Its called Now but has another Walking Dead episode ever felt less urgent? The show was due for a downshift after four straight weeks of terror, panic, and tragedy, but maybe not into a gear quite this low. Its fine for a thriller to pause and reflect but theres a fine line between contemplative and sleepy. And this latest TWD is philosophical to a fault.
Before last weeks extended Morgan flashback, heres where wed left everyone: The residents of the Alexandra Safe Zone had just finished warding off a sneak-attack by the marauding, anarchic Wolves; Daryl was riding with Abraham and Sasha as part of a rushed plan to route an overwhelming horde of walkers away from the ASZ; Michonne was leading the remnants of her ravaged band back home; and a frazzled, wounded Rick was making a last-ditch effort to salvage his zombie cattle drive. Oh, and thatfan favorite everyone was mourningwell, we still have no confirmation on what happened to him. (But hes dead, right? Surely hes dead.)
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Theres no Glenn living or otherwise here. Nor is there any sign of Daryl, Carol, Morgan, or Michonne (outside of one brief shot of the latter from a distance, to indicate that shes arrived in Alexandria). Instead, this episode mainly concerns the return of Rick, who seems largely unaffected by his harrowing near-death experiences and the heavy casualties beyond the wall. Hes still parading around the zone, self-righteously lecturing the residents on how they need to toughen up. The only difference is that now the community is surrounded on all sides by hundreds of zombies, led right up the gates by the hero.
His mad dash to the entrance while knocking down ghouls left and right, like a punt-returner stiff-arming his way to the end-zone is one of only two genuinely exciting scenes this week. The other involves Maggie, out on a fools errand. Shes already certain that her husbands gone for good, but still feels obliged to look for him, wherever (or whatever) he may be. Serving as her wingman: Aaron, who feels guilty that his abandoned pack of maps and photos led the Wolves to his door. The two venture down into the sewers, and nearly get killed by a pair of the coolest-looking stank-covered zombies the show has yet introduced. (Picture the cover of an old The Haunt of Fear comic come to life.) But when the pair realizes they cant get far enough past the undead blockade, they scrap the mission.
Thats about it for action, aside from a scene where Jessie quietly lobotomizes the shambling corpse of a former neighbor. And for those of you thinking, Wait, which ones Jessie again? Yeah, exactly. The main problem with this chapter of The Walking Dead is that its lousy with Alexandrians. Besides the abusive Petes widow, we spend a lot of time catching up with the doubt-ridden leader Deanna and her angry son Spencer, who blames his mother for deluding her followers into believing they could live peacefully. We also get a generous dose of Denise, the cowardly doctor, who serves as a surrogate for all of the townsfolk who are ready to gobble up the rest of their supplies, curl into a ball, and wait for the sweet (and temporary) relief of death.
As with a lot of Season Six so far, the primary function of all this worrying, blaming, and shaming is to reiterate a theme: Its time for survivors to abandon any hope of ever regaining the civilization they once knew, and instead to work toward a new way of being, halfway between savage and enlightened. In recent weeks, the writers have woven that message through tense sequences of conflict and raw terror. Here we just get a lot of scenes of people stating out loud their new understanding that, This is what life looks like now, and, If we dont fight we die. Put it this way: This seasons first four episodes could all stand up to multiple viewings. Its hard to imagine too many fans eagerly cueing up a second round of Now.
Thankfully, by the end of the hour, most everyone seems to be on the same page, which means The Walking Dead may be ready to move past all this hand-wringing toward something more constructive or at least more entertainingly pulpy. The most promising conversations in this episode involve the heroes owning their choices, as well as their mistakes. Spencer admits that hes to blame for the breach of the ASZ, but points out that he also stopped the Wolves truck from knocking down the wall. Aaron defends Ricks botched zombie-funneling plan, noting that even though theyre surrounded by monsters, more than double that number would be snarling outside if they hadnt taken action.
The most persuasive person in this regard is Maggie, who has a touching moment where she talks about all the promises she and Glenn had made to each other, and how its been impossible for them to know from day to day or hour to hour whether theyre doing or saying the right thing. And yet they keep making commitments and forging ahead anyway, because thats what it means to be alive. The alternative is paralysisfollowed closely by consumption. As soon as the other characters come around to that way of thinking as it seems they very slowly are the quicker The Walking Dead can get back on track.
Previously: Cabin in the Woods