Air date: Sunday, March 11, 2018 at 9PM E/P on AMC
Rating:
“He’s still leading the way; believe and you’ll see it.” – Father Gabriel
Father Gabriel and Dr. Carson stumble upon an old shack that has life saving antibiotics – The Walking Dead _ Season 8, Episode 11 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC
Call me crazy, but I liked this week’s installment of The Walking Dead. While I’m not religious, the message in “Dead or Alive or…” has dual meaning. Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) wants Dr. Carson (R. Keith Harris) to have “faith” that God is watching over them, guiding them to “salvation;” however, it can also mean these jaded and embittered survivors need to believe in each other. Whatever your creed may be, “Dead or Alive or…” provides a much needed reprieve from the onslaught of flashbacks, flash-forwards, and everything in between that has confused many this season (I know I’m not alone). However, this episode doesn’t have a flash-anything, and I’m more than OK with that.
Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Austin Amelio as Dwight, Alanna Masterson as Tara Chambler – The Walking Dead _ Season 8, Episode 11 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC
As we saw in “Honor,” Daryl (Norman Reedus) led the crew from Alexandria to Hilltop through treacherous woods and swamps, staying off the main roads to avoid detection by the Saviors patrolling the area. Now, in “Dead or Alive or…,” we see the inhabitants of Hilltop and learn of their current situation regarding the food supply and resources. The one thing I appreciate about “Dead or Alive or…” is the reunion of most of the core group from Alexandria and Hilltop.
Austin Amelio as Dwight, Alanna Masterson as Tara Chambler – The Walking Dead _ Season 8, Episode 11 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC
The so-called “elephant in the room” is Tara’s (Alanna Masterson) complete hatred for Dwight (Austin Amelio). She is ready to put a bullet in his head, against Daryl’s wishes. Tara yearns for revenge for Denise’s (Merritt Weaver) death in season six (Ep14, “Twice As Far”), and is letting her emotions control her actions. Despite Dwight’s previous behavior, he’s proven to be an ally of the Alexandria-Hilltop-Kingdom (AHK) group; nevertheless, I totally empathize with Tara. Could Dwight be a double agent? Could he be saying one thing but doing another? By all appearances, Dwight seems to loathe Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) with a passion, though it might just be an elaborate plot to weasel his way into the group and destroy them from within. The saying “keep your friends close and your enemies closer” comes to mind. After everything I’ve seen over the last seven plus seasons, I don’t trust many of these people aside from our core group. There is always someone weak enough to turn their backs on their friends for promised greener pastures; yeah, I’m talking about you, Eugene (Josh McDermitt).
Seth Gilliam as Father Gabriel Stokes; group – The Walking Dead _ Season 8, Episode 11 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC
Throughout “Dead or Alive or…,” Gabriel believes his purpose is to deliver Dr. Carson back to a pregnant Maggie (Lauren Cohan) at Hilltop. I still don’t quite understand why Gabriel insists this is his mission from God, so to speak. Perhaps it is divine intervention, like finding that shack with the much needed antibiotics, but it cannot be easy to maintain faith when everything goes to pot after that. If you missed it, Gabriel became extremely sick after covering himself with zombie guts to escape in “The Big Scary U.” Now Gabriel’s eyesight has deteriorated due to his illness. With only tunnel vision and a prayer, it’s not enough to get Gabriel and Dr. Carson completely out of their predicament. I don’t know if Dr. Carson tries to grab that gun thinking the hand of God will help him blow their captors to smithereens, but things do not go as planned. As valuable as doctors are, especially in this type of apocalyptic situation, it seems all the medical personnel meet a sticky end on The Walking Dead. What up with that?
Observations:
Mushroom Walker – The Walking Dead _ Season 8, Episode 11 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC
Let’s take a moment to talk about the amazing variety of walkers featured in “Dead or Alive or…” Mushroom walker is kind of my favorite. The fantastic make-up and prosthetics used for this walker deserves some sort of award. And those swamp walkers! Come on. It’s like that old movie Swamp Thing but with zombies. The make-up team creates phenomenal zombies, from the sprouted-face walker to the lump-on-a-log walker; the overall look of the undead in this episode is truly outstanding.
After they reach Hilltop, Daryl breaks the news about Carl’s (Chandler Riggs) death. Enid (Katelyn Nacon) takes it pretty hard, inconsolable as she falls to her knees. It’s a tough blow for Hilltop’s morale but they need to pull themselves up by the bootstraps and push forward because Negan is cooking up a nasty plan.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan – The Walking Dead _ Season 8, Episode 11 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC
Negan gets a hair-brained idea from his resident ammunition maker Eugene about using zombie guts to inflict biological warfare against Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and his people. Negan must think he’s immune to the effects since he didn’t get sick while Gabriel did when they coated themselves in walker-juice to escape in “The Big Scary U.” This tactic will not bode well and Negan resorting to this type of dirty play disturbs me on so many levels.
Carol (Melissa McBride) believes they need to preserve what little innocence is left in young Henry (Macsen Lintz). Morgan (Lennie James) does a good job in that respect when he realizes Henry is drifting deeper into a dark place so he placates the kid with the idea that he’s already slain the man who killed his brother. Raise your hands if you think Henry is going to become a mini-assassin. Too soon?
Why is Gregory (Xander Berkeley) still alive? Anyone? His usefulness has never actually proven useful at all. He will stab Maggie in the back as soon as he gets the chance. Setting him free won’t be good either because he’ll just crawl back to Negan and tell him everything he’s learned while being a POW at Hilltop. Accidents happen…just saying.
Overall
Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Christian Serratos as Rosita Espinosa, Alanna Masterson as Tara Chambler, Austin Amelio as Dwight; group – The Walking Dead _ Season 8, Episode 11 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC
“Dead or Alive or…” doesn’t quite answer all the questions but not having any stupid flashbacks makes it that much more enjoyable. Seeing Daryl, Tara, Rosita (Christian Serratos), and others from Alexandria and the Kingdom reunited with Maggie, Carol, and the crew at Hilltop is satisfying. I’m concerned about all of them being together in one place but right now, that’s what they need. They’ve taken a hit to their numbers and their morale could use a boost. With the sneak peek shown in The Talking Dead for next week’s episode, “The Key,” I’m anxious to see how things play out with Simon (Steven Ogg) and Negan.
What did you think of “Dead or Alive or…?” Comment below and tag me on Twitter @judybopp to chat.
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Judy Manning
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