When we last left the Grimes group, Rick was preparing to pat himself on the back in celebration of taking out Negan and The Saviors. Unfortunately Maggie and Carol's capture prevented him from getting that party started. This week we find out how Maggie and Carol were taken, how they handle captivity, and how their imprisonment comes to an end (hint: lots of bloodshed). Here's what happened in "The Same Boat."
The Hands Of Uncertainty
The episode begins with Carol and Maggie hurrying toward the alarm coming from Negan's compound. Carol pulls a gun on a man approaching behind Maggie and shoots him in the arm. In the arm? What the hell? Carol has way better aim than that! No time to think about it now though because two women appear with guns raised to Carol and Maggie's heads, and our girls are forced to surrender their weapons. Maggie looks pissed and Carol...looks scared. Get it together Carol!
The sun comes up and we are back to where we left off last week. Paula, played by Alicia Witt, is on the walkie talkie telling Rick to lower their guns. She allows Carol and Maggie to both get on the walkie talkie and say they're okay, and Rick wants to arrange a trade: Carol and Maggie for their guy, Primo (who had Daryl's beloved bike). Paula lets the situation go quiet for a bit and then says "I'll get back to you." Cue the opening credits.
Whatever Pain May Come
Paula and company put hoods over Maggie and Carol's heads, tie them up, gag them, and transport them to a different facility. It's labeled "The Kill Floor" but it's been invaded by Walkers since The Saviors have been away. Maggie and Carol are then dumped in a room that kinda looks the area from the original Saw movie. Carol spots a rosary on the ground and is able to shove it in her pants pocket before beginning to hyperventilate. I'm really, really hoping this is all an act. Paula's co-Savior, Molly takes her gag off and Carol reaches for the rosary, squeezing it tightly in her tied hands as she catches her breath. Chelle, another Savior, keeps her gun on Carol while Paula tends to the prick Carol shot. They are all wondering how someone so afraid has made it so far (if they only knew). Carol says "It doesn't matter what happens to me. Just don't hurt Maggie. Don't hurt the baby." This plea includes asking Molly to put out her cigarette. "Those things will kill you." Molly is laughing and coughing blood into a towel. "They already have. I'm a dead woman walking, just like you...which puts us exactly in the same boat."
The prick Carol shot, Donnie, is bitching about his arm and rightly so - Paula's makeshift tourniquet might as well be made of silly string. Maggie says Donnie's nerves are dying and he's going to lose his arm, so Donnie gets all worked up and wants to shoot Carol in the arm as payback. Paula intervenes, he hits Paula, Maggie attacks him, he grabs Maggie by the back of the head, Carol attacks him, he kicks the shit out of Carol, then finally Paula knocks his ass out with her gun. Whew.
What I've Done
Chelle takes Maggie into a separate room to interrogate her. She wants Maggie to tell her where she and the rest of her people live and Maggie throws up a little. "Help yourself and the baby in your belly. You're not the good guys. You should know that." Maggie notices that Chelle is missing a finger and asks what happened. Chelle explains she got caught stealing gas as she was trying to travel to find her boyfriend's body. Turns out her boyfriend was one of the motorcyclists blown up by Daryl. Oops. Chelle also reveals that she had been pregnant and lost her baby. Oh Maggie. This bitch hates you.
Meanwhile Rick is on the walkie talkie trying once again to negotiate with Paula, but she's still holding out on making a deal. Carol pleads with her, saying Rick is a man of his word and this is the only way for everyone to come out of this situation safely. She tells Paula and Molly they were only trying to kill Negan because they thought he would come for them first. Before Molly chokes up some more blood and then lights up another cigarette (modern medicine), she says "Sweetie, sweetie. We are all Negan." Well what the hell does that mean?
Carol still has the "I'm super scared" look about her and tries to relate to Paula by telling her about her abusive husband and mentioning how her "faith" got her through Sophia's death. Paula interrupts her, saying they are nothing alike, and relays her story... in the pre-apocalyptic world she was a secretary who spent her days fetching coffee for her boss. When the virus broke out she was at work and unable to evacuate. "I was stuck with my boss. Not my family. Not my husband...my four girls." Ouch. Paula knew her boss was weak and killed him. She doesn't even count how many people she's killed anymore. She says she's stopped caring.
Cross Out What I've Become
Paula calls Rick on the walkie talkie and says she's ready to make the trade. He tells her he will meet them in 10 minutes but Paula is suspicious. That negotiation was too easy. She's prepping for a fight, has called in reinforcements, and she and Molly go to clear the Walkers out of the hall toward the front door. Carol is alone now and sharpens the cross of the rosary against the floor, then uses it to cut herself free. That's the woman I know and love! She finds Maggie in the next room (I guess Chelle also went to clear a hallway? How did that conversation end?) and unties her. Carol wants to make a run for it but Maggie says they can't leave without killing these Saviors. Duh, Carol.
They approach knocked out Donnie first and Maggie releases his silly string tourniquet. Just before they leave the room, she ties him up to a nearby pipe so Walker Donnie can bite off a good portion of Molly's arm when she returns. Maggie finishes her off and Carol does...nothing. The girls head through an uncleared hallway and hear gunshots. Paula. Is. Pissed. She's out of bullets and Carol holds her gun at Paula and tells her to run. Whoa. WHAT?!?! Maggie has the same WTF look on her face as I do and yells "shoot her!" A Walker grabs Carol, Carol accidentally shoots Paula in the arm, and Paula takes off running. Maggie quickly goes after her...because Maggie isn't effing around at this point...but she runs into Chelle instead. Chelle is weilding a knife and cuts Maggie's stomach, so Carol shoots her in the head. Oh thanks Carol. Better late than never. Maggie and Carol turn the corner to see wounded Paula near the Walkers. In ANOTHER moment of weakness, Paula almost kills Carol...but Carol throws her at a Walker and he bites her face off. Side note: Alicia Witt was fantastic in this episode. I'm kind of disappointed her villain story didn't last longer.
 |
| A latte sounds good right about now. |
Carol picks up the walkie talkie and lets the reinforcements know to come to "The Kill Floor," which they do. The Saviors enter the room that once held Maggie and Carol and by the time they realize there's gasoline on the floor, it's too late. Carol has lit one of Molly's cigarette, tossed it in, and shut and locked the door. The dudes go up in flames. Oh, and speaking of better late than never, Rick, Glenn, Daryl and the rest of the gang arrive just as Maggie and Carol are safely exiting the building. Daryl sweetly hugs Carol and asks if she's okay (she says no). Maggie cries and tells Glenn "I can't anymore." Primo realizes he's shit out of luck and Rick asks him one last time where he got Daryl's bike. He says he found it. Rick asks if Negan was in the other building last night or this one. Primo says "Both. I'm Negan shithead. Let's have a chat." Rick shoots him in the head, Carol is grips the rosary so tight her hand bleeds, and the hour ends.
So...I need the old Carol back IMMEDIATELY. This is the woman who killed Karen and David because they might, maybe, possibly pass their flu along to others. This is the woman who single-handedly blew shit up at Terminus. And this is the woman who killed a crazypants child to protect herself, Tyreese, and baby Judith. This new badass-less Carol, however, is scaring me. Characters that have moments of weakness die. Or they cause deaths of people we don't want to die. Either way, she's moving toward the final episodes of the season on a path that makes me very unhappy. Will she get her act together? Is Maggie going to adopt a "Mother Maggie" persona now? Is Morgan going to see what's happening with Carol and wanna tap that? Is there still hope for a Carol/Daryl romance? Only one thing is for sure at the moment...Daryl and Morgan could both easily beat Tobin's ass without breaking a sweat. You're out of your league, dude. Step aside.
No comments:
Post a Comment