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'The Walking Dead' Recap: It's a Mother and Child Reunion

By Brian Richards | The Walking Dead | March 4, 2019 |

By Brian Richards | The Walking Dead | March 4, 2019 |


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Previously on The Walking Dead: Alpha and the Whisperers made their presence felt at the Hilltop, as they demanded the release of Lydia in exchange for Alden and Luke. Despite all attempts to keep her from leaving, Lydia returned to Alpha, and Alden and Luke were let go and sent back to the Hilltop. Henry wasn’t at all happy about sending Lydia back to Alpha to continue being abused, and left to go after her. And upon realizing this, Daryl and Connie did the same and went after Henry.

THE STORY SO FAR: Henry is discovered by the Whisperers while tracking them and is taken hostage by Alpha and her right-hand man/enforcer, Beta. Lydia pretends as if Henry means nothing to her, and while this is happening, Alpha finds her authority as leader of the Whisperers being challenged by some of her own people. Daryl and Connie (and Daryl’s dog, Dog) continue tracking Henry and before Lydia can go forward with forcibly killing Henry to prove that her loyalty still lies with Alpha and the Whisperers, a herd of Walkers invade their camp and began feasting on everyone in sight, causing lots of confusion and mayhem. Which allows Daryl and Connie to sneak in while wearing Whisperer masks, grab Henry and Lydia, and bounce.

Meanwhile, Michonne continues struggling with the existence of the Whisperers as well as Father Gabriel and Siddiq trying to convince her to make peace with the Hilltop and to do so in time for the upcoming fair. And speaking of Siddiq and Gabriel, the two of them and Rosita are figuring out how to deal with Rosita’s pregnancy (Siddiq is the father) and instead of the three of them becoming a throuple and giving Siren a run for its money, it takes Eugene’s intervention and advice for everyone (particularly Gabriel) to figure things out.

WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT THIS EPISODE?: The reveal of the camp where the Whisperers are located and how massive it is. The introduction of Ryan Hurst (always and forever known and remembered for his role as Opie on Sons Of Anarchy) as Beta and his fearful and imposing presence being felt, despite how little he says and does. Alpha’s interactions with Lydia reminding us all that she will never win a Mother Of The Year award. Connie pointing out to Daryl that he needs to look at her when he’s talking so that they can better communicate when kicking ass and taking names together. Alpha making it very clear why she is the one calling the shots for the Whisperers and why she is not to be fucked with when it comes to people challenging her or her authority. And Eugene having some sense knocked into him by realizing that (much like Charles obsessing over Rosa in the early seasons of Brooklyn Nine Nine)nothing good was ever going to come from that, and nothing would ever happen the way he truly wanted, and so he stood back and respected the fact that Rosita loved and wanted to be with someone else.

WHAT’S NOT SO GOOD ABOUT THIS EPISODE?: Henry reminding me a little too much of Carl in Season 2 with how annoying and useless he could be at times.

IS NEGAN IN THIS EPISODE?: Yes, he is. He’s confronted by Michonne about why he even bothered returning to Alexandria, and his suggestions to be let out of his cell so he can take on a leadership role and help keep the community thriving are unsurprisingly shot down.

MICHONNE?: Yes, she is. Not only is she doing what she can to keep Alexandria afloat, she also has to deal with Judith and her friendship with Negan.

CARL?: Nope. Still dead.

JUDITH?: Yes, and she does a mighty good job of testing Michonne’s patience in pointing out that both Negan and Michonne have changed over the years and that they’re not the same people that they were before. The fact that she twice felt the need to ask “Why?!” in response to Michonne telling her what to do and Michonne didn’t respond with the favorite quote of Black Parents Everywhere, “Because I SAID SO!,” was quite shocking.

CAROL?: No.

RICK?: No. Whereabouts still unknown.

JADIS/ANNE?: Same as above.

MAGGIE?: No. Still teaming up with FBI agent Noel Crane to keep America safe.

IS DARYL STILL ALIVE? BECAUSE IF NOT, THEN WE’LL PROBABLY RIOT IF WE HAVE NOTHING ELSE TO DO: Still alive and is able to track down Henry and Lydia And retrieve them both, thanks to Connie and Dog.

ARE THE WHISPERERS IN THIS EPISODE?: They most certainly are, and their camp is revealed to be even larger than we thought, and any ideas that the members have of challenging Alpha and taking over her throne are immediately shut down at the sight of how proficient Alpha is with garroting wire.

ANY SIGN OF THE BLACK HELICOPTER THAT TOOK RICK AND JADIS/ANNE AWAY?: None.

TO SUM IT ALL UP: Samantha Morton continues to remind us of how amazing and compelling she is as Alpha, and kudos to the show’s writers for giving her so much good material to work with. And now that her camp has been attacked and both Henry and Lydia are gone, it’s only a matter of time before we not only get to see how much more ruthless Alpha can be, but how ruthless Beta can be and why he is her fiercely devoted enforcer in the first place.

In the words of one Al Swearengen, tell your gods to ready for blood.

This episode of The Walking Dead has been brought to you by “Firestarter” by Prodigy:

And by the opening theme music to Beverly Hills, 90210 (Original Flavor):

And to Keith Flint and to Luke Perry…thank you so much for the memories you provided to your fans, thank you for doing so much to keep so many people entertained. Thank you. Just thank you.

And may you both rest in peace.



Header Image Source: AMC