The Walking Dead continues to surprise Margaux and I by not being terrible.
Trevor: We’re firmly in the “take what we can get” stage with The Walking Dead, and maybe that’s why I didn’t hate “Hostiles and Calamities.” Don’t get me wrong, it was nothing revelatory, but there are worse ways to spend an hour, although it does seem like the show is really stretching for time. This was, for the most part, a mildly inconsequential episode (save for a conversation at the end), but I found it pretty interesting nonetheless. I hope my enthusiasm is conveyed through my use of exuberant words like “mildly.” This, like “Rock in the Road,” was pretty middling in terms of quality, but like I said, I didn’t hate it.
Margaux: I’ll admit, I was prime to totally hate an episode where half of our time is taken up by following sad-sack Melty Face chase his ex-wife around and thumb broken picture frames in some heavy-handed symbolism. But in the end, surprised myself because I couldn’t call this “worst episode since we learned how to make goat cheese.” Eugene has been a C-character, at best, since we found out he wasn’t the Human Genome scientist he told us he was. It was nice to see Eugene not only get screentime, but have subtly added to his character.
It was interesting to watch the flip side of life in the Savior compound – and through Eugene’s eyes – the carrot and not the stick that Daryl got, for all his cowardice to be rewarded in what we’ve been told and shown is a ruthless place.
Trevor: I enjoyed the characterization too, and I gotta say, for as annoying as Eugene can be (which is quite annoying, because at his worst he resembles less of an actual human and more Sheldon Cooper from The Big Band Theory, the worst character on TV), the writers take painstaking care to make sure he doesn’t talk or act like anyone else on this show. It’s not until you get a showcase like “Hostiles” that you really start to respect the amount of work that goes into Eugene. (Who’d have thought I’d ever be here praising the Walking Dead writers’ room?)
And there was a nice bit of world-building with Sanctuary as well. This episode made it easy to see why the place is so alternately terrifying and alluring – weirdly enough, I found myself really appreciating the small detail that there’s a barber on call. And we also got one of my favorite shots of the season, maybe the series, as a terrified Eugene fought back tears being addressed by Negan, all while cradling a huge jar of pickles.
Margaux: Perfect encapsulation of how Eugene is out of place anytime, anywhere, with or without the apocalypse. His gut instinct to order lobster when a lady Neganite offers him lunch is 100%, pure and unfiltered Eugene. But it really goes to show that this chick, who apparently cosigns all things evil standing by Negan, is nicer to him than Rosita ever was.
Trevor: Very good point. Eugene got a lot of attention from women in this episode. Him showing off for Negan’s wives by making the bomb was a fun scene of genuine connection, the kind that TWD strives for but seldom hits. I guess, and this is weird to say, I liked the Eugene stuff more than the Dwight stuff, maybe because I don’t care about Dwight’s Daryl-by-way-of-Ben-Foster mannerisms. I still think he’s primed for a defection, and that will be interesting, if the show can pull it off, but we’re not here to grade the show on what might happen.
Margaux: That would be a different matter entirely, and I think it’s called Fan Fiction.
I think the Saviors, and whether this is an intentional tactic of theirs I’m not sure, really give Eugene what he never truly got with Rick and Co, a sense of belonging and power. They see him and actually listen to him when he talks, like Abraham used to when he believed Eugene could save the world. Attention from women aside, Eugene drops the ‘aw shucks’ routine pretty quick once he’s called to heroic action. Eugene is awkward and bumbling, although most people would like to think they’re a Rick or Carol, everyone is probably closer to Eugene if the apocalypse really hit. Just trying to get by with the tools we have. Given the chance to save the world again, even in a small way, Eugene suddenly remakes him in this new image of himself.
Trevor: I was really hoping that someone in Rick’s group would switch sides, and while I still maintain it would have been way more interesting (and way more ballsy) if it were Daryl, I still got a belly laugh out of how quickly Eugene drank the Kool-Aid. I really liked this moment, when Negan began his usual spiel with “Who are” only to be interrupted immediately with “I’m Negan.”
Now: I realize, obviously, this could be a front. Eugene knows he’s valuable to Negan, and now he has a way to kill him. He could be a here at Alexandria. But I really, really want it to be legitimate, because that’s so much more interesting to me. I know I’m going to be disappointed, but I can still hope, I suppose.
Margaux: I chuckled pretty hard when we were introduced to “bad” Eugene, he’s a “bad” Ernest from Ernest Scared Stupid. I agree that it’s hard to tell if he’s really gone to the dark side, in terms of him named the new doctor after the old one gets literally thrown to the fire, I’m not filled with hope.
Trevor: Negan throwing that guy head-first into the furnace was a good villain move. More of that, please.
Margaux: Yes, enough of the bat and more burning people alive. Kay, thanks.
But we’ve got to talk a bit about M.F. and his pointless adventure, where we learn nothing, BUT he moves the plot just enough to get that nosy (I mean, he’s not a fucking couples counselor for God’s sake) doctor murdered in front of an audience, don’t we?
Trevor: Yeah, there was some wheel-spinning going on with Dwight (sweet motorcycle pun) and I wasn’t really invested in it. Sometimes I find him interesting, but most of the time, like in “Hostiles and Calamities,” I feel like The Walking Dead has come up with a second in command that it’s certain we’ll become invested in, so it devotes more screentime to him than it should. I did like his refusal to talk about the dick-biting incident with Eugene, though.
“Hostiles and Calamities” was like two short episodes, one of which I was pretty interested in, and the other of which didn’t matter to me. I mean, I doubt Eugene’s new allegiance will pay dividends for a few episodes yet, but this was a decent way to set it up. You want to talk stars?
Margaux: You nailed it when you said it felt like two short episodes, I thought M.F. served his purpose once we found out Sherry let Daryl AND herself out, but was pleasantly surprised by the depth a man with a mullet could have. “Hostiles and Calamities” is a solid 3.5 stars, the .5 for bringing back the catchiest, most annoying song on earth, “Easy Street.”
3.5/5
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