The Walking Dead – Honor

By: Kelly Kearney

“The Walking Dead” never shied away from killing off beloved characters who were often the sole reason fans tuned in every Sunday night. It’s a risky move dropping the hammer, or should I say bat, on a popular character in hopes it can propel the story forward and carve a new path for the existing group of players. Glenn, Abe, Beth and Shane all saw their end long before their stories came to a satisfying conclusion and while some might say their deaths were nothing more than shock value for ratings, a few of those deaths had lasting effects on the story. In one of the most heartbreaking episodes to date, we say goodbye to the precocious pudding eating boy we watched turn into a man and eventually die a hero. It was a death fans knew was coming for months but it didn’t make it any easier to say a tearful farewell to Carl Grimes.

MAKING MEMORIES

We begin in a series of clips that bounce around through the show’s timeline. We catch a glimpse of a bleary-eyed Rick (Andrew Lincoln) muttering what is probably the theme of this entire season, “my mercy prevails over my wrath,” as it flashes forward to him walking through a peaceful and thriving Alexandria. The scene quickly flips to a devastated Michonne (Danai Gurira) and Rick digging a grave amongst the ruins of what was their community post Negan’s attack and then quickly segues into how Carl (Chandler Riggs) wound up bit by the walker.

When Carl came upon Siddiq (Avi Nash) and a group of walkers in the woods, he did what his mother taught him and tried to save his new friend’s life. Unfortunately, Carl was outmatched by a walker and wound up taking a vicious bite to his side. The look on Carl’s face, knowing at that moment his fate was sealed, is perhaps some of the best acting from Chandler Riggs to date.

After the bite, we see Carl clean his wound, and along with his friend Siddiq, prepare their underground hideout. After Tobin (Jason Douglas) hands Carl a letter from Michonne telling him she left to see the fall of the Sanctuary, he knows it’s unlikely she and his father will make it back before he turns. The walker disease spreads fast and so Carl writes each of his loved ones a letter in case he’s gone before he can say goodbye. He even takes a selfie Polaroid of him and Judith and the two leave their blue-painted handprints on the deck of their home like a memorial for the boy whose life is coming to an end. The entire scene highlights how strong and mature Carl is, but it doesn’t make the tragedy of a life cut short any easier to watch.

HOW TO SAVE THE KING?

After Eugene (Josh McDermitt) supplied the Saviors with freshly made bullets, the group was able to escape the Sanctuary’s walker invasion by clearing a path through the dead and forcing Morgan (Lennie James) out of his sniper’s perch. While on the run, Morgan manages to draw a herd of the dead towards the escapees giving him time to track any Saviors who made it past the walker diversion. Meanwhile, Carol (Melissa McBride) is instructing the Kindommites to hide in her old farmhouse where there are supplies and the group will be safe. In typical Carol fashion, she orders the survivors to safety as she heads out to take on Saviors and rescue Ezekiel (Khary Payton) by herself. This is Carol we’re talking about and if history has proven anything, one of her against an army is bad news for the Saviors. Even Nabila (Nadine Marissa) says, “You versus all of them? They don’t stand a chance.” Only it’s not just Carol that wants to find Ezekiel and take down the Saviors. Henry (Macsen Lintz) wants to tag along and avenge his brother’s murder. He tries reasoning with Carol reminding her she taught him how to shoot and Morgan taught him how to swing the bow, he’s ready to fight. Carol disagrees and orders him to stay behind but of course, Henry doesn’t listen and sneaks off on his own to play the hero.

After a quick flash of Carl in the Alexandria sewer explaining his bite to Michonne and Rick, we cut to Gavin (Jayson Warner Smith) at the Kingdom who is less than thrilled about having to kill Ezekiel. Gavin doesn’t want to kill the King, but he knows if he doesn’t follow through with Negan’s (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) orders he will get up close and personal with Lucille. Gavin is weak while the King is strong and Ezekiel remains calm as he tells Gavin he’s made peace with his fate. He led his people to safety and now the future is up to Gavin. Ezekiel’s death is not written in stone and there’s still time to walk away from a choice Gavin may not be able to live with. In this story, Gavin is the author and he decides which path he takes, the choice is up to him.

“ALL OF US TOGETHER WILL BE THEIR WORST DAMN NIGHTMARE”

Back in the sewer hideout, Siddiq offers Rick and Michonne anti-inflammatory drugs that could slow the progression of Carl’s disease. Siddiq was a resident doctor before the end of the world and Rick assumes that’s why Carl brought him to Alexandria. While having a doctor in the community isn’t a bad idea, Carl tells his father that he brought Siddiq simply because he needed them. All of this is too much for Michonne and as the bombs outside destroy their home and the boy she loves like a son slowly slips away, she loses it. Michonne grabs Dwight (Austin Amelio) and begs him to make the Saviors stop. He assures her that destroying Alexandria was never the plan and the Saviors will run out of ammo soon. Their best chance is to wait them out and escape when the coast is clear. The group agrees their best shot is to get to Hilltop but Dwight wonders if it’s a bad idea to have all of Negan’s enemies in one place. Daryl (Norman Reedus) shoots Dwight’s worries down and says, “All of us together will be their worst damn nightmare.”

Over at the Kingdom, Gavin gets a taste of what he’s up against when Carol and Morgan join forces to take out the Saviors one by one. They move through the Kingdom like silent assassins, sneaking up on their enemies and executing them like some serial killer tag-team. When Gavin can’t reach his men on the walkie-talkie, he panics and realizes they’re probably dead. Grabbing Ezekiel, he and a few remaining Saviors flee to the Kingdom’s auditorium to hide from whoever is coming for them.

In the Alexandria sewers Michonne gets some quality time with Carl, the boy who has become not only a best friend but a surrogate son. The scene turns into a peek at their future and it is a bright and cheery Alexandria that appears to be thriving. This sunny future crashes head first into the dark present where the Saviors start pulling out of Alexandria, giving the group a chance to flee the sewers for Hilltop. While the rest of the group is willing and able to make the move, Rick thinks Carl won’t make the trip and decides to stay behind with his son. Michonne decides to stay with them both, allowing Daryl to take Judith back to Hilltop. Before everyone leaves, Carl says a heart-shattering goodbye to Judith and passes on his father’s sheriff’s hat to the pint-sized Grimes. Carl was supposed to beat this world, but it didn’t work out and now it’s up to Judith to survive if only to honor their mother and show their father a better way. Speaking of Honor, Siddiq promises to honor Carl’s kindness for taking him in and the two shake hands now that he’s a part of the community. One by one the group leaves the underground hideout and as Daryl gathers Judith he turns to Carl and reminds him that he’s a hero because he saved all their people.

TEAM MORGAN AND CAROL GO BEAST MODE

Morgan and Carol are on a mission to save Ezekiel so it’s no surprise they blow through the auditorium’s door like a couple of contract killers. Quickly, they take down the remaining Saviors in a shootout that leads to an intense and gruesome death scene that finds Morgan ripping the literal guts out of a Savior with his bare hands. Morgan “all life is precious” Jones tears this man apart from the inside out leaving Carol shocked and Gavin scared to death. Gavin hobbles off and Morgan chases after him while we cut back and forth between the Kingdom and Carl still saying goodbye to Michonne and Rick. With the Saviors gone, Rick wonders if Carl can make it to Hilltop after all, but on their way out of the sewer it’s obvious his son won’t make the trip. Michonne and Rick carry Carl to Alexandria’s church where the boy talks about his dreams of a better world. He tells his father he hopes for a bright future for him and the all the communities one like they had in the prison when Rick put his gun down, became a farmer and welcomed people into their home. Rick says things are different now, but Carl has faith they can be that way again. It’s his dying request. It’s then that we realize these dreams of a better future we’ve seen since the start of the season are not Rick’s, but Carl’s and he truly believes that all the communities, Saviors included, can live together in peace.

Peace might be Carl’s dream, but Morgan is on the path to vengeance and left with the choice of what to do with Gavin. The scene cuts back and forth between Morgan struggling with his vengeful rage and Carl reminding his father that “there’s gotta be something after.” Like Morgan, Rick has the power to change his ways and this world for the better. Unlike Rick, Morgan has already changed and changed again. The man goes from pacifist to killer and every extreme in between and he’s realized good or bad, death is inevitable. Carol and Ezekiel show up just as Morgan is deciding Gavin’s fate and the two try talking him out of executing the man, but Morgan is in his kill zone. If he lets Gavin go he knows he will come back and kill again and he can’t let that happen. As he aims the speared end of his staff at Gavin, it’s Henry who shocks them all when he drives the pointed end of his staff through the back of Gavin’s throat! Knowing Henry’s innocence is lost and its partly their fault. Morgan shuts down and Carol reprimands the boy for not listening to her when she ordered him to the farmhouse. Ezekiel tells Carol to stand down and hugs Henry telling him everything will be ok.

REST IN PEACE CARL GRIMES

In what might be the longest goodbye in television history, Carl decides to spare his father and Michonne the trauma of putting him down by taking his own life with a gun. There are tears and kisses and promises to make Carl’s dreams come true and then Rick and Michonne head outside and wait until they hear the final gunshot that ended their boy’s life.

In the morning, with Carl’s body by their side, the couple dig a grave as Rick dreams of the future his son envisioned – a future that includes an older Judith (Kinsley Isla Dillon) offering a sweet hello to Negan as he picks tomatoes with his megawatt smile. Can Rick find a way to welcome the man who is responsible for killing so many he loved? Living side by side in some peaceful utopia with the devil himself? It’s a thought-provoking question but it might be the only way humanity can survive.

Speaking of survival, the episode closes on a shocking look at the future and it’s not all sunshine, happiness and vegetable farming. In what appears to be the aftermath of the war with Negan, Rick is seen bleeding from his side and propped up against a tree. His eyes are fading, his complexion pale and waning as it brings us back to the season’s theme, “My mercy prevails over my wrath.’ Did Rick’s mercy prevail and is this the end of the road for our complicated hero? Could the end of this war with Negan be the resolution of Rick’s entire journey? Time will tell but for now, we have seven more episodes to get through and after losing Carl, nobody in this world is safe.