The Walking Dead: Acheron: Part II (11x02)

Hey so I'm sorry but I don't care about Maggie.

Cons:

This episode, much like the last one, had large stretches where Maggie, Negan, Daryl et. al. are just wandering around dealing with Walkers in the dark and there are zombie noises and it's hard to see and I just... zone out, waiting to see who, if anyone, gets hurt or dies. And in this episode, there are characters who lose their lives whose names I literally never bothered to learn. Like the guy who says "tell my kids I didn't die a coward" - who was that? I don't know and I also do not care!

I also feel like the stakes are a little hard to grasp when we haven't checked back in with Alexandria in these first two episodes. I want to be reminded of the home base they're all fighting for, so I understand what the risk and what the reward is. That's a small thing, but it's there.

Okay this is another small thing, but at one point Gabriel calls the guy who got left to be eaten by Walkers a "coward" and another guy says "that's a hot take, Father." And okay, so, like, the way Gabriel reacted to that dude's death was cold as fuck, which is fine, I was honestly more weirded out by the guy using the phrase "hot take" which is internet slang originating, perhaps, in 2015 or so? It just doesn't make sense that he'd be saying that and it really took me out of the moment.

So like... Maggie. I'm just super annoyed with this thing they're doing, where Maggie has become this cold-hearted machine of pragmatism, leaving people to die without blinking. The reason it annoys me? Well, it kind of feels like they're doing it to make Negan look sympathetic in comparison. And it's just not going to work, okay? It's just not. The other thing is, Maggie left the group with all this optimism and then met some people and got disappointed again when it all broke bad... same song, different day. It makes the whole detour where she left the show feel pointless. Couldn't she have gone off and learned/done something super interesting that would have made her return feel like a truly invigorating development?

And then that ending - oh no, some big bad group of evil jerks have kidnapped the "heroes." I don't really care though! I feel like there are so many more interesting stories being told with the other group of people, and I just don't think the Reapers are going to hold my attention for long.

Pros:

For all that I roll my eyes at Maggie "Grim-Dark" Rhee, I did think the creepy story about the mutilated pregnant women was... well, it was effective storytelling, I'll say that. It was the only part of their whole storyline where I felt compelled to actually shut up and pay attention for a second. It's a little too gruesome and ultimately I'm not pleased with Maggie, but for what it's worth, that little section of the episode did kinda grab me by the throat and force me to listen.

And again, to my great surprise, I find the other plot thread with Eugene and the others to be really fascinating! I'm intrigued by the promise of an actually different and unique society that we might get to see and experience. The Commonwealth! Something fresh and exciting!

Yumiko was amazing, pulling out her lawerly fast-talk and pointing out that manual skills are a lot more important in the apocalypse than administrative skills. I love how she spun that, and I'm also super intrigued-slash-terrified of what's going to happen to her (and the others) from here.

And if I was somewhat taken in by Maggie's big speech, it's nothing to how I felt when listening to Eugene spin his brilliant blend of truth and lies. This character used to do nothing for me, I found his weird way of talking to be nothing but a distraction from the realistic tone the show was more or less trying to set. But now? God, I kind of love Eugene and how scared he is, how he's smart but he's also a coward and how he loves his friends but he also wants something more. He was so clever with the way he told the truth to hide the bigger lie. He was willing to be emotionally vulnerable and kind of humiliate himself in order to get back to his friends and hide the existence of Alexandria from these new people.

And... Stephanie! We get to see the mysterious Stephanie! I'm more excited about the Commonwealth and this new character than I have been about anything in quite some time on this show. Please, a new group of characters who aren't a weird murder cult with nothing new to offer to the worldbuilding... I want it so bad.

So there you have it. As far as not giving a shit about this show anymore goes, there could have been a worse start to the season. There are things here that intrigue me, even if all the stuff with Maggie has me bored-slash-horrified all at the same time. Onwards to whatever's next!

7/10