A nice solid episode that let us check in with all of our characters. This was what really needed to happen at this point in the season. I'm so happy we got this ensemble episode!
Cons:
The garbage people still talk really stupid. And Rick walking in there with no backup was colossally dumb. Now he's their prisoner, which doesn't do anybody any favors, honestly. I don't get these people... they're not interesting or cool in any way.
I'm not sure what Daryl is trying to do at the end of this episode, but if it screws up Rick's larger plan, I'm going to be pissed. I get that individual people have their own motivations and whatnot, but the plan is working - so don't screw with it! Honestly!
Pros:
Like I said, it was really nice to check in with so many of our characters.
Back in Alexandria, Michonne and Rosita are antsy sitting around waiting to find out what's going on. They decide they need to at least see the Sanctuary so they can know that the plan is working. On the way, they discover a couple of Saviors who were out during the attack. They confront one another, and while Michonne and Rosita manage to slow them down (and Rosita blows one of them up, which was AWESOME), it's Daryl and Tara who swoop in to stop them from getting away. I liked catching up with these women, who were left behind for a good reason - they were still recovering from the last fight with the Saviors. Still, it must be enormously difficult, and I liked seeing them take some action. Daryl and Tara are out for revenge on Dwight, and are possibly screwing things up along the way. Jury's still out. But I like seeing Denise's two closest friends holding the torch of revenge in their hearts. At least her character hasn't been completely forgotten.
Speaking of the dead gays, we also check in at the Hilltop this week. Aaron is grieving for Eric, and Maggie tells him that it helps to do something proactive in your grief. In the end, he and Enid prepare to take off to "make sure we win this thing." Again, I'm not entirely sure what they have in mind, but I like the idea of more and more people taking initiative.
As a pointed contrast, we have Maggie still not making a firm decision about the Savior prisoners that Jesus brought in. She has decided not to kill them for now, and has moved them inside. Jesus thanks her for doing the right thing, but Maggie tells him that she's keeping them alive to trade them for any prisoners the Saviors might have. If they're not useful, they'll have to die. There's a part of me that gets so frustrated with this, because obviously the Saviors are going to cause trouble the second they're given the opportunity. But at the same time, I get it. Killing people in combat is one thing, but shooting or hanging people in cold blood... that's a whole different ball game.
Carl gets a nice little subplot here, as he finds the man that Rick shot at a few episodes back, and learns more about him. Turns out, he's killed tons of Walkers, but only one human - a mercy kill. He believes that killing the Walkers frees their souls, so he spends his time setting up traps to try and kill as many of them as possible. In general, the Walkers have ceased to feel like a credible threat in a long time, but for some reason in this fight with Carl and the new guy, I actually felt the tension. We see Carl trapped underneath a Walker, with more Walkers walking up behind him, and there's a moment of real fear, even though I was fairly certain Carl wasn't about to be bitten. Nice work building the tension in this scene. And the new guy seems interesting so far!
Back at the Kingdom, Ezekiel is completely defeated. Carol tries to convince him that his people need him, that he needs to keep playing the part of their king, but... it doesn't work. At first, I was ready to put this plot thread in the "cons" column, but the fact that Carol does not succeed in convincing Ezekiel was actually a very interesting choice. You also have the sweet and tragic fact that Jerry is still playing his role of guarding the inner sanctuary of the King, despite Ezekiel setting aside the metaphorical crown. I'm actually interested to see where this is going.
I'm sure I missed stuff, but that's all I've got for the time being. It was so smart to have a true ensemble episode, with a mix of talking scenes and action. This may be the most solid episode of the season thus far.
9/10
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