What I Watched Today
(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)
The Walking Dead
Connie and Virgil run through the woods, chased by zombies. He says they have to find somewhere to hide, and they keep running until they see a house. There are a few zombies milling around, and a zombie grabs Virgil as Connie is trying to get the front door open. The door finally opens, and three of them – Connie, Virgil, and the zombie – tumble inside. Connie manages to get the door shut before other zombies follow. The zombie has Virgil down, and Connie smashes it in the head, and puts her back to the door.
Carol tells Aaron and Rosita that she’s going to ride out. Aaron suggests a larger group, but Carol says Connie doesn’t have time to wait. Magna comes by, and asks if they’ve seen Kelly.
Connie looks through the slats of the wall at the zombies milling around outside. She sees a moose head on the wall and is creeped out, and the house as a whole is tattered and messy. She looks at a small written map, and Virgil quietly goes upstairs, and looks around. He checks one bedroom, then another. He comes back, and tells her that he checked the whole house. They’re okay. Nobody’s there. She looks at the map, and he grabs a book and writes, you need some rest. He tells her that she hasn’t slept in days. He writes, I can keep watch, but she just looks worried. He writes, we will find your home, and says, you sleep. She shakes her head, and writes, unsafe. He tells her, rest, making a gesture meaning sleep. She shakes her head again, and he sits, while she looks out again, remembering the cave. She rouses Virgil, and writes, going to search the house again.
Frost is tied to a chair, and not looking too good, since he’s been beaten pretty badly. Carver pulls Frost’s fingernails out, and says, tell him where they are. Daryl watches, and Pope asks if it bothers him. Daryl says he’s done worse, and tells Carver that he’s up. Carver says, like hell he is, but Daryl takes his place. He looks at Frost, who asks if they’re just going to stand there, staring dreamily at each other, or are they going to get to it? Daryl grabs him by the neck, and Carver says, if Daryl kills him, the two of them have a problem. Daryl drops Frost, and says he knows what he’s doing. He tells Frost to give them the location where his friends are hiding. If he does that, this all goes away. Frost says, it’s a good offer, or, hear him out, they can all go eat sh*t instead. Daryl cracks him one across the face, and Carver says he’s already gone through these steps. Maybe they should start taking pieces. Pope tells Carver to give him the knife, and Frost tells Daryl, do what he’s got to do. Pope gives Daryl a big knife, and Daryl takes off his vest and throws it down. I guess that means he’s ready to rumble. He says he doesn’t think Frost understands. He’s the best shot Frost’s got. Frost asks, why? Are they friends now? Daryl says, no, it’s not because they’re friends. He’s the one holding the knife. Frost says, Daryl’s buddy is the one holding the gun, and Daryl smacks him again, saying, shut up. Listen to him. Frost is close enough to know where they’re hiding. Daryl grabs one of Frost’s fingers, and says, no one needs to die. Just say the location, so they can all walk away happy. Frost says, go to hell, a-hole, and gets a finger chopped off for his trouble. Daryl says, the location, or he’ll take another one. At first, Frost refuses, but then tells him, yellow house, and gives an address. Daryl asks Pope if that’s good enough, and Leah says she can scout it out. Pope tells her to take a squad, and he wants her, Carver, and Daryl to go. Carver balks at taking Daryl, and Daryl tries to hand back the knife, but Pope shakes his head.
Connie checks some of the rooms, but they’re locked. She sees old-time portrait photos along the walls with the eyes gouged out. Not real promising. She goes into a bathroom and looks at herself in the mirror, telling herself, don’t you look delightful? She looks inside the medicine cabinet, and checks out what’s there. She realizes the back of it is a slatted wall, and suddenly, there’s an eyeball looking back at her from the other side. She runs downstairs, and wakes Virgil. She signs, we’re not alone, and he asks, what happened? She signs, something else is in here with us. He says he doesn’t understand, and she signs, it was behind the wall staring back at me. She grabs the book, starts to write, but gets frustrated, and throws it down. She grabs Virgil’s knife and cuts at a painting. She steps back, and we see she’s written, NOT ALONE. I actually got a chill there.
Leah, Daryl, Carver, and a couple other men find the yellow house. Carver says, it’s quiet… there are two entrances. Leah tells the men to go by twos, and gives them instructions. Carver says, what about d*ckhead? Is he supposed to believe Daryl has his back? She says, that’s her job, and they move toward the house. Daryl hangs back, and pulls on a car windshield wiper. Inside, Maggie sees a clothesline move. The men go inside, yelling, clear! as they go through the house. Carver says Frost jerked them around, but Daryl suggests they check the house first. Leah tells the men to search outside, and she stays to search the house with Daryl and Carver.
Kelly rides through the woods, and sees a dead horse near an empty campsite. She looks under the tarp, and starts going through the knapsacks there. The last one she opens has Kelly’s notebook, and she flips through it, seeing things like, trapped with the dead and walked with them for days, and asking where Michonne is. She says, Kelly, where are you? and takes the bag with her.
Virgil looks through cabinet to the other room, and tells Connie that he doesn’t see anything. She signs, something was there, and he says he’s sure she saw something, but she hasn’t slept, so maybe it’s… She shakes her head adamantly, and he says, sorry. They’ll give the house another sweep. She says she’s not staying there, and starts to walk toward the front, but a door slams shut behind her, separating her and Virgil. It’s silent because we’re getting Connie’s POV. She slides slowly down the hallway, with her back against the wall. She feels something behind her, and runs. A very creepy human on all fours, moving really fast, chases her, and she slams the door in its face. She looks down into the basement. This thing was so bizarre and scary, like something out of the old Creepy comic books.
Leah feels the sink, and says, it’s still wet, and Daryl says Frost was telling the truth. Coming downstairs, Daryl notices the corner of a trap door, peeking out from under a rug in the living room, but doesn’t say anything. He suggests, maybe they went out back, and Carver asks if Daryl is in a hurry to leave. Underneath the trap door, Negan, Elijah, Gabriel, and Maggie listen. Daryl says he’s just trying to help, and he and Carver argue. Leah tells them to stop, and says, she’ll check the perimeter, and check for possible runners. Carver says he doesn’t have time for this bullsh*t, and she says she understands, but doesn’t need it. Carver says he’ll check again upstairs, and make sure he didn’t miss anything. Leah tells Daryl, either he’s with them or not, and he asks what she wants him to do. She says, for one thing, stop pissing off Carver.
Kelly’s horse won’t budge, and she pulls on the reins. She slips, falling into a large mud puddle. Carol asks if she needs help, and walks into view with Rosita and Magna. Magna asks what Kelly was thinking. She should have told them she was heading out. They help Connie up, and she says she’s fine. She hands Magna the book, and says, it’s Connie’s. She found Connie’s camp. Connie, and some guy she was with, left in a hurry. Something’s not right. Magna looks through the book, and says, she thought they were being followed. Kelly tears up, and says, she’s out there and scared. Connie needs her. If something happened… Carol says, they’ll find her first, and they keep moving.
Connie holds the door shut, and it gets quiet. She slowly goes down the stairs, and when she gets to the bottom, she sees human bones everywhere, picked clean. The stairs shake, and something falls. The feral creature thing starts coming down the stairs on all fours – which is pretty effing creepy – and Connie pulls herself up, and into a vent leading to another room. Some of the walls are weird and made of slats, and she looks through them, seeing another eyeball, but this time, from the cave. She looks again, and sees nothing. Virgil suddenly runs inside the room, slamming the door shut. Connie sees Virgil, and bangs on the wall. He comes toward her, uncertain. She taps out SOS, and he moves closer, and I yell, no! because one of those things is behind him, being all stealthy. Connie tries to warn him, but…
She watches in horror as this creature pounds on Virgil. She tries to get one of the slats off, while it strangles him, saying, hungry. He fades, and she manages to distract the creature by banging on the wall again. It gets distracted, and Virgil is able to grab his knife, and he stabs it. It crawls off, trailing blood. He struggles to get up, and stabs the knife into the wall (on his side, it’s wallpapered). The knife comes through an inch from Connie’s nose, covered in blood. She pulls frantically at a slat, and gets it off, quickly putting her hand through so that he sees it’s her. He makes a hole big enough for him to help her come through.
Daryl tells Leah that they ran, and won’t come back; the Reapers hit them hard. The Reapers have twenty people in town, they’ve got weapons, and the balls. They probably saw the Reapers coming miles away, and ran. Carver asks what Daryl’s point is, and Leah says, there’s nothing here. It’s time to go. Carver thinks they’re missing something, and Daryl asks if he wants to waste another hour. Carver says, this dirtbag wants to play, and Daryl says, come on. Leah says, it’s not the time, and it’s not his call. Carver says they both know who Daryl is deep down. He was there, remember? After that, does she think this is going to end different? Leah says, so this is what? Carver looking out for her, and Carver says, she always got him. She says, when Pope locked her in the cabin and lit it up, he must have known. Was he was looking out for her then? He tells her, wake up. Everything is a test. Does she think this guy gives a sh*t about them? They’re going to fail. Daryl says, Carver is right. He doesn’t give a sh*t about any of them, except for Leah. He’s here for her. It’s no secret he’s made mistakes, but he’s here right now. Maybe he’ll do it better this time, if she lets him. Pope scares the sh*t out of him, and he doesn’t want to end up face first in the fire under Pope’s boot. But if Leah says trust him, he’ll trust him. Leah says, they’ve wasted enough time here; it’s time to move on. Carver says, sure. It’s her call. He sees the trap door corner, and says, hold on. He pushes Daryl out of the way, moves the rug, and opens it triumphantly, drawing his gun, but there’s nothing there. Daryl says, told you.
Negan, Maggie, Gabriel, and Elijah sneak out the root cellar door.
It starts to storm, and Rosita says, which way? Carol wonders if they should split up, check both trails, and double back, but Magna says, a storm is coming. They should stick together. Rosita says, it’s up to Kelly, and Kelly decides to keep going.
Virgil tells Connie that he’s never seen people this far gone… to herd them like prey, but they’re not. He’s getting her out. They’ll make a run for it. He gives her the knife, and says, no matter what happens, she has to keep going, with or without him. Don’t stop. She says, no, and tries give the knife back, but he says, no, just take it. She puts it down on the floor, and signs, if we’re getting out, we’re going together. She’s not letting him give up now. He says he doesn’t have a choice. He lost himself for a long time, off the map, and made choices he can’t unchoose, but Michonne gave him another chance. She pointed him to a road, and that road led to Connie. He has to pass on that chance, or it all means nothing. If she can find her family… He cries, and she signs, we leave here together. He says he needs her to promise to keep going no matter what happens. She puts her hand in his, and locks their fingers. He says, together, and they hear the creatures coming. He says, time’s up. They open the door and go out; her with the knife, and him wielding a table leg. He tries a door, but it’s locked, and the feral creatures appear. Virgil clubs at them, but they get him down. Connie slashes at them with the knife, and they back off. Virgil tells her to get out, but she drags him out with her. The creepiest creature of all comes crawling down the stairs, and Connie shields Virgil. She grabs the zombie they came in with, disembowels him, and covers herself in the guts. She opens the front door, letting in the dead. Very clever. There’s a free-for-all, and the dead feast on the feral creatures. I think leaving now would be a good idea.
Outside, Virgil stumbles, and tells her go. Some of the creatures have escaped, and make a beeline for Virgil, but get a slingshot rock in the head from Kelly. Kelly sees Connie, and starts to cry. They stand looking at each other for a moment, and Kelly says, I’m sorry. Connie begins to cry, and they hug.
Leah, Daryl, and Carver come back, and Pope asks, what’s the word? Leah says, there were signs they were there, but they slipped away. She’s sorry. Pope laughs, and she says she thought he’d be disappointed. He says, the night was a success. After they left, he continued the discussion with their guest, and he wasn’t too talkative, but Pope got everything he needed out of him. Pope looks at Daryl, who nods, and we see new zombie Frost tied to a tree. Pope and Carver go inside, Pope putting his arm around Carver. Daryl and Leah watch, and Leah looks at Daryl. Yeah, I don’t think this is good.
Next time, Negan says, the world is different – there are fewer people to fight for, and fewer things to fight over; Lance tells Yumiko that he can help her people; Maggie pretends to be a Whisperer; and Gabriel comes across a stranger talking to his spirit guide in the woods.
🎤 A couple of Talking Dead insights. Lauren Ridloff (Connie) was a guest tonight, and said she and Angel Theory (Kelly) were really like sisters. Before filming, they hadn’t seen each other in person since the beginning of the pandemic, and she’d asked that they be kept separated on set until it was time for them to meet in the scene at the end. She thought it would make it more authentic, and I have to agree it was a good choice. When they started crying, it made me want to cry. IMO, this was one of the best episodes ever. And while a great script, great acting, and great direction by Greg Nicolero played a part, it was largely because of those creepy-ass feral creatures. We also learned that some of the portraits were of them during a more civilized time, and the eyes had been scratched out so they weren’t reminded of how they used to be. I love when they get all detailed about a backstory we normally wouldn’t even know about.
🗣 About Tonight…
Talking with Kelly and Virgil.
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/walking-dead-star-lauren-ridloff-020500507.html
🌎 Coming Next Week…
The beginning of the end of The World Beyond.
⚰️ Sorry Not Sorry…
I love Victor.
https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/fear-the-walking-dead-season-7-teaser-exclusive
🥿 Shuffling Off Not To Buffalo…
And so another night of zombies concludes another weekend. Join me tomorrow for soap and a Croatian cruise. Until then, stay safe, stay going the extra mile, and stay trusting your gut feeling if you think a place is unsafe. Otherwise, you might end up having to cover yourself in guts.
What I Watched - TV With Theresa 