The Walking Dead: What It Always Is (10x05)

Well... okie dokie, then. Negan has become suddenly relevant.

Cons:

There's some logistical weirdness with Kelly going out alone to hunt - isn't that incredibly stupid? And then we don't really see how she manages to survive. And the cache of food stored away is a really, really big betrayal. I'm hoping we get more out of that than just Daryl lying to cover it up because Connie asked him to. That's fine or whatever, but this is a huge deal and it needs to be talked about more.

Magna and Yumiko are characters that I want to like, and I think maybe I do like them, but it's just annoying how little time we've spent getting to know them. Here we have a scene where there's a rift that's grown up between them, and we've got bits of backstory and lots of other juicy details... and it's all underpinned by a relationship that hasn't had time to breathe or develop.

Aaron offering something to a Whisperer was weird... and now it looks like maybe Gamma is going to be a mole and help gather information? I don't know. I'm still interested in the Whisperers in theory, but as always the glacial pace of this show isn't doing any favors to the current plot elements at play.

Pros:

I like Daryl and Connie. I really do. I think it's charming that Daryl has picked up some clumsy sign language, and that he takes the time to talk with her and really share himself with her. And he understands Connie's loyalty to Magna and Kelly, and what it means for her to ask Daryl to keep a secret about Magna's betrayal. They have a compelling dynamic that I'd love to see more of. This doesn't mean I'm not still a fan of Daryl and Carol, but... you know... people contain multitudes. Or what have you.

Apparently Ezekiel has thyroid cancer, something he easily could have survived before the zombie apocalypse. This is a tough pill to swallow, but I also think it will be interesting to give Ezekiel something to do, since he hasn't had a lot of material this season. I hope he doesn't die too soon, but I know our time left with this character is probably quite limited.

This is really Negan's episode to shine, and oh boy... Jeffrey Dean Morgan really does knock it out of the park with his performance. We see that Negan is seeking a place of safety, but he is waylaid by Brandon. Brandon is the child of former Saviors, so while he doesn't really remember Negan's reign, he is still buying in to the ideology. Negan seems okay with having Brandon along at first, but starts to get pissed off when the kid admires him for killing Carl, something Negan did not do and never would have done.

In the end, after finding a mother and child, Negan sends Brandon away. He bonds with the child, and when Brandon comes back, saying "I am Negan" and feeling proud of himself for passing the test and returning even after Negan told him to leave... Negan picks up a rock and beats him to death with it. It's... a lot. It was truly unexpected. We have seen Negan do so many truly violent things, but his pacifism over the years had lulled me into a state of complacency. It wasn't that I thought he was suddenly a good person... but I did believe he wasn't going to commit acts of horrible violence for no good reason anymore. Not because he's changed... or at least not in that way. But because it wouldn't serve his purposes. Now we see how quickly he'll turn to murder, when only mildly inconvenienced. It's pretty chilling.

It's also chilling how much Brandon had bought in to the mythos of Negan and the Saviors. There is power to that kind of narrative, and the staying power of the fascist god-like leader is one of the reasons why Rick maybe sort of should have let Negan die when he had a very good chance. I'm excited to see if any other Negan-worshipers crawl out of the woodwork, even though Negan has so thoroughly dispatched Brandon.

I liked the scene with Negan and the shy little kid. His soft spot for children doesn't humanize him entirely, but it does add this strange hue to his character. We can't label him as one hundred percent evil all of the time. He does have a moral code. He is not indiscriminately terrible. He will do what he can to help Lydia, even at the risk of his own position in Alexandria. He will run to help a mother and child in danger, even if it means putting his life at risk, however minimal that risk.

So here we have Negan on the loose, reunited with Lucille, and seeking out an audience with the Whisperers. This show often has a problem with things moving way, way too slow... but I'll admit I'm excited to see these developments!

8/10