The Walking Dead: Thank You (6x03)

It's ironic that this episode is called "Thank You," because after watching it my reaction is "no thank you, take it back and bring something else instead, I refuse to accept what I just witnessed." I'm devastated. But I'm also a tad annoyed. Let's take a look.

Cons:

So... Glenn is dead. Now, this isn't a con in and of itself... I understand that people die on this show, and that just because something rips my heart out doesn't make it bad television. But here's the thing: they keep showing their cards. I suspected Glenn as a goner when he was only lightly present in the first episode this season, and then suspected it even stronger when he kept being all heroic, and then knew it for sure when he talked to Rick over the walkie talkie and called him "jackass," as an obvious call-back to Glenn's very first moment on the show. It was so obvious to me that they were going to kill Glenn that I started to wonder if maybe it was a reverse-psychology thing, and there was going to be a fake-out and somebody else would die. But no. It was Glenn. The buildup was so blatant that when it happened, I was half horrified and sad, and half angry that I'd been able to predict this so readily.

Similarly, the other deaths in this episode were built up to a cheesy degree. The minute Michonne wrote on her arm that one of the injured Alexandrians would get home to his wife, I knew that guy would die, and I knew that Michonne would look pensively at her arm, and at the broken promise written upon it. There's not much subtlety going on here, which is fine sometimes, but sort of ruins the gut-punch if you put a neon sign over the heads of people whose deaths are clearly imminent.

Pros:

The pacing of this episode was superb. In terms of plot, there's nothing very complex going on. Half of the Walker hoard is still following Daryl on his motorcycle, and Sasha and Abraham in the car. The other half breaks off and starts heading back to Alexandria. Glenn, Michonne, and some of the Alexandrians, including Nicholas, are racing ahead of the hoard, trying to get back to Alexandria ahead of the danger. Multiple injuries slow them down. Glenn and Nicholas break off to try and start a fire to change the Walkers' direction. Glenn and Nicholas both die, while Michonne loses two other members of the Alexandrian group in the effort to get back home. Finally, Michonne, Heath and Scott make it back to see the remnants of Alexandria, after last week's Wolf attack.

Meanwhile, Rick is set to rendezvous with Daryl, Sasha, and Abraham. He ends up getting attacked in an RV by the group of Wolves that Morgan had let go in last week's episode. Rick kills them, but as he tries to start the RV, the engine fails. He's trapped inside as a hoard of Walkers approach him.

Essentially, the episode did a fantastic job of keeping you on your toes. It wasn't totally non-stop action, but things never slowed down enough to let you truly relax. Let's talk about a couple of details:

Michonne and the other Alexandrians are trying to keep ahead of a huge hoard, but it looks like none of them are willing to leave behind their wounded comrades - even when said wounded comrades tell them it's okay to move on. I appreciated the honest futility of this fight - Michonne knows the likelihood is not good, but she still holds on to that scrap of optimism that sets her apart from Rick. In truth, they lose four of the original seven people - Glenn and Nicholas both die, as do Annie and David. This is some high-stakes stuff going on here. They're not pulling punches!

Then there's Glenn and Nicholas. Glenn was just such a delightfully kind-hearted hero this whole episode, which meant of course he had to die. I actually appreciate how... un-heroic and pointless the death actually was, though. I understand Nicholas' hopelessness, but when he shot himself he didn't just make that decision for himself. He knocked into Glenn and pushed them both into a huge crowd of Walkers. This feels true to how death should operate on this show. Deaths shouldn't always be glorious, over-the-top heroic moments. They happen all of a sudden, and there's often nothing glamorous about them. But still, ouch. I don't even like thinking about how Maggie is going to cope when Glenn never comes back. Her father, her sister, and now her husband? Yikes.

Daryl had an interesting little arc in this episode. Rick orders Daryl, Sasha, and Abraham to stay the course and keep luring Walkers away, instead of running back to help the Alexandrians. Daryl can't bring himself to leave the Alexandrians to themselves. Undoubtedly he was thinking about all of his dear friends stuck back there (Carol especially!). He leaves Sasha and Abraham, but later doubles back and rejoins them when he hears gunshots at Rick's location over the walkie. I loved this exploration of Daryl's conflicted loyalties. He and Rick have been butting heads a little bit lately, but they'd obviously do anything for each other.

Then there's Rick. He made a little speech for Sasha, Abraham, and Daryl, telling them that they have to keep going with their original mission. If they turn back to help the Alexandrians, that would be for their own sakes. They have to keep going for the sake of those back home. You can just tell that Rick is suffering so acutely because of this. It's a testament to Andrew Lincoln's acting skills that even though he doesn't directly mention Carl and Judith, you can tell he's just frantic about them. He wants to go back just as badly as Daryl does, but he keeps himself focused. And then there's that cliffhanger! I'd be totally flabbergasted if Rick was killed off, but still - I'm excited to see what happens with this tense situation. Morgan needs to be chastised for letting those Wolves go - Rick almost lost his life!

Basically, this episode was awesome - but I'm not sure I'm too happy about Glenn. Scratch that - I'm obviously devastated about Glenn. What I mean is that I'm not sure the narrative handled his death correctly, what with the blatant buildup. I've even heard some rumblings that somehow he's still alive, and that the horrific scene of guts being pulled out of his chest was in fact a trick, and that was actually Glenn watching Nicholas' body being ripped apart, instead of his own. I'm not sure what to think, but either way I hope they handle the fallout properly!

8.5/10