@Lcfremont continues her travels with the group. Talking points – Carol’s stepford wife act, Glen on the edge & Rick’s booty…
Thanks to the lovely fans who also read the books, I was assured that Rick did hear children on the other side of that big gate, so I guess this place is going to be alright after all. Not so fast. Carl notices a young lady just outside of the wall who will later be introduced to us as Enid. What was Enid doing outside of the compound? We haven’t even entered the gates and there is already shady business going on. Well, at least Daryl was polite enough to bring dinner. You should never show up to a party empty handed.
Though not the warmest welcome, Glen leads the group through and they all look a bit like caged animals when that gate closes. When Rick calls to Sasha to take out the walker beyond the fence and then saying, “It’s a good thing we’re here”, he may as well have just yelled “CLAIMED!” as he walked into Alexandria.
As seems to be the style on TWD, we have a confidant woman in power here at Alexandria. Her name is Deanna Monroe and she’s part Steven Soderbergh with her Sex, Lies and Videotape sessions and part Hillary Clinton. I love her. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler said it best years ago-“Bitch is the new black.” Deanna is clearly an intelligent woman who has kept a community together and she has brought Rick and the others in precisely because they are like wild animals. Deanna is a smart cookie and I’m very interested to see how her character evolves.
Apparently, Deanna and her husband lucked out and found a planned community that was self contained with homes starting in the low $800,000’s. Um, I hope to say that one day. “Oh, my house was a steal at Eight Hundred Thousand Dollars.” Anyway, as is the norm on The Walking Dead, it’s super convenient that Deanna’s husband happened to be an architecture professor and it all seems a bit too perfect. They’ve just been living like the Cleavers behind these walls while everyone else is fighting for survival? This community with their spacious homes, clean clothes, flat screen tv’s and misplaced attitudes are incredibly annoying. Deanna, Aaron and Eric seem to be the only ones who truly respect and appreciate the presence of the Ricktatorship.So, how is it that Alexandria happens to have two empty houses next to one another for everyone? Maybe the houses are bugged and our group is still being monitored. Well, who cares because Rick gets to take a shower and we get a glimpse of his booty. As if that wasn’t enough, then he shaves off his beard and the dude from Love Actually is standing there. Rick Grimes, you will always be perfect to me.
Coincidentally, the local hairstylist shows up on Rick’s doorstep and not only is she beautiful, but she’s played by the wonderful Alexandra Breckenridge. Fans of American Horror Story, you know her as the young, sexy Moira. Clearly the voice of reason, she let’s him know that it’s o.k. for him to not be comfortable with this new situation yet. Also, haircuts were never going away and I am here to tell you that is a truth. You’ll always need a haircut. You don’t always need the stylist’s husband being a jerk and marking his territory, though. I hope he’s the first one that Rick kills. With the red handled machete.
Much has been made of how everyone reacted to this new situation and I think everyone has reacted as well as can be expected. If Rick didn’t keep his group together and then get that knife out of the drawer, he would’t have succeeded this far. No one has any reason to trust their new situation and Daryl has absolutely no reason to trust anyone ever. The first group he joined handcuffed his brother on a roof and left him there. The next group he fell into was going to beat him to death. Also, Daryl Dixon would never feel comfortable in a neighborhood like this anyway. Carl had to kill his own mother while these kids were reading comics and listening to music. In order to survive, they have all had to become a bit feral and they’re not just going to rehabilitate instantly. Carl brings up a very valid point when he calls the people weak and worries that the same will become of them if they adapt.
As made abundantly clear by Aidan, these people are not equipped to truly deal with everything. What is wrong with them stringing up walkers? At least that gave us an awesome skin peeling session. Aidan thinks he’s a real tough guy and even his mom appreciates Glen taking him down a notch. In fact, the way Deanna chose to deal with this situation only hi-lighted what a strong leader she is.
As constable Rick heads out the door, he assures Carol and Daryl that they won’t get weak because they are all well past that being an option. Instead, if the town doesn’t work for them, they’ll just take it over. Rick ended the episode with the same attitude he approached it with and Deanna is well aware of this. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times; hubris didn’t work for Walter White and it’s not going to work for anyone else.
Sidenotes:
Glen was also the first one to walk through the gates of Terminus. What does this mean? Anything?
The bit with tiny Carol placing all of those guns and one as big as her on the cart was hilarious.
“A boy and a baby. They deserve a room. I guess.” This basically sums up Daryl’s current attitude.
Who’s the idiot that took Rick’s gun out of the blender? Is it someone who has been watching them this whole time? Someone Enid goes to visit on her unsanctioned walkabouts?
Is Carol’s routine all a way to do undercover work? She told Daryl he needed to look the part and blend in. She’s treating this like a temporary exercise and not a permanent situation.
So much happened in an action light episode. TV Babies, what do you think the future holds for our group and for the community of Alexandria?
Lisa Fremont
Twitter: @lcfremont
Article first published at horrorhoneys.com. Lisa is the TV Honey.
Images: IMDb & Forbes.com
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