Rick and his group have come a very long way since they abandoned their temporary digs at the prison; everything since then has been dark – very dark. Loss, mistrust, and tension have plagued the group every step of the way and we have watched as these characters that have been developed so well, that we have become so attached to, have slipped further down into that black hole of rage. With everything he has been put through, Rick is understandably extremely cynical and very selective in who he chooses to trust, more so than the others who have been arguably screwed over even more by other people.
There’s an irony in this though, in not trusting strange newcomer Aaron, Rick ends up putting himself, Glenn, and Michonne in harms way. Though it does give a necessary excitement to an episode fraught with ‘do we trust him or not’ dilemma.
Following from the end of last week’s episode, Maggie and Sasha bring Aaron to the barn to confront a Rick who is even more skeptical of new faces than ever before. He even goes as far as to rile up half of the group’s most competent survivors – Glenn, Daryl, Abraham – in instantly preparing for an assault. Aaron quite calmly, and smartly acknowledges Rick’s doubts and tries to calm him down; after all, he is the recruiter for what is revealed to be the Alexandria Safe Zone (a significant location in the comics), so he has to be somewhat skilled in getting people to drop their guards.
Without warning Rick delivers a massive punch straight to Aaron’s jaw, knocking him unconscious for a time until they can properly assess the imagined situation. In “The Distance”, Rick is his own worst enemy and it’s this struggle with paranoia which Andrew Lincoln handles brilliantly, placing “The Distance” as one of the best episodes so far this season; and it didn’t need action to do it.
“The Distance” focused on Rick, Michonne, and Glenn – three fan favourites – as they debated amongst themselves. It’s interesting to see how Rick is essentially Michonne when we first met her, and Michonne has become a lighter, more level-headed survivor. Glenn has also been peeled from the background and taken a more central role, bringing him back to that character we loved in the earlier seasons. Which probably means he’s going to be killed off soon.
As it turns out, and as we kind of expected, Aaron is a genuine and decent guy with a legitimate claim to a safe location. Confronting the group with something ideal presented a very interesting dynamic, leading to all that tension coming out in bursts until the very moment the camera zoomed up on Rick’s eyes and you saw them gradually soften as soon as he heard the sound of children playing at the end. It was a brilliant, effective shot by episode director Seth Hoffman and injected something positive into this very dark journey.
I also loved the scene immediately prior to the ending where Abraham is driving the R.V and everyone is inside. The day is bright, there’s no walkers on the road; it literally looks like a happy family trip. There’s even that moment where Rosita and Abraham spot Washington Monument in the distance and smile.
The Alexandria Safe Zone is pretty close to a very iconic arc from the comics, so the next two episodes that bring Season 5 to a close should be very interesting.
Review Score: FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Hightlights:
– Aaron (and his boyfriend Eric) very likeable characters
– Michonne challenging Rick’s decision
– Glenn playing a more significant role than previous episodes
– Abraham and Rosita double teaming walkers
– WALKER ROADKILL
Lowlights:
– Rick’s cynicism, though reasonable, got a little tiring
Episode MVP: Michonne
Walker Kill of the Week: Abraham + Rosita double-team
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