Blair Fink (Twitter: @BlairMFink, Instagram: @BlairFink)
Steve Bethel (Twitter: @the_lazy_gamer, Website: steveisthelazygamer.blogspot.ca)
"I'm your daddy now."
The Walking Dead, Season 5, Episode 13, "Forget"
PARTY PEOPLE
Everybody just have a good time.
House
parties and party poopers. Buttons and motorcycles.
The
house party was somewhat of a lull for me. I get it, everyone is
happy, everyone is "normal" (well, old normal, not new
normal) and there is nothing to worry about inside the walls that Reg
built/designed. I'm still wanting to trust Deanna, and maybe I
should, maybe all this is true and good and right but maybe it's not her
who we have to worry about...maybe it's Rick.
"You
either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain." -Harvey
Dent
That
line sums up Rick right about now. With Reg mentioning all the nice
things everyone said about Rick he really is quite the hero. I'm sure
Reg and Dea wouldn't be so full of praise if they knew his backup
plan.
Seeing
these characters attend a dinner party in dinner party-appropriate
clothes was very strange. Maybe I'm reading into something that's not there but was there a bit of a class warfare
undercurrent to the party scenes? The Alexandria elite were practically falling over themselves trying to rid these poor,
unfortunate souls of their burdens by pushing chardonnay and
profiteroles on them, as though the party was just an excuse to pat themselves on the back for taking in these poor ragamuffins.
Aww,
Daryl made a friend! It's interesting to see the shift in Carol and
Daryl in this episode. Last episode had Carol being the little
shoulder angel and Daryl being the devil to both taking a hard turn
to the other end of the spectrum (Daryl not even wanting to take
a handgun!). After a day in the forest of almost getting a chance
to break a horse to losing said horse, after some very broseph
moments, Daryl might have a new buddy and a new job. I wouldn't say
Daryl is getting soft but he seems to be enticed by Aaron and his
kindness, mind you if someone gave me a bike I would be pretty happy
too. Asking Daryl to be a recruiter seems like a bit of a
gamble. I know Aaron thinks he has good intuition but Daryl isn't
exactly a people person.
While a little
heavy-handed with the Daryl is the Wild Horse, You Guys!
Metaphor (“He always ran.” “You were just trying to help
him.”), I thought the Aaron and Daryl scenes were the highlights of
the episode. We all know Daryl is a big softie under that greasy,
grimy, scowly exterior so to see Aaron slowly earn his trust is a
nice thing to see. I really like Aaron as a character so far and I
really hope he doesn't turn out to be a villain. Wait, maybe I do.
After The Governor and Dawn, we could really use a villain that is
smart and calculating and not just batshit crazy.
I
didn't care too much about Sasha and all her inner turmoil. If I want
to watch someone deal with PTSD I'll go watch American Sniper again.
She's just not really a character I am concerned with as I've been
given no reason to be concerned with her. The big push for having her
up in the clock tower was very forced and awkward and Deanna was right
to be a bit suspicious.
Zack Handlen's
review of this episode over at The AV Club perfectly captured the
problem with Sasha:
"Try,
if you can, to describe Sasha, one of the show’s secondary ensemble
members. But you have to follow a few restrictions. First, you can’t
describe her by race, or by gender; second, you can’t describe her
in terms of her relationship to other characters. So “black woman
who was Tyreese’s sister and Bob’s girlfriend” is right
straight out. Also, try to describe her without describing her
specific emotional state in “Forget.” What I’m looking for is a
word picture of Sasha that will bring to mind her fundamental traits
as a person, the elements of her personality and history that set her
apart from the rest of the group. I want to know who Sasha is—not
her reactions to the present situation, but the core self that drives
those reactions, that make us care if she’s happy or sad or
bordering on homicidal."
I like Sasha and I
think Sonequa Martin-Green does an admirable job with what she has to
work with. However, I didn't realize until I read the above thought
experiment exactly what was missing from making her a great
character. It's because we don't know who she is or who she was.
She's suffering from the same syndrome Michonne did until recently.
She's got the look of a good character and a good actress driving the
ship but there's no cargo. Ultimately, Sasha's inner turmoil in this
episode isn't as effective as it should be. We feel it as though
we're watching a co-worker or a casual acquaintance go through
something tough rather than a friend: we understand she's having a
hard time and we feel for her, but we don't really know her that well
so it doesn't break our hearts. Damn it, The Walking Dead, we ant you to break our hearts!
Okay,
if I didn't notice the possum playing Carol last episode it is
apparent now. As far as they are concerned ole
Carol
McClane might as well be Carol Poppins. Carol is my MVP this episode because she knows exactly what she is doing and how to play everyone. Talking
casseroles with the girls, cookies with the pantry lady, being a little
flirty with Tobin, and instilling straight up terror in little Sam! That whole
scene of making Sam shit his pants totally reminded me of this scene. The
proximity of the characters, the detail in the explanation, the look
of horror on the kids face, all of it pulled right out of Jurassic
Park. Loved it! Will he keep his mouth shut? I sure would. They made
a point to show her taking extra chocolate, is that going to come
back and bit her in the ass?
I
thought of this bit. Cookies or death? Cookies please.
I
suppose this was a half and half episode for me. I enjoyed Daryl's
bonding and Carol's terrorizing, but was bored with the party and couldn't care less about Sasha. Oh and I suppose there was some
Michonne stuff in there too...
ROMANCE
UPDATE!
Damn
it, Rick! Pump the brakes!
First of all, going full Smolder Mode while talking to a
married woman in a
place you just arrived at is a
swift road to trouble. He kissed her on the cheek right? Not the
mouth? Second, and most importantly, what about Michonne
you big dummy!? She's the one for you. What happened to Constables
in Love? What happened to
Richonne? Jessie and Rick don't even make a good portmanteau!
Rickessie? Jessick? Jick? Just nope.
I
don't even know what to do
with Rick fingering his gun while looking at Jessie's husband putting
his arm around her. Rick's
got it bad.
Richonne!
QUESTIONS AND OBSERVATIONS
-Carl. Get a haircut. For real. In real life.
-Was
Father Gabriel even in this episode? At all? Even in the background?
-Rick
being initiated with his 'A' stamp, and then waving to the others
with it all seemed very culty
-A
“W” on the foreheads of
zombies and an “A” on the hands of the citizens of Alexandria. Make of that what you will.
-Carol is such a bad ass! Hiding in plain sight like an Assassin! She
is a ghost!
-This Week in Apocalypse
Fashion: Michonne's constable jacket must have been too big so they
cut it and sewed it up down the back. Looks rad. Being a tall, skinny
guy, I often have problems with jackets that are too billowy in the
midsection. I might have to use this technique with all my jackets.
-Why does Rick get to have his gun? Is it for show or is it loaded?
And why does he hold his hidden gun when he runs?
-I
don't even like horses and that scene where the zombies bring down
the horse was not fun to watch. Poor Buttons!
-Final scene was very Face-Off-ish
Blair's Rating: B
Steve's Rating: 3 quarter bars of chocolate out of 5
Blair's MVP: Aaron
Steve's MVP: Carol
Blair's Deadpool Pick: Aiden
Steve's Deadpool Pick: Maggie,
please, just die. I mean that in the nicest way.
Closing aside; my wife and I are off to Mexico this Wednesday and returning next Wednesday, so I will not be commenting on next weeks episode...unless Blair wants to delay it until I get back. As I type this I think to myself; I probably should have had this aside privately with Blair first...oh well. VIVA MEXICO!!
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