This was tense, this was rough, but this is not The Governor and these are not good people.
This is how we eat. Killing to survive. Preemptive attacks. Murder without provocation. It doesn’t sound good, does it, folks? Truth is, it’s not.
I have to commend The Walking Dead. Even in its most bad-ass-mercenary scenes, while Rick and the gang are killing enemies while they sleep, there is still a greater depth of contemplation towards human life. Even if some of that human life has Polaroid’s of bashed-in heads on the walls.
Nothing about what happened in this episode felt good. The Hilltop are really, really new friends with a creep for a leader, and the Saviors are a pretty rough looking group but still very mysterious. I mean, the only name that people in the show even know is Negan. Who are these people? Why are they such bullies?
So what can be learned from the about this episode? For one, the Saviors are just as violent as we thought they were from our previous encounters (remember Daryl’s motorcycle and crossbow got stolen? remember the biker gang that went splat?). Two, they are growing pot, which is really interesting. An opiate for the masses maybe? It’s a time-honored tactic for dictators. Three, they are really well armed. Like, really, really well armed. You have to wonder, as Michonne did, which one was Negan? Is the threat really gone? If they can get Carol and Maggie back from the stragglers, is that it?
Speaking of which, wouldn’t it be a trip if that satellite dish actually worked? The lights ARE on, after all.
But let’s back up a little. I’ve jumped head first into the second half of the episode, and skipped over a very tense first half. Oh yeah, I also skipped over “Knots Untie,” because frankly, I was busy last week. So let’s dig in.
A small world can be manageable. Less factors to deal with. Less variables to consider. After years on the road, the people who are left pretty much fall into two categories: survivors and parasites. Rick’s group were survivors. The hunters, the termites, the wolves–these are parasites. To find a place like Alexandria, full of good people and potential, is a boon. It’s the only way to protect oneself from the parasites that are slowly dying off on the road. And without any further knowledge, it;s possible that Alexandria could have been the only community around. It could have been the only one on the continent. Who knew? And in a world like this, if there is another community a thousand miles away, it might as well not exist.
However, it turns out that is not the case. It turns out that plenty of survivors have grouped up into communities, and the Hilltop is just one of them, according to Jesus. The next world has many surprises to deliver after all. For me, to realize that the world of The Walking Dead is now a world of trade, alliances, and true communities was a game-changer for me. It completely changed what a zombie apocalypse story could do–what it could be. Sure, it’s a natural conclusion, but it’s never, ever been done before. Death is not as inevitable as it was once thought to be in the apocalypse. There is growth. There is forward movement. There are babies. Is it really an apocalypse anymore? Or, has this story outgrown that moniker. With communities growing and thriving, I say it is so. It is the next world–not the apocalypse–and with so much politics and potential, this story is forever changed. Sure, it’s still about Rick Grimes, but it’s also about Alexandria, and how it succeeds or fails in a world of competing nation states. This is Tigris and Euphrates time. Dawn of civilization stuff. Rick and Daryl are Gilgamesh-ing their ways into new territory, and it gives me the chills.
But, with new hope for the future and new opportunity come new challenges. Negan is that challenge. The Hilltop have an oppressing force keeping them protected from the parasites, but are plundering them in the same way. It’s an untenable situation, brokered by a complete ass named Gregory (impeccably played by Xander Berkeley from T2 and Booth at the End), and Alexandria is already caught up in it, whether they like it or not.
Michonne was right, this is gonna be a fight.
Moving on into “Not Tomorrow Yet,” the opening scene set the stage for the entire episode. Tense. Foreboding. While Carol bakes and remembers the dead, the clouds gather above the community. A storm is coming. We all know it. The fight with the Saviors looms over everything. For the first time, Rick and company are willingly walking in, gun blazing, in order to right a potential wrong and be rid of the bad guys before they bad guy up. Coming off of the threat of the crazy wolves, I’d say it sounds like a good plan.
But is it? I mean, there is little to no intelligence on this group. How many are there? Where is their base? And, isn’t this exactly what the Governor did to the prison a few seasons back? Well, yes. But the Governor was psycho, and Rick is not. For food, and for safety, Rick is picking the fight.
So far, no one from the group is dead, but it doesn’t feel good, does it? I have a feeling the Saviors aren’t defeated yet.
Joseph Tavano is the owner and editor in chief of RetroZap. Born just months before Luke found out who his father was, he has been fortunate to have had Star Wars in his life as long as he can remember. Growing up just outside of Boston, Massachusetts, he can remember substituting sticks for lightsabers and BMX bikes for speeders. He loves comics, retro games, vintage sci-fi paperbacks, and maps. Though an accomplished drummer, he doesn’t crave adventure (as much) any more, and prefers his old haunts north of Boston, Massachusetts, where he resides with his family. Buy him a glass of whiskey and he’ll return it in kind.