The Walking Dead – Who Are You Now?

By: Kelly Kearney

It’s been six years since Rick Grimes left on a helicopter with Ann and in his absence things have changed. For one, nobody knows Rick is alive and after all this time his death is still having a ripple effect throughout the communities. Their loss sparked a new beginning, a sort of rebirth for Michonne, Carol and Daryl. It reminds us that in this world nobody lives forever, but there is still good that can come out of tragedy.

the Warrior, The woodsman and The Queen

We open on a time jump; six years have passed since Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) left and his family is still struggling with their loss. Michonne (Danai Gurira) hasn’t moved on from her pain and neither has Daryl (Norman Reedus), who has been living like a nomad out in the woods since his brother in arms blew up that bridge. Someone who does seem to be in a positive place is Carol (Melissa McBride) who has let her hair down (literally grew it out) and taken on the role of Queen, as well as mother to Prince Henry (Matt Lintz) and wife to the King (Khary Payton). While the pain of losing Rick touched them all, it seems the communities have flourished under their new leadership. Alexandria is thriving with Michonne in the lead and so is the Kingdom now that Carol has joined the monarchy. Minus a few leaky pipes and aging structures, things seem to be moving forward and the future definitely looks brighter for our survivors. Mentions of Hilltop lead us to believe that community is also doing well, but whether or not Maggie (Lauren Cohan) is still in the driver’s seat remains to be seen. It appears the hardest hit by Rick’s death was Michonne and Daryl, who just can’t accept life without Rick Grimes in it. Not to say they aren’t trying to turn their losses into something positive, after all, Alexandria has done a complete turnaround since Michonne took over, but there is a distinct sadness in these two that no amount of farming, fighting or fishing can fix. Daryl has found peace in isolation while Michonne finds comfort in heading Alexandria’s security detail and fulfilling her duties as a mother – a role that has multiplied since we last saw her, but we will get to that later. Rick Grimes might be gone, but his idealistic future about a functioning society appears to be in the works with one small snag as the communities have remained separate. However, according to Carol, that might change now that The King is organizing a community fair – something he sees as a project that will bring the groups together, as long as everyone is willing to give it a try.

Sharp Shooter, Ruler Breaker, Judith Grimes

After last week’s introduction to a very mature 10-year-old Judith (Cailey Fleming), we catch up with the young Grimes to find out she saved a group of people from a herd of zombies. When Aaron (Ross Marquand), Rosita (Christian Serratos), Laura (Lindsley Register) and a rat tail sporting Eugene (Josh McDermitt) find her in the woods they are shocked to see she is with a group of strangers. Judith knows the rules set up by her mother; no new people in the communities – not after what happened with the Saviors and Ann (Pollyanna McIntosh). Luckily, newbies Magna (Nadia Hilker), Kelly (Angel Theory), Luke (Dan Fogler), Connie (Lauren Ridloff) and Yumiko (Eleanor Matsuura) seem trustworthy and after handing over their weapons Aaron decides to take them home for some supplies and medical care. We don’t know much about this new group, other than Magna is their leader and much like Rick’s group in the early days they’ve lost many members and do not trust the kindness of strangers, even if they are promising them a safe place. After blindfolding the strangers, Aaron and the others walk the group back to Alexandria and the newbies are amazed at what they see – homes with electricity thanks to a working windmill, plenty of happy children and an actual doctor and make shift hospital. It reminds Magna of life before the world fell apart and, in her experience, nothing this good happens without making some questionable choices. Her theory is cemented when she meets Michonne who is not happy that her daughter brought strangers inside their walls. With some vouching from Aaron and Judith, Michonne allows them to stay long enough to plead their case in front of the council. She watches Magna with suspicion and a harshness that we have not seen in the warrior since we first met her in Atlanta.

In front of the Council, things get dicey when the group is asked about their past and what they did before the end of the world. Luke says they did not know each other before but came together under random circumstances. He was a music teacher, Connie, who is hearing impaired, was a journalist and her friend Kelly, her translator and part time hero. Each of them has a story that seems to check out, all except Magna, who claimed to have worked as a truck stop waitress but Michonne has her doubts. The warrior spots a prison tattoo on Magna’s arm, proof she lied about her identity. When the woman offers an explanation, Michonne isn’t interested and orders her to remove the knife she has hidden in her belt. Nothing gets by Michonne as she has too much to lose and a new group is always a risk. The knife does not jive with the council so they side with Michonne and Magna’s group must leave the following morning.

Growing Pains

While Michonne is having issues with a precocious rule breaking 10-year-old, Carol and Ezekiel are getting their first taste of parenting a teenager. Henry is packing to leave for Hilltop where he will apprentice in welding (the bursting pipes need it), but the kid is seriously testing his parent’s patience. It’s something every parent goes through and Carol reminds Ezekiel of that after he reprimands Henry for mouthing off. Carol kisses her worried King goodbye as she loads up the horse and carriage to take Henry to Hilltop.

While on the road Carol gets ambushed by a group of Marauder Saviors led by Regina (Traci Dinwiddle) and Jed (Rhys Coiro). The group robs them, knocks Henry to the ground and demands Carol hand over her wedding ring. Fearing the thieves would hurt her son, Carol begrudgingly hands over her ring to Jed. Later, Henry is disappointed in Carol for allowing Jed to get away with stealing their things. He reminds her that she once told him, “There is right and there is wrong. We fight for what is right,” but Carol didn’t fight at all and Henry doesn’t understand why. Maybe the comfort of a family and life at the Kingdom has softened Carol, but she claims Henry was the reason she let Jed go. Just like Michonne, Carol has too much to lose now that she has a family.

What Henry said must’ve sunk in because that night Carol sneaks away from her make shift camp and finds the Marauder Saviors sleeping in a barn. She douses the group in an accelerant and swipes a match from Jed’s sleeping mouth. As the Savior wakes up, he promises to never come after her again, but Carol never gives him the chance to prove it. The Queen of Chaos strikes the match, drops it on Jed and casually walks away as the entire group is engulfed in flames.

The next morning Carol doesn’t mention her late night murder spree to Henry, but after spotting her wedding ring he knows his mother took care of business. Back on the road, the two make a quick detour from the path to Hilltop to check on Daryl, who is roughing it in the woods. No matter how closed off the archer is, he always has time for Carol as she asks, “Hey stranger, need a ride?”

whispering walkers, math tutors and new romances

For Judith, the apocalypse is all she knows but that doesn’t mean she’s traded in her education for a sword. The young girl might be good with a gun and a samurai sword, but she still needs to learn Math even if her tutor doesn’t disagree. Outside the jail cell, Judith reads off her homework as Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) does his best tutor impression from behind the bars. Clean shaven and with an upbeat attitude, the prisoner wonders why the curious child comes to him for her studies. Judith shrugs off his question and explains that Math doesn’t care whether or not Negan is good or bad as it’s just Math. It seems Negan has a soft spot for “Lil’ AssKicker” and while Judith knows better than to trust the man the two have an interesting and honest rapport.

Elsewhere, Eugene and Rosita run into trouble when the mullet man offers to help boost the radio signal in hopes Father Gabe (Seth Gilliam) can reach other survivors outside their perimeter. Rosita ropes Eugene into this plan because she’s fallen in love with Gabe! First Ann and now Rosita?! Who knew the holy man had such swag? Eugene agrees to help and climbs a water tower to attach a signal booster and while he’s up there he spots a herd of walkers approaching. Distracted, he loses his grip on the antenna and the booster falls to the ground. Eugene panics and signals to Rosita that danger is coming, but as he climbs down the tower we see the ladder he used fall over. Eugene makes the last-minute decision to jump and he winds up injuring his knee. Rosita hands him a shovel to use as a crutch and the two take off running from the herd. Covered in mud and hiding on the side of a marsh, the two friends hear the walker herd whispering, “Where did they go? You let them get away.” Walkers can talk?! Since when?

Back at Alexandria, Magna is worried about her group and where they go from here. She doesn’t trust Michonne, but she also doesn’t want to lose more of her friends beyond the safety of the community’s walls. Armed with another hidden knife, Magna sneaks out of their sleeping quarters to spy on Michonne and what she sees changes her mind about the woman. Through the window she spies the warrior scoop up a 6-year-old boy and hold him like he is the most precious thing in the world. R.J. (Antony Azor) is the boy’s name and it’s obvious that stands for Rick Jr. Rick and Michonne have a child! This maternal scene forces Magna to knock on the door and come clean with Michonne. She hands her the knife with an apology and the warrior mom is not only shocked but grateful for her honesty. The following morning Michonne ignores her instincts and offers the group a place at Hilltop and, again, there is no mention of Maggie. Magna accepts her offer. With Michonne leading the brigade, Magna’s group hits the road towards their new home.

Will we find out what happened to Maggie at Hilltop? Will Rick’s family ever learn that he’s still alive? Will Carol come clean and tell Ezekiel about her Savior flambé or will she continue to play the peaceful and dutiful Queen? Find out next week on an all new “The Walking Dead.”