The Walking Dead: Lockdown (11x17)

I gotta say, this episode really didn't pack the punch that you'd want for a first outing after a long hiatus. It kind of felt like more of the same, making me wonder why they chose to break the season up the way they did.

Cons:

I've said this before, but watching The Walking Dead tends to cause me to just... zone out majorly. Important plot details will just slip right off my brain without making any sort of impact. There are too many characters and their motivations are too murky, too unnecessarily convoluted. You've got Hornsby doing his takeover of the other communities, and our good guy heroes trying to stop him. But then you've also got the Milton family inside the Commonwealth, and all the trouble being stirred up there. It's like a slice of a different TV show, watching the political protests and scandals happening inside this world. And earlier in the season I was praising the Commonwealth stuff for just that, for standing out and being somewhat different. But now it just feels super unmotivated, and I'm not sure what characters I'm supposed to be connecting with at any given moment.

Like, we've got Connie, stirring up a mob. Yumiko, trying to play nice. I simply don't know what anybody's endgame is here. Is this community going to get ripped apart and spat back out into the lawless wasteland of the zombie apocalypse? And is that what we want to happen, because there are evil fascists in charge?

I think what it's coming down to is an awareness of how few episodes there are left of the show. I want the ending of The Walking Dead to feel like a big culmination, not a confusing, meandering dead end.

Also, the stuff with Negan and his pregnant wife continues to make me sigh in vexation and boredom all at once. You could not pay me to care about Negan's happiness. Sorry.

Pros:

What it comes down to for me is that I still do like some of these characters, and so when I watch the show now I'm on the lookout for these little character moments, things I can grab onto. And this episode, like most episodes of the show, had a bit of that.

I liked the moment where Daryl says he'll always look after Maggie, mentioning that it's what Glenn would want.

I liked Carol making food for the kiddos, and Judith lovingly mocking her bad cooking, but roasting Daryl's as even worse.

I liked Yumiko and Magna having a check-in, Magna saying they'll never leave the Commonwealth without Yumiko, that it's all or nothing.

But honestly, these little moments are about all I can say in praise of this episode. I want the writing to grapple seriously with the plan to overthrow the Commonwealth's current leadership. Not saying it's wrong to tear down the evil fascists or whatever, but what is that going to lead to? How do we protect the community while still overhauling its structure of leadership? And how to we get Hornsby out of the picture, since it seems pretty clear we've gotta deal with that dude?

Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised with how this is dealt with in the coming weeks. Either way, I look forward to the finale of The Walking Dead with considerable relief - enough is enough!

6/10