That ominous feeling is there all throughout “Not Tomorrow Yet” for a reason, as a cliffhanger ending ramps up the tension for next week and prepares for potential heartbreak as The Walking Dead continue a strong season 6.
It’s been a big past couple of episodes on The Walking Dead, first with that giant, world-expanding leap that was taken last week: the introduction of the Hilltop colony by the way of Jesus (already one of the most likeable new characters this show has had in awhile), and now with the first of what will likely be many hostile interactions with the Saviours (Negan’s camp). The showrunners have built up the Alexandria storyline into something expansive and full of potential; it hasn’t always made for exciting TV, but the cast have done a great job at establishing Rick and co’s new home, with the final flush getting rid of Jessie, her two sons, and the giant herd in the shocking “No Way Out”. Now with these other two camps – one seemingly friendly and the other obviously not – of survivors, the writers have room to play around with a war-ready team and put some strategy into play, as supplies continue to be a constant – and rare – commodity in this zompocalypse.
Our Alexandrians – specifically Maggie – struck a deal with Hilltop last week: they will essentially kill for food, drawing on their collective strength to attack the Saviours and eradicate them in return for some much-needed crops. It was a move of desperation that came from the group’s arrogance, them confidently thinking they would stroll up to Negan and his men and take them all out no problem because, as Rick said, they have never had a problem with confrontation.
This presents with an interesting issue; Rick and co. are the aggressors, and from their perspective Negan and his men haven’t really done much except threaten Daryl/Abe/Sasha (before being blown to pieces by Daryl) and supposedly kill a 16 year old boy from Hilltop. Still, they are willing to invade the Saviour base and murder people in their sleep just so they can feed themselves quicker (note that Hilltop offered them an alternative way to trade crops, with labour – although it would have taken much longer for them to see results).
This is where Morgan’s philosophy comes back into play (finally) and presents an interesting, clashing expression for the entire show, juxtaposing against Rick to further demonstrate that our lead character has become just as villainous as anyone they’ve had to fight: a man willing to lead his people into unprovoked murder. Sure, fans who may not want to think about the show to deeply may see Morgan as a pest that needs to go (and they do, check Twitter/Facebook) but for the viewers who try and actually appreciate what the showrunners are trying to do, and just how many extra layers it adds to the story, Morgan’s presence is completely necessary, as a counterbalance to Rick and also an influence on Carol, who has been one of the show’s most complex characters. In fact, the episode opens and pretty much closes with her, finally giving Carol at least a bit more screen time than she has had in weeks (still a weakness for the show, and a pitfall of having such a large cast without 20+ episodes per season like LOST or Person of Interest).
As the show has gone in the past, if we get a light opening then it’s a safe bet that the episode will end on a heavy note and this rings true here. An upbeat indie number by Parsonsfield bops in the background while we get a montage of Carol just being the walker-killing domestic powerhouse she has seemed to fit into since joining Alexandria, even getting close to Tobin – surprisingly – and leaving a cookie on Sam’s grave (whose death she is kind of responsible for). Tobin gives a speech about Carol’s strength and protective instinct for the group and while it may just be part of the courting process, it could also foreshadow something that happens as early as next week – could Carol sacrifice herself in some way to save Maggie?
This was a stronger cold opening than previous entries in this season; using Carol to demonstrate a flurry of baking cookies, relationship, and grief, all expressed by a character who isn’t as burdened with the current state of the world as they should be. This highlights the comfort of a new and refreshed Alexandria, and then juxtaposes it with Rick showing up telling Carol that they are going to have to fight; to do it all over again because you don’t get to enjoy life in this world of fight-or-die, not for long anyway. Darkness will always be right around the corner.
The first half of this episode is paced brilliantly and Rick’s planning is compelling, made more so by Morgan’s apprehension and insistence that they negotiate with the Saviours first, opposing Rick’s paranoid “kill ’em all before they maybe attack us” command, which everyone else seems to agree with. The interesting thing here is Carol’s reaction – or lack thereof. Usually Carol would even more aggressive than Rick with this plan but shades of Morgan have been getting to her ever since their little altercation and we get a nice reminder that Carol is still in two-minds about killing, something that’s easily forgotten with her development into a one-woman-army.
Planning is fun, and the execution is intense. This episode quickens the pace once a group is chosen and everyone heads to the Saviours’ camp, delivering an incredibly nervy last-half. I felt slightly queasy watching the whole thing unfold, but there were some really brilliant character moments here like Glenn having to kill a human for the very first time in the show – while the victim is asleep nonetheless – and then sparing Heath that same baggage before spotting something very unnerving on the walls: poloraids of people with their heads caved in, presumably with a baseball bat. These sick fucks not only call people mean names like “shitbrain” and “needledick”, they celebrate their over-the-top kills; that moment, from Glenn’s perspective at least, killing the saviours is somewhat justified. Steven Yuen’s acting during this scene deserves to be celebrated, capturing the emotion behind Glenn’s first kill painfully and effectively.
After a failed kill from Sasha (she should have went straight for the neck) an alarm is pulled and Rick’s so-far-so-good plan turns to hell, but that doesn’t wipe the confidence off their faces, rather Rick and co. put up one awesome fight with much gunfire, bloodshed and “f-yeah!” moments (like Jesus rocking up and killing that one guy, and Father Gabriel turning into some sort of biblical badass). Then the final few seconds happen, and any sense of victory goes right out the window.
Maggie’s insistence that she come along on the invasion was foolish and made little sense for such a calculating character, until you consider what happened with Glenn and the fake-out from earlier in the episode. From Maggie’s perspective she supposedly wouldn’t ever want to be separated from Glenn during such a precarious situation, plus it was her who made the deal with Gregory; she volunteered for the group to go on this kill mission just as much as Rick and Daryl did. Of course something bad was going to happen to her.
Carol and Maggie are captured off screen and the hostage situation is announced to Rick, cue some really angry faces from Glenn and Rick as the episode fades to black. It’s an intense, heart-pounding proclamation coming through that two-way (“we have a Carol and a Maggie, I’m thinking that’s something you want to chat about”) and completely flips the invasion around. Rick and co. just killed dozens of Negan’s men, this isn’t going to end well.
Review Score: FOUR AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Highlights
- Invasion on the Saviours.
- Great pacing throughout the episode.
- Glenn’s first kill captured with emotion.
- Father Gabriel continues to step-up.
- Carol sympathises with Morgan.
- Morgan clashes with Rick.
Lowlights
- Abe leaving Rosita so coldly felt awkward and out of character (but was saved by a hilarious cookie-eating Eugene)
- Rick should know better than to be so confident.
- Maggie’s poor decision.
Stray Observations
- It looks like Morgan is building himself a prison cell which could make for an interesting storyline; will Negan end up inside?
- I really loved how Carol defended Morgan against Rosita; her dynamic with Morgan remains one of the strongest elements of season 6 thusfar.
- I know what happens in the comics and I’m really hoping the writers don’t stick with ‘that thing’ faithfully. They may ‘remix’ the moment, which honestly, makes much more sense the way certain things have been going.
- They are really focusing on this whole Heath/Tara going out on a run story; something must be happening here. Corey Hawkins is an incredible actor too (Dr Dre from Straight Outta Compton) so Heath deserves some development.
Episode MVPs: Rick, Father Gabriel, Carol, Glenn.
The Walking Dead airs on FX every Monday at 1:30pm and 7:30pm.
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