What I Watched Today
(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)
The Walking Dead
Judith’s voiceover says, the world is dark and broken, but we’re not. Not yet. We stare into the face of death every day, until one day, that face is our own. How do we come back from that? My dad wanted mercy to prevail. If we lose that, we lose everything.
Negan and the others work clearing the tracks, as Nameless Boss watches. Kelly signs to Magna that there are two around the perimeter, and four inside. Princess tells Ezekiel, that’s Tyler Davis from the rail yard, and he asks if that isn’t the guy who took Max hostage. She tells him, she didn’t say she liked it, but he’s got balls. Ezekiel watches him, and Magna tells Negan, two on the perimeter, four inside. Negan writes something on the back of the map, and looks around. Ezekiel walks over, and says, the map. A trooper tells Annie to move, and diverts Negan’s focus. Negan walks over, and asks what a person has to do to get a break. The trooper asks what he said, calling him prisoner, but Negan says, not for him; for his wife. The trooper says, the Commonwealth doesn’t recognize any unions here, but Negan says he’s not talking about the Commonwealth. He’s talking about the trooper. Another trooper comes over, and asks if there’s a problem. The first trooper says, just a prisoner mouthing off, and needing to be reminded of his place. Annie runs over to them, but the trooper knocks her down. She pops back up, and struggles with him, but the second trooper gets Negan down and holds a gun to his face.
Daryl and Carol watch from a distance.
Aaron, Jerry, Elijah, and Lydia have stopped the wagon to kill a zombie. Aaron tells them to stay alert. They don’t know if this is a one-time thing, or there are more of those things out here. He hears something, and Lydia says, it’s a human, not a walker. Aaron tells Lydia and Elijah to stay and protect the wagon. He and Jerry draw their swords, and walk toward the sound. Aaron says, come out now, and Luke and Jules appear. There are hugs all around, and Aaron says, it’s a pleasant surprise. They already know Lydia, and he introduces Elijah. He tells Luke and Jules, they were head to Oceanside if they want to join, but Luke says, it’s gone. Some guys in white gear showed up. Aaron says, the Commonwealth, and Julies says, they took over. Aaron says, they made a deal with the Commonwealth, but Jerry says, the deal must have changed because they’re being tracked. Jules says, if they’re found, they’re dead, and Luke suggests getting as far away as possible.
On the stand, Pamela says, it was the worst day of her life. Her trusted colleague Mercer was with her, and took her to the morgue. All she wanted was to hold her son, to keep him safe, but he was gone. There was nothing she could do. She cries, and says, Eugene took him from her. Eugene killed her boy, and this murderer needs to pay. There are rumblings from the gallery, and Yumiko objects, asking that it be stricken from the record, but the judge says, denied. Eugene tells Yumiko that there’s nothing they can do to dissuade the judge, who is a proverbial brick wall. Yumiko says, it’s not the judge they have to get to; it’s the people. Eugene looks at Max, and Yumiko gets up. She asks Pamela to tell them about the lottery. What does it mean to her? Pamela says, it means opportunity; hope for a better future. Yumiko says, or it’s a lie – there are murmurs from the crowd – just like Pamela’s son said. The prosecution objects, and the judge sustains it. Yumiko says, yes or no? It was on the recording; they all heard it. There’s a reaction from the gallery again, and Yumiko says, answer the question, governor. Pamela says, that wasn’t her son. She knows his voice, and that’s not it. The tape has been altered. Yumiko asks if Pamela actually expects them to believe it was altered. That someone… Pamela says, not someone; Yumiko’s client. He admitted that he played it, and caused chaos; not her son. A woman yells, free Eugene!
Daryl tells Maggie, it’s bad. He doesn’t think they’ll all make it. Carol says, they saw the adults, but not the kids, and Maggie says, they have to go in. Daryl says, they can’t, but Gabriel says, the Commonwealth turned their home into a prison after they promised to give it back. Daryl signs to Connie, you and me, down sh*t tunnel, and Connie signs that she’s going with Daryl. Daryl says, they’re going down into the sewer. Rosita wants to come, but Carol says, since she’s a sharpshooter, she should stay. They can keep in touch by radio. Maggie, Connie, Daryl, and Carol leave.
Ezekiel sees Tyler at mealtime, and he and Negan sit by him. Ezekiel says he knows Tyler stood up to Pamela, and wonders if Tyler wants out as much as they do. Tyler says he wants to live, but Negan says, this is not living; they’re barely surviving. Ezekiel says, they can take control, but Tyler asks if he doesn’t think it’s been tried. The same thing always happens; people who shouldn’t die, do. They have two choices; survival or that. They got a taste of it today. Try this, and they all die. Ezekiel says, or try it, and they all live. They’ve only got each other. If they lose faith in that and the idea they can change this – two troopers walk in – they’re as good as dead anyway. The troopers go over to Negan, and tell him, get up. He says, nope. Not until they tell him where his wife is. The grab him and take him out. Tyler tells Ezekiel, you’re on your own.
Negan is taken to a room where he’s told to sit. Nameless Boss tells a trooper – the same one who Negan asked for a break – that his transfer has been denied. The trooper says, his brother is sick, and Nameless Boss says, then the trooper should have told him directly instead of going around him and asking for a transfer. His duty’s been extended for six months. Negan sees the trooper make a fist, and the wheels turn in his head. Nameless Boss tells Negan they found this after Negan tussled with the guards, and hands him the map. Negan says, cool, and Nameless Boss says, what is it? Negan says, a poor man’s tic-tac-toe? He doesn’t know. Nameless Boss says, someone is keeping track of the guards; when they come and go, and how many are on a shift. Negan asks what that has to do with him, and Nameless Boss says, when the prisoners got here, he thought Negan was a leader, but he has other priorities. Real leaders cut themselves off from others because of what they do. Other people don’t have the stomach for it, and the ones that do are the real threats. There’s a threat in their midst, and he thinks it’s one of Negan’s people. Negan says, other than his wife, all these people hate him. He doesn’t know anything. Nameless Boss says he bets Negan can find out, and Negan says he bets he can’t. He hands back the map, and Nameless Boss says, that’s not really an option. Unless he’d rather not see his pregnant wife again.
A trooper lets Negan in to see Annie, and he sits on the bed. He asks if she’s okay, and not hurt, and she says she thinks he got the worst of it. He asks, how’s the little one? and she says, the baby kicked her so hard, she almost rolled off the bed. He says, going to be a badass like their mama, and Annie says, they’re going get out. He says, he knows; he’s working on it. She asks if that’s what he was doing on the tracks; working it his way. He tells her, old habits die hard, and she says, they can’t. They have to get to safety. He says he’d never risk them. Don’t worry. She says, that bad, huh? and he laughs. He says he’s known men like Nameless Boss his whole life. He used to be him. She says, no wonder everyone hated him, and he says, no sh*t. He’ll handle him. She says, sure. If she doesn’t do it first.
Daryl and Connie drop down into the sewer and look around with flashlights. He signs, is she okay? and she says, so-so. Is he okay? He says he’s good, and Carol radios that she and Maggie are good. Daryl says, them too, and signs to Connie that Maggie and Carol are here too. She signs, this will work? and he says, yes. They walk into an adjoining tunnel. In another area, Maggie removes the grating to the street.
Maggie and Carol sneak into one of their old houses, and go upstairs. A trooper is patrolling, and they stay out of sight. They hear him coming their way, and ambush him, Carol whacking him in the head with the butt of her gun. They drag him away.
Luke tells the others that they were behind the houses. He wanted to stay and fight, but Rachel wasn’t having any of it. He said, no way they were leaving them there, but she insisted they go, and warn everybody; tell them what’s coming. Jules says, they haven’t seen them since, and Luke says, they should have stayed. Jerry says, he found them, and now he has them. Aaron says, they were heading to Alexandria, and Lydia says, troopers are coming. They duck down, and Elijah says, they can’t outrun them. A bunch of zombies are headed for them on the other side, and Lydia looks at a body nearby. We all know what she’s thinking.
In his cell, the crowd chanting outside, Eugene says, Yumiko’s nerves mystify him. Does she hear what he hears? She got through to them. Yumiko says, that was the point, but there are still troopers doing Pamela’s bidding. If the troopers aren’t on their side, it doesn’t matter. Eugene says, she’s inspired an uprising, but she says, it might not be fast enough. Max asks if she’s saying they might lose, and Yumiko says she doesn’t think the people can stop it. Max asks, what happens next? and puts her hand on Eugene’s through the bars. Eugene says, perhaps this time they should accept the situation he finds himself in, but Max says, no. Eugene says, they knew this could come, and probably would come. He tears up, and says, they must prepare… if he’s declared guilty… let the troopers escort him to his… He starts to cry, and Yumiko says, Max’s brother commands respect here. If Max can get him on their side and to admit Pamela is corrupt in public… Max says, if he was going to, he would have when Princess was taken, and Yumiko asks if he knows. Pamela silos people off against each other. Eugene asks if Max thinks she could talk to Mercer, but she says, his men won’t let her near his office. Yumiko says, he might talk to her.
Mercer radios his men about a rendezvous, and walks into his office to find Yumiko. He says, she shouldn’t be here, and she says she came to convince him to do the right thing. He says, she should leave. He’s sure she doesn’t want to be late for the judge. She says, it doesn’t matter. They’re going to lose; she knows that. The man who Mercer’s sister loves is going to die, and her other friends might die too. Pamela’s men took them God knows where. Princess is with them. He says he knows, and Yumiko says she doesn’t believe he doesn’t care, and neither does his sister. She needs him to testify against Pamela in public to save Eugene. He says, doing what she’s asking won’t change a thing, but she says, people seeing him speak truth to power will. He says he has to get back, and she storms out.
Maggie and Carol hide in a janitorial closet with the unconscious trooper. Maggie peeks out at the troopers getting ready. She tells Carol that she hears Herschel’s voice; I want to be better. I want to do better. Sometimes she thinks it wasn’t fair to bring him into this world. Was she being selfish? Carol hugs her, and says, no. After Sophia and Henry, she felt that way, but she doesn’t believe it’s selfish to miss them and want them to come back. Maggie agrees, and Carol says, Maggie will try to make the world better because of him; that’s hope. They will find him.
Negan and Ezekiel shovel dirt, and Ezekiel asks if Negan is going to tell him what happened with the warden (i.e. Nameless Boss). Negan says he got put on latrine duty, and Ezekiel tells him not to go rouge again. They needed that map. Negan says he doesn’t really need to hear that sh*t again, and Ezekiel says, because he agreed to work with Negan, Negan thinks they’re friends now, but they’re not. He hasn’t forgotten for one minute what Negan took. Henry and his brother Benjamin were his family, and apologizing changes nothing, not for him. If it works out, and they get out of here, Negan doesn’t deserve a brand new life. He damn sure doesn’t deserve to be a father. Negan says he will be a father. Ezekiel can go ahead and live in the past. You do you, and I’ll do me, and you know what? I’m gonna do it for my kid. Negan walks away.
Nameless Boss gets up, and says, so. You got a name for me? Negan stands in front of him.
Outside, a zombie is tangled in vines, and Connie signs to Daryl, what’s going on? He stabs it in the head, and he signs, she’s scared too? She nods, puts her hand on his shoulder, and they move forward.
The judge thanks the prosecutor for him closing remarks, and says, they’re to be entered into public record. She asks if the defense rests, and Eugene says he’d like to address the court. Yumiko starts to protest, but he says, please, and the judge says she’ll allow it. He gets up, and says, the way he sees it, he was living on borrowed time for the past decade. Someone like him should have met their Maker on the first day the world fell apart. And he would have, if not for the aid of friends. Friends who have not only changed him, but the hearts and minds of so many others beyond here. He’s certain his fate won’t discourage them from keeping that going, and helping others find the courage to do what’s right. We see Mercer’s reaction off and on throughout Eugene’s speech. Eugene says, he was not always a good man. He fell in with a posse who thrived on downright unseemly acts, and he looked the other way. He valued order and safety above all other things. Then he realized, even though he wasn’t the one swinging the bat, nevertheless, he had blood on his hands. He knew his inaction made him culpable, and he hated himself. Then he did something in his own little way that changed the world. He learned that one person can do that. Sometimes all it takes is one person to do that. Thank you. That is all. He sits, and Yumiko says, the defense rests. In a surprise to no one, the judge says, the Commonwealth finds Eugene guilty of murder in the first degree. There will be a public execution in one hour. Pam is escorted out, and Max watches as Eugene is taken away.
Troopers rouse the railway workers, and tell them to get up and get outside. They move everybody along, and Ezekiel and Annie are both dragged out. Everyone is herded to the windmill, and Nameless Boss says, a traitor is in their in midst. Someone who thinks he’s above the rules. They bring out Negan, who looks pretty beat up, and Nameless Boss says, a prisoner has admitted to spearheading a rebellion. Any co-conspirators will be given the benefit of the doubt. He trusts they weren’t acting of their own free will. Only Negan will be punished, but it’s important they’re all here to see and to remember. Annie breaks away, but a trooper grabs her before she gets to Negan. Negan tells her, it’s okay. He loves her. Nameless Boss tells him to get on his knees. This is what happens when you don’t know your place. (I can hear Minister Mason from Snowpiercer saying, be a shoe!) Annie says, don’t let him. Listen to her. The troopers aim their guns, and Nameless Boss says, ready… aim… There are no martyrs here. He grabs Annie, dragging her up front, and Negan says, that’s not their deal. Nameless Boss says, he’ll feel this punishment, and Negan says, that’s not what he said. Ezekiel looks like he’s going to explode, and Negan says, take him; just him. Nameless Boss says, ready, and Negan sees that same trooper again. He says, you. You have a family. Don’t do this. Please. Nameless Boss repeats, ready, and Ezekiel walks to the front. Negan asks what he’s doing, and Ezekiel says he doesn’t know.
Princess goes up, and one by one, people start joining them, including Tyler. Nameless Boss says, he admires the bravery of the prisoners… Shoot them all. The troopers cock their guns, and Ezekiel says, they don’t have to do this. The world is broken; we don’t have to be. Our favorite trooper puts down his gun, then walks over to Nameless Boss. He’s about to shoot, and another trooper raises his gun, but the first trooper is faster, and kills him. Nameless Boss grabs Kelly, but he suddenly drops to the ground. We’re all like, what just happened? and then we see, Daryl is here!
Maggie hears Hershel yell for help. She kicks in the door to the room his cries are coming from, and Carol shoots the guard before he can react. Maggie asks if Herschel is okay, and he says he is. She hugs him, and Rosita comes in. She asks if Coco is here, but Herschel says he doesn’t know where she is, and Rosita runs out.
A zombie herd walks, Aaron’s group walking with them, using the covered-in-guts method. Jeeps patrol the perimeter of the herd, and shine searchlights into it. The group gravitates together, and a knife is dropped. Somehow, it’s swiftly retrieved, but it’s unclear by who. Or what.
Negan is about to go all Lucille on Nameless Boss, when Rosita runs up, saying, don’t kill him. She grabs Nameless Boss’s collar, and asks where her daughter is. Nameless Boss laughs, and she punches him in the face. She grabs the dead-now-zombie trooper, and drags him over, putting his face a few inches from Nameless Boss’s face. He says, she’ll lose everything, and she lets go of the zombie. Now it’s my turn to laugh as Nameless Boss screams while his eyeballs get pulled from his head.
Eugene is brought into the hall, wearing a hood. He’s walked through a series of hallways, and they stop. A trooper takes his hood off, and he stands in front of Mercer. His handcuffs are removed, and Mercer says, time to f*** sh*t up.
I cheer in my head.
Next time – two episodes left – Negan says, it’s not safe while Pamela is still breathing; Pamela wants to join the search for Eugene; and Mercer talks to Princess.
💭 What a great episode ending. What a great hero Mercer is.
🧛🏽♂️ Gives Great Vampire…
This show is so beautifully done, even if sad at times. The sets and costumes alone are worth watching for.
https://ew.com/tv/recaps/interview-with-the-vampire-season-1-episode-6/
Spoilers for the finale here.
🧐 I Spy With My Little Eye…
Moving on to Thanksgiving. You remember that holiday, don’t you? Apparently advertisers don’t, since I’m hearing Christmas carols in commercials already. Come on down for soap and yachting on the Med tomorrow. Until then, stay safe, stay enjoying the season you’re in before rushing to the next one, and stay changing the world by doing something in your own little way. Just because the world is broken, doesn’t mean we have to be.
What I Watched - TV With Theresa 