The Walking Dead S8E16: Wrath
My mercy prevails over my wrath. This is the line voiced by Rick in the very first episode of this season as a foreshadowing of things to come. I’ve returned to it over and over in my episodic reviews to prepare you for this very thing. Now the question is; are we okay with it?
The “it” I’m referring to is of course the decision, not just to let Negan live, but to save his life and keep him alive. A number of things happened just right to allow these circumstances to arise. Eugene’s apparent change of heart (we’ll talk about that). Oceanside arriving in the nick of time (we’ll talk about that too). Whatever the circumstances may have been, this is a decision Rick made almost unilaterally. And it’s a decision that Maggie is not at all pleased with. So I suppose before long we’ll be seeing #TeamRick and #TeamMaggie, if we aren’t already. For the sake of thematic discussion and for the future of the show, I am unabashedly #TeamRick. Here’s why…
For the sake of the show, we need a change in the status quo, and Rick’s decision forces that to happen. For 5-6 seasons we’ve been going through the same Rick vs. the bad guy routine. First it was the Governor, then Terminus, now Negan. While conflict invites its own circumstances that help make it unique, it’s still largely the same formula with the end goal being the termination of the enemy. That repetition has brought on widespread critique of the show and a minor exodus in viewers. The decision to spare Negan flies in the face of that formula and should provide some interesting directions to take the show. Will Negan buy in? Will Rick remain steadfast with his decision? How will the community respond? To answer the former question, we’re already getting a taste of that with Maggie. She reveals her plans to…. do something contrary to Rick’s decision. More on that in a moment.
Secondly, and more to the point of what I was discussing in my review last week, the showcasing of mercy brings into question the very nature of the zombie genre and why we watch these type of shows and movies at all. In the zombie apocalypse, mercy is a character trait that nobody can afford to champion if they expect to live long. The same can be said for kindness, gentleness, peacefulness… you know, fruits of the spirit that Christians are specifically called to embody (Galatians 5). For a major television show to subvert the general boundaries of a sub-genre like this and aim it in the direction of Christian ethics is not something to take lightly. This has to be seen as something of a win for a biblical balance of justice and mercy among humanity. This is something we can point to in culture and acknowledge as being the better way.
Extending mercy to Negan should come as no real surprise to either viewers of the show or readers of the comic. What probably does surprise however, is the direction that Maggie is now on. In one of the final scenes, Maggie is speaking with Jesus and Daryl in her office about the events that just transpired. She made it known at the time that she was not happy with Rick’s choice to spare Negan. Michonne had to restrain her. Now she is calm, but she is still angry. She speaks about biding their time, expanding Hilltop, getting stronger, and getting in a position to overthrow Rick. This is contrary to everything we’ve known about Maggie thus far, but I think it’s a very intriguing turn of events. We have a legitimate leader with a legitimate beef that many people likely share with her. It’s hard to even imagine a scenario where she or Rick might have to injure, or kill, the other. It’s also difficult to imagine that Jesus would go along with it considering his peaceful ways and his comments to Morgan early in the last episode about taking small steps to spare life. If I had to guess, I would say he will be to Maggie as Dwight was to Daryl.
Speaking of Daryl; while he hasn’t been much of the focus this season, he stands to be in season nine. He is completely on board with Maggie, and considering he and Rick’s confrontation earlier in the season it’s easy to see how that could escalate after Rick’s decision to spare Negan. His mindset however is interesting. While it’s not really an apples to apples comparison, he did show mercy to Dwight in letting him go unharmed even though Dwight was basically surrendering himself to death. Daryl let Dwight live even though Dwight killed Denise. Is Rick letting Negan live really all that different? Now, to be clear, it certainly is different. Negan was the orchestrator of this group that indiscriminately killed and enslaved hundreds of people. Dwight helped in overthrowing him, so it’s different. But I still think there’s an heir of hypocrisy in Daryl’s actions toward Dwight, and his attitude toward Rick. He’ll be a primary player in Maggie’s effort to gain power.
My Rating: B
There is a LOT to like about this episode, and that’s basically everything I discussed above. There were two big items however that brought this down from A-territory for me. One, Eugene’s subversion tactics. Turns out he was still #TeamRick all along and found a clever way to compromise all of the Savior’s weapons. That’s great! My problem is he did this while still boldly proclaiming his loyalty to Negan. That is not the character of Eugene that we know. This is a guy that pees his pants at the site of Lucille, and you’re telling me he kept a straight face while lying to Negan about the bullets? That’s a glaring character inconsistency and I’m not buying it. The second is the inexplicable coincidence of the Oceanside women arriving at Hilltop at exactly the right moment to save them… with sticks and fire… from the saviors and their semi-automatic rifles. If that sounds ridiculous, you’re getting a fraction of the idea of how ridiculous it looked on screen. This is a poor plot element that could’ve easily been avoided. It was never even mentioned again in the episode, even when all was calm and the people were back at Hilltop. It’s lazy and annoying and is the type of thing to which this show seems to constantly return and keep good episodes from being great.
