The Walking Dead S6E12: Not Tomorrow Yet

Last week Rick learned of the existence of another group called the Saviors, led by a ruthless man named it Negan. In order to secure their food supply, a confrontation seemed imminent. This week, Rick needed to channel his inner Governor to convince his group that an offensive attack is the best course forward. Something very out of character for these people. (spoilers ahead)

Rick’s pitch to his group was one of the first scenes in this weeks show. You had the usual suspects present and really everyone was pretty somber and thoughtful about it. Morgan was there and made his predictable objection known. “Give them a chance”, he says. At the very least Morgan wants to give the Saviors an opportunity to surrender. Whatever avoids a full out offensive front. Aaron objected to this, citing the previous attack they were unprepared for and all the people they lost. For such a bold plan being tossed around, I was somewhat surprised this was really the only dialogue we got at this meeting. Sure, these people have grown to trust Rick, bud what he is proposing is in stark contrast to everything they’ve known and in fact everything that Rick’s group has known as well. I referenced the Governor in the opening paragraph. What Rick is proposing is really not so different from what the governor was trying to convince his post-Woodbury group about in order to take over the prison. And when you think about the governor’s approach, whether you believe his sincerity or not, it was the more humane one. He gave them a chance to leave with their lives. As we see Rick’s plan play out we see stealth tactics and men killed in their sleep. A far cry from allowing them to skate with their lives. You may very well believe that such things are necessary in this world, and you may be right. But jumping to that conclusion in while entertaining no possibilities for defensive maneuvers or negotiations is both shortsighted and presumptive.

In place of a lack of real dialogue and discussion over whether they should be taking an offensive approach, we have Carol’s softer side being shown as she wrestles with the reality of how many she’s killed. I get the sense that Morgan’s philosophy, that all life is precious, is beginning to gnaw at her. She has sworn Rosita, Eugene, and Tara to secrecy regarding Morgan’s decision to allow the wolf to live and put many lives at risk. Even Morgan wonders why she hasn’t ratted him out to Rick. In one scene the night before they raid the Saviors compound, she lies awake with her thoughts and a journal of how many people she has killed. 18. Some of them out of necessity to protect her life and the lives around her. Some of them she simply felt needed to go. Some were split-second decisions. Some she laid in wait for. It’s difficult to say, but I think she is wrestling with who she really is and the changes she has had to make to become a decisive killer. We saw hints of this introspection when she and Morgan were arguing over the wolf, but now it seems to be coming to the surface as something she is having difficulty dealing with. Morgan’s words, or her own conscience, have pierced through to a place in her heart that knows she is becoming a bit of a monster and has devalued life to such an extent that it terrifies others to think of the decisions she can make and what she’s capable of doing. This is what Tobin said to her on the porch. What she can do scares him. I think it’s beginning to scare her some as well.

With the backdrop of the preparation to take on the Saviors, we have a lot of characters saying what they think may be their final goodbyes to loved ones. It is in these scenes where this episode struggles somewhat. It falls prey to a pretty common objection to the show in general; characters spelling out what they’re feeling rather than allowing their acting to do the talking. In particular Abraham uses this opportunity to part ways with Rosie, in a way that only Abraham can. Surely I’m not alone in not caring to much at all about Abrahams relationships. He’s a big dude that can throwdown, I don’t really care what is romantic choices are. Be that as it may, he’s one of those guys that might be better off just sending a break up text than trying to find the words in person. Elsewhere, Carol opens up to Tobin a bit and some sparks fly. Tara and Denise have a somewhat awkward hugging it out. Glenn and Maggie discuss who should go.

The raid on the compound goes suspiciously well as the group suffers zero losses upon completion. Once they let their guard down however, they discover that Maggie and Carol have been taken hostage. Some part of Negan’s group either got out, or came upon the raid while it was going down. This leaves the viewer with a lot to wonder; how many more are there? Where’s Negan? Are there more compounds? While Rick’s plan seemed to work perfectly to take this station, he’s now facing a hostage negotiation with people he knows nothing about.

MY RATING: B

This episode delivered in the action we would’ve expected from a compound raid, and it delivered on a couple other character conflicts, namely Carol and Morgan. Another critical show moment was Glenn’s first kill. I thought it did well at showing his hesitancy, the regret/uncertainty of what he was doing even while he was doing it. The parts where it staggers is in the dialogue between characters sharing relationships before the raid begins.