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| (Photo Credit: AMC) |
The Walking Dead
Season 9, Episode 4
By Garrett Yoshitomi
The Walking Dead has been enjoying a rebirth of sorts, thanks to new showrunner Angela Kang. After seasons of meandering plotlines and shallow character development, Kang stepped in for season nine, and immediately breathed new life into a show in desperate need of a creative makeover. The first three episodes of the season have been great, with well-paced narratives, interesting character pairings, and a well-grounded feel to the overarching storylines. Unfortunately, with these three positive steps forward, the show seems to take four walker-sized stumbles back, as episode four, “The Obliged,” disappoints in some major ways, despite having the opportunity to lead into one of the biggest events in series history.
I’m talking, of course, about the impending departure of Andrew Lincoln’s character, Rick Grimes, the show’s main character, as well as the face of AMC’s cash cow machine. The scenes we get of Rick this week are quite well done, but there is a lot of B and C-plot flotsam thrown in that is considerably less compelling and greatly detracts from this crucial storyline. “The Obliged” very much feels like a Scott Gimple-era episode due to its choppy structure and forced, drawn out subplots.
One of these subplots, the Anne-Gabriel storyline, seemed promising when it was introduced a week ago, but failed to really expand on that promise, as it was relegated to just a handful of moments that were spliced within the larger A and B-plots this week. As unamusing as I found yet another double cross, from the Queen of Double Crosses, Anne/Jadis, I found solace in the fact that her predictable shadiness would ultimately lead to the introduction of a new, sinister group of human trafficking baddies- something that we haven’t totally seen, yet in this show.
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| (Photo Credit: AMC) |
When we last left Anne, she had just knocked out Gabriel, after he followed her to The Heaps, cryptically revealing that while she previously thought he was a ‘B,’ she now thinks he’s an ‘A.’ But, what does it all mean, Basil? Angela Kang has dropped her hints, and it’s an interesting mystery for a show that’s pretty devoid of ones that don’t have to do with guessing who’s going to bite it. Unfortunately, we’re going to have to wait at least two more weeks for an answer because I highly doubt Rick’s send-off episode is going to devote any time to the latest in a long line of hairbrained garbage lady schemes.
The entire execution of this storyline is very Gimple-era Walking Dead. The awkward jumps away from the much more exciting Rick-Daryl plot, to yet another scene of Anne getting ready to feed someone to a walker; the heartfelt monologue as a main character approaches, but never quite reaches, their imminent doom; the sense of dissatisfaction when you realize that parts of an entire episode were spent on a plotline where barely anything happens- all have been weekly staples of Walking Dead episodes, for almost its entire run. I hope this is the last we see of this kind of sloppy writing, but even with a new showrunner, old habits die hard, and I have a feeling this isn’t the last season nine filler plot that we’ll have to endure. As long as the real narratives of the season are solid enough, and I believe they will be, it’ll be worth it.
Another plot detour, albeit a more worthwhile one, is the lengthy conversation we get this week between Michonne and Negan. Despite being such an enormously popular character, Michonne really hasn’t gotten to do a whole lot for the past several seasons. She entered the show with a bang back in season three, where most of her character development was tied up in the Governor storyline- her most memorable moment being when she delivered the killing blow to the Governor in the season four midseason finale.
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| (Photo Credit: AMC) |
Since then, most of her character development has been based on her relationship with the Grimes family, as she became a love interest for Rick, as well as a close friend and mother figure for Carl. Although this tender family dynamic has become core to the show, it’s unfortunate that in recent seasons, Michonne has received very little attention outside of her relationship with Rick. In season seven, she was mainly tasked with convincing Rick to stand against Negan, and while this came with a healthy dose of Michonne badassery, her role was still secondary to Rick- relying on him as the narrative focal point, while she worked around him. It would have been totally feasible, and a lot more satisfying, if she had just decided to take out Negan on her own. Why does Rick get all the glory, when Michonne would have been just as capable at galvanizing the troops and leading Alexandria against the Saviors?
It might be a season or two too late, but it looks like we’re finally going to be able to see how Michonne does in this kind of leadership role. The idea of Michonne as a leader was slowly built up over season eight, and has finally reached a head, here in the early going of season nine. Last season, she received very little individual focus, never leading group missions, or going out on her own; but Michonne was always there, helping out when needed, and subtly nudging the group towards more peaceful and thoughtful long-term solutions, from the outskirts of the story. While it didn’t seem like as big of a deal in the midst of last season’s All-Out War arc, Michonne’s more reconciliatory leanings are going to become a very valuable commodity after Rick’s departure from the show next week.
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| (Photo Credit: AMC) |
It’s very clear that Michonne will be one of several characters set to fill Rick’s role in the coming episodes. So far in season nine, we’ve already seen her spearhead the effort to craft a group charter between the four communities, as well as take over chieftain duties, while Rick is away from Alexandria. What’s more, this week she gets handed one of Rick’s major storylines straight from the comics. In the comics, Rick develops a strange relationship with Negan, as the two share conversations, while the latter is imprisoned. Michonne and Negan have their first conversation of this kind, and while it’s not an amazing scene by any means, it is nice to see these two characters interact after not having appeared onscreen together since the lineup scene.
Unfortunately, as much as I like this new character development being thrown Michonne’s way, I’m fairly lukewarm about the role Negan will play in it. Negan was a fantastic villain when first introduced, but eventually wore out his welcome after his “charming sociopath” schtick got old after the better part of two seasons. The unoriginality continues in his conversation with Michonne, as he tries to Jedi mind trick her into feeling sympathy for him by giving her the old “we’re the same, you and I” spiel. Ugh. Everything about Negan is just so…comic book-y. And, while I think that was an interesting dynamic starting out, I don’t think it’s necessary anymore, especially when season nine has felt so fresh with more grounded storylines.
While the potential for Michonne’s new direction is exciting, the real heart of this episode lies in the brotherhood between Rick and Daryl, and the resolution to their conflict that’s been brewing since the season premiere. Maggie’s decision to head to Alexandria to kill Negan, triggers a series of events that ends with Rick and Daryl stuck at the bottom of a sinkhole, finally forced to face their disagreement. I’m glad that Rick and Daryl’s confrontation in this episode is more of an argument, rather than a repeat of their fistfight from season eight, episode five. While that was an entertaining fight scene, this argument turned heart to heart is much more powerful and appropriate for what’s likely going to be Rick and Daryl’s final scene together.
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| (Photo Credit: AMC) |
The fight itself isn’t overly contentious (although it does feature The Walking Dead's first ever broadcasted f bomb!)- voices are raised, blame is tossed, but ultimately, these two longtime companions, members of the original Atlanta group from all the way back in season one, connect over their mutual love and respect for each other. In defending Maggie’s choice to kill Negan, Daryl reminds Rick of the debt he owes Glenn, and it’s amazing that after two whole seasons, the very mention of Glenn’s name carries a weight to it that no other character quite captures. In turn, Rick argues that Daryl sparing Dwight back in season six, is similar to keeping Negan alive.
This scene is quite special when looking at it within the entirety of The Walking Dead. The friendship between Rick and Daryl is one of the defining relationships of the series, as the two went from bitter enemies to true brothers. And, this scene captures this dynamic well, with an outstanding script and beautiful performances from Andrew Lincoln and Norman Reedus. In the end, differences are put aside, and although neither man convinces the other in an overly logical way, Daryl ends up striking at what matters most- that the bonds he and Rick share, along with the rest of their original group of survivors, is what will carry them into the future, not what kind of symbol keeping Negan alive may or may not mean for Carl’s memory and to the rest of the communities.
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| (Photo Credit: AMC) |
Next week is Rick Grimes’ last episode. Which means that The Walking Dead will be saying goodbye to its central character and face of the franchise, after eight years and over a hundred episodes. You’ve heard how Rick getting written off amounts to a huge departure from the comics, but with the death of Carl last season, and now Rick’s end looming, it’s clear that AMC isn’t afraid to diverge from Robert Kirkman’s source material, at least when their actors force their hands and ask for an out. My expectations for next week are relatively mild.
Despite “The Obliged” being the weakest outing of the season so far, I still have faith in Kang’s creative vision, and I believe that the rest of season nine will look more like the first three episodes, rather than the latest. Though, I wish there would have been a bit more shock and awe thrown in for Rick’s death, I understand the show’s need to get ahead of leaks, as well as advertise the hell out of #RickGrimesFinalEpisode, in an effort to boost sagging ratings. With most, if not all, of the suspense sucked out of next week’s episode, it seems likely that we’ll get a story more focused on Rick’s relationships with others, as well as his transformation as a character and impact on the overall story, similar to the send-off we got for Carl. I think it will be a good episode, one with the feeling and resources of a season finale, but with much build-up comes the potential for letdown, and I’m not entirely ruling out an earnest, yet ultimately underwhelming farewell for Sheriff Grimes.
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