The Walking Dead S9E9: Adaptation

I championed the cemetery scene from the season 9 midseason finale as one of the best in the history of the show, so you can imagine my delight when the midseason premiere picked up right where they left off. This accomplishes a couple things: first, it reminds viewers of that awesome scene; and second, it avoids the risk of abusing time jumps since we just had one in the middle of the season. The Whisperers surround our small group, led by Michonne, hoping to capitalize on the fear and uncertainty of the environment. The entire group escape the graveyard with their lives, except for Jesus, whose death we witnessed in the last episode. Grieving his loss, however, will have to wait.

The road back to Hilltop with the body of Jesus sees another encounter with some Whisperers, but this time they’re ready. In another very iconic scene, Daryl and Michonne coordinate to trap a small group of walkers and Whisperers, exposing the whisperers and eventually capturing one of them. We later learn this Whisperer’s name is Lydia, and she makes claims to have been with as many as ten others; but also that she was with only her mother, who is now all alone. Unsurprisingly, her story doesn’t quite line up. Something she says, though, plays against an interesting development with Negan:

“Walls don’t keep you safe. Places like this don’t make it.”

It wouldn’t surprise me at all if this bit of subtext is aimed at current political endeavors. If it is, it would presumably fall into the category of villains speaking a truth, yet distorting the meaning. Whatever the case may be, it’s an interesting line to put in the mouth of a current villain (Whisperer) in an episode when the former(?) villain (Negan) is being told “There’s nothing out there for you,” as he tries to escape the walls of his imprisonment. Judith, of all people, catches Negan escaping and threatens to shoot him. After some convincing she allows him to leave, but gives him that warning. With that as a backdrop, I think we need to read “walls” as less of a literal fortification, and more of a figurative reference to a sharing community. Even further, it’s a community that is rejecting the dead walking around them, and seeking a return to normalcy.

And here we have our first clear contrast, at least one that isn’t blatantly obvious, between our group(s) and these Whisperers. Our group seeks safety within, reliance on one another for protection, and only ventures into the territory of the dead to scavenge supplies. The Whisperers, by contrast, live among the dead, and rely on the dead for safety as they seek to blend in with them. They are alive, but they’re taking on the form of death. Our group says that there’s nothing out there for you; the Whisperers insist that your normalcy won’t protect you. Lydia says it herself as Daryl interrogates her: “we would’ve killed you anyway.” The adaptation they have undergone to survive has reached a philosophical level, such that they now despise and seek to destroy all efforts to reject the death that has taken over the world. If they weren’t so inherently violent, you might call them sheep in wolf’s clothing.

This episode also spends a lot of time with Negan in solitude while he attempts to rebuild himself. Once he escapes, he finds a leather jacket and a suitable replacement for Lucille. He even goes back to his old stomping grounds at the Sanctuary, only to find it abandoned. Director Greg Nicotero seeks to reinforce this rugged individualism by setting most of Negan’s scenes against a western tune. For his entire post-walker life he’s been surrounded by people: usually people serving him. Now he’s alone. He has unintentionally isolated himself, and once he realizes he is seeking the company of a former Savior-turned-walker, the truth hits him hard: he needs other people. In a bit of a surprise move, he heads back to Alexandria; either he truly has turned over a new leaf and will seek to earn everyone’s trust, or this is a strangely satisfying, admittedly unusual case of Stockholm syndrome. Whatever the case may be, I think I already like the dynamic between Negan and Judith more than I did that of Negan and Carl. A daughter-figure has a way of softening a man’s heart. We’ll see if Negan is such a man.

The close of this episode was, once again, terrific. While Alden and Luke try to track their friends, they unknowingly walk right into a pack of Whisperers surrounding them. In a rather creepy moment, as a walker comes toward them, it suddenly stops. The following moments prove somewhat terrifying, and when the first Whisperer pulls a shotgun and speaks, we know they mean business. I would guess Alden and Luke will be used to bargain for Lydia’s return, and I wouldn’t expect them both to survive.

My Rating: B+

Negan’s lonely trek through the episode is, surprisingly, not boring; and it touched on enough of his known background to keep it relevant and purposeful. Though it’s a small arc, it’s a refreshing one in an episode that gives more reason for people to separate themselves from one another than to draw closer together. Even Aaron, after delivering Jesus to Hilltop, expresses his agreement with Michonne that the communities should stay separate. While this may not bode well for the upcoming festival, it also provides an opening in which the Whisperers can drive a wedge.