Trouble is inside and outside the gate.
The Walking Dead has proven that it can be such a great show when it goes intimate and only features a handful of characters in one episode. The show has such a huge cast right now. But last week's episode that focused entirely on Morgan's journey was such a fantastic character spotlight. That shows just how great this series can be. It's unrealistic to expect it to be like that all the time. But to follow that episode with one that is overcrowded with stories largely centering on the original residents of Alexandria feels underwhelming and very chaotic.An episode like "Now" is very necessary though. Ever since Alexandria was introduced as a safe haven for Rick and his group, the people in the community felt like redshirts who could be killed off at any time because they foolishly don't know how to survive in this world. The appeal of their characters is in watching them die as soon as they start to question Rick's leadership. Rick and his group are in the right almost completely about how to survive. Alexandria is catching up to the rest of the society. They just have to do it much more quickly because there is a herd of walkers piling up just outside the wall. That forces these remaining characters to have individual personalities. Character traits that actually make them special and unique. Going into this episode, the only original residents worth caring about were Deanna and Aaron. This episode doesn't change that opinion a whole lot - despite trying to do stuff with Jessie, Denise, Ron, Sam and Spencer.
It's also very important to see just how quickly this community spirals into chaos after being made aware of what the world has really become. That's the one downside of this first part of the season happening in a confined space of time. Only a day or two has gone by since Rick killed Pete. And yet, so much has happened that has radically changed this community. The timing issues certainly take some of the stakes out of a number of story beats. Some would have been made much more effectively if this hour actually happened across a week of time. Rick is convinced that Daryl, Abraham and Sasha will return to lure the herd of walkers away with the cars. Him being worried that they aren't back yet would be more cause for concern after a few days - not just a few hours. It's not completely absent but it's also jumping to some conclusions that may be skipping a few steps for the sake of the plot remaining tense.
Jessie's transformation into a survivor who wants to live in this dark world for what it really is has been a very accelerated journey. After Pete was killed, she was forced to defend herself when the wolves descended upon the community. That showed that she does have an inner strength within her that can help her survive in what the world has become. But her being a ray of hope in a community that has spiraled into the darkness is very sudden. She wants to do right and bury the bodies of the people dead in the community. She delivers an inspirational speech after it's discovered that one of the residents has committed suicide. And yet, the need for hope would have been so much more effective after a few days had passed. This community sure does embrace the worst case scenario quickly. Sure, that may actually make them well-equipped to handle this world. It's just not being told in an all that interesting way that helps inform who these characters are and why the audience should care about them.
That's especially true when it comes to Spencer. As Deanna's one surviving family member, he has incredibly personal importance to her. She has lost so much in such an abbreviated period of time. She still has to lead but she doesn't know how because she still wants to grieve this massive loss that she has felt. Her son is keeping that spirit alive amongst the community when everyone else just wants to raid the food pantry for as many supplies as they can get. And yet, it's debilitating to her when she sees he only did that to get more for himself. He wasn't the leader she was hoping for - and neither is she. She wants to hold onto her dream of what this community could be. She doesn't want to give up that hope yet. But now, she has to find that strength to survive. She gets out plenty of her frustrations when the one walker shows up in the community. But she also wastes a lot of time and energy repeatedly stabbing it in the chest and not the head. She still has a long way to go. But her journey is much more compelling than either Spencer or Jessie's.
The episode also doesn't make things any more clear over what has happened to Glenn. It's still one big mystery with people amongst the community fearing that he has died since he and Nicholas haven't returned yet. Maggie can't just accept that though and needs to get a definitive answer. It leads to Aaron revealing a different escape route from Alexandria instead of the wall. There's a sewage tunnel right underneath the city that leads out. That could become very important later on. Here, it's good for the surprise walker attack of the week. It features some of the most disgusting creature design the show has ever done. Those things were nasty to look at - but very effective at what the show was trying to do. But the story then comes to a weird resolution where neither Maggie nor Aaron decide to continue on this journey. First of all, it is confirmed that Maggie is pregnant. That development could be so much more tragic if the show actually committed to Glenn being dead. The ambiguity of it all makes it less emotionally engaging. And second, why doesn't Aaron go ahead and try to deal with the herd of walkers for Rick? Aaron is consumed with guilt over possibly leading the wolves to Alexandria. An easy way to make that right would be to find a car and lure the walkers away from the community instead of just blindly hoping that Daryl, Abraham and Sasha will return soon. That seems like a smart plan - though he probably just goes back in order to support Maggie who can't go outside the walls in her condition. But that only makes things more lackluster in the end without doing a whole lot to define the new characters the show has featured this year. It's just so frustrating with very little reward.
Some more thoughts:
- "Now" was written by Corey Reed and directed Avi Youabian.
- The resolution to the cliffhanger from two weeks ago where all the walkers were closing in on Rick in the RV was that he managed to run all the way back to Alexandria. That's a very weak answer to a moment that was built up with a lot of tension. It was plausible just lame considering how difficult it was for the rest of the group to get back to Alexandria from that previous episode.
- Denise does have a personality that is easy to understand and watch. However, most of that comes from Merritt Wever's performance. It also should be interesting to see how the Denise-Tara romance develops.
- Still not feeling Rick and Jessie as a romantic couple at all. It feels like a story the show has committed to telling even though there really isn't a whole lot of chemistry. That could easily be fixed though if Jessie were to become a more engaging character.
- Carl wants to go over the wall in order to search for Enid. That's such a stupid thing to do. Plus, Ron has to be the person to tell him that. This story didn't work at all - largely because Carl went missing after that and no one seemed to care. Plus, who cares about Rick showing Ron how to shoot?
- The focus was primarily on the Alexandrians in this hour. But I spent a whole lot of time just waiting for the action to cut back to Morgan, Michonne or Carol. Also, isn't it strange that literally no one has any reaction at all to Carol being revealed as a total badass warrior?
- The walls of Alexandria are bleeding. What's that suppose to mean?
