Trevor: The worst part was the gruesome inevitability of it. Seeing it coming did not soften the blow.
Margaux: Not one bit. But Aaron and Daryl becoming best friends sort of softened the blow for me. For some reason, when Aaron shows Daryl the motorcycle garage after the Buttons disaster, it totally reminded me of Step Brothers: “did we just become best friends?” “YUP!”
Trevor: One thing that didn’t totally work for me was Sasha’s newfound social anxiety. I get that she’s been on a downward spiral since Tyreese’s death, but it seems like The Walking Dead is trying to turn her into the taciturn, hostile Michonne of season three, now that Michonne has softened up a bit and is actually speaking more than five words an episode.
I liked Sasha going out to the woods to shoot the family photos, though. That was some dark shit, and better executed (to me at least) than her freak-out at the party. (Again, what she was freaking out about was understandable, but I didn’t totally buy the way she got there.) I’m okay with the storyline as a whole, but not when it comes out of nowhere. That’s a minor quibble with an otherwise fantastic episode, though.
Margaux: When some well-meaning woman in Alexandria asks her what her favorite meal is, I half expected her to say, human meat. That’s how erratic Sasha was acting. I mean, I get that attending a pleasant social gathering in the post-apocalypse is somewhat off putting – hell, it fucking sucks now – so I enjoyed seeing the groups various levels of anxiety but this is just the long winded way of saying I agree with you.
When was she doing target practice with those family photos in the opening, I wasn’t sure if she was really practicing or just trying to attract some walkers in a quasi-suicide attempt. But then she said, “I’m ready” and I’m not quite sure what for…
Trevor: We’ll just have to wait and see. Alexandria is breeding some very interesting storylines, such as Rick, Daryl, and Carol meeting in secret about stealing guns. Can we agree that they’re already planning the takeover that Rick hinted at when they arrived? I think what they’re doing goes far beyond preparatory measures, it seems like phase one of a plan that they’ve all decided they’re going through with. How the rest of the group will react remains to be seen, but if the past is any indication they’ll go along with what Rick says is best. Quite a cult of personality he’s established, and it’s impressive that he can hang on to his leadership role now that he’s a clean-shaven little bitch (#NeverForget).
Margaux: When they met up about the guns, I was a little confused because I thought they were meeting to plan out phase one of the takeover, not talk about leaving open a latch. What was most interesting about that scene though was the walker they killed with the W (or M) carved into its forehead.
They’ve been ramping up imagery of “Wolves,” from the comic book last week to this walker; maybe Alexandria has more than one group gunning for their utopia. Especially as Rick repeatedly tells Deanna that the real evil now isn’t the walkers but other people.
Trevor: I think Rick and his group are the wolves (remember, too, in Noah’s hometown there was graffiti saying WOLVES NOT FAR). Rick is the alpha male, Michonne the alpha female, Daryl the lone wolf, Carol the den mother (as she described herself in her interview with Deanna). The last note I wrote while watching “Forget” was “They are definitely the bad guys.” It’s a bold direction for the show to take – at least that’s what I think they’re doing, I could be wrong. But I don’t think I am, for once.
And as far as the meeting goes, the latch and the takeover plan are part and parcel; with the latch open, they can get the guns, and with the guns they can take over. It shouldn’t be hard for them, either; they’re better-trained than anyone in Alexandria.
What cinched it for me was the way Rick was looking at Jessie’s husband Paul. He has some fell notions in his head.
Margaux: I can’t believe Rick actually reached for his newly stolen gun when he watched Paul walk by with his arm around Jessie. Was he really contemplating shooting that dude, in broad daylight? Ummm, feeling really good about him being the towns fucking CONSTABLE! Jesus.
By the way, something about beardless Rick really shows off the crazy glint in his eye that he gets. Like when he gave Jessie, what would’ve been an innocent peck on the cheek, if he didn’t intensely LOCK EYES with her after it. That was nice and uncomfortable and will 100% not end well.
Trevor: Last episode, Glenn told Deanna, “We were almost out there too long.” I think they’ve definitely been out there too long. Pretty much everything we’ve seen Rick do has been in a different context, or could be compared to someone much worse than him, i.e. Gareth or the Governor. But surrounded by these people – who several members of the group have derided as “weak” or “soft” – The Walking Dead raises the interesting question, Is Rick Grimes a good man anymore? Evidence points to no, and again I applaud the show for taking such a bold step.
Can we talk about the elephant in the room, Carol’s monologue?
Margaux: I bet Carol’s favorite movie is Goodfellas, that was some gangster ass shit. That kid will never look at tree the same ever again. Also, he definitely shit his pants multiple times.
Trevor: Why we’re not throwing Emmys at Melissa McBride is beyond me. She was terrifying. It was riveting to watch, and far and away the best scene of an already great episode.
Margaux: And she was so sweet about it too, not breaking her self-imposed Den Mother character – she horrified the literal crap out of that kid in the most sing-songy, pleasant voice. But, I do think Carol snagging that extra piece of chocolate will end up coming back to bite her on the ass.
Trevor: Yeah, those threats were a lot scarier coming from an unassuming woman dressed like she’s going to a PTA meeting.
So I’m thinking four and a half stars, sound fair? I’d give Carol’s monologue five stars on its own.
Margaux: Before we get to stars, I have to point out something that didn’t work for me in last nights episode. After Rick nearly shoots Jessie’s husband, he wanders over to one of the fences and presses his face up against it. In a wide shot, we see one walker on the other side but, we’re back on Rick – it’s hard to tell if he’s losing his mind because he’s made an emotional connection with a woman or just plain old losing it? I honestly did not get that moment.
Also, I’m extra glad Carol scared the shit out of Jessie’s kid cause, who the fuck stamps someone’s hand with permanent ink?! What a dick.
Trevor: I think Rick is just losing it. That sequence was jarring for me – in a good way – because this show never uses songs, it relies on Bear McCreary’s awesome score. So to hear a soundtrack and not a score was a good indicator that something unusual was happening.
Margaux: It felt like it was borrowing a little from Mad Men probably because of the use of the song and not a score we’ve heard throughout. It was jarring in a bad way for me, almost eye roll worthy to end on that note after such a strong showing for TWD characters.
In terms of stars, I’m leaning more towards 4 – mainly for Carol going full-on RNC on a child – there were some character beats that didn’t stick as well as others. I’m hoping we get to check in with Father Gabriel and Eugene soon because with only 3 episodes left, bodies will surely start dropping soon.
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