I don’t know…maybe it’s because we are battling our own apocalypse in real time, what with Covid and the rise of Nazi sympathizers within our own country…but I am waiting for one bright spot in the final season of The Walking Dead. In this episode, we get a closer look of the Reapers.
Hunted
In this episode, while we know that Team Ezekiel is safe from harm at the moment, Team Maggie is not doing well at all. After escaping the subway tunnels, they are ambushed by the Reapers. This new enemy is very organized, methodical in their attacks, and almost Ninja like in their sudden appearances and disappearances. This episode was directed by Frederick Toye of Snowpiercer, The Boys, Watchmen, and Westworld fame.
With the latest Reaper attack we lose a few of Maggie’s team (Cole, Duncan, and Agatha). Many are injured, the rest scattered to the four winds. Maggie is adamant about finding food for the colony and even though Alden is badly wounded, she insists that they continue on their quest. Negan disagrees, but with a big sigh, he allows Maggie to lead the way.
Gabriel
One of the most important character developments in TWD is that of Seth Gilliam’s Gabriel Stokes. We have watched this man of God go from cowardly to brave, to almost fanatical in protecting his friends. Gabriel is not only in charge of dividing the meager supplies to the starving people of Alexandria and Hilltop, but he must also muster up the townsfolks’ faith in a benevolent Creator, while at the same time losing his. After being injured during the ambush, Gabriel escapes and on his journey to find his team, happens upon a wounded Reaper who taunts him into praying for his sorry ass. But…Gabriel is fresh out of mercy and tells the Reaper, “God isn’t here anymore” before killing the man.
I don’t think that Gabriel has completely given up on God, but he sure as hell is questioning God’s whereabouts. Haven’t we all these last two years of Covid? I hope that Gabriel survives the series finale because he is the gauge, the weathervane for the mental health of Alexandria. He is the glue that holds the town together in the absence of Rick and Michonne.
Carol
Carol played deliciously by Melissa McBride is another study in a character’s growth. Carol is sometimes more dangerous than the many enemies Team Rick has ever had to fight. She too went from meek and weak to Wonder Woman status within the eleven years that TWD has been on air. Carol, recently, has been played as a troublemaker by the writers and directors. I don’t know why they decided to play her as psychotic when that isn’t who she is. Big mistake. In this episode Carol in adamant about finding horses. They will need the horses to travel long distances to find supplies, but secretly she is hoping to also find Connie. Magna (Nadia Hilker) is afraid that Carol is giving Kelley (Angel Theory) false hope, but they and Rosita (Christian Serratos) go with Carol to find horses.
Conclusion
While Maggie (Lauren Cohan), Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), and the injured Alden find shelter in a church, after barely escaping the warehouse full of Reapers…we get to check in on the children of Alexandria. As the wee ones play a game of Slap Jack, Judith (Cailey Fleming), Hershel (Kien Michael Spiller), RJ (Anthony Azor) and Gracie (Anabelle Holloway) talk about parents and life in general. These are pretty smart kids. They have to be in a world where you can instantly become a walker snack. It is Hershel, who has been on some very dangerous adventures with his mother, that teaches the children how to eat horse meat.
Horse meat? Yes, it seems that Team Carol, after finding a few half-eaten horses, finally locate some live horses. After bringing the horses back to Alexandria, Carol is tasked with the job of slaughtering one of the horses to feed the people of Alexandria. This is not something she wanted to do, but it is always our Carol who is assigned the dirty work that no one else wants to do.
Negan and Maggie are forced to leave Alden in the church, with the promise that they will take care of his child. I don’t know what happened to Daryl and we don’t know if Gabriel will catch up to Maggie, but I will tell you this…the Reapers are as dangerous as the Whisperers, but what they haven’t counted on is the teaming up of Maggie and Negan. The Reapers may have opened a Pandora’s box of big trouble. Let’s hope that Maggie and Negan don’t wind up killing each other before they destroy the Reapers.
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