With the Whisperer War about to achieve its bloody zenith and everybody’s lives on the road, The Walking Dead apparently isn’t afraid to let issues get bizarre first. And the assault rifle-toting ray of sunshine who made her debut last week was solely the half of it.
After I say “The Tower” was goofy, I don’t imply that in a nasty means. I’m additionally not saying the episode was a delight, nevertheless it was actually entertaining. Though it’s one of many shortest episodes in current reminiscence—it’s lower than 42 minutes, together with the opening title and finish credit—it has lots occurring. Before everything, Beta has taken management of the Whisperers’ horde of zombies, and utterly misplaced his thoughts. Admittedly, seeing as he’s been sporting a bespoke zombie masks for years, that’s not precisely a significant transformation, however now he’s truly listening to zombies speak to him.
However when he brings his horde to Alexandria, he finds the Alexandrians…gone. The settlement is totally empty, and there’s one thing deeply humorous about seeing Beta on the base of the windmill, staring out on the million zombies who've stuffed Alexandria to the brim, and clearly having no thought what to do. It’s even funnier when Alden pokes his head out from the highest of the windmill, the place he and Aaron are hiding. (There’s even a cartoony scene of Beta whipping his head up actual quick as a result of he thinks he sees one thing, however Alden geese like a whack-a-mole simply in time to keep away from being noticed.)
The remainder of the Alexandrians and remaining Hilltoppers are within the titular tower, wherever the hell that's. Apart from hiding, their huge plan appears to revolve round Luke constructing one thing, as a result of I suppose the previous music instructor has electrical expertise? He wants some wires or a doohickey from a automobile for it, so Carol and Kelly go fetch it solely to allow them to have a second the place the no-longer-obsessed Carol can apologize for getting Kelly’s sister Connie killed. Each Kelly and the present let Carol utterly off the hook, suggesting it’s positive as a result of Kelly is for certain Connie isn’t lifeless. It’s bizarre.
It’s additionally bizarre that Negan marches as much as Lydia and tries to turn out to be her grief counselor, provided that, you already know, he murdered Lydia’s mom Alpha very recently. Whereas the character has formally turn out to be one of many good guys and has at all times had a delicate spot for teenagers, it’s weird to see Negan immediately turn out to be so empathetic that he will get teary-eyed making an attempt to assist Lydia course of her grief. It’s rather more affordable when he suggests Lydia punch him to kickstart mentioned processing, however when Lydia does lastly freak out and breaks down crying, Negan’s the one who finally ends up holding her, whispering comforting phrases, and compassionately stroking her hair to assuage her.
Compared, the scene the place the opposite super-macho badass comforts a younger lady is rather more affordable. Judith sneaks out of the tower to hitch Daryl whereas he’s maintaining a watch on the perimeter, and he provides her a number of classes in badassery alongside the way in which. However Judith will get disturbed when Daryl kills a Whisperer and leaves her physique in a ditch. In the event you’re pondering Judith is upset by seeing somebody take a life straight in entrance of her, don’t fear—Rick’s daughter is means too pragmatic for that. What she’s actually upset about is how her mom Michonne left her, and he or she’s nervous Daryl will ultimately abandon her as effectively. The truth that (so far as we all know) actor Danai Gurira has no intention of returning to the sequence provides Judith’s grief an additional dimension. It’s additionally doubly comforting when Daryl guarantees her he’ll by no means depart as a result of it'd as effectively be Norman Reedus speaking on to the viewers.
In a special episode, these three moments of emotional reconciliation—Carol n’ Kelly, Negan n’ Lydia, Daryl n’ Judith—are so easy that they might really feel crass and manipulative, however in “The Tower” they work, and that’s due to the ebullient artist who greeted Eugene, Yumiko, and Ezekiel final week. I totally count on that Princess, as she introduces herself, will annoy many viewers, a lot as she annoys the trio. I get it, since she does scare off the horses by needlessly displaying off her zombie-shooting expertise in hoping of impressing her friends, then additionally needlessly leads the gang right into a minefield whereas secretly taking them on “the scenic route” to alternate transportation. She’s supposed to be annoying.
It doesn’t assist that her origin and story play out precisely as you count on: She’s gotten slightly kooky as a result of she’s been residing by herself for years, nevertheless it seems she was super-lonely earlier than the zombie apocalypse too, which is why she conspired to spend the entire day with the primary residing folks she’d seen in without end, which melts Yumiko’s stony coronary heart and he or she permits Princess to hitch the expeditionary occasion.
However the scene the place Eugene, who's already anxious about doubtlessly lacking his assembly with the mysterious Stephanie, sees himself in Princess and reaches out to her provides the episode its greatest, most authentically shifting second, and guys? She may have led them nearly wherever in an effort to cling with them longer, and he or she nonetheless selected to undergo a literal minefield. Watching Yumiko, Eugene, and Ezekiel stand like doofuses within the rain whereas Princess tries to recollect the right, non-explosive path out is delightfully foolish. And anyway, most Strolling Lifeless characters are annoying in a technique or one other, and in a lot much less enjoyable methods.
Though the actual season 10 finale has been delayed till someday later in 2020, no less than “The Tower” ends on a stable cliffhanger—Beta main his zombie horde to the place our heroes are hiding…because of a damaged department, a cat, and the very intelligent zombies who Beta believes are speaking to him. It’s goofy as hell, and it’s nonetheless completely going to result in somebody getting killed. Works for me, so long as it isn’t Princess.
Assorted Musings:
- Princess calls zombies “Rotters,” nevertheless it’s not a brand new identify for them. It was utilized by the folks within the Atlanta hospital Beth visited again in season 5. Since Princess says she’s been hanging in Charleston because the apocalypse began, I feel we are able to assume it’s a mere coincidence.
- The “cascade” gag within the minefield was telegraphed a mile and a half away, nevertheless it nonetheless labored for me.
- Whereas maintaining a watch on the herd, Aaron and Alden get caught by Whisperers in a type of scenes that solely is sensible if the characters can solely see what the digicam sees. The Whisperers sneak up on them from virtually all sides, so no less than a number of of them ought to have been noticed alongside the way in which.
- I’m eagerly trying ahead to seeing Eugene, Yumiko, and Ezekiel take a motorbike journey to their potential doom every time the finale does air. It doesn't matter what, although, their mission has already partially succeeded: Princess has sweet!
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