♪”All along the watchtow… OH S***, HERE COMES THE WATCHTOWER!
By Matt Fowler
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.
Well, there you go. Freakin’ answers! We can put all this behind us.
Glenn’s alive, and while we can allow ourselves to be glad they didn’t stretch this out for one more episode (saving the reveal for next week’s midseason finale) we can most certainly also be bummed that – well – it all played out exactly like we figured. Nicholas landed on Glenn, acted as a body shield, Glenn squeezed under the dumpster, and everything’s okay now. No real surprises here, pleasant or otherwise, except perhaps for the rabid Glenn fans who’ll just be happy he’s alive no matter the circumstances.
Why did the walkers eventually leave Glenn alone? That’s not quite clear. In fact, I’m assuming HitFix critic Alan Sepinwall may have more to say about that over in his recap/review since I know for a fact that this aspect bothered him immensely. Looking at the scene, it seemed like there was a noise or distraction that drew their attention away, but even then it was a staggered effect. Like, a few walkers would abandon the cause, but not all.
We want to hear it.
Unfortunately, it became fairly obvious a few weeks back that showrunner Scott Gimple had severely underestimated critics and fans when it came to this very meticulously staged fake-out. Not only did the scene not hold up in itself, as a big death moment (particularly the guts-ripping part where it didn’t seem like the entrails were coming from Glenn), but – like I mentioned back in my review of “Thank You” – it didn’t hold together story-wise. How Glenn’s death didn’t close out an episode. How neither “loving husband” in the Away Team group would have made it home if Glenn had also died. And how you simply can’t have a death on this show that’s not seen or witnessed by someone else in the key cast. As in, Rick and company couldn’t go through the rest of the show never knowing what happened to Glenn.
This was just not a twist that was going to work. It reminds me of when Dexter tried to string out a big twist over several episodes (nine, in fact) in that show’s sixth season. It’s just too difficult to pull off on TV where there’s a week between each episode for people to think about what they’ve seen and hold conversations, online or off, with one another. Movies can catch you off guard because you’re in it for the short-haul.
And yes, The Walking Dead’s own post-show recap series, Talking Dead, also helped undo this swerve since it now acts as a platform for any actor leaving the show to make a farewell appearance. And Steven Yeun never made an appearance. This is actually the second time that show’s inadvertently worked against The Walking Dead as it used to deal in rather spoilery-hashtags (or does it still?).
Anyhow, Glenn’s back and he and Enid took a somber trek back home (or to the place Glenn tried to convince Enid was home) and by the end Maggie spotted their green balloons. Just in time for the town watchtower to come crashing down through a wall setting us up for what I assume will be a very bloody chapter next week. And if the Wolf invasion episode was all about killing off nameless characters, I have a feeling this new zombie flood will probably wipe a few known faces.
During Glenn’s journey home, I was wondering if we’d also maybe find out something pertaining to Enid and the Wolves, but as it turns out she’s just a mopey soul who doesn’t love or trust anyone – not a mole. Also, I figure now that we’ve met a new gang – one with guns and vehicles – the Wolves more or less feel like an isolated incident/obstacle. I mean, are there even more out there? Morgan has their (assumed) leader all caged up and Rick killed the ones Morgan set free.
We want to hear it.
Morgan’s mercy became a big focal point this week in “Heads Up” – an episode that basically served to set us up for the walker-heavy midseason finale. Rick, Carol, and Michonne confronted him about his unwillingness to kill – with Rick specifically challenging the decision to let those Wolves go (as they tried to kill Rick on their way out of town). By the end though, it seems like a few words with Sam may have slightly altered Carol’s take on the situation. There was that very on-the-nose bit of dialogue about how killing is what makes you become a monster and all that, and Carol took a pause. And on this show, that’s enough to basically completely change someone’s entire perspective. So we’ll see what she actually feels when she comes face to face with the imprisoned psycho.
Speaking of crazies, it looks like freakin’ Ron’s about to squeeze the trigger on Carl. And, I have to say, Carl will sort of have it coming. At the top of the episode, when he and Rick were teaching Ron about guns, Carl was being a top-notch douche. He’s not taking the high road with this one. And now Ron’s plan to get his hands on a gun may have worked out perfectly. Of course, this could just be the show swerving us again. Either Ron will get interrupted by the watchtower collapse or – despite the fact that he’s approaching Carl as menacingly as possible – he’s going to just say “Hey, I got some bullets, wanna go shoot some cans?”
Look, I don’t resent Carl as much as some fans, but I do think that there was a chance here for a new myopic pain-in-the-ass to come in and supplant him. And he’s not exactly making the transition easy.
We want to hear it.
“Heads Up” was another middling Walking Dead episode. Again, I don’t mind reflective chapters, but when they come compete with obviously, and clumsily, inserted danger, it gives everything a sort of by-the-numbers vibe. Like, Spencer trying to crawl across a rope to get to a car and almost getting himself ripped to shreds. When Rick yelled at him and was all like “Why the did you do that?” I half expected Spencer to answer “Because this episode needed someone almost getting killed by walkers!”
Hell, even that blood oozing out of the wall – the moment that ended last week’s episode – didn’t lead to anything. I guess it was just supposed to be a visceral symbol of the danger that was confronting the town. But it made us all speculate about someone perhaps dying on the outside, or even up overhead at a watch post. “Heads Up” toyed around with all the ongoing themes. Ones that we’ve been repeating now for a while. To kill or not to kill? Can the Alexandrians be trusted with their own defense/survival? It’s kind of old hat at this point. Of course, everything will all probably come crashing down right quick and then, perhaps, from the ashes we can start to tackle new topics.
The best parts of “Heads Up” were definitely the beginning – which finally cleared up the whole Glenn debate/debacle – and the very end when the building came crashing down, breaking the town’s big barrier. Everything else was just there to lead us up to bigger things. Bigger developments. Better stories. This one contained a lot of recycled themes, including Rick still considering everyone outside of his group (with Deanna as the exception, and Gabriel as the reverse exception) as the equivalent of “Redshirts” on Star Trek.
