Season 7, Episode 11
Air Date: Sunday, February 26, 2017 at 9/8c on AMC
Rating:
“I am Negan. I’ve always been Negan even before I met you. I just had to have a proper introduction.” – Dr. Eugene Porter
Will these two become besties?
Someone must have hit the rewind button because we’re on “Easy Street” again. I thought I’d never hear that damn song again but oh no, The Walking Dead (TWD) is not through with its musical torture just yet. It is interesting to me how one man is brought into the Sanctuary in tears while another is brought in chains. Do tears make the man? Does fear equal complacency or immediate obedience? These are the questions I find myself asking while watching “Hostiles and Calamities.”
Shave and a Haircut…
Has anyone wondered what happened to Eugene (Josh McDermitt)? I did for a brief moment, but he’s been far from my mind since he was taken. That makes me sad when I realize how much comic relief he provides, and how he’s the one character who keeps it real when it comes to his fear. He cries at the drop of a dime because he’s always afraid. He is so scared of his own shadow, he won’t walk in the sunlight. Now, I’m being facetious but you know what I mean. Eugene has kind of grown a pair, but not large enough to make me believe he’d ever be brave. Eugene has put on his façade much like Carol (Melissa McBride) has done when she finds herself in a new place, trying to figure out where she fits in and who she needs to be to survive. The smirk on Eugene’s face as he walks away from a group of Saviors leads me to believe he knows the game he is playing and how best to play it. Eugene dodges a bullet in “Hostiles and Calamities” but for how long? Everyone in the Sanctuary isn’t to be trusted for one reason or another. They are manipulative but that side of them resonates mostly from their desperation. “There aren’t many of us left.” Is Frankie (Elyse Nicole DuFour) talking about good people or people who want to get out of the Sanctuary?
Well, we find out who is responsible for Daryl’s (Norman Reedus) escape, not that it was such a huge mystery but the why of it all. The plot twist is one I didn’t see coming but it moves the story of Dwight (Austin Amelio) and his “wife” Sherry (Christine Evangelista) from the background to the forefront. I almost feel sorry for Dwight, yet again, and then I remember he’s an asshole. Does Dwight do the things he does because he has to or because he wants to? Makes me think the same about Eugene living in this new world.
Is it possible Dwight might still have a heart?
Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) leaves me wondering about his endgame. Maybe he isn’t the bad guy we see but comes across as such because it is the only way he can keep order. Nice guys don’t tend to lead a large flock of angry, scared, and desperate people. If you watch the Saviors and see how they react to one another, it’s clear they all have some issues. Most of them seem pissed off at the world and its outcome, while others are thankful they no longer have to be out on the street enduring God knows what. I don’t know which person is worse―the ones who take what they want or the ones willing to give what they have to keep their lives intact.
Dr. Emmett Carson (Tim Parati) meets his end in a way befitting a creepy doctor. Now I’m not saying he should have been roasted but Dwight needed someone to be a scapegoat so why not the good doctor? This turnabout puts a kink or two in Negan’s plans, doesn’t it? I can’t say the scene is well done (har, har) but it makes me wonder about the twisted thoughts going through Negan’s mind. You think the man is going to do one thing but he always does something even worse.
Funny and Interesting Quotes:
“You want something, you take it, Haircut.”
All right then, Laura (Lindsley Register). Her attitude is that of all the Saviors. What makes them think this is right?
**
Eugene to Negan: “Did you say wives, meaning plural?”
Is Eugene playing stupid here or is he trying to throw Negan off his scent?
**
“We’re just slaves.”
Amber (Autumn Dial), one of Negan’s wives, makes a statement that is truer than true. Why does no one balk at this?
**
“Being there isn’t better than being dead. It’s worse. I hope you realize that; I hope you get away.”
Damn, that’s a Dear John letter no man wants to get. Sherry’s words to Dwight prove how screwed up things are at the Sanctuary with the Saviors.
**
Overall
Negan should be wary of his wives. They are more willing to kill him than bed him.
McDermitt earns the MVP award for amazing acting in “Hostile and Calamities.” He has Eugene down to a science―the scrunched up face, tears, and quivering knees are more than convincing. You can’t tell me Eugene isn’t scared shitless. I keep waiting to see a wet spot appear on his shorts whenever he is in Negan’s presence. “Hostiles and Calamities” is a bit of a flashback but it fills in some blanks. I’m curious to see how Eugene either fits into the Saviors’ compound or helps to tear it down from the inside. I guess we’ll have to wait and see what the writers have in store for ‘ol Eugene.
Let me know what you think about “Hostiles and Calamities” by dropping me a line in the comments section below or tweet me @ellemoe.
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Photo credit: Gene Page/AMC © 2017 AMC Networks Inc.
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