“Heads Up” was not a very good episode of The Walking Dead if we were to consider it in a vacuum, but it certainly made some major moves to set us up for what will no doubt be a big, bloody mid-season finale next week. We also found some closure to what has been the season’s biggest talking point thus far, picking up on Glenn’s supposed death from “Thank You” straight from the jump.
A pitch black screen with Nicholas uttering the words “Thank You” right before he blows his own brains out is what begins “Heads Up”, showing us how this scenario played out but from a different angle. Yes, that was Nicolas’ intestines that the walkers were nibbling on – that much was obvious from the very start. What is surprising is how unsurprising Glenn’s survival is, it plays out pretty much exactly how many thought it would, with Glenn pulling himself under the dumpster while every walker was distracted by how apparently delicious cowards taste, lingering only that wander off to what one can only assume – because of that music – was gunfire coming from Alexandria.
The plucky, semi-emotional music used to soundtrack this wordless scene didn’t work for me, and I don’t think it would have had the same impact for viewers as the team would have wanted. Sure, having Glenn pick out his knife and kill walkers on each side of him so their bodies would block other walkers was smart, and kind of acceptable in the logic of The Walking Dead universe; the map of the dumpster didn’t make sense though, as Glenn’s legs were still exposed, and instead of showing him somehow swiveling down and taking care of those walkers as well, the writers just kind of rushed through it and threw it to us to suspend our disbelief. I’m happy – and not surprised – that Glenn is alive, but the explanation was poorly executed and ruined the entire point of making it a cliffhanger for several episodes.
Just like comic readers speculated, Enid is there when Glenn crawls out from under the dumpster, just as frustratingly vague and anti-social as before, as we get to see a Glenn who is more determined than ever to have things his way. By forcefully convincing Enid to come back to Alexandria with him, Glenn shows us a subtle change in character, and even though he is still foolhardy in his attempt to do right by people – à la Morgan – there is that feeling that everyone’s favourite runner will have a lower tolerance for bad decisions from here on out.
While the walls are holding in Alexandria, Rick and everyone else seems to be confident and patient in their approach to dealing with the giant herd knocking at their door. They think they have time and it gives us yet another platform for slow moving neighbourhood-drama with a little bit of Spencer trying to be a hero thrown in for absolutely no reason but to have someone almost eaten by walkers. Some of this drama works – mostly where the major characters are involved – but most of it does not.
The writers have decided to zone in on the ominous air surround Ron and his shit-eating grin as Rick and Carl teach him how to fire a gun. Rick allows Ron to keep the gun but no bullets, to which Ron sneaks into the armory and just steals a bunch of ammo. It’s pretty obvious from the final “I have a gun and I’m walking behind you looking like an arrogant little shit” moment that Ron is out to harm Carl, and amidst the ensuing chaos that we will witness next week, he may fulfill that petty desire.
The most effective piece of drama here comes from Rick, Carol, and Michonne as they confront Morgan about the Wolves that almost killed Rick in “Thank You”. Unlike Tyreese with Martin, Morgan is now being held accountable for his mercy and his three interrogators surprisingly approached him and his philosophy with reason rather than anger. Morgan’s a good guy – there is no denying that – and one of the best characters on the show, which is why this obvious set-up pitting Carol against Morgan, again, has some really exciting prospects. We’ve already seen the tension that is created when these two opposing philosophies are spun across a battlefield (“JSS”) so Carol discovering Morgan’s prisoner and foolish attempt at ‘converting’ him is exciting; or at least it would be if they didn’t have something much bigger and more immediate to worry about.
While the Spencer scene did feel unnecessary it did reiterate the reservations Rick has about helping the Alexandrians. Having him chastise Tara for risking her life to save Spencer made what stance Rick is leaning towards crystal clear, but his humanised chat with Tobin tugged at the other side of Officer Unfriendly, teasing out the Rick that we know is still in there somewhere, amongst that steadily built up shell that has been hardened by encounters with The Governor and Terminus.
The purpose of re-visiting Rick’s theoretical feelings towards the Alexandrians one last time is to – I assume – preface the writers putting all of that into action in next weeks episode. Will Rick save those that he doesn’t consider to be part of his group? Or will he figuratively – and maybe even physically – cut them off to save himself and his “family”? Watching all this unfold next week is going to be very exciting, even if it sacrificed the quality of this week’s episode for the sake of build-up.
Teasing the broken down watch tower throughout the episode – quite explicitly – and then having it collapse and knock down the walls was fantastic to watch. However, much like the opening scene, the muted speech and soft music just didn’t have any effect whatsoever; a stylistic choice that didn’t make sense and brought nothing to the scene.
Review Score: THREE STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Highlights:
- Glenn seems less tolerant of people’s bad decisions
- Rick, Michonne, and Carol confront Morgan
- All hell is about the break loose next week
Lowlights:
- Mostly just set-up for next week
- Spencer’s act of heroism thrown in there for no reason; not consistent with him stealing the food the last time we saw him.
- Glenn’s survival poorly executed, especially with that music
- Enid is frustratingly stubborn
- Ron’s smug little face
Stray Observations:
- Unless I’m missing something here, seeing green balloons doesn’t automatically scream ‘Glenn is alive!’, it could just have easily been Daryl, Sasha, or Abraham – although balloons may not be their style.
- Rick’s almost a bully when it comes to Father Gabriel and it’s hilarious, him ripping down the sermon flyers was the only genuinely funny moment of the episode. It’s similar to the abrupt “no, someone else” Rick dismissed Gabriel with in the season premiere.
- Either Denise or Olivia are goners next episode. If it’s Denise, then what was the point of having her kiss Tara, other than reminding us that Tara is into girls, which doesn’t take away or add anything to her character.
- Now I know why we haven’t seen much from Christian Serratos (Rosita), she’s not a very convincing actor.
The Walking Dead screens in Australia on FX on Mondays at 1:30pm and again at 7:30pm.
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