The Walking Dead Season 6 Ep. 10: The New World

Jessie who? In many ways that's really the theme of this evening's episode. After last week's brutal and draining hour, The Walking Dead throws us a bone tonight and gives us a mostly lighthearted episode complete with smiles, laughter, bro time, and (gasp) romance. How are the Alexandrian's recovering from Walkermania? Here's what we learned in "The New World."

A New Day Has Come
We open the episode looking at a framed picture of eye-patch Carl and happy baby Judith sitting in a chair on the porch. Either that Polaroid camera is still in play or Alexandria has a one hour photo shop that I was previously unaware of. The real baby Judith is playing on the floor seemingly not scarred from the time she spent under Gabriel's guts poncho followed by her stint being passed around in a church full of strangers. Rick is assembling his gun belt when a fresh out of the shower and still robed Michonne enters the room to ask for toothpaste. Rick is about to go on a run and he teases her for requesting "spearmint and baking soda." I'm sensing some flirtation. Not sure how much time has passed between the Anderson family Walker buffet and now but Rick sure does seem happy. He even says "see you later" to Carl on his way out, an obvious dig at his son's missing eye. Zing!

Meanwhile Daryl is going over a supply request list from Denise. She drew a line between the important stuff and the other stuff and she gives an excruciatingly painful explanation as to how things are prioritized the way they are. We learn she's from Ohio and she calls soda "pop." We also learn that she's shacking up with Tara and they are a cute, albeit nerdy couple. Daryl promises to find some "pop" for Tara and he heads to the car with Rick. Eugene sees them off, explaining that he has mapped out some agricultural areas nearby and he talks about types of grains that that will make their food supply "go from scary to hunky dory." Interesting. So the canned goods and baking ingredients are dwindling? For me "scary" was the time when the group relied on Daryl's rodent hunting skills in order to ring the dinner bell.

I Was Waiting For You
Enid still sucks. She seriously does. Apparently she has done nothing and contributed nothing in the time she's been back in Alexandria and Maggie calls her on it. Maggie still has some gratitude because Enid helped get Glenn home and she tells Enid to come talk to her if she needs anything. I think Enid needs a punch in the face, but that's just me.

Carl and Enid go back to doing their "angsty teenager roaming through the woods even though it's stupid" thing. Love doesn't seem to be in the air anymore though. Either she's not digging his missing eye or she's completely turned off by the comic books he's reading. Oh Carl. If Shane were still around he would tell you exactly what you and Enid could be doing in the woods. But Carl doesn't get it and Enid is ready to go back home. As she stands to leave they hear a Walker approaching. Carl is ready to kill it but hesitates. Enid moves forward to kill it but Carl stops her. What's happening here? Maybe the hole in Carl's face is thwarting more than just his eyesight...

Also milling about in the woods is Spencer, who I have to keep reminding myself still exists on this show. Seems every time we see him he's thisclose to dying before someone in the Grimes gang saves his ass. So naturally he's by himself and shaky as a Walker approaches him. And naturally Michonne and her sword show up to (you guessed it!) save his ass. Spencer says he didn't need saving and Michonne questions why he is out there to begin with. "I walk after my shifts. I've been doing it for a while." Michonne notices that Spencer has a shovel with him in addition to his gun. Is there also buried treasure outside the walls? Is Spencer going to pre-dig his own grave for that inevitable time where someone in the Grimes gang is not able to save his ass?

At some point Carl notices Michonne and Michonne notices Carl but neither of them alert the other. They're both on separate missions I guess, but then Carl makes his way back to where he passed sight of Michonne earlier. A Walker is following him...and it's Deanna. Yup, guns blazing Deanna wasn't torn to pieces by Walkers after all. She just died from her bite and this is why Spencer has been on a hunt after his shifts. "I thought I saw her that night. I did." Poor guy. He ends up putting a knife in his mother's head and burying her. It's a very sad scene but at least Tovah Feldshuh got to be in one more episode. She seemed devastated when her character was killed off the show (as if there was ever a chance she would survive the Ricktatorship).

Touched By An Angel 
Rick and Daryl come across one of the areas Eugene had mapped out and they are hoping for a big grain score....which is not the kind of score most AMC shows advertise. What they find instead is a big supply truck that has everything on Denise's list and then some. Rick decides they should leave the car and take the truck back to Alexandria. They'll pick up the car later. Um, why are we doing that? There's two of you. Maybe you could both drive a vehicle? Is bro time really that important? Anyway, the boys take the truck and stop off at a crumbling gas station to see what they can find there. Turns out there's a big ole metal container full of pop soda and candy. Jackpot!

The round two discovery excitement is short-lived as a dude with a bandanna over his face nearly runs Rick over as he claims to be trying to escape the dead. Rick and Daryl pull their guns on him but this guy realllly wants to get away. "Once they get to double digits I start running." I don't blame him. When asked his name, the guy says his name is Paul...but his friends call him "Jesus." He takes the bandanna off his face and his nickname totally makes sense. Side note: the fact that "Jesus" is roaming among "the walking dead" makes him my new favorite character. I think even Gabriel would see some humor in this. However, Daryl isn't amused and he isn't interested in asking Jesus the three standard new people questions. Though Rick is also on the search for more people today (again, this man's heart is just bursting with joy), he and Daryl decide to let Jesus go on his merry way so they can get back to transporting the big metal container with pop soda, which would probably be easier to transport if they had brought the damn car with them.

Daryl and Rick are startled when they hear gunfire...or fireworks...or something and they run around
the corner to investigate. What they actually find are firecrackers in a trash can and they realize they've been duped. Jesus has taken the wheel and made off with their truck. Duh guys. They take off running after him but the chase would have been much quicker if they had BROUGHT THE DAMN CAR WITH THEM. They finally find the big metal container in the middle of the road and inexplicably shotgun an orange soda. Was there really no other way to open the can? No time to think about it. They still have to catch up to Jesus.

Eureka! Not much further down the road Jesus is having car trouble. Rick and Daryl attack him, tie him up, and take back the truck. They leave Jesus in the street with a can of orange soda. Well, they think that's what they did. A little further down the road they realize Jesus is on the roof of the truck. Of course he is! You think Jesus can't untie knots?!? He rolls off the roof to the ground and Rick just wants to let him go and head home. Daryl is pissed though and he jumps out of the truck and a hilarious chase scene ensues. The music in this video is not what was actually playing during the episode, but it's absolutely perfect. To sum it up, the boys should have just gone home because the truck ends up rolling into a lake during the Jesus pursuit. Way to go guys. That's divine intervention right there.

Ultimately they end up tying Jesus up again, making their way back to the car they should have had with them to begin with and taking Jesus back with them to Alexandria. They leave him to sleep off what is most likely a severe concussion in the room that used to hold Morgan when he first arrived.

Hush Now
Michonne approaches eye-patch Carl and happy baby Judith sitting in a chair on the porch. She does not have a Polaroid camera with her. She tells Carl that she knows he lead zombie Deanna to Spencer. She says he either should have killed Deanna or left her alone. Carl explains that someone who really loved Deanna should have been the one to put her down. "I'd do it for you." Awww. Michonne says she would do the same and they share a sweet hug.

Rick arrives home as well and he and Michonne look exhausted as they sit down on the couch to talk about the hellacious day they both had. Rick came up short on the toothpaste but hands Michonne some breath mints which will have to suffice for now. Their hands linger together for a moment...then their fingers lock...then they turn their heads toward each other...and they smooch. Whaaaaaat? And that's not all. There is a heavy make-out session on the couch and the next time we see this duo they are naked in bed and (barely) tangled in the sheets. I'm just sitting on my couch saying "dayyyummmm" over and over again. I feel like the episode should end now but then Jesus shows up. Of course he does! Some shabby drywall can't keep Jesus incarcerated! As naked Rick and Michonne jump out of bed and grab their weapons Jesus says, "We should talk."

And the episode ends there. NOT what I was expecting tonight but I loved it just the same. It's been a while since we've had an hour that makes us smile and laugh and also allows our heroes a moment of reprieve, however short lived it may be. The many Richonne fans out there have to be super giddy tonight. I, on the other hand, sit here a little bitter because I've been waiting soooo long for Carol and Daryl to get together. And if you recall, TWD teased us with a scene similar to this one when Daryl and Carol were on a mission to find Beth and found themselves alone and slouched back against a bed. Sigh. For now I will just be happy for these two, and Tara and Denise, and Maggie and Glenn, and Carl and his eye-patch because he has completely struck out with Enid....who sucks anyway.

"Maybe I'm interrupting something..."

But the big question coming out of tonight's episode is -- who is this Jesus? Is he running from Negan's group? Is he a Negan spy? Is he the son of God? Not likely, but man I am going to have some fun with this. Can't wait to see what surprises next week holds!

The Walking Dead Season 6 Ep. 9: No Way Out

So I went into tonight's episode knowing what happens in the comics during the Alexandria Walker invasion. I also went into tonight's episode telling myself not to panic because the show runners don't always follow those story lines. Consider me gutted....along with the other characters of the winter premiere's blood bath. As much as it pains me to tell you, here's what went down in "No Way Out."

Put On Your Best, Boys

The episode opens with Daryl, Sasha and Abraham meeting Negan's henchmen on the road back to Alexandria. Sure, they're driving a military vehicle and probably could have plowed right through the motorcycle brigade, but they exit their truck and hand over their weapons instead. Good grief. Negan's head douchebag tells one of his motorcycle buddies to accompany Daryl to the back of the truck to confiscate the remaining weapons because, you know, those belong to Negan now. Abraham asks what we're all wondering at this point: "who's Negan?" The head douchebag has already told the trio not to ask any questions and points his guns at Sasha and Abraham. I'm thinking he's going to fire...but then the entire motorcycle gang explodes. Turns out Daryl had a freaking rocket launcher in the back of the truck. Ha! He killed the guy who went back there with him and lit up Negan's numskulls just before the opening music begins to play. Fantastic. 

Life Ain't Always What You Think It Ought To Be

Tara, Eugene and Smokin' Hot Rosita are tending to a pissed off Carol and a barely awake Morgan as they also assess their situation. They desperately want to find doctor Denise and The Wolf but they also know they are vastly outnumbered by the Walkers outside. Morgan is starting to realize he screwed up and tries to make amends with Carol and the others. Carol, however, is not interested. "I should have killed you." Damn straight.

The Wolf and Denise are 'hiding out' almost in plain site of the herd as they watch things play out from behind some bushes. Denise is starting to panic a bit but The Wolf reassures her that he needs her. He promises they are going to get out together as soon as there is a break in the parade of zombies. He wants to help Denise change the way that someone helped him change. Oh...so he wants to turn her into someone who kills innocent people too. Neat. Actually, I think he kind of likes her. Too bad the forehead tattoo and the junk on his teeth are a complete turn off. 

As it grows darker The Wolf and Denise catch a break. Gunfire erupts on the other side of Alexandria and the Walkers are drawn to it.  He tells her "it's safer out there than it is in here" and they start to run toward the open wall. Denise is held up by a Walker who doesn't quite bite her and The Wolf hesitates. He could leave her behind. He wants to leave her behind. But for some reason, he runs to her and saves her...but not before a Walker bites a chunk out of his arm. Denise grabs him and tells him they have to get to the infirmary right away (I guess she's thinking she'll perform an immediate amputation) and they're off and running again. I'm thinking they might make it and Denise may have turned this guy around, but then more gunshots ring out and The Wolf is done. Carol is up in a balcony holding her gun screaming at Denise to get away from The Wolf. Denise makes it to the infirmary unharmed.   

The Sharp Knife Of A Short Knife

When we last saw Rick, Carl, Judith, Jessie, Ron, Sam, Michonne and Gabriel, they were covered in Walker guts and trying to slowly make their way through the heard as a human chain. The part of the mid-season finale where Sam was inexplicably trying to talk to his mother during the escape is not addressed, and the group makes it to an area where they can talk about what to do next. Rick says they need to get to the vehicles in the quarry so they can drive back and pick up their friends. Jessie points out that this will be difficult for Judith so Gabriel offers to take her to his church and keep her safe. I'm thinking "Gabriel can barely keep his collar from harm" but Rick agrees to this plan quickly. Jessie wants Sam to go with Gabriel as well (we all do) but he begs her to let him stay with the group. He doesn't want to leave his mother. Jessie reluctantly agrees and I'm waiting for someone to tell her she's insane.  Rick, you know Sam is going to f*ck this up, so put your foot down! He doesn't though and Gabriel takes Judith under his Walker guts poncho and off they go. 

The order of the human chain has changed now with Rick leading Sam, Jessie, Carl, Ron and Michonne walking hand and hand through the dark streets of Alexandria. My heart is pounding. As they walk, Sam hears Carol's voice in his head. He is reliving the conversation they had back when he caught her in the armory....when she told him about the monsters that will get him, tear him apart, and eat him alive. He stops walking. Shit. Jessie and Rick try to pull him along but he starts to cry. Then he starts to get eaten by Walkers. SHIT. Jessie is still holding his hand as he's pulled away from her and then she starts to scream. I'm yelling "just let him go!" from my couch and Carl does his damnedest to pull her away from the bloodbath, but she's still staring at Sam. The Walkers then attack her as well. Nooooo! Jessie won't let go of Carl's hand and the Walkers are closing in on all of them now. Rick is crying. He knows Jessie is a goner so he does what he has to do....he takes the hatchet he's carrying and chops her hand off. OH MY GOD. Carl falls to the ground and drops his gun, which Ron quickly picks up and aims at the Grimes boys. For the only time ever, I kind of agree with Ron and the "you got my entire family killed" look he has on his face. I still want him gone though. If I can't have Jessie then I sure as hell can't deal with an orphaned Ron pouting for the rest of the season. Michonne reads my mind. We see her sword come right through Ron's chest and dude goes down...but not before SHOOTING CARL IN THE EYE. 

Rick lifts Carl off the ground and he and Michonne take off running. They make it to the infirmary and doctor Denise gets right to work. Rick, however, is pretty much batshit crazy at this point. He looks out the window at the many Walkers overrunning the town and he heads out there with his hatchet. Sure Rick is taking out some of the zombies but he is also completely surrounded. He is suddenly joined by Michonne, Keith, Aaron, and Spencer and things are looking up. Several other Alexandrian's join in. Gabriel sees what's happening and hands Judith off to one of the women in the church with him. He takes a machete and joins in. Carol, Tara, Smokin' Hot Rosita, Morgan and Eugene(!) jump in too. The fight sequence here is amazing. Morgan comes across The Wolf as a Walker and kills him. Better late than never?

Sink Me In A River

Glenn and Enid have made their way inside the not so protective walls of Alexandria and they are trying to find a way to safely get Maggie off the platform she's cornered into. It's shaky as hell and she's not going to last much longer. Glenn creates a distraction as Enid climbs the tower and Glenn is having another "oh shit look at all these Walkers" moments. Once again it looks like Glenn has reached his end on The Walking Dead but Abraham and Sasha arrive and save his ass. Maggie is safe and he jumps in the truck with Daryl to come up with a plan to lead the Walkers away. Daryl has a better idea. They head to the river nearby and unleash a ton of gasoline in the water. Daryl shows sheer badassery again when he uses the rocket launcher to set the river ablaze. The Walkers are of course drawn to the commotion and wander into the flames in droves. Alexandria is safe for the time being. 

As morning approaches, Rick is sitting with a bandaged and seemingly comatose Carl. He tells Carl all about how they took back the town and how the Alexandrians stepped up and showed what they were made of. Rick seems to be letting go of the "us" and "them" and says everything Deanna wanted to accomplish is still possible. He cries and says "I want to show you the new world, Carl. I want to make it a reality for you." The episode ends with Carl squeezing his father's hand. 

Whew. I am totally spent. In this hour I've shed tears, I've screamed at my television so loud that I worried about my neighbors, and I've paused many, many times while trying to type what I was seeing on screen. It's impossible to fully capture the suspense and emotion that filled "No Way Out." The Jessie/Sam/Ron demise will stay with me for a long time. My hat's off to those actors in their final scene, though I'm holding out hope that we'll see ghost Jessie in the coming weeks the way ghost Lori hung out at the prison for a while. It's a damn shame. I reallllly liked Jessie and I realllllly liked that Rick had another love interest. She had come such a long way in such a short time...but she sealed her fate when she didn't send Sam with Gabriel. The kid didn't leave the second floor of their house after the Wolves attacked so really there was no way he was making it to the quarry through the massive group of "monsters." And Rick? I don't blame him for chopping her hand off while she was still alive. As brutal as it was, she was already zombie food. 

Next week we'll see how the community recovers from all of this trauma. Will Rick embrace Spencer, Keith, Aaron and others as part of his family? Will they take Deanna's plans for expanding Alexandria and make them a reality? Will the group have another run in with Negan's followers? Will Carl look like The Governor from now on? I know one thing for sure...without Jessie I can give up all hope of him getting a damn haircut.