The Walking Dead: Warning Signs (9x03)

I'm NOT cool with this, Maggie and Daryl. What the HECK.

Cons:

It seems weird to me that we've looped back around to Maggie and Daryl being mutineers like this. It was a stupid idea in the beginning, then they tempered it, now they've ramped it back up. I just... ugh. I know that Daryl has tried to talk to Rick about it a little bit, but I still feel like Daryl and Maggie would need to be really, really pushed to turn their backs on Rick like this, and I just don't know if I feel it.

These Savior characters are very one-note, and it makes it hard to sympathize with them. Obviously it's not cool to just execute people, no matter what they've done. I'm on Rick and Michonne's side. But it would work better for the story if we had some built up positive investment in some of the Saviors before they died.

Gabriel and Anne/Jadis. Still boring. Still dumb. I'm curious about what Jadis is up to, but I don't feel invested in that romance at ALL.

Pros:

Okay, I know it's ridiculously manipulative, but seeing Rick, Michonne, and Judith enjoying their domestic bliss... ouch. My heart is aching. They are such a strong, beautiful family. Rick and Michonne even discussed kids, albeit in a subtle way. Now I'm thinking Rick dies, and Michonne finds out she's pregnant, and that's ANNOYING because it's such a cliche, and we already did that with Maggie and Glenn, but I'm also prepared to be very emotional about the whole thing. I put this in the "pros" section even though it's kind of too much, because I'll admit that personally, it got to me. It also does help to cement how much Rick has to lose, and what he's fighting for, so... I'll forgive a little bit of excess cheesiness.

I actually feel pretty compelled by the helicopter mystery, even if I think the Gabriel/Jadis thing is dumb. I really want to know who this person is that Jadis is communicating with. And if they have enough fuel for a helicopter, does that mean they have resources somewhere that could help out? This show can probably keep eking out episodes for a few more seasons yet, but in my mind, I'm starting to consider endgame. Is there going to be some outside force that has an idea of how to make things better? Are there firmer, more solid societies developing elsewhere in the world? Rick's crew can't be the only people who have attempted something like this. I want to know what's up!

There is another mystery, too - the one that started last week with the ambush of the ex-Savior Justin. Justin's death is a bit of a "last straw" for the Saviors, who are making up most of the labor working on the bridge, and are not allowed to have weapons. As everyone tries to figure out who killed Justin and who kidnapped another Savior, Arat, there's also the debate about what happens when and if they do find the culprit. Will it be a "Gregory" or will it be a "Negan"? In other words, will it be a "Maggie" or a "Rick"? Maybe it's a little blunt, but it's also a very good question.

In the end, we discover that Oceanside are the guilty parties in the attacks on the Saviors. Quelle surprise. But I don't mean that in a bad way - it makes sense that these women would want revenge, and there is this small part of me that feels undeniably satisfied to see them get it. But then you have to consider the fact that while many of the Saviors are chafing in their new circumstances, there are those Saviors, mostly women, it seems, who are willing to work towards peace and pay some measure of penance for their actions. Maggie and Daryl's decision to walk away and allow the Oceanside women their revenge is... well, it's annoying in that I still don't think Daryl and Maggie would turn on Rick like that. But it's also a pretty powerful moment of choice that is going to have undeniable and interesting consequences.

There are two more things I want to praise about this episode, and indeed about these first three episodes collectively.

First, the show is doing a great job of showing how this house of cards is balanced on one thing: Rick. There's a moment when tensions almost boil over. The random Savior turncoat whose name I still don't know tries to calm things down. Carol tries to calm things down. But each time, tensions rise again. And then Rick shows up like the Bid Damn Hero he is, and defuses the situation. If he dies... setting aside Daryl and Maggie's recent decision, I don't think the peace is sustainable without Rick there to advocate for it.

And second, there were so many good conversations in this episode that delivered the nuanced moral arguments of this season, in a way that felt natural. That is like... this show's biggest problem most of the time. Big speeches, way too overwrought, completely not-human-sounding. But here we have Carol and Rick having a good talk, we have Daryl and Maggie talking, we have another Daryl and Rick exchange, and all of them worked excellently. The most powerful was Rick stating his case to Carol. For all that I am on Rick's side, because of course I am, I don't think I ever really felt the power of his position until he said it to Carol. He thinks about all of the people they lost, not just to the Saviors, and he knows he needs to honor them. It's got to be the living against the dead, or what's the point of any of this? So much of the world belongs to the dead. They need to do the right thing.

I think Rick's position is also supported by the plot about the bridge. Sure, it's maybe a clumsy metaphor - Rick literally wants everyone to work together to "build bridges." But also, on a more practical level, Rick and Michonne seem to be the only people who are caring about the actual reality of their situation. While Carol, Daryl, and Maggie are all thinking about their stances on revenge and redemption, Michonne is trying to create a system of laws, and Rick is worrying about trade routes and supplies. The idea of moving on from the trauma of the past isn't just about healing psychologically. It's also about literally finding ways to SURVIVE. It's like most of these people have forgotten they're living in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, and I kind of like that. Humans will allow interpersonal drama and politics to overshadow the very real looming threat of the world dying. (Not giving this show credit for this, but I read a bit of climate change metaphor into some of these ideas).

So. Two more episodes of Rick left. I really think he's going to die, right? It feels odd to have a show marketing the departure of its lead so heavily, especially when there's really only one exit that I can imagine for Rick Grimes at this point. And yet, I'm ready to be punched in the gut. I'm ready for Rick and Daryl to get into a big fight, and then for Daryl to find out that Rick is dead and just... drown in the angst. Give it to meeee!

9/10