The Walking Dead S9E11: Bounty
Once again an apology is in order to my weekly readers. I don’t imagine anyone is on the edge of their seats waiting to hear my thoughts on the latest Walking Dead episode, but a gap in a series of reviews can be frustrating; even if only for the OCD-plagued among us. Life got in the way of a written review for last week’s episode, “Omega,” wherein a primary character, Lydia, was introduced to the audience. Lydia is the daughter of the leader of the Whisperers, who we found out was Alpha by the end of the episode. Lydia revealed much about her childhood, specifically the days immediately following the walker outbreak and how her mother and father handled things. It is eventually revealed that she had become so brainwashed by her mother that she convinced herself that her father sacrificed himself for her family, when in reality her mother killed him and seized dictatorial control of the small group they were with.
As a whole, “Omega” suffered from the slow pace that has been common of TWD in recent seasons. The content was interesting enough, however. We got a sense of the mental damage caused by maternal betrayal, and how we might reshape our memories to veil a truth we’re not comfortable with, or that hurts us too much. Lydia gained immediate depth due to this, and her relationship with Henry drew interest as well. Aside from that, the episode fell into some bad plot points, especially regarding inexplicable decisions to search for Luke and Alden. By way of a rating, “Omega” gets a C- from me.
Now, on to week 11’s Bounty…
Remember how Negan escaped prison, and went on a lonely journey to try and find himself again, only to return to his captors at Alexandria? Remember how that was only two episodes ago? Negan’s return to Alexandria, with his tail between his legs, feels like kind of a big deal to have not touched on it for two weeks, especially considering the apparent chemistry between Negan and Judith. This feels like a typical season 7 mistake, which would go three, sometimes four or more episodes between catching up with some characters. If that happens here with Negan, it’s a glaring mistake. At least this time around we have the Whisperers and their leader Alpha to keep our minds racing.
At the close of “Omega,” Alpha approached the Hilltop gates asking for her daughter, Lydia. Rather than resume at this point of tension, the show begins with an apparent flashback to a time that appears to be shortly after Rick’s death, when a Charter of Community Rights and Freedoms was being discussed. Relationships between Michonne and Maggie were only just beginning to sour. This opener was a bit mystifying because it wasn’t immediately apparent that it was a jump backwards in time, but it also didn’t seem to have much at all to do with anything of consequence for the episode as a whole. It seemed to serve only to reveal why Ezekiel might be wanting a frame from the movie theater they raid later in the episode. There was also a LOT of lovey-dovey “forever” talk between Ezekiel and Carol; that combination should lead any reasonable viewer to think Ezekiel’s time left on the show is short.
Back in the present time, Alpha remains at Hilltop’s gates demanding her daughter. When her request is initially refused, she brings in reinforcements, including a woman with a baby. This changes the equation, as Daryl is now limited in any kind of full scale response. However, the Hilltoppers value that baby more than its own mother. When it begins to cry and draw real walkers, the mother looks in panic to Alpha for some direction. She gives a cold shrug. A moment earlier, in response to Daryl’s shock of them having a baby in the open like this, she tells him, “We’re all animals. We’re out here with other animals. Animals have babies. So we’ve got babies out here.”
Two weeks ago, I noted how the Whisperers take on the form of the dead to secure their safety. With this baby, we learn they also defer to the dead even at the risk of their future. Don’t be mistaken: Alpha, or any adult, would defend themselves against the walkers if needed, but they leave the weakest among them to be consumed by death. This is also evident in their apparent abandonment of those among them who get caught, as Lydia describes her surprise that her mother has come back for her. A society deferring to death to secure their personal safety and comfort can never hope for a future where death isn’t master of their path and lord of their fates.
Since Alpha took Luke and Alden hostage, she controls the bargaining price for her daughter’s return. No one likes handing Lydia over to her mother once they know what it means for her, but the numbers just don’t add up. A peaceful exchange is made, and everyone has to just live with it. Only Henry can’t; he escapes to bring Lydia back and save her from her own people. Daryl and Connie go after him, and the pieces are in place which lead to the Daryl-Beta showdown teased in the season 9 second half trailer. Beta, for you non-graphic novel readers, is basically Alpha’s muscle and enforcer of the group. Imagine Rick vs. Negan, but with stronger fighters.
My Rating: B
This episode was about three movie-theater-raid scenes away from an ‘A’ rating. I appreciate the attention to Ezekiel and Carol’s relationship, but it was such a clear setup, and in such a mundane task of getting a projector bulb, that most of those scenes fell very flat for me. Jerry’s comedic relief is probably what I’ll remember most about those scenes. The Whisperer showdown, though, was solid. I’m a bit underwhelmed with Alpha, but I’ll give it some time and judge further interactions with her group and her leadership style. The scene with Connie saving the baby and running through the cornfield was terrific. The choice to dampen all the audio to put the viewer in the head of a deaf person in this scenario really amped up the terror.
