What I Watched Today
(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)
The Walking Dead
Training Day. A Russian space capsule lands in the water. A zombie gets out, walks to shore, and gets a machete in the head for his trouble. It’s wielded by Judith. On the beach, everyone marches in formation. Daryl watches as Ezekiel and Jerry bang on the side of an old ship stuck on shore. They open the door, a few zombies come out, looking mighty slimy and weak, and they close it again. Aaron leads everyone forward. The first line of defense holds spiked shields. They part and the second line shoots the zombies down with arrows. They march toward the ship. Jerry and Ezekiel open the door again, and let out more. The first line stands firm, and the zombies walk into their spikes. A spear hurtles into a zombie’s head. Another zombie group is let out, more of them than previously. The ranks open, and Michonne, Luke, and Daryl get up close and personal, with Michonne slicing the tops off of zombie heads, and the others using the smashing heads method.
Ezekiel and Jerry are having a hard time keeping the door closed, and finally give up, stepping away from the ship. The door falls, and takes part of the ship’s side with it. Michonne tells everyone, stay in formation. Remember your training. Daryl slices and dices, Judith pikes one, and Magna stabs zombie heads. Yumiko shoots arrows.
Back at camp, fish is prepared. Luke talks to Jules, as they undo a fishing net for rope. He asks if she’s flirting with him. She says she is, and he says, cool. Michonne tells Daryl, it was tiring, but worth the trip. He says they did good. Rick would have been proud. She hopes so. He says they should bring the kids next time. Rick would have loved it.
Judith and some of the kids dump out shells. While going through them, Judith uncovers a face buried in the sand.
Aaron thinks they should put Alexandria on lockdown, just in case. Michonne says, everyone is still on alert. She appreciates his caution, but they don’t need to start a panic. Cyndie says, it washed up on shore, with lots of other stuff. Aaron tells Michonne, the mask signifies they’re still out there. They need to be sure. Michonne suggests they get a group together. She tells Daryl to make sure Lydia knows not to leave again without saying goodbye.
The group rides into the woods.
Off their horses, Aaron asks what Michonne thinks. She says she thinks a lot of things, and he says maybe they’re the villains of someone else’s story. They’re a threat to their survival. So dangerous, they’re threatened with being wiped out. It makes him wonder sometimes. She doesn’t give a sh*t about the Whisperers or where they stand. He says he’s not talking about the Whisperers.
Michonne says they might not find the answer. Aaron says, the Whisperers cover their tracks. If a mask was found, there’s a reason. He sees some zombies near a trashed car, and rides toward them. She warns him that he’s near a border, but he dismounts, and kicks some zombie ass. One gets the better of him, and another reaches out from under the car, and grabs his ankle. Michonne machetes the first one, and he pikes the ankle biter. She tells him, that was stupid. They agreed not to cross the border. They don’t want to start anything without a reason. If had been the Whisperers, they could have died. It wasn’t them, and they could have died, and for what? Aaron says acting like this isn’t normal. Holding their breath for months isn’t normal. Michonne says they have to keep cool or they win. Aaron says he’s always been the nice guy. The good Samaritan. Eric is dead. Jesus is dead. He’s sick of being nice. Michonne says good and nice never got her anywhere, but smart did. The Whisperers have nuclear weapons; they don’t. It’s not about being nice, but keeping people alive. They’re not going to die over nothing. She hates it too. Aaron says they should go, and Michonne radios the others that they’re circling back.
They ride to where Luke and some of the others have found the remnants of a camp. Magna shows Yumiko a skeleton, and some dead bodies. Aaron wonders if the campers were fighting the walkers. Luke says maybe they’re not connected. They see another body, naked and face down. Michonne says it looks like they’ve been there a while. The keep walking, and Magna shows them a skin. Aaron picks it up on stick, and says, at least one was there at some point. Yumiko wonders, when, and what the hell happened?
They ride to Oceanside, and Michonne tells Aaron, fear can be dangerous. It can drive them apart. They need to squash it before it starts. Aaron says, fear can keep you safe too, but Michonne says, be smart, not afraid. She was thinking about what he said; who they’ve become and who they are. The truth is they are the good guys. She knows who Rick and Carl were… and Eric, and Jesus too. They have to choose to be the good guys, even when it’s hard. The minute they start to question that, they lose sight of it. And when the answer to that question starts to change, they’ll be scarier than any skin mask. Aaron walks away.
Michonne hears Judith talking to RJ, telling him the kid version of Rick’s story. She says, the brave man couldn’t let the walkers hurt his friends, so he blew up the bridge. RJ asks if the brave man went with his friends, but she says he died and went to heaven. Michonne smiles sadly. Judith tells RJ that Rick is in their hearts, and Michonne hugs him. Judith joins in the hug, and RJ says he didn’t like it when the brave man died. Why? Michonne says, some people you love so much, you’d do anything for them, like she would for them. RJ says, and his dad, and they hug again. They hear an explosion, and look up. A trail of fire shoots through the sky, and Judith asks if it’s a meteor. Eugene comes in on the radio, and says he needs to talk to her now.
Bird Wisdom. Aaron asks Michonne if this means they’re back, and she says, not necessarily, but they need to stay on alert. Eugene, who has a bunch of charts hanging up to record everything about the baby, changes diapers. Rosita works out with a punching bag. She feeds the baby, and then Eugene burps the baby. Success! Eugene tries to work, and turns off the music, which causes the baby to wail, Rosita turns it back on, and boxes some more. Gabriel comes by, and Eugene gives him some statistics on the baby. Rosita says the baby isn’t an experiment, and he can’t boil it down to charts and graphs. Siddiq arrives.
In the classroom, Lydia gets frustrated with learning to read. She says she’s gone her whole life without it, but the teacher says, it will open the world to her. Gabriel comes in, followed by some of the others. He says they need the room, and Yumiko asks if Lydia should be there.
Lydia practices with a pokey stick (which I learn later from Talking Dead, is called a Bo staff, but I’m staying with pokey stick). Negan tends the vegetable garden, and asks if everything is okay. Lydia says, it’s the same as ten minutes ago, and he asks why folks are giving her the side-eye. She says they’re eyeing him too, but he says it’s because of what he’s done in past years. A dude tells Negan to get back to work, and says Lydia is supposed to keep her distance. She tells Negan, someone found a skin, and Negan says she needs to watch her back. He winks at her. Eugene and Gabriel walk by, and Negan says, hey boss, but no one talks to him.
Siddiq kisses the baby, who laughs as he puts it in the crib. A mobile of origami paper cranes hangs above. Siddiq flashes back to Alpha. He splashes some water on his face. He sees a big spider, and remembers seeing one in the Whisperers camp. Dante pokes his head in, and Siddiq asks what he’s doing there. Dante says he could hear the baby screaming all the way to where he was. He wanted to make sure everything was cool. Siddiq picks the baby up, and says he was just doing household tasks. Dante says he’s been reorganizing the meds, and tells Siddiq, they’re like gods in the apocalypse. Dante wonders what’s with the yellow alert business, and the Whisperers. Siddiq thinks back again, and Dante wonders what’s up with him. Siddiq says he needs get his kid to sleep, and thanks Dante for checking on him. When Dante leaves, he thinks about Alpha.
Gabriel finds Negan back in his cell. Gabriel is surprised that Negan knocked off early. He thought Negan couldn’t get enough of the great outdoors. Negan says, it’s starting, and Gabriel says, if he wants to say something, say just say it. Negan says let him regurgitate some baby bird wisdom into Gabriel’s pretty mouth. People tend to get mixed up about who they hate. Yesterday, he was public enemy number one, now he’s the guy who tends vegetables and takes out the trash. He’s keeping his head down until this thing passes, in case his category gets moved to them. Gabriel says, that’s not what’s happening, and Negan tells him, he didn’t say that. He said, it will be. The boogey man stuck his mask out of the closet door, and people are putting their sh*tting pants back on. Pants sh*tting is definitely happening. The alert sh*t makes them feel insecure, even if it’s just for show. There’s a guy following him with a spear, like he might brain someone with a tomato. Gabriel says, so his advice is to lie? That’s his regurgitated bird wisdom? Negan says, strategic omission. Not misleading, just using the truth to manipulate things. If it’s what keeps people alive, what’s the harm?
Gabriel tells Michonne they should lock the gates for the night, and double the security. They see another streak of fire in the sky. Eugene radios Oceanside, and gets Rachel. Michonne says she needs to communicate leadership. Something of importance is about to happen.
Sea Dogs. At the beach, Aaron says, the river carried it down, and Gabriel asks if the Whisperers are back. Daryl arrives with Dog. Magna’s group pulls something out of the water with a net. Connie signs to Kelly, what’s going on? Kelly signs back, nothing, and Connie asks if it’s getting worse. Kelly signs that she’s fine. It’s just when there are a lot of voices and sounds, she can’t make out if someone is talking to her, and she can’t predict when it’s going to happen. They hug, and Connie signs, it’ll be okay. Keep practicing to make sure she’s ready. Kelly signs, who will take care of Connie? Who will interpret? Connie signs, we got this. Them together. Being deaf isn’t a disability; it’s a damn superpower. Daryl joins them.
Ezekiel and Daryl meet on the bridge. Ezekiel asks if Daryl ever wonders why bird sh*t is called guano, but Daryl says he just calls it bird sh*t, and Ezekiel says, him too. When he worked in a zoo, birds scared the hell out of him. Lions and tigers were no problem, but an ostrich will disembowel you if you look sideways at it. Daryl says Ezekiel should eat more birds. Show them who’s boss. Ezekiel wonders what seagull tastes like, and Daryl says, not like chicken. Connie brings Dog to Daryl, and shows him her notepad. He reads, I think you lost something, and signs to Connie that he thinks Dog just likes her better. I love Dog, and I don’t want to, because this show always takes the things you love from you. Connie writes, not bad. You sign with a Southern accent.
A boat comes in. Daryl waves and whistles. Carol waves from the bow, and they dock. Ezekiel helps her off. She says it’s good to see him, and he says it’s good to see her too. They hug, but it’s all awkward. Carol goes over to Daryl, and asks if he missed her. He says, not really, and she says she’ll take that.
Daryl asks Carol, how was it? and she says, you work until you feel like your back will break, then work some more. Then sleep like the dead on deck under the stars. Daryl asks if it’s what she was looking for, and she says there was nothing at Oceanside. He says it’s been a while since he’s heard from her, and she says, fishing is hard. He says that’s not what he means. Is Carol looking for her? Carol says, no. She’s trying to forget what happened. If they’re lucky, they’ll never think about that skin freak again. Daryl says they found a mask today. They took a group out to look for signs. Does she want to join them? She says, no, and he asks what she wants to do.
Carol rides on the back of Daryl’s bike on a path through the woods. Daryl says they just cleared it out. Carol tells him, faster, and he says, hang on.
Walking again, Daryl and Carol encounter a zombie. Daryl shoots it in the head with an arrow. More pop out, and they stab the zombies in the head. I wonder if they think it’s like old times.
New Mexico. Daryl tries to shoot a deer but it gets away. He and Carol come across some wrecked cars in a ravine. The deer falls over, and Carol starts to move forward, but Daryl says, it’s one of their borders. She says they can still get the deer, but zombies are already on their way to it. Carol asks, why respect borders they didn’t agree to? The zombies fall on the deer, and feed. Carly says, that deer could have fed 200 people. I say, apparently, now it’s feeding five zombies. Daryl says, sorry he pissed her off. She is too. He says there’s no reason to start sh*t they don’t have to. She says maybe it’s just as well she left, and he says he’s been thinking about that. Why doesn’t she go home now? She sits on the ground next to him, and tells him, get off her ass before she puts him on his. Before she goes to live her life on a boat, she thinks they should have matching friendship bracelets. They can decorate them with seashells. What’s his favorite color? He’s got an idea. Eat, not talk. He shares some snacks with her, and she starts to make a bracelet out of dried grass. She asks if they should make a matching collar for Dog, and he laughs. Carol asks if he ever wonders if this is all there is. Running into people; killing each other. Sometimes she thinks they’re just surviving. Daryl says there’s got to be people out there like them. Who get what they’re doing. He asks if she wants to runaway together, and she says they can be pirates together. He says a little cabin isn’t for him, and Carly says, screw the boat. They’ll take the bike. He says, New Mexico, and she asks, what’s there? He says, people who need bracelets. No more fighting. They’ll get on the bike, and go see what’s left. It sounds good to her. She ties the bracelet. They hear and explosion, and look up.
Lines We Cross. Aaron says, it’s war, and Carol says they have to go now. Everyone runs into the woods. There are patches of fire everywhere, and they see a crashed USSR space capsule. They try to put out the fires. Earl says, it’s going to be a long, hot night. Elsewhere, another group digs a trench. Michonne tells them, keep digging. They have to get done before fire jumps the line. She hacks the head off of a zombie. Michonne and Daryl work on keeping the fires at bey while the others keep digging. The firefighting group passes buckets to each other. Ezekiel starts to cough, and doubles over. Jerry tells him, take a break. Carol says they’re out of water, and now zombies are starting to come out of the forest. Daryl, Michonne, and some of the others take up weapons. They dispatch the zombies, but more come out behind them. Then even more. Michonne gets out her machete. There’s a small herd at this point, and Daryl is like, wtf?
Embers. They just keep coming. Tons of them. Aaron says, there are says too many, but they’re stuck between the zombies and the fire. In a slow motion, the group takes out the zombies, with all kinds of blades and arrows. Eugene and some others continue to douse the fire, while zombies are slaughtered around them. Carol cuts a zombie’s throat, and blood gushes out. So much, that it puts out the fire on another downed zombie. I try not to think too hard about the fact that there probably wouldn’t be that much blood inside a zombie. Eugene tells them to steer clear, a flaming tree is going to fall. A group of burning zombies toddles toward them, and Daryl throws an ax at the tree, toppling it onto the zombies. Although this is a miniscule move in the grand scheme of zombie things, since these zombies are endless and relentless.
There’s lots of smoke, but looks like the fire is out as daylight happens. Michonne tells everyone to pack up and move. Eugene is examining the capsule, and asks if he can have twenty minutes. Michonne says he gets no minutes, and he says, ten. He thinks investigating the capsule could be useful, but uses a million words to say it. Michonne tells him, five minutes and he’s out. Luke says, hey, Eugenius, and asks what about radiation? But Eugene says, radiation is all around them. They’re already infected with whatever they’re going to get. Luke says he understands; no superpowers today. Aaron tells Michonne, they made the right choice, and it benefitted Oceanside too. Michonne tells him not to push his luck. They helped their people, and it’s all she cares about.
Carol and Daryl look out from a cliff. Daryl asks if she still wants to run away together. She says, a year from tomorrow, and he says he needs her to stay. She says she’ll think about it, and he says, otherwise, he’d have to punch holes in all them boats. He leaves Carol on the cliff, and she looks at a slate wall on the other side. She sees Alpha come out, and they lock eyes. Alpha puts her hands on her hips. Rut-roh.
Next time, Beta shaves Alpha’s head; Beta says, it’s time the pack returns; and Alpha says, there’s clarity in chaos.
🔉 On Talking Dead, Chris Hardwick said he wondered what show he was watching when it first started. Me too! the scene with the space capsule made it look like it was a different show. I also found out that Daryl (Norman Reedus, who was a guest) really did hit that tree with the ax. He said he couldn’t do it again if he tried.
🌠 Super Connie…
Like dolls, kids want to see superheroes just like them.
https://www.hearinglikeme.com/lauren-ridloff-first-deaf-superhero-marvels-the-eternals/
🔎 Reality Therapy…
It’s no wonder a cast member would need it, especially on Hoarders. I loved what Matt Paxton had to say. He always seemed like a compassionate guy.
And it has the added benefit of helping the audience.
😔 Universal and Timeless…
When it comes to how humankind feels about Mondays, not much has changed. Hopefully, these harmonies will make it a little easier on you.
What I Watched - TV With Theresa 