The Walking Dead – The Next World

By starrymag | February 22, 2016

By: Jennifer Vintzileos

 

After last week’s action-packed episode, it was refreshing to delve deeper into character development post-battle of Alexandria. (Not every episode can be that crazy action-packed, right?) Luckily, we were still given a storyline that provided a little less gore (for now) and a little more entertainment with the introduction of another comic book character! While there was a lot of jumping around to several different stories happening all at once, let’s get to it!

 

“Spearmint or baking soda”

 

As the episode begins, Carl is alive and well during his recovery from losing his eye while Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Daryl (Norman Reedus) prepare for what’s considered a regular day at the office: going on a supply run to keep Alexandria going. Rick gathers his list from Michonne (Danai Gurira), who requests toothpaste, while Daryl is stopped by Denise (Merritt Weaver) with a special request for “pop.” (Soda for all of us non-Midwestern folk.)

 

The dynamic of Rick and Daryl has changed since the beginning of Season 6. Daryl is now becoming the more apprehensive one of newcomers while Rick exhibits a more hopeful outlook on expansion and growth in the community. But here both Rick and Daryl are determined to bring back the requested supplies and make Alexandria work. And so, their great adventure begins…But not without Rick torturing Daryl a little with his taste in music.

 

“You’ve still got family. You’ve still got a home.”

 

Spencer (Austin Nichols), after having lost his mother Deanna (Tovah Feldshuh), sought the need for closure by going out into the woods and finding his now-walker mother to end her life and bury her. With all the madness, poor Spencer feels a little lost after losing his entire family and does not feel like he has a home anymore.

 

Michonne notices Spencer go out into the woods and follows him, offering her help in his mission. And while she does her best, it is actually Carl (Chandler Riggs) who discovers walker Deanna first and leads her to Spencer and Michonne after seeing them in the woods when he had snuck out himself. (We’ll get to Carl in a bit.)

 

Carl led Deanna to Spencer (Michonne held Deanna down for Spencer) and Spencer accomplished exactly what he needed to do: give his mother the proper end. During this moment, Michonne connects with Spencer, assuring him that he still has family and a home in Alexandria.

 

(Also, if you were like me, you got a little choked up at the “D” carved into the tree where Spencer buried his mom…what an emotional moment. I may have cleaned out a box of Kleenex.)

 

“This is the next world.”

 

For all the comic book fans, we get yet another character introduction: Jesus (Tom Payne). (Okay, so we haven’t met Negan yet, but he’s coming.) The audience is introduced to Jesus when he bumps into Rick and Daryl, who have lucked out by finding a truck loaded with supplies and continue the supply run by grabbing a vending machine filled with soda and junk food. Unfortunately, Jesus is a crafty fellow and manages to steal the supplies from Rick and Daryl (BIG mistake), leading our dynamic duo hot on this newcomer’s heels.

 

Once they catch up to him, Jesus puts up a fight and loses. Rick ties him up and leaves him on the side of the road. Daryl flicks him off in typical Dixon fashion and the “good old boys” drive off with the supplies once again.

 

But it’s not over yet, as Jesus is heard on the top of the truck (that man is a damn ninja), causing Rick to start going Dukes of Hazzard style with the truck. Daryl, obviously still pissed off about everything he has lost prior to this moment (crossbow, motorcycle, soda), jumps out and is ready to stomp Jesus. Nearby walkers complicate the fight as Rick jumps out to fight them off as Daryl and Jesus are in a showdown. Jesus gets a hold of Daryl’s gun and saves him mid-fight from a walker, but not without Daryl punching him in the face and knocking him out while the truck manages to get out of park and start rolling towards disaster. (Daryl also exhibits some possessive behavior over his weapons…I wonder why?)

 

Ultimately, the truck is lost as it rolls into a nearby lake and “Rickyl” takes Jesus back to Alexandria. Rick is still convinced that there is hope to bring in new people and expand; Daryl remains skeptical of the intentions of outsiders, but Rick is steadfast in reminding his partner that he didn’t kill Jesus when he had the chance. Obviously, Rick believes that no matter what happened to Daryl, he still has faith left because he finally got the message of his group and now he’s listening.

 

“We’re not kids.”

 

Enid (Katelyn Nacon) and Carl are out in the woods yet again, as being outside of the walls is Enid’s normal behavior. Carl is currently healing from the loss of his eye in the prior episode and apparently is still hoping to hold onto some form of his childhood. It’s obvious that the initial relationship between Enid and Carl has changed in a big way.

 

While in the woods, where Carl spends his time reading comics (Funnily enough, the name of the comic he was reading was called “Invincible,” which is what he seems to be after getting shot twice in the series.) both of them see Spencer and Michonne. This unnerves Enid a little and intrigues Carl.

 

After her initial talk with Maggie (Lauren Cohan) in the beginning of this episode, Enid has finally come to the conclusion that she wants to stop going outside of the walls and would prefer to be inside the walls of their home. Carl, on the other hand, continues to try figuring out why Spencer and Michonne are out there where he is. It is here that Carl discovers walker Deanna and in a sign of respect for Spencer, lures Deanna to him.

 

Carl, after having to kill his mother post-birth of Judith, has an understanding of Spencer’s mission and helps him. Why? Because it’s only right that the person who gets to kill Deanna is someone who loved her.

 

Later, Michonne confronts Carl about being in the woods and his choice to let Spencer kill Deanna. In that moment, Carl shares with Michonne how he would kill Michonne if she became a walker, because he cares about her. Michonne, being touched by that statement, hugs Carl and assures him she would do the same. (Cleaned myself out of tissues watching those two hug.)

 

“It’s good to be home.”

 

After a long day for both Rick and Michonne, we find our characters on the couch, exhausted. Rick presents Michonne with a pack of mints to make up for the toothpaste he lost. Michonne is still touched by the gesture and they go to reach for each other’s hand…and the mood changes.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen, we finally get a long-awaited moment: the beginning of Richonne!

 

Later, sleeping together after their initial moment of passion, both Rick and Michonne are woken up by none other than Jesus. Of course, Richonne is ready with their weapons in hand…and the clothing, not so much.

 

The Final Verdict:

 

Last week gave me heart palpitations and so did this one in all the good ways!

 

Lincoln and Reedus have such a natural chemistry together that their friendship shined through this episode. Rickyl has to be one of my favorite bromances to watch. Both are heroes in their own right, but different in the path they took to get there. Yet they work as a team. Although I will say that while Lincoln and Reedus compared themselves to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and the crew referred to them as Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, I’m more inclined to call them “The Dukes of Hazzard.” Yes, those good old boys played it well with some crazy automotive maneuvers (even though that truck is no General Lee) and had a little good, old-fashioned fun in that madness.

 

Carl is also noteworthy in this episode. My husband and I love watching him grow up and become stronger as each season goes. In season one, he was just a young boy at the beginning of the zombie apocalypse and now…just look at him. Carl is becoming a man. He had to mature much quicker than those Alexandrian children did. His maturity and respect for others continues to astound me. With Spencer, it was touching to give him that choice to take care of his own mother the same way Carl took care of his in season three. And especially after losing his eye, Carl maintains his sense of self…for now.

 

And finally, Richonne. These two characters have had something brewing beneath the surface for a long time. We can forgive Rick for his “Jessie” period because Richonne was not quite there yet. But after fighting for Alexandria and allowing the dust to settle, these two can finally settle as well and deal with their feelings. Again…it’s about time!

Join me next week as we learn more about Jesus and just what he means by:

 

The world’s about to get a whole lot bigger.