Season Six sort of begins where season five left off but its a mixture. You have some past and present scenes but mostly some time has passed and the group is currently trying to figure out what to do about a massive herd of zombies trapped in a nearby quarry.
The zombies can't escape in masses but are trickling out. Rick notices that the truck barriers are giving way which will lead to all of them escaping and coming toward Alexandria.
So the first episode is essentially the group coming up with a ridiculous and really improbable plan. The idea that you could lure a herd of this size and magnitude in any direction with out groups breaking off is a bit much.
But here we are. And I understand the idea of the scene is to show just how competent Rick is and that hes a natural leader, and the leader Alexandria really needs.
But as fans we know this already, season five showed us just how incompetent the people of Alexandria are. They literally act like people prior to the apocalypse as if it never happened.
Sure you could say that's a luxury, and they are lucky to not have to go through what Rick and so many others did…
But this is the new world. And it takes joy in destroying people, especially the ones at alexandria.
And no amount of metal walls or protection can keep this new world from getting to you. And we see that very soon.
In episode two we see the dragon of chaos rear its ugly head as a group of psychopaths called “wolves” breach Alexandria.
The “Wolves” are a pretty terrifying enemy as they don't seem to really have a plan. There's no real goal involved with them except the loot and pillage.
And an enemy such as this is very dangerous as there is no reasoning with them. Because you can’t create diplomacy or terms amongst a group of people who literally have no plans other than to create as much destruction and chaos in as little amount of time as possible.
And that's what the wolves do, they are not interested in taking Alexandria for themselves. They don't even seem to be interested in their supplies. At least not all of them. Instead what we see is them attacking everyone and not just killing them, but hacking them to pieces.
This is a group of psychopaths, there's no reasoning with them, they must be taken out or they will take you out. They are the purest representation of the new world. Just chaotic and malevolent behavior set out to make your life a living hell just before it takes it.
And it shows that Alexandria is no paradise, and may actually be a burden. Because Aleandrai has something everyone wants, and something worth fighting for. Thats a potential future.
And well, if you want peace, prepare for war.
And that’s really what this season is all about, it's a build up to a great war.
And so These wolves attack Alexandria and of course its while the entire group is out trying to lure the walkers away.
the Wolves attack and they try to drive a truck through the walls. Further proving they have no interest in taking that place for themselves but destroying it and leaving it to the dead.
The truck is shot up, and the driver hits a burned down chapel and then the wall. Thankfully not taking the wall out but the dead driver lays on the horn which attracts a major portion of the horde toward Alexandria.
The Wolves are mostly taken out but Morgan chases a few off, he could have killed them but he now has a moral code not to kill…dont worry more on that soon.. So they run off out of Alexandria.
While the other group outside is trying to double back and figure out what is going on. Glenn, Michonne are racing to get their group back but get split up trying to lure the herd away. Michonne and her group get trapped in a pet store.
I appreciate the details in that store as you can see all the animals that were caged are now dead and still in their cages… no one thought to let them out or save them. Or eat them for that matter…
Meanwhile Glenn and Nicholas end up not being able to set the distraction and get trapped by the walkers on top of a dumpster. Nicholas loses his mind, thanks Glenn and then blows his brains out which pulls both them down and into the horde.
From here we think Glenn is killed, because naturally that's what would happen.. There is no way anyone is getting out of that situation. And yet later we find out Glenn makes it… Whatever.
I hate this scene because the reality is you wrote your characters in a corner, literally where there's no real chance they can make it out. The likelihood that Glenn doesn't even get bit or scratched by accident during that scene is nearly impossible.
His reaction too makes it seem as if he's being torn apart…
This is just a scene that makes you kinda roll your eyes or shrug a little. It feels cheesy, and really unnecessary.
Nicholas would have had a better character arch if he sacrificed himself to save Glenn in a much more believable manner.
And you could say maybe that's what he did, he shot himself so the walkers would go after him and Glenn could get away. But it did not seem to be his intent. He looks like he loses it for a solid minute and then just snaps and kills himself. Pulling Glenn down into the walkers with him..
Either way the scene happened, it shouldn't have happened, but here we are…
Flash over to Rick in the RV and guess what, those Wolves that Morgan let go just so happened to stumble on to Rick! What are the odds!
Rick fights one off and then shoots the rest through the thin walls of the RV. That large herd of zombies is now coming out of the woods toward him and he has to escape. But wouldn't you know it, The RV wont start… However will he escape!
Well we won't ever know.. As the show cuts away and eventually we just see Rick sprinting back toward Alexandria.
All of this ends with the dead just outside the walls and the group stuck inside. Meanwhile Daryl, Shasha and Abraham are still leading the rest away. Glenn is “dead” as far as we know and Michonne and the rest haven't made it back yet.
But just as you are getting settled in and enjoying The action and suspense of the wolf attack and the hordes coming down on Alexandria. We get something we never asked for or wanted.
Morgan's back backstory… Son of a bitch!
Why does The Walking dead do this? They so often break off from the main story to tell a sub plot or completely separate narrative. Something that usually could be done in segments of an episode but instead gets an entire episode dedicated to it.
So here we are seeing that Morgan has completely lost his mind. And for good reason. He lost his wife and then his son because he couldn't do what he had to in order to protect him.
This goes back to finding your monster.
You don't really have a choice in life. Either in the real world or this apocalyptic one. You either find it or the world will expose you and take advantage of you. Which will leave you broken and half the person you were.
So you better figure that out, and quickly.
Morgan didn't, and so he lost everything and that ended up taking his mind. And sure you could say well he got it back at the end of the episode… and its like.
No he didnt, sure hes stable now.. But he buried his inner monster, he didnt tame it.
And thats often what happens with so many people. Its Like ya that guy can step up and take charge and do what needs to be done and or say what has to be said. And some times they step up and fail. And that hurts, but they keep going but maybe they fail again and it hits them hard.
And psychologically they just fall apart, they no longer step up, they no longer say what must be said. If they're lucky they become passive, at worst they become completely useless and fall into a pit of despair.
And that's Morgan, he failed too many times, and it drove him into chaos, sure he found his inner monster but the monster had control of him. And once he was able to get a hold of it he threw it in a pit and closed it off. And now he cant make the tough decisions.
Thats why he let the Wolves go and locked them in a car… only for those wolves to come back and kill and innocent man. And then later attack Alexandria and then later attack Rick.
He has suppressed and regressed back into his former state, of not being able to do the tough thing out of fear of what it may do to him as a person.
But like I said, this new world either kills you or turns you into a monster….
However just because you get turned into a monster doesn't mean you can control it. The perfect example of this is Michonne in my estimation.
Rick is close but Rick has moments where he loses control, he's more like Shane at time.
Michonne is calm, collective, thural in her thinking, and tends to make the better decisions. She has emotions, and you can see the pain that she goes through but she can harness it and use it to push on.
This is what it means to find your inner monster and tame it. Use it when necessary, for good. For the good of others and yourself. And never in malevolence.
So Morgan hangs out with a psychoanalysis in the woods, learns to use a staff as a weapon and gets his sanity back all the while suppressing the monster that controlled him instead of taking control of it.
This episode wasn’t bad. It just wasn't necessary. And took away from the plot and the pace of the show. We didn't need it to understand that he was trying to save a Wolf, or maybe we did but an entire episode? Idk…
Also Achito’s code is great in theory but its gonna get you and others killed in this world.
The idea that All life is precious in a moral one and one that we should all live up to believe. As a christian I 100% believe this and that all life was created by God for a specific purpose.
But I also know there's evil, and where there's evil it must be casted out. Sometimes this means avoiding those people, other time it may mean defending yourself or someone else…
The idea that letting a person who wants to kill you go is the best choice? I don't know… for who? Them? Maybe for them, but not you! And not anyone you care about.
At the end of this episode it cuts back to Morgan talking to a Wolf in the Alexandria prison.
Just so happens to be the guy he let go the first time..
There's a saying: Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. Morgan should take heed to this.
Sadly he doesn't… and only leads to others being put at risk.
Sure the Wolf technically saves Denise later on but he's the reason she was placed in that position in the first place… so no you don't get a pass on that. Yet later on Morgan tries to use that as justification for letting him live, SEE HE CHANGED!
Ok maybe he did, but again had he been dead Denise would still be in the infirmary where its safe.
But instead you kept a wolf alive which almost got your only doctor killed…
There's no justification for this. I don't know if the show was intentionally trying to or if this was just Morgan's twisted point of view.
The overall theme of this show seems to be forgiveness and trusting. It's like everyone is hanging on like a loose tooth mentally and wants to just hold hands and sing coom-bi-ya with the folks that try to kill them.
As if this is the moral high road that we should all take. Even though it almost always comes back to bite them in the ass.
The themes is “sure Im dead, but at least I did the right thing”
And maybe so, maybe that is the right move. Maybe you don't punish your enemies or fight back, maybe you forgive those who literally just tried to kill you who then usually end up killing you or someone else.
I understand there's a balance and I believe that's what this season is trying to show. That there's a balance to the actions we take.
Sure you could take out all your enemies, and get safety, but you could also lose your sanity. And what's worse? Losing safety or sanity?
There is also a chance that could lead you down a path of malevolence and you end up being a governor, a wolf, or worse who we later meet, a Savior.
But this leads back to my previous point of finding your inner monster. Carol did this to some degree, but we find out later she loses it as well like Morgan did.
You step up and do what is right and what is necessary in the moment for the protection of the ones you love. You understand that sometimes that means you have to do some really bad stuff. But you come to terms with it, accept it, and know that it makes you stronger and not weaker. You never lose site that people are people and not all of them are bad. You can take the fight to your enemy and not lose your trust in humanity.
Its a balance, and one that few master. Even in the real world, this is a tough thing to accomplish.
But we all have to do it, and we can't ignore it. Because if you do you will figuratively or literally in the case of this show, die.
And that's the worst possible outcome.
After this we get some filler, things to help move the plot along. Maggie wants to set off to find Glenn and Aaron joins her. We find out she's pregnant here. That's cool! But remember we still think Glenn is dead right now.
From here we cut back to Daryl, Abraham, and Sasha. Unfortunately for them they have a run in with a group of bad dudes. We don't know much about them at this point other than its another group that shot at them.
They all get separated and Daryl is on his own in a burned down forest when he comes across three people that end up holding him hostage. It seems like they're on the run from someone and they think Daryl is with the group chasing them.
Daryl breaks free when one of the women collapses, but find outs shes as diabetic and he took her insulin.
Well Daryl, having a big heart goes back to them and gives them the medicine. At this point that group ends up finding them all. They realize Daryl isn't with them and for a short time befriend Daryl.
But it ends up with Daryl losing his bike, and crossbow as the last two of the three take it from them and drive off.
This is a great dose of reality, where sometimes doing the right thing or trying to do the right thing just gets you hurt or worse.
But you have to try, and Daryl wasn't wrong here. He had no idea the shit storm he stepped into and the desperation these people were in because of the group chasing them and how powerful that group is.
Well after all that in the next episode we find out Glenn is ALIVE!! Oh joy… and Enid just so happened to be right where he was at!
What are the odds of that?....
I hate this writing so much…
From here he proceeds to follow her and explain why she needs to stop running away from her problems or something… I dont know.
Either way he convinces her! Because of course he did. The shows invested too much into Enid just to let her walk away into the sunset.
They eventually get back to Alexandria to find it overrun.
To make matters worse the building the truck crashed into collapses and takes the wall out, letting all the walkers in.
The entire community retreats into their homes and tries to come up with a plan. Meanwhile Sasha, Abraham and Daryl have their first run in with a group called the Saviors. Pretty bad dudes on motorcycles.
Daryl ends up blowing them up with an RPG, pretty sick! Also Abraham found that RPG on a military humvee and a dead soldier. The US military does not use RPGs (rocket propelled grenades) , we use an AT4 rocket launcher or a SMAW Rocket launcher, a little more sophisticated weapons.
RPGs are cheaper, less accurate launchers that are typically seen being used by Afgan armies and others in the middle east.
Whatever, he found it.
Cutting back to Alexandria Rick, Michonne, Carl, and the rest of the group are held up in a house. Now last season ended with Rick killing Pete the drunk who beat his wife who Rick had the hots for.
They’re all held up in her house with her two sons. One who has a chip on their shoulder and wants revenge, especially now on Carl because I guess he thinks Carl took his GF Edin.
So this little punk pulls a glock out on Carl in the street prior to the attack, lucky for Carl the zombies got in. But now when Carl and them get in the house the kid tries it again and Carl then starts fighting, making a bunch of noise and breaking a window leading all the dead to them.
Now Carl could have either finished this kid off, or at the very least told Rick and the Kids mom what he did. But he didn't, he lied. And it's interesting to note, that this lines up with the theme of this season and a few last episodes where people are forgiving those who try to kill them as if its some moral high ground.
But in these situations you can't do this. Later on when the group tries to escape the dead and it goes sideways, the Kid pulls the gun again on Rick and Carl. Which ends up getting Carl shot and losing his eye.
And I found this scene interesting as it's kind of symbolic. Its actually as old as time and something that goes all the way back to the Egyptians. Which is if you take your eye off of evil you will lose it or more.
There's an old Egyptian story about one of their Gods, Horus. And Horus lost his eye in a tussle with Seth. And Seth is this Malevolent figure. And the idea is Horus was to have one eye over the kingdom, or all that is good but also his eye on evil, as to make sure it stays in check. This is also the story of the lion king, where Mufassa takes his eyes off the evil uncle and the evil uncle and him fight and he dies. Well Horus fights with Seth because he allows Seth to get unruly and he's taken out and in the process loses his eye.
ITs the idea that you should never take your eye off the evil that's around you. Or less it will consume you and kill you. Its also a little bit of the same in the Biblical story of Cain and Abel.
And that's what happens with Carl. literally, he lies to his father and in the process takes his eyes off of the malevolent kid who wants revenge. And well the kid takes his eye…
We must always keep one eye on the evil around us. And this translates to really just being self aware of your surroundings and the people around you. Knowing who around you is good for you and who isn't, who is trying to take or manipulate you. And not putting yourself in dangerous or vulnerable situations.
So Carl gets shot and loses his eye, the woman and both her kids are eaten by zombies. Rick for a moment is sad but he quickly gets over it as we will cover that in a moment.
The rush to the infirmary where Carl gets treated, Rick loses it and goes outside to fight all the dead which inspires everyone else to join. Somehow they manage to kill all these walkers and no one dies.
I mean there were hundreds of them… again the idea that they wouldn't of been overcome by that horde is a bit of a stretch. But luckily Daryl comes through and lights a massive fire with the fuel truck he stole and it helps thin the herd out.
Its weeks later now, the town is cleaned up, the wall is fixed and everyone seems to be doing pretty good. Even Carl is getting along just fine after his injury.
Rick and Daryl go out in search of goods where they come across a man who happens to look like Jesus and well is called Jesus.
As a Christian I don't like this, it's a little blasphemous. But his character is ok, he has some abilities to fight with hand to hand combat and beats up on Rick and Daryl a little and tricks them.
They eventually get him and take him back to Alexandria unconscious and place him in the holding cell.
He gets out and finds Rick's house. How did he know where Rick slept? Don't know..
Why doesnt this freak out Rick considering at any other time it would and there would be no talks… Dont know.
Guess Rick was feeling pretty lenient and chill that morning because he ended up sleeping with Michonne that night.
OH MY!... ya Rick got over that cute blonde woman pretty fast and is now hooking up with Michonne.
To be honest this relationship at first seemed a bit off, like I didn't really see a connection there. Or pick up on one. I tried to see if I missed it this time around from the time they met up until now. but still didn't pick up on it.
But overall I don’t hate it. I didn't see the story taking us there but, hey they're a thing now. Lucky for Jesus because Rick is usually pretty Tense and has an itchy trigger finger.
This is when we learn about “The Hilltop” community. Just one of many communities that Alexandria will eventually run into.
This episode is titled “the next world” which is a good title. As this ushers on a completely different chapter in the entire Walking Dead Saga.
No longer are you fighting with small groups of survivors and the dead. But now you’re engaging with massive communities and the Dead take a back seat to the story.
The old World is dead, the New world is here, and in it are communities trying to survive. Some are good, some are bad, and Rick and his group will have to navigate that.
The Hilltop is the first of that group. Jesus takes them all there to see the community and possibly work together with some sort of trade agreement.
During this they meet the leader but unfortunately that leader is attacked by his own people. They were sent to send him a message from the Saviors and a man called Negan.
This is where we are introduced to the second community, more like the mafia where they find you and extort you for protection. They want half of what you have, and they kill someone to show they are not playing. What's the protection from? Well then…
Just like a mob boss telling a store clerk he must pay for protection, otherwise lose his store, that protection money protects the store clerk from the mob…. that's Negan and the saviors.
Rick strikes a deal with the injured hilltop leader. That Rick and his people would take the saviors and Negan out in exchange for a portion of their food supply.
And so the group sets off with a plan.
They end up attacking an outpost, and killing everyone in it. However that was just an outpost and not the entire savior community or Negan.
Rick and their group, and the audience at this point think they accomplished their mission. But they didn't, they just started a war.
Daryl, Sasha, and Denise go on a supply run for medicine when Denise is killed by one of the saviors, the one that happened to take Daryl's crossbow and bike… From here we learn that the saviors and Negan are still alive and strong.
Meanwhile Carol decides she cant take being around people and fighting for them anymore and decides to bounce. Rick and Morgan go after her and try to find her.
Carol has a run in with a truck of Saviors on their way to Alexandria. She ends up killing all but one of them.
Rick heads back to Alexandria when they both realize the saviors are coming for them and Morgan sets off to find an injured Carol.
Carol is eventually found but escapes Morgan again only to be attacked by the last savior in the truck. He shoots her in the arm and leg so she bleeds out slowly, but ends up being killed by Morgan.
After that two people come up on them, one on a horse and the other who was looking for his horse that Morgan happened to find.
Back at Alexandria, Maggie suddenly starts having pains in her abdomen, related to her baby. Rick and the group decide to pack up and get her to the Hilltop where they have a doctor. Since Denise is now dead…
Folks there's certain people who dont go outside the wire… one of them is your Doctor…
Anyway the group sets off and meets a road block of saviors. They tell Rick they must hand over all they have and kneel, but Rick counters with giving him all they have. Obviously that does not happen.
And so Rick and the Group try to go another way, and hit another roadblock.
And then another, and another.
Until they decide to set out on foot to get Maggie to the hilltop.
It's night time but the saviors find them anyway in the woods and lead them to a trap. Where Eugine and the Rv are at.
From here they are told to kneel, Rick is clearly freaked out. This is a look we have not seen from Rick since probably season one. A look of “Oh shit, This may be the end”
Its interesting to note that Rick's crazy eyes come back but this time they have a touch of despair to them. Like he knows this time there's no way out.
From here we get to meet the man himself. Negan.
Now we don't learn too much about him yet, but from first impressions this is one bad dude. Negan is smart, calculated, and very much in control. He has a level of arrogance to him that's backed up by his intelligence.
The group is surrounded by hundreds of armed soldiers, all of which work for Negan.
Negan is essentially the Godfather, he's the mafia boss and has an iron fist over that area.
Negan explains what the terms will be, Alexandria will give half everything they have and if that's not enough they will give more. In other words the Saviors will take as much as they want. But since Rick and his Group killed so many of their own, Negan says there's a debt to pay. Someone will have to die….
He begins to go to each member trying to decide who he will take out.. He ends up doing a little eenie-meenie-miney-mo and then takes one of them out. We don't know who, as the camera angle is from the perspective of the character, but we hear everyone scream and the camera goes black and the season ends.
I sat back and pondered for a bit about all this and wondered if this situation could have been avoided.
For some reason I had the idea that it was the arrogance of Rick that led to this war but after rewatching the season I don't think that's the case.
Sure Rick is a bit arrogant and very confident that his group can handle the saviors. And after all they have been through he has some reason to believe that.
But we also see what the Saviors have done to hilltop, the three people Daryl met, and what the bikers were gonna do to Daryl, Sasha, and Abraham. These arent good people and it would have been only a matter of time before Negan found them and extorted them.
The reality is the Saviors are a pretty powerful group with a ton of resources and manpower. The blockades at every road proved that and showed that they have deep knowledge of the local terrain and its roads.
Rick has hands full here, and his group is not large enough or capable enough to take on the Saviors alone. And Negan is about to thin herd out a little too, so we shall see how this goes down in the next season.
//
Intro/outro Song
Big Rock License
Big Rock by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3436-big-rock
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Intro Song
Theme to the Walking Dead
by Bear McCreary
The original TV soundtrack to The Walking Dead
