The Walking Dead S7E12: Say Yes
The prospect of romance has been a novel idea ever since Negan came into the lives of our survivors. Glenn and Maggie were holding it down with Abraham and Sasha, but with both of those men gone there has been very little in the way of dinner by candlelight or sharing kisses under the moonlight. Rick and Michonne do what they can to change that this episode.
The king and queen of the zombie apocalypse (Credit to Chris Hardwick) spent most of this episode scavenging or making love. Guns were primary on the wish list, but as luck would have it they fell into a huge stash of food. Literally, they fell right through a roof and landed on a mattress in a warehouse of ready to eat meals. There were some really cool scenes of zombie killing, something we haven’t actually seen very much of the season, but the bulk of their screen time focused on conversations between them and whether they could survive without one another. Especially after Michonne thought that Rick had been killed. In that moment you can see her almost give up on life. She is stripped of all hope and her will to continue, and that is symbolized in her dropping her sword to the ground, marking only the second time ever she has willfully given up her sword.
Yvette Nicole Brown made an interesting observation on Talking Dead that she believes Rick and Michonne basically exchange wedding vows on this episode. It came when they were driving back to Alexandria and Michonne was still shaken up over the thought of Rick being dead, and her reaction to that. They place their trust in one another not just for mutual support, but to each be leaders whether the other is still around or not. It’s almost as though they’re pledging themselves to the community as much as they are to each other. To each be leaders until death do us part, and even after that. Rick draws strength from Michonne and wants to lead together, not just on his own. And Michonne needs reassurance from Rick that she can be a leader even without him. It’s a touching moment for these two and is definitely a defining moment in their relationship, whether it can be likened to marriage or not.
Back at Alexandria we have a couple women considering some major moves. Tara, as we all know, is withholding information from Rick on where a large stash of weapons is located. She’s doing this because she made a promise to the one who set her free to keep the location of Oceanside a secret. Given the history with Oceanside – see episode 7.06, “Swear”, for descriptions of how the Saviors have killed all their men – we can understand Tara’s hesitation. They’re as likely to shoot Rick on site as they are to hear him out. By the end of the episode it’s clear that Tara decides to tell Rick. This will bring about an interesting encounter with her and the Oceanside community again, and gives the viewers an opportunity to consider her dilemma. She even sets it up for us in the episode; “What makes our lives more valuable than theirs? Because we want to stop the people that are hurting us? That will hurt other people?” Her problem is twofold; one, she’ll be breaking a promise that she made in exchange for her freedom, and two, she’s exposing this group to a danger they have already been almost completely wiped out by. It will be interesting to see how Rick approaches this group. Does he bring Tara along? Does he pretend to just stumble upon them to help Tara save face? Either way, it’s tough to imagine Rick would use force to take weapons from a community of women who have already lost so much to the Saviors.
Rosita took the remaining screen time of this episode. It wasn’t long ago that she took a shot at Negan and missed. This resulted in Olivia’s death and Eugene’s capture. She feels she screwed up, but she still feels that a lone wolf trying to take out Negan is the way to go. She’s still feeling the heavy loss of Abraham, and it appears to still be clouding her judgment. After a quick and short-tempered talk with Gabriel, she decides to seek the help of Sasha. Sasha has also been wanting to go after Negan alone, but hasn’t had the opportunity or means to do it. Rosita pays a visit to Hilltop, and comes bearing gifts; Sasha’s sniper rifle she became so accustomed with after Bob’s death. Rosita and Sasha are determined to take their vengeance for Abraham, and in so doing they could mess up everything Rick is working towards in gathering an army.
My Rating: B+
Getting Tara and Rosita moving forward in this episode was a good choice. Without them this is a slow episode, but with them we’re able to consider multiple outcomes to both of their plans/decisions while also seeing Rick and Michonne grow closer and kill some walkers. With four episodes left in the season I’m growing concerned we won’t see much or any of the forthcoming war, and we’ll be left with a cliffhanger not unlike the season 6 finale. Previews indicate the Kingdom will be coming on board and Carol is back in action. You have to figure one episode for that, one for Oceanside, and one for the planning/final agreement with the Scavengers. Perhaps that leaves time to begin the war before the season is done, but I’m doubting it. My guess is we’ll end with Sasha and Rosita taking their shot, and one or both of them dying as a consequence.
