“Today’s the day, we’re gonna find food, people, the law of averages has gotta catch up,” says Rick (Andrew Lincoln) to Daryl (Norman Reedus) as they drive out of Alexandria on a supply run in episode 10 of the sixth season of AMC’s horror/drama series The Walking Dead.
It’s been a few weeks since the major battle to save Alexandria from the army of walkers and the town has pretty much been rebuilt, with the names of those they lost on a memorial wall. Carl (Chandler Riggs) is up and helping taking care of his little sister with his wounded eye bandaged. Michonne (Danai Gurira) asks Rick to pick her up some toothpaste while Denise (Merritt Wever) asks Daryl to pick up some soda pop as a surprise for Tara (Alanna Masterson) but only if he comes across it; it’s not a priority. As Eugene (Josh McDermitt) opens the gate, he tells Rick and Daryl to look for sorghum, a plant that he insists will change and revolutionize Alexandria’s crops.
So Rick and Daryl drive along listening to some Country music of Rick’s liking – NOT Daryl’s – and come across a truck full of supplies. They leave the car and drive the truck around looking for still more supplies. (Okay, it’s an apocalyptic world where food, medicine, and clean drinking water is essential to their existence and is sometimes hard to find in large quantities so why do Rick and Daryl, after finding a large truck of supplies continue their supply run?! Why not just call it a day and return to Alexandria with the truck and the car full of supplies?)
The two good ol’ boys pull up to a gas station where Daryl and Rick try to open a very secure vending machine to get the snacks and soda out. While they’re preoccupied, a man (Tom Payne) dressed in a trenchcoat wearing a hat and scarf over his face runs right into them. He’s unarmed and apologizes to them, warning them he’s running from at least 10 or more walkers. “This is the next world. I hope it’s good to you guys,” says the stranger as he starts to run off. Rick yells out to him, “I’m Rick. This is Daryl.” The stranger turns around and pulls off his scarf revealing a long but trimmed and styled beard, telling them his name is Paul Monroe but his friends call him Jesus.
Rick tries to ask Jesus the classic three questions but he runs off with the sound of small explosions happening around the corner. Rick and Daryl run to check it out and discover firecrackers going off in a trash can. The duo realize it’s a diversion and Jesus stole the keys to the truck. He drives away, saying sorry as he leaves them stranded.
Meanwhile back at Alexandria, Michonne has gone into the forest because she saw Spencer (Austin Nichols) walking into them. She catches up to him and he reveals that sometimes after his turn patrolling he goes for walks. Michonne notices he has a shovel and asks him about it, but he just says she should go back and that he’s fine. Michonne doesn’t go back and continues to follow Spencer.
Also going for a walk in the woods outside Alexandria is Carl and Enid (Katelyn Nacon) who seem to have a cozy little spot to relax and read magazines and comic books. Enid finally gets tired and bored of being out in the woods and doesn’t seem to enjoy what used to be her escape from the town anymore. The two teens start to head back when Carl notices Michonne off a ways, walking in the woods. The two hear someone else moving in the woods and realize it’s a walker. Carl goes to kill it, with Enid trying to convince him to just leave it and follow her back to town but to no avail. As the walker gets closer, Carl realizes who the walker is and decides not to kill it but to lead it further into the woods towards Michonne and Spencer. Enid has a fit, arguing with Carl and telling him to just kill it. He tells her she didn’t want to be out in the woods anymore anyways and to just go back to town. Enid does but it’s obvious she’s very upset with Carl.
Back to the road trip which is now taking place on foot, Rick and Daryl finally catch up to Jesus and after a small skirmish tie him up with loose knots and leave him a can of soda for when he gets thirsty. Rick and Daryl drive off in the truck with supplies. It’s not long however until Rick and Daryl realize that Jesus somehow got himself up on the roof of the truck and is no longer tied up. Rick tells Daryl to hold onto something and slams on the brakes, sending Jesus flying off the truck and landing in the field in front of them. Jesus gets up and starts to run away so Rick begins to drive the truck after him with Daryl jumping out to chase him on foot. (Okay, not going back to town after finding the truck full of supplies is a questionable decision but chasing after a stranger who seems to be good at getting out of being tied up and not getting hurt at all after being thrown from a moving truck is just plain stupid.)
The silly chase goes on until Jesus makes his way back to the cab of the truck, struggling with Daryl while Rick is off destroying a few walkers who are a little too close for comfort to the action. A walker starts to close in on Daryl and Jesus gets Daryl’s gun away from him, points it at his head and says, “Duck!” Daryl does and Jesus shoots the walker in the head. Daryl thanks Jesus and the fight resumes. (REALLY!! C’MON! Why are these characters who are usually fairly smart suddenly turning into 12 years olds?) During the fight the truck accidentally ends up going into the nearby lake and Jesus gets knocked out. So Rick and the still-resistant Daryl decide to grab one of the nearby cars and take Jesus with them so that Denise can take care of his injury.
Back in the woods, Michonne tries to connect to Spencer by telling him she really liked his mom and that he still has a home back at Alexandria. He insists he has something he has to do first before he can even think about starting a new life. Michonne hears something a little ways off and sees Carl who seems to be leading a walker. The zombie notices her and Spencer and starts heading their way. Spencer’s face changes to sadness as he recognizes the undead as his mother, Deanna (Tovah Feldshuh). He says to Michonne he thought he saw her that night when the whole town was fighting the walker herd. Michonne grabs and holds walker Deanna so Spencer can get close and put his very small knife into her head. Now Michonne understands why he had the shovel. Michonne and Spencer bury Deanna by a large tree and carve a big D in it to mark her grave. Michonne insists that Alexandria is still his home and he has always cared about his family and his town. She tells him he still has family there, indicating herself and others in the town are now his family. The two go back to town together.
Rick and Daryl get back to town with Jesus who they give over to Denise to take care of. And after she treats the still unconscious man, they put him in a room under guard, tied up and with a small glass of water. Rick and Daryl comment how it was pretty stupid the way they went out looking for supplies and they should and could have done it better to which Daryl asks, “We going to do it again tomorrow?” Rick responds, “Oh yeah.”
Carl is spending time on the porch of their house with his baby sister showing her the stars when Michonne comes up and tells Carl she saw what he did in the woods. She tells him he should have either left the walker or killed it. He tells her he couldn’t kill it, which she doesn’t understand. Carl explains that he recognized it was Deanna and she should be put down by someone who loved her. Michonne starts to argue but is cut off by Carl who says to to her, “I would do it for you.” This touches Michonnes deeply to know that Carl loves her and considers her family.
Later, Rick and Michonne are relaxing on the couch trying to let the day’s events slip away but with neither one wanting to go into detail about their adventures. Rick tells Michonne he couldn’t get her the toothpaste but gives her some small mints instead. She laughs and when their hands close over the mints together they interlock their fingers. Rick and Michonne look at each other and lean forward and kiss. The two begin to make out, eventually ending up in Rick’s bed naked and both seem to be satisfied. Then a voice is heard calling Rick’s name twice and Michonne and Rick jump out of bed partly covered, grabbing their weapons. They see Jesus standing at the foot of the bed. He says, “We need to talk.”
The Walking Dead Season 6 Episode 10 Review:
Silly, slowly paced, but at times sincere, season six episode 10 titled “The New World” has two of the lead characters acting and behaving out of character. Rick and Carl look like two bumbling idiots on a dumb road trip and if they had acted and behaved this way earlier in the series, they would not have survived the first season. It’s as though the writers of the show seem to think the series needed an almost comical/zany buddy bonding road trip to lighten the tension and darkness of the show after last week’s episode.
The introduction to the new character Jesus isn’t one of the show’s most memorable introductions of a key character. All of the chasing and fighting just seem too comical and out of place in a show that’s set in a world where no one is truly safe and danger is everywhere. Thus far, Jesus isn’t all that intriguing although he is talented at getting out of ropes and lifting people’s keys. Maybe he should have been nicknamed Houdini instead.
The stand-out performance in this episode goes to Danai Gurira as Michonne who connects with not just one but three characters on different levels. Her refusal to give up on Spencer and her decision to him in his plight, whatever it might be, shows how her character has grown to care about everyone in the town of Alexandria. It also show how she has found her humanity again. Michonne’s reaction to Carl when he tells her that he would do it for her, meaning he would put her down if she ever became a walker because it should be done by someone who loves her, is incredibly touching. Her reaction perfectly captures just how much it means to Michonne to hear that he loves her. Of course the scene which has been building for at least two maybe three seasons where Rick and Michonne finally give in to their deep feelings for each other and make love is sweet and passionate.
With newcomer Jesus being determined to talk to Rick and the rest of Alexandria still rebuilding, it should be interesting to see what surprises are coming up for Rick, his crew, and the citizens of Alexandria who are still not completely recovered from the zombie battle for their town.
GRADE: C+
