THE WALKING DEAD comes screaming back to life with an operatic mid-season premiere.
To say tonight’s episode was a thrill ride would be a total understatement. Non stop, action packed and kept us on the edge of our seats. The writers threw us right back into the mess of it and didn’t let us catch our breath. As we watched Negan’s gang throw their weight around and try to intimidate Abraham, Sasha and Daryl; it built the momentum of the episode and gave us a taste of what would be in store for us viewers. The head biker gave the group a speech about just getting it over with and giving in to what they ask. “Bite, Chew, Swallow, Repeat.” Abraham wasn’t impressed and keeps giving out the awesome one liners he’s known for, “Who’s Negan?” The leader doesn’t like being questioned and calls Abraham a ginger. You do not call Abraham a ginger. The leader is going to make a point and his mind won’t be changed. The first of our close call moments. BOOM! Daryl blasts the rocket launcher at the group just in time and blows them all away in a fiery explosion of body parts, blood and motorcycle pieces spewed among the road. Sasha checks Daryl’s cut and she approvingly smiles at him for what he did and Abraham has one last line for Negan’s crew, “Nibble on that.”
The camera pans across our gut covered Alexandrian’s as they slowly make their way threw the mass amounts of unknowing walkers. Well camouflaged, the group gets to a safe area and Rick makes a plan; that they make their way to the quarry and get the vehicles to round the walkers up and to come back after. Jessie points out that Judith won’t make it to the quarry and Father Gabriel steps up and says he will take her to the church and protect her. Gabriel really is trying to gain ricks trust and respect back and will do anything to do so. Michonne is very protective over Judith as Gabriel walks off with her towards the church, not taking her eyes off him. They regroup and join hands once again and begin to put Rick’s plan in motion.
Tara is all Gung-Ho and wanting to save Denise but Rosita insists they make a plan first. Morgan wakes up and realizes Denise is gone as does Carol. We see Enid and Glenn sprint across the front of the church and run inside to safety, desperately looking for weapons or ammo. Glenn has a plan and knows exactly what they need to do to help Maggie and the others. Enid sees a scripture on the wall of the church, “Faith without works is dead.” James 2:26. Enid wants to know what Glenn meant when he said if she ran she would loose the people she already lost. This ensues one of Glenn’s best inspirational speeches, “People you love, they made you who you are. They’re still part of you. If you stop being you that last bit of them that’s still around inside. Who you are, It’s Gone.” Enid asks who those people are to him. “My parents. A man named Dale. Maggie’s father Hershel. A women named Andrea, a man named Tyreese. Who are they to you?” Enid answers, “My parents.” “They’re still here cause you’re still here. Hershel and Dale really did rub off on Glenn and this moment really did tug at the heart strings a little as it made me think of our lost walking dead family members.
Alone in the ally below the street, Denise and the wolf wait for the perfect moment to make it across the street and over the fence. He keeps encouraging her and telling her she’ll be ok cause she’s with him.
After Glenn’s uplifting speech, Enid is ready to help and won’t be told to sit in the corner, nobody puts baby in the corner. She’s going with Glenn and that’s that. “We do it together.” Which seems to be one of the messages throughout this episode; togetherness. Enid gives us an awesome line, “Bible Glock” couldn’t help but chuckle at that And then we are brought back to Mr Bad Wolf and Denise. They continue their conversation about change. He wants to help her change. He tells her she’s been given a gift and she’ll see it one day.
Day turns quickly to night and the groans and moans from the walkers linger in the air. Rick leads the way through the pack of walkers but Sam begins to snap. He begins hearing carols voice in his head, when she threatened him when he caught her in the armory. Sam sees a child walker who almost looks like him. Jessie and Ron try to pump Sam up to stop him from crying and walkers begin piling onto Sam, his worst fear now a reality. A loud scream from Sam pierces the air causing more attention onto the group. Jessie begins crying and freaking out while holding onto Sam still. Everyone watches in horror. Sam’s scream echo as he cries out for his mom in terror. Frozen in fear Jessie begins to be eaten by walkers as she screams. Rick watches hopelessly and in disbelief. Jessie has Carl’s hand and won’t let go. Dazed Rick notices what’s happening and snaps back into leader mode and hacks off Jessie’s hand from Carl without hesitation. Carl falls and drops Ron’s gun he took from him earlier. Quickly Ron picks it up and aims it at Carl and Rick. After just witnessing his brother and mothers death and knowing Rick killed his father days before, he wants vengeance. Just before Ron fires, Michonne relentlessly stabs Ron from behind with her Katana, protecting her family but Ron fires a shot off from the chain reaction. Rick is thankful that Michonne helped them but doesn’t realize what Michonne is seeing. Carl slowly turns to his father and raises his head slowly revealing under the sheriffs hat, blood dripping down his face and his eye blown from its socket. “Dad” Carl falls to the ground. That scene was filmed so perfectly. The reveal was timed so well and ricks reaction was gut-wrenching. Michonne is desperate and begins slashing all walkers who cross Rick and hers path, making way for them to bring Carl to safety. This is the second time Carl has been shot. He was shot in Bloodletting; Season 2 episode 2 when Otis mistakenly shoots Carl as he shot a deer.
