Dibs is dibs!
What They Say:
Twice as Far – Two separate groups leave Alexandria for supplies, and while both worry over the future of the community, they will face immediate danger.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With a narrow focus the last time around, The Walking Dead gave us some tense material that let Melissa McBride once again shine as Carol. The problem is that as the show gets closer to the end of the season and the arrival of Negan, we can’t help but worry about almost all of the characters as you know there’s a major death that has to happen in order to really put all of this in a proper war footing front. The smaller story definitely delivered with what it needed to in giving us a few more ideas of what people who deal with Negan are like and the larger world that Rick and the others are walking into, though part of me just says it’s time to get out of Dodge. But Rick is already on his badass footing and looking to protect what he has now and being proactive, so we know how things will go down.
While there are a lot of dangers in the world, things in Alexandria have certainly adapted to the new normal as food isn’t as much of a concern and folks are moving through their rhythms, keeping guard, working their minds, and doing what needs to be done. Morgan, for his part, has finished putting together his cell similar to what he went through himself in the past. It’s something that Rick questions him about and it certainly makes sense as he says that it’ll give them some options. While Rick is mostly fine with the kill or be killed side of this world, there has to be something more to it as well so that they can become more than they are. It’s not an easy thing to think about because it forces you to think on the choices you’ve made, something that we see from Carol as she’s still struggling with what happened previously. These small moments clue is in with what folks are going through without having to belabor the point, such as Rosita sleeping with someone else now – Spencer of all people – that Abraham has left. But the struggle of the loss of someone she’s been with for so long is made plain.
With the way everyone has changed a bit since the attacks on Alexandria, we’re starting to see a few changes in how things move in other ways. Denise isn’t exactly a fighter to be sure but she wants to head out with Rosita and Daryl to a place that might have some drugs based on what she saw when she was on the run before ending up in Alexandria. While the other two aren’t exactly keen on this, they’re up for it since more medication is a good thing. It’s a very downbeat kind of experience as they get underway through, amusing with Daryl not able to drive a stick while Denise talks about how she learned young, and then the three of them splitting into two groups as they run into a downed tree they can’t get past. Daryl has little desire to deal with rail tracks after their Terminus adventure, even if it’s twice as long by road, leaving me to like the way this unfolds since it shows a skittish side to him. That Rosita goes her own way down the tracks shows her frustration with everything post-Abraham as she just wants to get things done and to be alone more, not really committing to anything.
While their journey unfolds, we also see that Eugene and Abraham are off on their own scavenging mission. Abraham’s trying to get a handle on all the changes Eugene is going through, including that he’s gotten rid of the mullet as part of his progress to become a survivor. Abraham doesn’t believe that he’s truly capable of survival in this world and based on his own experience that’s certainly understandable. The dynamic between the two has been strained for quite some time and it’s interesting to watch them spending a bit more time together now after so long apart. Eugene is certainly fun to watch as he’s still skittish but with more confidence. Their trip is one that will delight comic fans as Eugene has led Abraham to the facility where they can manufacture bullets. It’s an important role for Eugene to come up with this and get things rolling with it but also just for him to try and stand for himself more. Abraham refuses to see him that way and that just reinforces the strain that exists between them.
Naturally, in both journey’s that are going on we get characters doing stupid things to prove themselves. Eugene gets tired of how Abraham treats him and informs him that his services are no longer required like they were in the journey here originally. That just has Abraham essentially giving him the finger and walking off to let Eugene find his own way home. For Denise, when they find the pharmacy it turns out to be pretty well stocked and both Daryl and Rosita are grabbing it all, keeping her a bit away and mildly dismissive of her. This has her going to investigate a room where they hear some scraping and she discovers a walker in bad shape, as well as where a baby was drowned in a sink, which freaks her out. You want to commend her for standing up and trying to be a part of things, but it’s not the best place to do that and she’s really not ready yet. Both Denise and Eugene provide key things to society here and Alexandria in particular but they want to contribute in the ways most everyone else does beyond that.
Of course, Denise takes is a step further later on and nearly gets herself killed in a big way by going after something and having to deal with a walker for it. But it falls back to what Rick had said before about many of those from Alexandria in that they have to learn how to deal with this stuff in order to survive. But it’s a matter of surviving smart, which Denise did not do. But she has a moment afterward with both Rosita and Daryl where she makes it clear why all of this is so important that she does all of this. Unfortunately, Denise gets the treatment that Abraham did in the comics with an arrow through the head from behind from some very familiar people and a familiar weapon. Familiar people that have also captured Eugene, making this an even more difficult situation for him and Rosita to shoot their way out of.
The final act of this episode plays out quite well with how it goes down as Dwight, handling the crossbow, is making it clear that he’s the man in charge who wants access to Alexandria to get whatever they want. With half his face slagged, he’s been through the wringer since Daryl last saw him. With Abraham in the mix as well and Eugene using some smart thinking to take a chance, it’s a pretty good chaotic moment with how it unfolds, allowing our seasoned players to do what they do best even against larger numbers. It doesn’t hurt that a few walkers are drawn in as well to add to the mess, making it a pretty fun scene overall that’s full of tension since you can’t be sure they won’t take down another character as we get closer to the end of the season.
In Summary:
The Walking Dead expands things decently here with what it works on in terms of characters with what they’re going through and it does it by mostly avoiding the “key” players that we usually get some amount of focus on. I definitely like how this plays out as we get some calls from the comics with what’s being brought in while adjusting it for the cast we have and the events that they want to hit with them going forward. You can see some of what’s being laid down here and definitely like the way it adheres to the ideas but shakes things up a bit to be its own work, especially with the way the TV creation characters get involved. While I’m definitely not pleased with who ended up getting killed, there’s going to be that sense that some will be glad it was them as opposed to a name character that has a longer and greater meaning to them.
Grade: B+
