For its eighth season, The Walking Dead promised viewers “all-out war,” adhering to the titular arc in the graphic novels. It was a smart ploy, one designed to bring back viewers who were rapidly jumping ship amidst all the soul-searching and circular conversations (whether it works remains to be seen; the premiere episode, “Mercy,” drew a record-low amount of viewers). “The Damned” certainly delivers on this front, but it might lean too far in that direction. There is almost no story here, just a loose collection of scenes, and, most egregiously, Gabriel’s inopportune meeting with Negan isn’t addressed at all – once again, The Walking Dead lets it most promising thread hanging.
“The Damned” revolves around a raid on a Savior outpost, with three separate operations carried out by Alexandrians, Kimgdommers, and Hilltoppers (this is actually what they’re called). It all means less than nothing, and TWD shows its hand typically early, announcing in bold letters that no important characters will die in this episode. The Saviors and the Alexandrians we see at the beginning are nondescript and disposable, with the exception of Aaron, whose death wouldn’t change the show’s dynamic at all. With impressive alacrity, the Alexandrians drive into the outpost in their new armored cars and they open fire indiscriminately. The Saviors respond in kind, and you realize that ammo is a complete nonissue now, which might – hear me out – be for the best. If no one has to worry about ammo, if thousands of rounds are available to both sides, then they can just go balls-out with killing each other. It’s dumb, sure, but it could be thrilling.
I’ve always maintained that The Walking Dead‘s ensemble is at its best when they’re allowed to function as a cohesive whole, and for the most part that’s true of “The Damned.” It allows for some good, quick character moments. Morgan immediately ruins his by declaring “I don’t die,” but at least he allows for some good stuff from Diane, an archer from the Kingdom who is Morgan’s exact opposite: she doesn’t try to be cool yet she is, whereas Morgan tries so, so hard to be cool. What “The Damned” lacks in Diane, it unfortunately makes up for in Tara and Jesus.
The two of them are an interesting pairing, inasmuch as teaming up two characters who hardly ever share the screen is interesting on its own. But Tara and Jesus are pretty boring characters. For whatever reason, The Walking Dead wanted to spice up their scenes together by having them debate the morality of what they’re doing when a Savior tries to surrender to them. He claims he’s just a cook sent from Sanctuary, but Tara isn’t buying it – rightfully so, as it turns out. Dean manages to grab Jesus’s gun and hold it to his head. When they regain the upper hand, Jesus ties him up.
Jesus is just creating problems at this point. I can’t recall anything in his character’s development to justify this. My guess is that since Morgan is killing people again – and Lennie James, to be fair, handles his gun well – the show needed someone else to be a pain in the ass buzzkill who wants to leave everyone alive and be wrong one hundred percent of the time. When Jesus accepts the surrender of two dozen Saviors at the end of the episode, all he’s done is ensured the survival of two dozen people who want to murder him and everyone he loves. It’s so maddeningly short-sighted for TWD to spend so much time establishing that the Saviors are ruthless and deaf to reason, then have characters, time and again, try to find a way around killing them.
The plot with the Kingdommers is kind of DOA. A large contingent of them – including Carol, Ezekiel, and Jerry – are tracking a Savior that they wounded. Ezekiel, like Negan, works best in small doses. The show has taken two of its most unique characters and saddled them both with some of the worst dialogue on TV. The less said about the condescending, mean-spirited Jerry “fandom,” the better. These are the dullest sections of “The Damned,” but at least Shiva hasn’t worn out her welcome. God help me, I will never stop turn against that fuckin’ tiger.
But what about the much-ballyhooed “big reveal”? Promotional materials made sure to point out that Rick would meet “a familiar face,” a character who was “presumed dead.” I assumed it was Heath, who I never cared about, but the show somehow underwhelmed even with those expectations. TWD reached all the way back to its first season to bring back Morales, a man so memorable that Rick literally says to him – and us – “Your name is Morales. You were in Atlanta.” Morales seems hardened and is decidedly unfriendly to Rick; he’s a Savior now, and alerts others to Rick’s presence, another potentially interesting development that I really hope the show follows up on.
“The Damned” is bad, but it’s not a disaster throughout. The Walking Dead is getting closer and closer to fixing Morgan, and the tense dynamic between Tara and Jesus, while abruptly introduced, was nonetheless well-acted. She tells him, “Even if Maggie will listen to you, Rick will listen to me.” That’s a tantalizing prospect; Rick made clear in “Mercy” that if he were to die, Maggie would take his place, but what if she doesn’t want to wait for that?
The most frustrating thing about these developments is that I’ve lost faith in the show to follow up on them in a satisfactory manner. On a technical level, this is as good as the show’s ever been – Greg Nicotero’s makeup work and Bear McCreary’s score were both wonderful in “The Damned,” and there was a shot of Rick walking down a lonely hallway that is among the most beautiful in the show’s history. But something has gone very wrong in the writing room. No one, anywhere, ever, for any reason, was wondering what happened to Morales. Can’t wait for a long speech explaining it.
2.5/5
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