The Walking Dead: Chokepoint (9x13)

Haha Carol. I love you.

Cons:

This was an incredibly solid episode, surprisingly. The one thing that didn't really fit in for me was the Hilltop group making their way to the Kingdom. Tammy and Earl are bonding with the baby that Connie saved from the Whisperers, and then there's a random Walker attack, and other than the brief tie-in with the Kingdom plot thread, the whole thing felt like a way to pad out the episode. It didn't take up too much of the run-time, but I wish those minutes could have been spent on more time with Daryl, Connie, Henry, and Lydia.

Pros:

I was pretty startled at how much I liked the main plot thread this week. Basically, the whole thing is just Daryl and crew trying to run from the Whisperers. They decide to create a chokepoint so that the Whisperers won't have the protection of a full hoard, and they manage to kill their pursuers and keep running. There are just so many questions and possibilities branching off from this plot thread. I had such a good time with it.

First of all, I didn't find Henry and Lydia's little romance to be annoying! Sure, I'm not 100% compelled by it, but it does make sense, and I really feel for both of them. Henry saying that he'll run off with Lydia to protect her is... well, it's crazy, and Lydia knows that, but she's undeniably touched by it. Henry really cares for her, and is willing to go to great lengths to protect her. But I also get the sense that this kid still doesn't fully comprehend the reality of what he's offering to do. He's young, he's experiencing love for the first time, and he's an idealistic kid. I know the Whisperer plot thread is something that Carl went through in the comics, but I'm finding Henry to be an adequate substitute, to my surprise.

I'm liking the Connie and Daryl pair-up. Daryl is a man of few words, and Carol has to write down everything she wants to say, since Daryl doesn't know ASL. The consequence of this is that their conversation is distilled down to the most basic, essential level. Big arguments about Lydia's fate are drilled down to the basics: Daryl says that if they take Lydia with them, their friends will die. Connie responds: "We have friends. She doesn't." I hope we see more of these two working together going forward. They make a really good team.

That fight between Daryl and Beta was so good. It was a good old fashioned showdown, man vs. man, and my heart was in my throat the whole time. It's not that I thought Daryl was about to die, if I thought about it for more than a second... but I was so in the moment that I was genuinely afraid he was about to be seriously injured or maimed, if not killed outright. I was so thrilled when Daryl got the best of Beta, although of course it looks like he might not be gone for good...

The Kingdom is getting ready for the fair, and things are looking great. But then, a minor incident nearly ruins everything - there's a group of men calling themselves the highwaymen who are demanding payment to pass through to the Kingdom. The Kingdom prepares to strike back, but Carol suggests that they try to talk to them first. In the end, the Kingdom basically hires these people to protect the travelers coming to the fair. How? By offering them access to the Kingdom Fair. Including... a movie.

I'll admit that a few weeks ago, I was annoyed by the risks being taken in order to screen a movie, but it looks like I'll have to eat my words now. The promise of seeing a movie is what convinces the highwaymen to come over to the Kingdom's side. The fact that Carol is the one to bring the movie up as a bargaining chip is just great. This is one of the clearest examples I've seen that Carol is embracing the whimsical atmosphere of the Kingdom. There's a mix of pragmatism and magic in Carol's suggestion. Yes, access to the Kingdom would be good for these highwaymen for many reasons. But it's the draw of seeing a movie that ultimately decides the situation. Humans can be kind of delightful sometimes. I can imagine that in the event of the apocalypse, the draw of any sort of media or art would be enormous after a while. We can't survive with just the physical essentials. We need community, and we need culture.

As the episode ends, we see the Hilltop group traveling to the fair being rescued from a Walker hoard by the highwaymen. I loved the fact that they rode in like heroes and saved the day. This could make for an interesting alliance moving forward. I wonder if these are characters we are going to see integrate into the Kingdom. That could be interesting.

This was one of the better episodes of this season, and I'm genuinely interested to see what comes next.

9/10