Monday, March 9, 2015

The Walking Dead: Season 5, Episode 13


The Walking Dead
Episode Title: “Forget”
Channel: AMC
Director: David Boyd
Writer: Corey Reed
Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Runtime: 44 min
Rated: TV-MA
Original Air Date: March 8, 2015

This week we get a little more about how the various members of Rick's group are dealing with a return to civilization. Rick's answer to their new situation is to treat it like an old one, distrust and contingency plans are the areas he has decided to focus his attention. In the process he's dangerously close to becoming an amalgamation of Shane and the Governor. Most of the time spent watching Rick is spent bouncing back and forth between agreeing with his various stances regarding patrols and a look out, and wondering why he can't just accept a better situation.

Rick, Carol, and Daryl have decided, unbeknownst to the rest of the group that they're going to steal some weapons 'just in case' they need them, despite having been given no indication that they'd be necessary. There plot led to my favorite moment of the episode. It is decided that Carol should be the one to raid the armory, since in her own words she has become invisible again. She's caught in the act by one of Alexandria's youth population, and instead of relying on simple bribery she goes completely cold-blooded on him. She describes the way she'd abduct him from his house, tie him to a tree and allow his screams to draw walkers to devour him. I doubt anyone in the audience had forgotten just how effective she could be when times get tough, but in case you needed a reminder there it is. Carol has become one scary lady.

Daryl continues his loner attitude this week, and eventually catches Aaron following him. They tromp through the woods around Alexandria in search of rabbits initially, but after seeing a horse they decide to try to capture it and bring it back to town. It's unlucky being a horse in the world of The Walking Dead and poor Buttons was no exception. Aaron and Daryl trade moments of saving one another but can't get to the horse in time, and Aaron has to put it down after it's been munched on by walkers. Daryl ends up at Aaron and Eric's house having a nice spaghetti dinner. Aaron shows Daryl the parts to a motorcycle that he's been working on and pitches a job to him. He wants Daryl to become a recruiter for Alexandria, because he knows the difference between the good guys and the bad guys. It was an emotional moment for Daryl, as I don't know that he's convinced he's a good guy anymore. The scenes were especially good because Aaron is such a good character. They've done a good job of making him interesting in a short amount of time, and he already seems more fleshed out than some of the folks that have been with Rick for a while now.

The rest of the episode was spent at a party at Deanna's house. Most of Rick's group was there and having varying amounts of success assimilating to a more normal life. Glenn and Noah seemed completely out of place, while Maggie is being groomed for some sort of spot in Deanna's fledgling government. Abraham is happy because there's beer, and seemed to be trying to have a moment with Michonne. Sasha is having the least success adjusting to the relative safety of Alexandria and eventually blows up on a lady who is 'worried' about cooking Sasha the wrong meal. This served to highlight just how lucky the inhabitants of Alexandria have been, if those are the kinds of things they can spend time worrying over. With the losses she's suffered still so fresh in her mind she's got a lot of coping to do before she can even make an attempt at normal.

Conclusion: “Forget” was a worth follow-up to “Remember.” We got to see how a few of the other survivors are adjusting to their new found safety while seeing Rick and Carol planning for the moment that it all falls apart. I'm glad that they're accelerating things in that regard; we the audience know that it can't go well for long, otherwise there wouldn't be much of a show, but the hard lessons on the road have made their impression on everyone. They're not going to play at being farmers or teachers at this point, they're just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Rating: 8/10

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