Even in a zombie apocalypse, location is everything. The past six years of The Walking Dead have been like the most intense, endless House Hunters episode ever, as Rick Grimes and his band of survivors tour the ravaged American southeast, looking for a place with a roomy backyard and preferably, neighbors who wont try to kill them and take all their stuff. Theyve journeyed from abandoned prisons to gated suburbs, and at every stop the facilities have been a little bit nicer, the future a little brighter. And now, in this weeks installment titled The Well Morgan and Carol visit a community called the Kingdom that may just be the shows sunniest, most promising locale yet.
After last weeks pitch-dark, blood-soaked murder-hour, show-runner Scott M. Gimple promised that the next episode would be funny. But thats not really the first word that comes to mind this week. Absorbing? For sure. Hopeful? Unusually so. But its not like this series has suddenly become a comedy. Not unless nervous laughter counts.
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Still, theres an amusing disconnect between the desperately skeptical Carol and the Kingdoms residents, who spend their days singing songs, tending orchards, eating cobbler, and paying fealty to a man who calls himself King Ezekiel a benevolent monarch with a pet tiger named Shiva. Carols first reaction to her strange new surroundings is to play-act as the Happy Housewife again, calling her hosts amazing and gushing to them about their delicious breakfast pastries. (Its flavor on top of flavor!) But privately, she grumbles to Morgan that, This place is a damn circus. Later, when Ezekiel calls her out on her charade, she shakes her head dismissively and calls his whole operation a joke.
This episode is credited to writer Matthew Negrete and director Greg Nicotero, core members of the shows creative team; they both understand that TWD is often at its best when its in building-up mode instead of tearing-down. They also know that after the bleakest turn this series has ever taken, fans are in need of a reason to press on. So we get this highly entertaining chapter, introducing one of the comics most popular characters in King Ezekiel (played in properly commanding fashion by Khary Payton). We get to relax for a bit, in a place so chilled-out that the locals have time to work up a cappella arrangements of Bob Dylans Dont Think Twice, Its Alright.
What makes The Well so welcome right now is that Ezekiel is the first survivor weve met in a while whos strong and savvy without being deeply psychologically damaged. Yes, he talks like a refugee from the community theater which, he eventually admits to Carol, he actually was in his former life. But the man is not batshit crazy. A former zookeeper (which explains the tiger), Ezekiel has a different vision of leadership than Negan, the Governor, or even Rick. He inspires loyalty through a combination of kindness, pragmatism, and benign eccentricity. Even as the self-appointed regent kills walkers, he promises them that everything has its purpose. We live on in your place, he bellows. Full, festive, faithful, and free.
One way we know that the Kingdom is viable is that theyve already encountered the Saviors, and are still thriving regardless. Much of the actual action in this episode involves Morgan joining his new friends on a Savior-mandated mission to round up wild hogs and deliver them to Negans crew (after surreptitiously fattening the animals up on zombie-meat). Ezekiel and his inner circle honor the terms of their treaty mostly in secret, to spare their people from the harsh reality that keeps them safe.
Will this fairy tale be a dangerous mistake, long-term? Thats the big question raised this week. Weve seen this scenario before: an apparent utopia, way too good to be true, undone by a combination of arrogance, madness, and unpreparedness. And there are indications already that some of Ezekiels men would rather fight the Saviors than pay them off. Whats often so frustrating about this show is that Gimple and creator Robert Kirkman refuse to let any good thing last for the sake of keeping the story going; instead, they ultimately depict constructive, compassionate characters as fundamentally weak. After what weve seen recently, theres every reason to suspect that this latest plot-line will eventually wind down that same path.
For now though, lets just enjoy exploring all the amenities of this brave new world, with its porch-front schools, special movie nights, and bizarre affection for pomegranates. In nearly every way, this was an enjoyable episode even for the gore-hounds, who got to see an opening zombie attack with some of the wickedest kills this show has ever attempted. (Somebody give a raise to the make-up artists who crafted the effect of a ghouls entire face peeling off.)
And for those who want to believe that maybe this new corner of The Walking Dead universe isnt doomed, well, look to Carol. The sagas most hard-bitten, cynical character refuses to stay inside the Kingdom, but she does accept Ezekiel and Mogans offer to take up residence in a house nearby so that she can avoid validating this kooky land of make-believe, but can also stay alive long enough to heal some of her psychic scars. At the start of tonights episode, Carol finds herself hallucinating images of the living turning into the undead, and vice-versa. Thats meant to be a sign of her malfunctioning survival instinct. But it could also mean that she like this series is ready to start recognizing humanity again.
Previously: The Big Bash
Find out everything you need to know about Negan, The Walking Dead Season 7 villain. Watch here.