The Walking Dead Mid-Season Premiere "No Way Out" Episode Discussion (SPOILERS)
SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched yesterday's mid-season premiere episode of The Walking Dead, don't read any further!
Last night's The Walking Dead was epic to say the least in terms of nonstop action. Suffice it to say, from the opening moments down to the final minutes, tonight's episode left me in awe. Not only did the writers up the ante on the mayhem but there was a few subtle moments of character development and shifting philosophies that will be pivotal come the second half of the season.
The episode began directly where the mid-season finale left off with Daryl, Sasha, and Abraham encountering a group men on a road somewhere on the outskirts of Alexandria. These men as we discovered work for a man named Negan, who avid comic book readers know to be more ruthless than even the Governor. It is rumored that we won't meet Negan, who is set to be played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, until the sixth season finale, but his presence will be teased throughout the back half of the season. I for one cannot wait to see how the writers will choose to portray Negan considering how foul-mouthed and nuanced his character is portrayed to be in the comic books. The Walking Dead is notorious in its slow build-up towards their introduction of their primary antagonists but the suspense in doing so, I expect will lead to an awesome reveal come the season finale. I digress, as the men on the road lead our survivors to a stand still and demand that they turn over their weapons as they now are property of Negan, Daryl gets the upperhand with a rocket launcher. Who knew how much more badass Daryl could be with a rocket launcher than he was with his crossbow. This moment is sure to cause a ripple effect for episodes to come once Negan finds out that his men were murdered.
Back at Alexandria, loyal fans are treated to a scene ripped straight out of the comic books. When we last left Alexandria, Rick, Michonne, Carl, Gabriel, Jessie, Ron, Sam, and Judith, whose scents are masked with walker blood, make their way through the zombie hoard seemingly undetected. Gabriel convinces Rick to trust him enough to take Judith to safety which shows a tremendous amount of faith on the latter's part considering everything that has transpired between these two characters. Gabriel gets his moment of redemption as he courageously leads Judith to safety at the church. As the rest of the group continues through the hoard, poor Sam can't contain his fear and is subsequently consumed by some hungry walkers. After witnessing the death of one of her own children, Jessie becomes paralyzed from shock and she too succumbs to the walkers. I really enjoyed how the writers captured Sam's fear by echoing Carol's cookie speech from the beginning of the season through his subconscious and by including flashes of what could have been between Rick and Jessie as our fearless leader watched her die. Not wanting to die, Jessie clings onto Carl and Rick is left with no choice but to cut off her arm in order to save his son's life. Ron, having witnessed Rick "kill" yet another one of his parents, grabs a gun to seek retribution but is killed by Michonne. In his dying moments, his gun goes off and inadvertently hits Carl in the eye. Carl collapses and Rick becomes overwhelmed with grief at the prospect of losing his son but with Michonne's help manages to keep moving towards the town's infirmary.Where's the town's resident doctor when you need her?
Denise is being held captive by the wolf and in one of last night's more subtle moments of last night's episode, these two characters engage in a conversation about what it means to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. The dynamic between Denise and the wolf was highlighted by their desire to change one another's perspective. The wolf wanted to change Denise to be more like him and vice-versa. As the two try to escape the walls of Alexandria, the wolf is bit and Denise is seemingly surrounded by a group of walkers. Instead of leaving her behind, he rescues her. The ambiguity as to why he rescued her was brilliant on the part of the writers. Did he save her because he in fact changed? Or was this glimmer of humanity just a charade because he needed her to treat his wounds and save his life? We will never get the answer to this, because Carol shots and kills the wolf from a rooftop. Denise then makes her way to the infirmary where she is very much needed.
Speaking of Carol, who along with Morgan, were knocked unconscious, awake to find Alexandria in complete and utter ruins. After the two blame each other for Denise's kidnapping, they bond over the loss of their children in another poignant and subtle moment of last night's episode. Although neither agree with each other's methods, the two cannot seem to go through with their desire to kill the other, and they reach an unspoken detente, in order to help recapture Alexandria from the zombie hoards.
Meanwhile, Glenn and Enid make their way back into Alexandria and see that Maggie is trapped on a suspended platform above a group of hungry walkers. After a heartfelt exchange, Enid realizes that Glenn was right about not giving up and agrees to help him save his pregnant wife. Glenn lures away the hoard and Enid saves Maggie but in possibly one of the most heart wrenching moments of the show, Glenn once again finds himself in the precarious position of being surrounded by walkers. Just as we were about to lose Glenn all over again, Daryl, Sasha, and Abraham return to Alexandria to save the day.
Back at the infirmary, Denise tirelessly works to save Carl's life and Rick in a moment of rage, goes back onto the streets of Alexandria to take on the hoard all by himself. As the citizens watch the carnage unfold, they band together to help Rick take back their city. The final moments of the show reminded me of 300 and showed how far these characters have come. Every character including Gabriel, Eugene, and the citizens of Alexandria showed bravery and courage and with the help of Daryl's gas tanker and the rocket launcher, they were able to lure the zombie hoard to a fiery death.
With the city reclaimed, Rick returns to Carl's bedside and proclaims to have been wrong about Alexandria the entire time. He now realizes that it is possible to stand alongside the Alexandrians to build a home safe from the outside post-apocalyptic world. In a moment of faith, Rick prays that his son won't die, claiming that he has so much to show him. In the last minute of last night's mid-season premiere, we get a glimmer of hope as Carl's fingers move to clasp Rick's hand. It was interesting to see Rick exhibit a reversal in roles by placing his faith in a higher power to save Carl's life, which was conversely juxtaposed to Gabriel's speech about how it's up to the people not God to take action in order to protect Alexandria.
This was a brilliantly written episode and I can't wait to see what's in store for the remainder of the season. What did you all think of yesterday's episode? Talk the Walk!
SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched yesterday's mid-season premiere episode of The Walking Dead, don't read any further!
Last night's The Walking Dead was epic to say the least in terms of nonstop action. Suffice it to say, from the opening moments down to the final minutes, tonight's episode left me in awe. Not only did the writers up the ante on the mayhem but there was a few subtle moments of character development and shifting philosophies that will be pivotal come the second half of the season.
The episode began directly where the mid-season finale left off with Daryl, Sasha, and Abraham encountering a group men on a road somewhere on the outskirts of Alexandria. These men as we discovered work for a man named Negan, who avid comic book readers know to be more ruthless than even the Governor. It is rumored that we won't meet Negan, who is set to be played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, until the sixth season finale, but his presence will be teased throughout the back half of the season. I for one cannot wait to see how the writers will choose to portray Negan considering how foul-mouthed and nuanced his character is portrayed to be in the comic books. The Walking Dead is notorious in its slow build-up towards their introduction of their primary antagonists but the suspense in doing so, I expect will lead to an awesome reveal come the season finale. I digress, as the men on the road lead our survivors to a stand still and demand that they turn over their weapons as they now are property of Negan, Daryl gets the upperhand with a rocket launcher. Who knew how much more badass Daryl could be with a rocket launcher than he was with his crossbow. This moment is sure to cause a ripple effect for episodes to come once Negan finds out that his men were murdered.
Back at Alexandria, loyal fans are treated to a scene ripped straight out of the comic books. When we last left Alexandria, Rick, Michonne, Carl, Gabriel, Jessie, Ron, Sam, and Judith, whose scents are masked with walker blood, make their way through the zombie hoard seemingly undetected. Gabriel convinces Rick to trust him enough to take Judith to safety which shows a tremendous amount of faith on the latter's part considering everything that has transpired between these two characters. Gabriel gets his moment of redemption as he courageously leads Judith to safety at the church. As the rest of the group continues through the hoard, poor Sam can't contain his fear and is subsequently consumed by some hungry walkers. After witnessing the death of one of her own children, Jessie becomes paralyzed from shock and she too succumbs to the walkers. I really enjoyed how the writers captured Sam's fear by echoing Carol's cookie speech from the beginning of the season through his subconscious and by including flashes of what could have been between Rick and Jessie as our fearless leader watched her die. Not wanting to die, Jessie clings onto Carl and Rick is left with no choice but to cut off her arm in order to save his son's life. Ron, having witnessed Rick "kill" yet another one of his parents, grabs a gun to seek retribution but is killed by Michonne. In his dying moments, his gun goes off and inadvertently hits Carl in the eye. Carl collapses and Rick becomes overwhelmed with grief at the prospect of losing his son but with Michonne's help manages to keep moving towards the town's infirmary.Where's the town's resident doctor when you need her?
Denise is being held captive by the wolf and in one of last night's more subtle moments of last night's episode, these two characters engage in a conversation about what it means to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. The dynamic between Denise and the wolf was highlighted by their desire to change one another's perspective. The wolf wanted to change Denise to be more like him and vice-versa. As the two try to escape the walls of Alexandria, the wolf is bit and Denise is seemingly surrounded by a group of walkers. Instead of leaving her behind, he rescues her. The ambiguity as to why he rescued her was brilliant on the part of the writers. Did he save her because he in fact changed? Or was this glimmer of humanity just a charade because he needed her to treat his wounds and save his life? We will never get the answer to this, because Carol shots and kills the wolf from a rooftop. Denise then makes her way to the infirmary where she is very much needed.
Speaking of Carol, who along with Morgan, were knocked unconscious, awake to find Alexandria in complete and utter ruins. After the two blame each other for Denise's kidnapping, they bond over the loss of their children in another poignant and subtle moment of last night's episode. Although neither agree with each other's methods, the two cannot seem to go through with their desire to kill the other, and they reach an unspoken detente, in order to help recapture Alexandria from the zombie hoards.
Meanwhile, Glenn and Enid make their way back into Alexandria and see that Maggie is trapped on a suspended platform above a group of hungry walkers. After a heartfelt exchange, Enid realizes that Glenn was right about not giving up and agrees to help him save his pregnant wife. Glenn lures away the hoard and Enid saves Maggie but in possibly one of the most heart wrenching moments of the show, Glenn once again finds himself in the precarious position of being surrounded by walkers. Just as we were about to lose Glenn all over again, Daryl, Sasha, and Abraham return to Alexandria to save the day.
Back at the infirmary, Denise tirelessly works to save Carl's life and Rick in a moment of rage, goes back onto the streets of Alexandria to take on the hoard all by himself. As the citizens watch the carnage unfold, they band together to help Rick take back their city. The final moments of the show reminded me of 300 and showed how far these characters have come. Every character including Gabriel, Eugene, and the citizens of Alexandria showed bravery and courage and with the help of Daryl's gas tanker and the rocket launcher, they were able to lure the zombie hoard to a fiery death.
With the city reclaimed, Rick returns to Carl's bedside and proclaims to have been wrong about Alexandria the entire time. He now realizes that it is possible to stand alongside the Alexandrians to build a home safe from the outside post-apocalyptic world. In a moment of faith, Rick prays that his son won't die, claiming that he has so much to show him. In the last minute of last night's mid-season premiere, we get a glimmer of hope as Carl's fingers move to clasp Rick's hand. It was interesting to see Rick exhibit a reversal in roles by placing his faith in a higher power to save Carl's life, which was conversely juxtaposed to Gabriel's speech about how it's up to the people not God to take action in order to protect Alexandria.
This was a brilliantly written episode and I can't wait to see what's in store for the remainder of the season. What did you all think of yesterday's episode? Talk the Walk!
