The Walking Dead: The Well (7x02)

I mean, I definitely liked it better than last week's unnecessarily gory murder fest, but just because this episode didn't kill off any main characters doesn't mean it gets a totally free pass.

Cons:

If I look at this episode on its own, isolated from everything else, I think it works pretty well. But when I look at it as part of a larger narrative, I immediately distrust every potentially positive thing we saw tonight. Carol and Morgan find another community, called the Kingdom. Now, I don't mean to be a cynic, but what on earth would convince me that this place is actually going to be good? Every other group that our main characters has encountered has had some twist, some "we're not who seem" vibe to them. Even Alexandria, the closest to being genuinely good, had at its core a bunch of naivete and incompetence. For the entire six seasons this show has been on the air, the characters go through the same cycle. They find a place. They think it's legit. It's not legit. People die. They run. They find a place. They think it's legit. It's not legit. People die. The Governor's community, Alexandria, Terminus, even the prison, are all examples of this infuriatingly cyclical narrative. And now we've got the Kingdom.

I'll say this - if the Kingdom sticks around, and if we can reincorporate Alexandria, Hilltop, and maybe a few other new communities, and if we can actually focus on the inter-community politics going on here, then we might be on to something. But that means that Negan and the Saviors have to become a realistic threat instead of a mythological sadistic bunch of impossible-to-destroy villains. It means that Carol has to have a realistic motivation for stuff again. It means that Morgan has got to stop being a wise philosopher before I punch him the nose. Seriously. It's just... I've been burned before, you know?

There was a lot of symbolism in this episode. The Kingdom was represented something like the Garden of Eden. There's actually a literal apple that our new character Ezekiel offers to Carol as the episode ends. Subtlety is not something this show has ever done well, but my God. Tone it down a bit. 'Twas all a bit on the nose, methinks.

Pros:

The plot sees Morgan and a group of strangers helping an injured Carol to "The Kingdom," where she recovers. The Kingdom is ruled by King Ezekiel, an eccentric man who speaks in pseudo-royal language and has a pet tiger named Shiva. No, I'm serious. There's a giant CGI tiger in this episode. People in the Kingdom seem to live happy, productive lives. There's food being grown, a group choir sings "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright," and the boundaries are protected from Walkers. There's only one dark spot to dampen their paradise: King Ezekiel and a select few are the only ones who know that they must pay the Saviors a tax in order to remain untouched and protected.

Carol plays her innocent act, and the minute Morgan isn't paying attention, she decides to leave. Ezekiel catches her on her way out, and reveals that his whole kingly act is just that: an act. He also tells her that he knows she's not as sweet and innocent as she looks. Ezekiel says that he likes to embrace contradictions by creating a good life in the midst of so much horror. He says that maybe Carol can embrace contradictions too. Maybe she can leave the Kingdom, but also not leave. In the end, Morgan says goodbye to Carol and she leaves, but she ends up in a house not far away from the Kingdom. The episode ends as Ezekiel and Shiva show up at Carol's door.

So, despite the ridiculousness of some of this, and despite my complaints above, the fact is that King Ezekiel is pretty cool. I mean he's a chill dude who talks like a pseudo-Shakespearean king and walks around with a tiger named Shiva. I'll give it to him, that's pretty awesome.

Also, let's talk about Melissa McBride. Carol has got to be the most fascinating character this show has ever produced. I was reading another review of this episode and the reviewer pointed out that everybody on this show seems compelled to speak whatever's on their minds all the time. And that's true - even the quiet characters like Daryl are not generally deceptive. Everybody is honest and forthright. Even the villains are often blatant about their motives, our new villain Negan included. But Carol is allowed to be deceptive. McBride kills it when she's playing fake-weak Carol. It's totally believable, mostly because it's tapping in to something real. I can actually believe that this Carol is the one that used to exist, the one who had a little girl and an abusive husband and learned to make herself small. For Carol to draw on this version of herself takes enormous cleverness, and enormous courage as well.

On the comedy front, I've got to say that one of the funniest scenes this show has ever had was when Morgan is taking Carol to meet Ezekiel. He's being kind of cagey, and Carol doesn't know why. And then she sees Ezekiel and Shiva, and King Ezekiel starts spouting off all this bullshit about drinking from the well, and replenishing the well, and his humble kingdom. Carol pretends to be delighted, and says "I don't know what the hell's going on, in the most wonderful way!" The minute she and Morgan are out of earshot, she rounds on him, furious at the level of ridiculousness she was just subjected to. The whole scene, the buildup, the payoff, the denouement, were all exquisitely hilarious.

I guess that's the end of this one. I expected a Carol and Morgan episode, and I'm glad we've got it out of the way now. Next week it looks like we're checking on poor hostage Daryl. I'm wondering if that means we've got to wait another two weeks to get back to the bulk of our group? Narrowly focused episodes are a blessing and a curse with this show. They've produced some of the best and worst content over the years. All I can say is that I hope I don't have to wait too long for the ensemble to return.

7.5/10