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Hey guys, back again with another episode review. I didn't do last weeks premier review (it was good) so we're skipping straight to episode two, The Bridge.
So the communities are coming together to fix the bridge that will conect the communities together, though the partnership is strained, especially with saviours who don't want to fall in line. The dead still prove to be a threat when Justin misses his chance to lure the walkers, leading to an altercation that gets Aaron's arm amputated. Meanwhile, Maggie deals with the conciquences of her actions and tries to find a way to make the new rules work. Saviours have also been going missing, including Justin who is taken by a mysterious force.
Review[]
What a banger of an episode. Angela Kang proved herself last week as a capible showrunner, but this week she fully exceeded my expectations and delivered an episode I enjoyed start to finish. No boring moments, no predictabilty, no forced character decisions. The show feels real and relatable again, and that's an amazing thing. I'm most of all impressed by how everyone gets something interesting to do. While Rick and Maggie leaving is a massive downer on the show, I'm begining to get hope that the show can stand on its feet without its lead and as an anthology.
Characters[]
One of the most interesting things with this episode is how well it manages to give all its characters something good, unique and personal to do without falling into cliche or boring territory. The Big five are doing fantastic.
Rick is still a little too hopeful, but this episode we got the motivation under all that. When Negan mensions Carl I felt his anger, and when he told the story to Justin, I could see his drive to build the future, as well as the savage rick under the surface.
Daryl is getting more to do slowly. He very much shares the opinions of the casual walking dead fan, of wanting to go back to simpler times. I'm happy to see his relationship with Aaron finally re-explored, especially after all the work that was done in Season Five.
Carol having hapiness is a great thing, and I love the tentitiveness she has around Ezekiel. You can tell she's wary of things being too good to be true for her little family, and I'm excited to see where her character goes when shit goes down. I'd like to see Ezekiel and Henry live for now, as it would be far more interesting to have Carol wrestle between her normal life and her rambo-life, instead of simply having another death set her off.
Maggie's story is very much reminding me of Danerys from Game of Thrones. She has all the power in this world, showed it off, and is now dealing with what makes a good leader. A powerful leader has powerful choices to make, especially when they have allies to keep up appearances with. Bringing up Hershel's story was also a great, if coincidental touch to Scott Wilson.
Michonne feels like her inner lawer is coming out, and though her story is off to a slow start, a judge in this new world is going to be a great role for her, especially after Rick leaves, in deciding what's fair and not in this world.
I'm also incredibly excited for all the work thats been done to develop the secondary characters and beyond. it really feels like we're being rewarded for watching this long, and while I've often felt like the cast is just too big, it just turns out we needed a showrunner who knows how to balance them. Just look:
Aaron has often been a character on the fringes of greatness, but him losing his arm not only massively shocked me, it upped the stakes, and made me care for his character again. With confirmation he still has Gracie around, perhaps he'll be sent back to Alexandria or Hilltop and we'll get a remix of his Jesus love interest storyline.
Enid learning to be a nurse is a great story for her and a big step up. It gets her more involved and connected to other characters.
Anne is slowly unraveling infront of us (and gabriel) and while her story has a massive oppertunity to suck, the mystery is proving good and her character is begining to be likable. Her art skills are cool, espcially to see the Barrington house have pictures of maggie's family. Gives some nice pathos to her character
Gabriel too is a cool arc begining. He's someone I've never considered a romantic, but with the revalation that a organ player walker we met in Strangers was someone he cared about gives context to prior events and shows us how well a character can hide their emotions. Anne and Gabriel is a strange couple I'll admit, but it's nice to see them on the fringes of the group, exploring different ideas to the rest of the group.
Negan is kept to a minimum. Withholding him is a great move, and it will only make things better when he escapes and we can finally have full-Negan. He's like chocolate. Too much is sickly, just enough hits the spot.
Tara. This is the first time I've liked Tara since Seaon 5 maybe. Keep her doing what she's doing for now, and maybe give something light to chew on story-wise, but for now I like the less full on aproach
Rosita is kinda in the same boat. I like her and think less screentime helps the character as she's a very full on character (for the opposite reason as Tara) but hopefully she gets a storyline to get into. I could see Tara and Rostia having a B-story together actually, espcially given how opposite they are. Her interaction with Arat was nice tho.
Eugene is the only negative on my list. Having him as Rick's little assistant is fun and cute, but he still talks like a F****** idiot. I was hoping his talk would be toned down, but whatever, I liked him running all the numbers and stocks, so thats where he can stay.
Alden (I mean Dante) is the best thing Gimple did in Season 8. Really, a 'good' saviour is such a simple idea, but he provides proof that the saviours can turn good and do good. His existance is crutial, his singing last episode gave him a unique trait, and his line about the saviours working for food was probably the best line this episode.
Jesus feels like he's warming up for something big. He's disagreeing with Maggie instead of blindly following, he's up in the action, he's trying to keep the peace. While it's not as much as he deserves, I can feel big things coming his way.
Siddiq. While he didn't get much to do this episode, he's a doctor. Of course he will get a good amount of screentime this season.
Also the scattering of background characters is great. Jerry, Nabila, Laura, Arat, Cyndie, Kathy, Beartrice, Diane, Regina etc. No, i don't expect them to do much of anything, but a line here and then and big group scenes is what's making Seasons 7 and 8 feel worth it. All these familiar faces feel the world feel real and lived in. The little interactions make the characters feel real. The walking dead is a show that should never rely on extras because every surviving human should be important to the story, and it honestly feels like it
The one bad side of this, is Justin and Jed. Not only do their names sound like a comedy duo together, but they just act like school bullies.
Questions[]
This episode also left us with three really great mysteries which I'm really looking forward to playing out. They are
Who took Justin? (Whisperers obviously but still)
What is the Helicopter?
Where/What is the 'Toledo' community?
Having several big mysteries to tide us over is a great thing, and it keeps them fresh without holding onto just one of those threads and drying it out.
Theme[]
Wait a Walking Dead episode with an underlying theme? I thought I'd never see the day. And one not forced down our throats! Amazing.
With this episode called the bridge, the theme is very much about your past and your future, and how they meet and affect eachother. Talks about Hershel save Earl, Rick's kindness leads to Anne and Gabriel meeting, the saviours conflict meets the whisperers. This is where the the old meets the new, and the bridge this show is building is one from a show lead by Rick to one without one. Smart.
