What I Watched Today
(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)
The Walking Dead
Everyone runs. Cole’s throat is slashed, Duncan is stabbed, and both Negan and Gabriel are hit with something. Elijah gets dragged away from the others by a rope, and Maggie is suddenly alone. She feels movement behind her, and flings a sickle she’s found at a Reaper, but it misses him, and sticks in a tree. I’m already thinking, if these people can’t get it together in ten years to gather roots, nuts, and berries, and grow tomatoes, they’re doomed.
Carol comes back to Alexandria with Kelly, and Magna asks if Kelly wants to do a shift together. Kelly says/signs, something came up, and Magna asks if she wants to talk, but Kelly says, there’s nothing to talk about. Aaron and some others raise a new wall made out of metal pieces, and Carol tells Aaron that they’re getting the horses back. He says they’ve been down this road before, and they’re about to fail. Carol says, if they don’t get the horses, they can’t carry more than a sack of grain. She gets a few supplies, and leaves.
Judith, RJ, Gracie, and RJ play cards, and talk about their parents. In other words, this part is boring.
Maggie walks through a desolate area, and comes to a mall. She walks past a bunch of scattered cars in what used to be the mall parking lot. I love an abandoned mall. She tries a door, and a knife comes flying through the air, sticking in the wall near her. She runs, and tries another door. This one opens, and she closes it behind her. She goes down stairs, and sees some empty bottles, where apparently someone has had a drinking party. She sets a couple of them on the push-bar of the exit door to alert her to intruders. She walks through the mall, and to another set of stairs. We hear zombie noises. She shines her flashlight around, and walks up. A zombie comes out of nowhere, scaring us both, and she sends it bouncing down the stairs. She flicks on a lighter, and we see a Reaper behind her. She sends him flying too. She hears footsteps, and jets.
Gabriel sits in the woods, saying, the Lord is my refuge and my strength. He he pulls an ice pick out of his leg, and sees someone limping away and a mask on the ground. He limps in their direction.
Maggie goes through a space housing a lot of mannequins, which are always good for a scare. Something falls, and she jumps a mile, but keeps walking. Someone comes out from behind a counter, and it’s Alden, but in a hot second, a Reaper pops out and takes him down. The Reaper goes after Maggie with a sickle, and she keeps him at bay while she reaches for an empty bottle nearby. She punches him, getting him off of her, breaks the bottle, and gouges him in the side of the head with it. Negan comes up behind him, and finishes him off. Before dying, the Reaper sets off a grenade, and Negan and Maggie duck for cover. When the smoke clears, Maggie sees Alden sitting on the floor, and goes to ten to him. He has a stomach wound, and she asks if he can walk, He says he won’t know until they try. Negan says she’s not seriously thinking about keeping going. What exactly is the plan? She says, the plan didn’t change; they need that food. They’ll go to the supply drop, and radio the others from there. He says he knows theatrics, and these people just showed them how insane they are. They can’t be on any road the Reapers are using. It’s a sh*t plan. She asks him for a better one that doesn’t starve them, and he says he’s on her side. She says, then help her with Alden. They help Alden up, get on either side of them, and help him outside.
Rosita picks mushrooms or something by a creek, when Carol comes along, and Rosita says she didn’t want stay in the house. Kelly and Magna join them, and they surround a lone horse, each of them swinging a rope. They don’t try very hard, and it trots off. Rosita asks if Carol is okay, and Carol says she’ll be better when this is done. Rosita says she’s having dreams that Abe is trying to tell her something; somewhere they’re supposed to be. But just as she’s about to hear it, he gets shot in the head. She thinks it’s a message for them. Carol asks what he’s trying to say, but Rosita doesn’t know.
Outside the mall, Alden says they’d better get moving, and Maggie and Negan get on either side of him. They hear a woman scream, and head in that direction. Negan says, really? We’re going toward the screaming? Cool. They see Agatha stabbing zombies like a machine, and to prove his worth, Alden stabs one that they pass, but practically falls over. Duncan sits on the ground, and Agatha shakes her head, leaving Maggie with him. Maggie says she’s so sorry, and he asks, why? They were lucky. She says, for a little while, and he asks her to make sure Agatha gets home. Promise. He closes his eyes, and Maggie takes out a knife. She kisses his bald head, and stabs him.
Carol and her group go through the woods, when they see several dead, half-eaten horses by the river. Kelly says, no, and Magna hugs her. Carol says they’ll keep looking for the rest. Stay close to the water. Rosita says, it’s getting late, but Carol keeps walking. Rosita catches up with her, and says they don’t have to right now. They can do it tomorrow. Carol says they needed the horses yesterday. Now. Magna hugs her, and Carol says, let’s go home.
Kelly says they’ll try again next time, and Rosita says, maybe not. They run forward to a field, as a bunch of horses come running through. Kelly says, dope, and Rosita says, there’s a dairy farm. They have a paddock, and they can pen the horses in. The horses run in, and they try to round them up, but they’re about as good at that as they are growing food. Kelly tells them to drop their lassos, and Carol asks, why? Kelly says, just do it, and they put the lassos down. Kelly says, they’re not running. She thinks they’re home. Carol makes a sound like she’s calling a cat, and one of the horses comes to her. They all pet it.
Gabriel recites the 23rd psalm – the Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He finds the unmasked Reaper leaning against a log, and the Reaper says Gabriel moved slower than he thought Gabriel would. He asks if Gabriel is scared, but Gabriel says he’s not. The Reaper says he’s been blessed, and Gabriel says he has a funny definition of blessed. He asks Gabriel to pray for him, and Gabriel says the Reaper tried to kill his friends. The Reaper says, they tried to kill him. Pray for him; even his enemies deserve that much. He thought Gabriel was a man of God. Gabriel says, God isn’t here anymore, and kills the Reaper. (Or as Cheech Marin said in Machete, God has mercy; I do not.)
In the woods, Maggie looks out with binoculars, seeing a load of zombies. Negan says, there are twice many as before. He believes they should rethink the plan. She says, if he wants to go, go, and he says he can help. Her friends trusted him. She was gone a long time. Things change; people change. She says he’s got them fooled, but not her. Stop pretending to be one of them. He walks away, and Alden asks if Maggie is okay. She says she can handle Negan, but he says he’s not talking about Negan. He asks if Hilltop is the place she told Hershel about, and she says, not much surprises her anymore. He says, they’ll build it better than it was. They’ll get it done. At least by the time Adam is old enough to remember. They’ll start when they get back. Maggie says, the good news is, Hershel lives in Alexandria. Small win. Negan finds a decrepit, charred zombie tied to a tree, with a sign that says JUDAS above him. The zombies surround them, and Maggie says, come on. They move faster, killing a few along the way, but Alden falls. Maggie grabs him back up, but the zombies are closer now. Agatha, Negan, and Maggie start slicing and dicing. Even Alden gets in a few licks before he falls again. Agatha gets bit, and Maggie comes flying toward her to pull her away, but the zombies are crowding in. Negan grabs Maggie, and drags her off, as the zombies bring Agatha down. Bye, Agatha.
Carol and her group bring the horses back to Alexandria, and Rosita says she’s out. They tie the horses up, and Carol keeps walking with hers. Magna catches up with her, and asks if they can talk. Carol says, sure, and Magna says, she knows what Carol is doing, and wants her to stop. She’s giving Kelly false hope. Carol says she doesn’t understand, but Magna thinks she does. She believes Connie is alive because she can’t accept what it means if she’s lost. Carol says, Connie is family, and Magna says she wants her family to heal. Kelly looks up to Carol. She’s sorry for whatever Carol is going through, but she’s asking, begging Carol; whatever she’s telling Kelly, stop. She’s just making it harder. Carol walks away, and brings the horse to a stable where it lies down. She pets it, then cuts its throat – which, thankfully, we don’t see, but I say, WTF? She puts the blood in a huge dish, and Alden comes in. Alden and I both say, WTF?
The boring group of children is brought a plate of horsemeat. Judith is like, eww, and Hershel tells her, smaller bites are better. She asks if he’s eaten it before, and he says, when he and his mother were on the road, they just ate what they found. It’s better than spiders. Just chew it fast; it’s not that bad. Rosita brings the baby to see the horses, and sees Carol washing up. I’m annoyed. The kids could have waited a hot minute while they rode to get something.
Magna and Kelly sit looking at the windmill. Carol comes by, and asks if Kelly is ready. Kelly goes with her.
Negan, Maggie, and Alden walk down the road. Negan eats something, and says, goddam sh*t, spitting it out. He asks if they’d like a taste of crap cardboard, and I figure it must be low carb. Negan suggests they go through the woods, but Maggie says the road is faster. Alden says, the woods are safer, and Maggie tells him, they need a break. They go into an old church, and Maggie says, they’ll rest for a while. She tells Negan that she knows what he’s thinking, and the answer is no. She tells Alden that they’re fine, and he says, maybe for now. If these guys are anything like she says, things are going to get worse, and he’s dead weight. They all know. He walked away from Negan because he trusts her to do the right thing. No matter how hard. No matter how much it costs her. She looks at him, and he says, supplies are the only thing that matters. Alexandria needs them to do this. They’re waiting for them. Hershel… Judith… Adam… Maggie says, Adam needs a father, but Alden says, if her plan fails, everything they’ve worked for, what they want for the future, dies with it. Then what happens to Adam? She gets up, and Negan says, the sun is going down. She has to make a decision. Maggie says, it’s easy for him, isn’t it? Being reckless with someone else’s life. He doesn’t get to decide who lives or who dies anymore. It’s his fault. He destroyed everything they built. Negan says she still has to decide, and she looks at Alden. She starts going through her bag, and gives him a canteen. She goes over to Negan, and holds out her hand. He gives her his knife, and she gives it to Alden. Negan moves a pew near the door, and Maggie says Alden better be there when they come back. He says they better come back. They leave, and he pushes the pew against the door, then sits on it.
A lone zombie walks toward Maggie and Negan as they walk through the woods. Negan cracks it in the head with a crowbar. He stands there, the crowbar dripping blood. Maggie walks past him, and he follows.
Next time, Daryl meets a Reaper in the woods, and once again I’m afraid for Dog.
⚰️ Later, on Talking Dead, Lauren Cohan (Maggie) said that the dripping crowbar was evocative of Lucille dripping blood after Negan killed Glenn and Abraham, but I wouldn’t have even thought of it if she hadn’t said that. In other trivia, the kids were eating beef jerky. Yeah, well, I would hope it wasn’t real horse.
🚇 In Case You Weren’t Sure…
Josh McDermitt confirms Eugene’s status.
https://ew.com/tv/walking-dead-eugene-virgin-josh-mcdermitt-archeron/
🔪 Fear Them…
Explaining the Reapers.
🙇🏻♂️ That’s One Theory…
I don’t know if I’d follow this trail of breadcrumbs, but like Maggie, not much surprises me anymore.
🌎 Beyond Dead…
October 3rd begins the second, and final, season of The World Beyond. Too bad. I kind of liked it. It will probably end up on another platform, since they’re all trying to entice viewers with extensions of their network shows for a price.
Crossing over.
👹 Radioactive…
Fear the Walking Dead returns October 17th.
🛠 Labor This…
Whether you labor or not, celebrate anyway. Tomorrow’s GH is a rerun, so see you on Deck. Until then, stay safe, stay looking out for one another, and stay knowing that things change; people change.
What I Watched - TV With Theresa 