There have been numerous focal points during the eight seasons of AMC’s The Walking Dead. Some of the major ones include the death of Shane back in the 2012 episode Better Angels; the death of Hershel back in the 2013 episode Too Far Gone; as well as the precursor to the lengthy war with The Saviors, when Glenn was killed back in the 2017 episode The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be. All vital figures in the world of The Walking Dead, most recently, the death of Carl Grimes in the current season’s episode Honor, could be one of the biggest yet.
Carl’s death comes amidst the height of the war with The Saviors, and his importance to the series is perhaps the most essential of all the beloved characters who came before. That in mind, on Sunday, March 4, 2018, The Walking Dead recollected with the first post Carl-era episode entitled The Lost and the Plunderers. A time to gather your feelings of the events which have transpired, what is the next step for Rick Grimes and his rebellion?
Well, clearly Rick is hellbent on revenge or, should we say, finishing this war once and for all. He and Michonne stick together, travelling to the junkyard to warn The Heapsters of Negan’s pending messenger-sender Simon making a visit. Unfortunately, they are too late and Simon, a loose cannon of sorts, defies Negan’s wishes of making an example of one of the scavengers but instead orders his assigned crew to slaughter the entire mess of the bunch. Is this brutal turn of events a sign that Negan has lost a handle on his own officers, thus leading to chaos amidst The Saviors?
Meanwhile, our attention it brought back to Aaron and Enid trying to convince Oceanside to join in the fight against The Saviors. As usual, they are reluctant to join any fight but, fortunately, rather than kill Aaron and Enid, spare them, telling them not to return again. It is here we see the strength of Enid begin to shine through as she lays it all out for Cyndie and the ladies of Oceanside. Additionally, Aaron decides not to stay near Oceanside to hopefully convince them to join the fight, inisting Enid go back to The Hilltop where she is needed. What will Aaron’s fate be?
Through all these twists and turns the most telling portion of The Lost and the Plunderers is the exchange between Negan and Rick via walkie-talkies where Rick informs Negan of Carl’s death. Negan sincerely appears upset of Carl’s passing and proceeds to blame everything on Rick, to which he asks Rick, “Who’s Next?” Rick venomously replies, “You are!”
This exchange between Rick and Negan happens in the last moments of the episode but seems to be the first time since Negan and Rick’s paths crossed that a real conversation occurs; it is not Negan spewing out his wise ass, arrogant remarks, and for the most part is Rick trying to talk to Negan as another person. In a way, it seems Rick is trying to honor Carl’s last wishes which clearly steer toward ending the war and finding peace. Afterall, Carl did write a letter to both his father Rick and Negan. We do not exactly know what those notes say, but we can surely make some educated guesses.
The bottom-line is things seem to be coming to a head on The Walking Dead and hopefully there will be some sort of resolution to the war soon. The issue is, how many more people have to die? At what price will peace come? As Negan points out, Rick in a way has already had to pay a big price with the loss of Carl. A truthful statement from a fierce rival, one cannot help but think Negan’s stubborn, arrogant ways have lead to his own defeat too. Just look at The Saviors: they are starting to fall apart at the seams and that is a score one for Rick and company.
With these very important shifts in the story, an interesting side note is Jadis is now without her people; she is completely and utterly alone. What will become of her? Does Rick eventually welcome her into the group or is her underhandedness and game playing too much to mend prior issues?
There is so much left to be discovered on The Walking Dead and thankfully for those patient enough to sit through a very slow process between season 7 and now, it is starting to pay off. Interestingly enough, the series is reportedly at its lowest rating in 7 seasons. Has the bloom come off the rose or will people who turned away return once they see the stone turning? Only time will tell but it should be interesting to see what happens on Sunday, March 11th, when Dead or Alive Or airs. Until then, CrypticRock gives The Lost and the Plunderers 4 out of 5 stars.
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