The Walking Dead – The Tower

By: Kelly Kearney

Who knew cats would play such a pivotal role in the apocalypse? It seems that when human life hangs in the balance, cats waltz in and knock us right off our game. They either occupy our pandemic meme folders or lead us to our possible demise. That’s what happened this week in the season’s sort of finale The Tower. It’s a CAT-astrophic mistake that could wipe out the surviving Alexandrians.

Princess…

Last week we met newcomer Princess (Paola Lazaro), A/K/A Juanita Sanchez. She is a young Tank Girl inspired bright and lively survivor that is neither old nor pretentious as she explains to Ezekiel (Khary Payton) as to why she never goes by Queen. This feather boa wearing woman has spent a year isolated from mankind and because of it she might be struggling mentally. When she spotted Eugene (Josh McDermitt), Ezekiel and Yumiko (Eleanor Matsuura) she admits she wasn’t entirely sure if they were real. When they tell her about their very important mission, Princess is overwhelmed with excitement and winds up shooting some zombies to show off her survivor skills. Unfortunately, the gun shots spook the horses and they take off leaving our crew without “wheels.” To make up for her mistake Princess swears she has transportation, but can she be trusted? Is this even worth investigating? Eugene and Zeke think so because what do they have to lose? They all agree to let her show them to the transportation but only if she hands over the gun. Princess is wary but agrees and hands it to Eugene because according to her she knows where to find more anyway. Leading the way to her garage full of wheels, Yumiko wonders if this woman is crazy. It’s a decent bet considering how long she’s been on her own. That level of isolation can mess with anyone’s mind.

Beta…

Beta (Ryan Hurst) and his new herd, The Guardians, make their way to ASZ, which at first glance appears to be empty. Where is everyone? They’re hiding out in cat infested tower hospital that was once the scene of the big Beta/Daryl brawl. Inside everyone is preparing for the inevitable fight with the Whisperers when Carol (Melissa McBride) steps away from Dog cuddles to offer Luke (Dan Fogler) her assistance. Outside Daryl (Norman Reedus) is checking the surrounding woods, tracking Whisperers and trying to contact Michonne (Danai Gurira) on the walkie. He wants to let her know that ASZ is not safe and they’re all on the run, just like the old days. Michonne never answers, but Daryl keeps on talking hoping sooner or later he will get through to her.

Over at ASZ not safe is an understatement. Beta and the Guardians know the enemy can’t be far and boy are they right. Alden (Callan McAuliffe) and Aaron (Ross Marquand) stayed behind and now they’re spying on the herd from high above the windmill tower. For a split second it’s unclear if Beta knows that they’re there, but since everyone appears to have fled he tells people to prepare for Oceanside.

At the hospital Judith (Cailey Fleming) apologizes to Lydia (Cassady McClincy) about her mom, but Alpha (Samantha Morton) won’t be missed, even by her daughter. “Not everyone gets to have a mom like yours,” she says. Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) overhears the exchange and it takes his breath away. His actions hurt the kid he tried to protect. Children are his weakness and seeing Lydia’s pain gives him a taste of his own. The cats, especially their pee, and the hiding gets to Judith and she wanders into the woods to kill walkers and find Uncle Daryl. Instead of making her go back to where it’s safe, he agrees to teach her about tracking, a skill he excels in. The two tag team some walkers and watch the perimeter for anything suspicious.

Like Daryl and Judith, Princess and the crew are searching for “wheels” out of town. Unfortunately, their ride came in the form of a horse who was just blown to pieces by a landmine Princess forgot to tell them about. The entire area they’re standing in is full of hidden explosives and no matter how sure Princess is of their location Eugene and the others are furious, especially after a walker sets off a chain reaction of unexpected BOOMS!

Lone Wolf…

With nothing to do but dodge angry glares from Magna (Nadia Hilker), Carol  (Melissa McBride) decides to team up with to help Luke. He needs some wires for a plan he’s cooking up and that means a supply run outside the hospital. The two women haven’t spoken since the cave in and when Kelly (Angel Theory) sees Carol struggling (her arm was dislocated last week) to rip out a car radio, she offers to help. A teary-eyed Carol apologizes for her role in Connie’s (Lauren Ridloff) possible death, but Kelly won’t hear of it. She’s not ready to say goodbye to her sister. The woman who taught her to think of her increasing deafness as a superpower can’t be dead. In fact, her influence is still felt everywhere, especially when it comes to Kelly’s superpower sparking an interest in all of them learning ASL. Communication is the building blocks of their new world and embracing their differences is how they do that. It’s why Kelly doesn’t blame Carol for Connie’s disappearance. Everyone knows the old Carol stories. She’s the lone wolf and a woman who they can depend on to be the only one who can do what she does. Because of her many lives have been saved. Kelly absolves Carol of her guilt and tells her it’s okay to be the lone wolf. Mistakes happen but that doesn’t mean she has to change who she is. Many are grateful for her wildcard antics and many more of their enemies are not. Kelly lets Carol know that she should never apologize for who she is and the two of them shed some tears for all they’ve been through.

Carol isn’t the only lone wolf in this hellscape they call “The New World.” Lydia and Negan are also outsiders in the group but have one thing in common: Alpha. Negan tries to offer Lydia some kindness in the way of roast possum and a chance to tell him off. He even has a kind word for Alpha, a woman he liked enough to play skin tag in the latrine with. Lydia could care less and as she storms off; she wishes he died right along with dear old mom.

You Can Come Along…

After the landmine fiasco, Yumiko is ready to murder Princess and the guys are not far behind her, especially when Eugene realizes she’s been walking them around in circles all day. They passed the same street sign three times and he knows this because he is incredibly observant. At first Princess plays dumb, but Eugene doesn’t buy it and they all lay into her. This mission they’re on is more than a romantic hook up with Stephanie. Eugene’s sweetheart could be the key to their communities’ survival and they do not have time for this woman’s games. The weight of their situation hits Princess and she comes clean. She’s been alone for a year and before the world fell she was known as “hard to love.” She never had many friends to begin with and she never wanted them to think the same. She’s lonely and hoped to impress them with her charm and dystopian amusement park city enough that they would want to stay. Really, all Juanita wants are friends. Eugene’s been there and he gets it. He’s screwed up and found himself alone in the past too. Later, when she produces the wheels (which are actually bikes), Yumiko comes around. Princess kept her word, so she decides to ask the sassy woman to join them. The purple haired loner’s face lights up like a Christmas tree. She’s all smiles and hugs, which give off sparks between her and newly single friend Yumiko.

It’s a Dead Man’s Party…

While tracking for signs of the herd, Daryl shoots a Whisperer in the shoulder and then tries to get her to talk. The woman, a scout, begs him not to kill her. “I want to walk,” she says, but after she reveals Beta’s plans to take over Oceanside Daryl hits her with an arrow to the brain. The young and naïve Judith is shocked by his brutality and wonders if the woman had a family. Daryl has no time to explain the art of war as he grabs her and takes off towards the tower hospital. It’s possible Beta knows where they’re hiding and thanks to a frisky feline he does! From a safe distance, or so they think, Aaron and Alden watch Beta’s herd march towards Oceanside and then something happens. Beta spots a cat crossing the road and heading towards the tower. He might be a bit crazy from losing his girlfriend, but he still has some decent tracking skills. He spots a few broken branches and more signs of cat and human life nearby. At his direction the herd quickly turns and, in doing so, traps Alden and Aaron! On top of that horror their walkies are dead, but the Whisperers’ guns seem fine. They hold the two men hostage with Alpha’s shot gun.

Back at the tower nobody knows Beta’s heading their way. In fact, they’re all distracted by their own personal dramas, especially Negan who’s still trying to convince Lydia she needs to unleash her mommy rage. “She was still your mom. You only get one,” he says and then practically begs her to hit him. This is a new side to Negan – a gentler and more empathetic version, but by no means selfless. Allowing Lydia to take out her anger also absolves him of some of the guilt of killing her mother and Lydia calls him out on it. He’s still selfish and not totally reformed but definitely headed down the right path.

Don’t Leave…

Eventually, after Negan softly persuaded her, Lydia unravels. She attacks him, punching out all of the hate, love and disappointment that came from being the daughter of an abusive psychopath like Alpha. Negan takes all the abuse and then wraps her in what can only be described as a fatherly hug. Lydia returns it and sobs in his arms as he rocks her and kisses her head with tears in his eyes.

Negan isn’t the only one playing the paternal role these days. Judith decides to tell her uncle the truth about Michonne. She leaves the “brave man” part of this story out, but says the last time she spoke to her mom that she was headed north to help some friends. She didn’t tell Daryl because she was afraid that he would leave to go get Michonne. The two have a heart to heart. “I don’t know what’s gonna happen. There aint no one who can tell you they do. But there’s one thing I know, there’s a whole bunch of people back there that would do anything for you.” Daryl has no plans of leaving her, but this world is unpredictable and he can’t lie to her about that. Things happen, but she has a lot of family who will one day rely on her like she does them. Mirroring the earlier conversation between Kelly and Carol, Daryl tells her to not let the bad things that happen stop her from being her loving little kick ass self. Being true to herself and not letting the horrors of this world ruin her joy is the best advice he could give her. Their talk gets cut short when Gabe (Seth Gilliam) walkies in with a staticky SOS. The tower is surrounded! Daryl takes off running with his pint-sized sidekick, but he has no idea what’s waiting for him. As we cut to the tower, we find a sea of walkers and Whisperers led by their front man, Beta, littering the hospital courtyard down below. The hidden Alexandrians are trapped, Judith and Daryl are about to run into a herd and Eugene and his crew can’t possibly peddle their legs any faster to find help. It looks like the season finale (whenever it airs) is going to be a fight that could leave massive casualties in its wake. When it will air and who will survive is anyone’s guess, but death, destruction and new beginnings are definitely in the cards for Season 10’s final hour.