The Walking Dead
Season 11 - Episode 10 - "New Haunts"
THREE MONTHS - Halloween: Since Hornsby and Eugene made contact with Alexandria; several of the Alexandrians have moved to the Commonwealth--except Maggie and Lydia...
Daryl, Judith & R.J.: Uncle Daryl leads the kids through a Halloween maze; the kids--are actually frightened by the set up, even stopping in their tracks as a "walker" approaches them. The walker turns out to be a friend of Daryl's who assures the children that he's normal. Later, Judith runs into Princess, who manages a record store; Judith's new friend buys her a Motorhead LP, although she does not have the means to play it.
As a father of 2 kids...it totally felt like a Haunted House situation. I read in another link about how this could be a nod to the end of the Walking Dead comics (in terms of how "society" at that time views the Walkers). Since we will most likely have a vastly different ending, this would be fine with me.
Rosita: Rosita and Daryl excel through training with Mercer, but are paired with other trainees--both needing help killing walkers. The duo are quite disgusted by the pampered Sebastian Milton (Pamela's son), who mocks the purpose of the Alexandrians' weapons, choosing to use a knife against a walker, but nearly losing the struggle until Daryl kills it with his crossbow, which is not appreciated by the pissy Sebastian at all.
I can't quite get a read of where Rosita will go with this.
Carol and Ezekiel: Similar to the way Carol tried to ingratiate herself with Alexandria (during Deanna Monroe's time as leader), Carol is employed at the Commonwealth bakery, happily slinging out treats. Worried about Ezekiel--who still tires to to sell the idea that he's feeling fine--Carol visits the hospital, steals keys to the patients' file room, and learns more about Ezekiel's condition from a depressed Tomichi, who adds that he's on a list for surgery---but far down the line, probably at the point where it would not help him (considering Ezekiel's condition). Carol also learns that the Commonwealth is run on a points system, where services are rewarded in various ways.
Initially dejected, she happens to see Hornsby at the door to Pamela Milton's office, where Stephanie flatly refuses a case Hornsby offers her. Hornsby angrily dumps the case in a trash can, which catches Carols attention. She discovers the case contained wine bottles. After inspecting the bottles, Carol's wheels turn, leading her to seek out a nearby winery, where she's nearly bitten by a walker. Taking a case of a higher quality of wine to Hornsby, Carol begins to barter to move Ezekiel up the surgery schedule.
Later, Carol and Ezekiel's reunion is not exactly a happy occasion, with all that's going on; Ezekiel gives Carol a box containing Henry's belongings, and tells her the Commonwealth can be a fresh start...if she desire that.
While i feel like Darryl joining the Enemy, but in the end coming back to the good guys has been overused (the Claimers, The Saviors, The Latest Cult, and now the COmmonwealth), Carol Undercover makes a whole lot of sense and feels a bit different than before. Whereas with Alexandria, they just needed time to see that they are good people as a whole, this undercover assignment is definitely needed, and we get to see Carol really fulfill this skill.
And with Carol and Ezekiel together.... it was sad. And the thing is...what he liked about Carol was that he could be real with her...and yet he is back to "theatrics" (efore playing hte King, and shileding hte Kingdom from the Savior threat, until RIck & Co. came into the picture)...this time playing off his "inevitable" demise and putting on the happy act.
Another thing you missed about Ezekiel was him giving Shiva's collar to Jerry's son. His line about one condition of taking it was to honor Shiva's memory...but we all know he REALLY meant HIS memory. And because it's Jerry's child, he knows that WILL happen. It was also good to see Jerry & family interact that way with Ezekiel... another continuity thing of how because of Ezekiel, this family was created. You could feel the love there in that scene.
Yumiko and Tomichi: Tomichi is absolutely disturbed with life in the Commonwealth; downing one glass of wine after another to send his mind elsewhere, he seems like a man on the edge, no matter how Yumiko tries to council him.
Actually, Tomichi does NOT seem to care about life in the Commonwealth -- th eproblem is that his sister accidentally outed him as a doctor. He was perfectly content as a baker... his job was probably a literal 9 to 5, and after a couple of years, his schedule was well set (with birthdays and anniversaries now on the calendar). Any occasional surprise he coud handle. NOW he is called to all hours of the night, and obviously overworked, as he saw with Ezekiel's ranking in the surgery queue. And i would not be surprised that he was punished in some way for lying about his career. Now, it might not be physical torture (other than loooong hours and constantly on call), but he lost the pleasures he enjoyed as a baker, no doubt.
The question will be , not IF he will do Ezekiel's surgery (since he is a thoracic surgeon, which would be no coincidence by the writers), but HOW, and the consequences. (I.e. does he do the surgery without permission).
And as a fellow half-Asian, i can just imagine that that Tomi had parental pressure to succeed and have a "good" career. Yumiko did that but i am sure "disappointed" her parent sin the type of law she chose to do. TOmi ight have felt stuck...but felt the Apocalypse gave him a fresh start where he was finally happy. BTW, i love the castign and i think they are great as brother and sster, and would love to see them again in that type of role.
i am surprised you didn't notice how Tomichi knew who Carol was, and had NO problem with her in an unauthorized area. That is something we definitely need to find out about...perhaps another flashback (in between the Commonwealth first visiitng Alexandria and the "current" timeline?
Pamela Milton / Hornsby / Daryl: Pamela makes her debut at a party for select residents, all for the unveiling of a painting of her father; Connie and Kelly (acting as town reporters) observe the goings-on, but its clear they're making mental notes about the proceedings and the guests' reaction to it all. As Pamela rambles on about the glory of the caring Commonwealth, Tyler Davis--a former soldier demoted to wait staff (after Princess beat him down at the rail cars) calls her speech "bullshit," screams how he once would have died for the Commonwealth, and asks if she even knows his name. Pamela admits she does not know who he is, just as he grabs a knife and holds it to Stephanie's throat. Immediately Mercer and other guards draw their guns, but Tyler escapes into the Halloween maze. Pursued by Daryl, Tyler is discovered, and learns as a result of his being beaten by Princess, he lost his spending card, apartment and now has no way to support his sister and her children. He nearly slits his own throat, until Daryl talks him out of it, arguing that he has a family--something many no longer have. As Daryl escorts Tyler out of the maze, they run into Sebastian--who is surprised when Daryl credits the pompous brat with capturing Tyler,then hands him over.
Tyler is brought to Pamela, who is genuinely shocked (and suspicious) that her weak son caught an armed man. Mercer cannot believe it al all, giving a knowing look to Daryl. As Tyler is escorted away, he yells "Equality for all" and "Resist the Commonwealth!", adding there are "thousands" like him. Shaken by this statement, Pamela orders Hornsby to find out if others like Tyler are out there. Mercer initiates a search, ordering Rosita to question Magna, who denies knowing Tyler--but she believes he was telling the truth regarding a resistance.
Outside, Carol approaches Hornsby, who acknowledges that the wine was a success, and has earned her a credit---but its a first step....
She also gave extended praise to her dad....so was he alive during the initial fall, and was he a leader who helped create the COmmonwealth? If so...he definitely had blindspots, and while his daughter does seem smart enough to indeed lead after him... she now has the twisted idea thather son is now "owed" the position, which of course will lead to disaster.
Pamela seems clueless to the problems within the COmmonwealth, and like any dictator, will go to extremes to keep power, which will of course fail.
Also noticed -- people were chanting "Mercer" after Hornsby was getting attention. SO i sense some jealousy happening.... kind of King Saul/King David vibes from my perspective.
DAY 33 - Back at Daryl's apartment, he has been upgraded to an armored soldier, trying on the gear, but not feeling quite right about it. Judith now wears a dress and a far more "girly" hairdo, as she tries to fit into this new life. Using his credits, Daryl reveals that he's bought a record player for Judith, so she can play that Motorhead album.
The following day, Rosita and other soldiers are on a sweep of a building suspected of being occupied by this "resistance"; Rosita discovers a hidden room what appears to be an abandoned hideout, with resistance posters, stencils, wall art and other items left behind...
Does ROsita know who was there? Because in finding the stuff, she seems familiar with what she saw. Such that would cause her to have a lot of doubt.
NOTES:
Unlike so many fantasy series, where the idea of continuity is paid lip service at best, TWD has been fairly strong in references to long-dead characters (Henry, in this episode), and still have a natural, emotional punch.
And don't forget Shiva!
But yeah...you are right on this. And that, i think, is what Trek (and Star Wars, and any other one) nitpickers are really looking for when they cricize...at least the saner ones.
Daryl handing Tyler over to Sebastian to take credit--and build him up as a man who can take action--was a brilliant move...at least at the start. It serves two purposes: supporting a twerp everyone knows is a pampered child, and two, he knows the higher-ups are aware that he might be a man to trust if he gave away such a big "credit."
Magna is a curious one: the writers certainly made it appear as if she was concealing information from Rosita--possibly Yumiko (unless the ice between them was an act for the party members), implying she might be part of the resistance
i think you are right about Magna being a part of it... but i don't think Yumiko is in on it with Magna. I mean, she is smart enough to be, but i think we have enough people who are, or could be (liek Carol)...i think there might be a bit of naivete with Yumiko in this story (like how she accidentally outed Tomi... had she known earlier, i know she would have kept him safe)
Speaking of the resistance, it turns out Eugene--arguably the most resistance--averse characters in TWD TV franchise is involved. One would guess his his oldest friend--Rosita--would support his efforts, but in the TV version, the full "problem" of the Commonwealth has not been revealed.
i wonder if she recognized Eugune's "fingerprints" in her search... she had that kind of look on her face. So we will see...
Since the wild cards in the form of Negan and Leah have been teased to make a return, it will be very interesting what side of the conflict they fall on, e.g., will Negan help Maggie, despite believing she plans to kill him? And what about Leah? If the Carol/Daryl series is a go, this sort of hints that Daryl and Leah will never reconcile, and after all of the crimes she committed with the Reapers, who among the Alexandrians would forgive her?
GRADE: A.
i really wonder about the Darryl/Carol series... what time period would it cover? They kida ruined it with Leah flashbacks for Daryl, though i suppose they COULD have had some adventures back then. I think they would alternated between those times and Ride with Daryl and Carol, where they help reconnect the scattered communities (or kill off bad ones)... that will depend on if they ever do the Rick Movies and figure out how CRM will interact with the COmmonwealth and other people.
I’m going to talk briefly about the episode that airs on tv next week, Rogue Elements. The episodes are released one week early on AMC+ which is how I have seen this one already (and it’s difficult for me to contribute to this discussion as I can’t remember what has happened in which episode and I don’t want to spoil anyone.)
With that said, sometimes an excellent episode comes along and I just have to say something.. without any spoilers: WOW what a great episode.
Now that I have that out of my system, carry on with discussion on the Halloween episode
I appreciate the spoiler free review-- i will look forward to it. If you DID need to talk spoilers, just use the code
[ spoliers ] and [ /spoilers ] ) but no spaces
You can try it by saying that Darryl washed his hair with shampoo.
Also, i think if
@TREK_GOD_1 posts his review, you can feel free to talk about that episode at that point (he usally waits until a day or 2 before the episode airs to post).
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One thing i wanted to say about the 6 month flashforward from 2 weeks ago, but now from this SUnday's epsiode, i might change my mind.
My first thought when i saw it was -- not again! We already did this with the Claimers, Saviors, and Latest Cult . (My second thought... the Commonwealth never cut his hair or at least gave him a shampoo???)
But with the Haunted House... this might be another fake out, where Darryl's little army here is actually loyal to HIM, and that they will JOIN Maggie in fighting the COmmonwealth. Perhaps the people under the masks are allies. It would be funny if Mercer ditches his orange armor, because it would make him a target. But they are getting ready to make a stand but need Maggie's help.
