It's been quite a summer waiting to find out what's in store for our beloved TWD characters in Alexandria. When we last left them, Deanna was holding Reg in a pool of blood, his throat having been slashed by a drunken Pete wielding Michonne's sword. Rick had shot Pete in the head with Deanna's blessing while the community (and his wife) looked on. Daryl and Aaron returned with Morgan just in time to see this execution. Nicholas and Glenn wanted to kill one another...but then didn't. Gabriel sucked, Sasha was annoying, Carol was superb, and Maggie was the glue trying to hold everything together. Oh, and the wolves were coming. So what happened next? First and foremost, the Season 6 premiere was brilliantly shot. The "now" portions were in color while the "leading up to" portions were in black and white, and these situations flipped back and forth throughout the 90 minutes. Here's how it played out.
Run And Hide Your Crazy
The first words of the episodes are Rick's: "I know this sounds insane, but this is an insane world." He's in the "now" and standing on the edge of a cliff, looking down and countless Walkers who are trapped but will eventually break free and threaten the community. He lays out a plan to distract the Walkers and lead them away from Alexandria. But there are just. So. Many of them. This speech is the start of a dry run of the plan....only the Walkers are already busting through one of the barriers holding them up. We're going live, kids.
Daryl is 100% badass on his "recruiting" motorcycle as he tries to lead the herd of Walkers away. Sasha and Abraham are in a car nearby in an effort to assist. Glenn and Rick are running around shooting flares along the road to keep the Walkers' attention as well. The group has made an elaborate wall of cars and metal panels to guide the Walkers where they need to go. Neat. Some new-ish faces are lending a hand as well and though they weren't able to do a dress rehearsal, it seems like this community is really working together after the bloodshed they witnessed. At least...this is my initial impression.
She Ain't Gonna Have It
We go back to the night Reg and Pete died. Deanna looks up as Gabriel approaches and says "you were wrong." We cut to Jessie who is sitting on her couch holding Sam. Her older son, Ron, walks out of the house and slams the door. Tara is on the mend and leans back in her hospital bed as Glenn and Nicholas stumble in to receive some medical attention. Eugene walks in and Tara speaks the first gem of the night. "Thank God...nothing happened to your hair." She then mentions Noah, not realizing he was recently Walker food. Luckily we miss that big reveal.
Morgan sits with Daryl and Rick in their kitchen and attempts to catch up with his long lost friend. Rick cuts the conversation short (he's had quite the day) and tells Morgan he'll be staying in an isolated area, much like the one Rick was in after he was crazypants and waving his gun at everyone. Another precaution Rick wants to take is shutting down the recruiting project. Daryl looks bummed...he had just found his niche.
Meanwhile Eugene finds himself guarding the gate as some people approach in a vehicle. The leader introduces himself as Heath, an Alexandria resident returning from a run, and he is none too pleased with Eugene's line of questioning. Eugene ends up letting them in and when Heath asks if they've missed anything while they've been gone, our adorable mullet lover says "You might want to talk to Deanna. Get it from the horse. Her mouth, you know?"
When Rick visits Morgan in his (temporary?) new home the following day, he's kind of a dick. Morgan handles it well, saying they need to get to know each other first the first time again. They go on a walk and Rick explains the story behind the Alexandria community. He begins to tell Morgan about Reg and Pete but he's distracted by the group digging graves nearby. They are digging two holes and Rick puts a stop to it. "We're not gonna bury killers inside these walls." Dude, REALLY? Pete was a jackass but he did not kill Reg on purpose. Rick fits the "killer" category far more than Pete did. Oh and there's that little matter of Pete having kids who still live there and may want to pay their respects. Deanna approaches and I hope she's going to start talking sense...but she agrees with Rick and says Pete's body can be taken far out to the woods. "Let the trees have him."
Revenge Is A Choice You Gotta Make
Morgan and Rick toss Pete in the back of a truck and take him to his final resting place. Morgan calls Rick out on his bullshit about "killers." Good for Morgan. Ron follows them on foot (totally lucky that he doesn't get himself eaten in the process) and just as the Walkers are about to snatch him, Rick tackles Ron and the Walkers go over a cliff into a quarry...and now we know how they found this epic hoard of zombies. Rick begins to scold the boy for being so reckless, but Ron maintains he has the right to know where his father is buried. Pretty sure he's also thinking "am I strong enough to throw Rick off this cliff?" Jessie does mention to Rick later that he has to stay away from Ron - there's no chance Ron is going to listen to anything Rick says even if it's the truth.
Rick calls a town meeting to discuss their discovery. Heath knew about the quarry but the Walker population there was minimal when he encountered it quite some time ago. Rick states that they need to take action now because it's only a matter of time before the Walkers break through the barriers and head for their community. Carol, still playing the role of a shy baker who wears cardigans, uses her fake wholesome voice to say the whole thing is just terrifying but it doesn't sound like there's any other way to handle it. Subtle Carol. Very subtle. Carter jumps in though and he's not a fan of letting the Walkers out and driving them away. He'd rather reinforce the barriers. The thing is, the noise coming from that pit draws more and more Walkers each day. You've been denied, Carter. Deanna is backing Rick on this one. I think Deanna has given up on the whole leading thing for the moment. Glenn tells Maggie to keep an eye on Deanna and help her "come back."
So the initial plan is for Daryl to lead the Walkers away on his motorcycle and Sasha and Abraham will join him in a car nearby. Heath, Glenn, and Michonne volunteer to assist right away. So does Gabriel but Rick says "no" before Gabriel finishes talking. Heh. Carter starts pissing and moaning again and says people shouldn't be following Rick after what he did. Deanna shuts him down for a second time. Nicholas and Tobin are "in" as well and Carter demands to hear the plan in detail again. Good grief.
As they prepare for the big event, Rick also wants the people of Alexandria to learn how to defend themselves. A small group of Walkers makes their way in as the group is building the walls/rails and instead of taking them out, Rick wants the locals to do it. This doesn't go over well and Morgan saves the day. Carter has had enough. He tries to rally some folks in the pantry to kill Rick before anything else goes wrong. Eugene overhears this (because the effing pantry is probably the most public building in Alexandria) and Carter pulls a gun on him. You little shit. Rick busts in and refrains from killing Carter, though I think it took some amazing restraint and forgiveness. He also invites Morgan to move into his house and they have a heart to heart about who they are as people. This is the last soft moment of the night.
Save A Little Face
Back to the "now," things are going as well as can be expected...for a little while. Glenn, Nicholas and Heath have to clear a small store nearby because there is a loud group of Walkers in there pounding on the doors and windows. Abraham has to jump out of the car every so often and kill some strays. Not too shabby, right? Morgan, Rick, Michonne and Carter look on from the side of the road and are thrilled with the success they are seeing so far. Carter even tries to shake Rick's hand. Drop dead Carter. Oh wait. That pretty much happens. As Carter walks further down in the woods, a Walker grabs him and chews on his cheek. Carter is screaming so loud the other Walkers are turning toward the noise. Rick kills the Walker and ultimately puts a knife in the back of Carter's head. Dude was a goner anyway. Good riddance.
With Carter finally quiet the herd resumes the path that was laid out for them. We are back on track now and it seems as though this thing might actually work. But then again, why would anything work as planned in the season premiere? Just as the group begins to breathe a sigh of relief and smile a bit, an unbelievably loud horn goes off either in or right near the community. The sound is continuous and overpowering...and the Walkers vacate their path quickly and make a bee-line to Alexandria. Oh. Shit.
The episode ends there. Who the hell is sounding off that horn? Do the Wolves have a spy in Alexandria? Did they break in? Is one of Carter's disgruntled friends trying to sabotage the whole operation? Is Deanna at the breaking point and ready to let her empire crumble? Regardless of who the culprit is, Alexandria is screwed. Great episode and an exciting way to kick off Season 6!
No comments:
Post a Comment