Air Date: Sunday, November 27, 2016 at 9/8c on AMC
Rating:
“Nobody’s in this together, okay. Not anymore.” – Heath
Last Time on The Walking Dead…
How did Tara know she was going to be shanked?
“Go Getters” was a fantastic filler episode that made me excited for this week. Because let’s face it, most of season seven of The Walking Dead (TWD) has been nothing but that—filler. But I digress. Learning that Gregory (Xander Berkeley) is a coward, and Jesus (Tom Payne) is the baddest mofo around gets my blood pumping. Berkeley does an amazing job of portraying Gregory as a man who has it all, knowing he could lose it in the blink of an eye. And Payne visibly transforms into another character, as Jesus with the beanie and trench coat is someone not to be messed with. He’s all peace and love without the articles of clothing that change his appearance. That’s something to dissect another time. The walker invasion of Hilltop, Maggie (Lauren Cohan) standing up to Gregory, letting him know her name isn’t “sweetheart” or “Marsha,” and Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) pushing through her grief to make sure the people she loves remain protected are all great points in “Go Getters.” There are still good people in the world, even when it’s all gone to shit. I’d like to see more episodes like this one with substance. This leads me into “Swear.”
We Aren’t In Alexandria Anymore
Best part of the episode. The sand walkers were unexpected and exciting.
With this installation of TWD, we find there are more people out in the world trying to survive (who would have guessed?); the Saviors’ reach is far and wide in the south (because the big bad has to be everywhere all at once); and salted perch is yummy (not). I’m not sure “Swear” is the episode I have been waiting for this season but it brings a bit of a reprieve from the lackluster walker moments. This is a show about zombies and I’d like to see some zombies. The action isn’t as fast paced as usual. The sand walkers were the best thing about “Swear.” They were scary, slow moving menaces and seemed to multiply. I love how the walkers were hidden and then exposed by a simple shifting of sand. Makes me wonder why there haven’t been more beach episodes. But I have to confess, I was bored to tears most of the time. The old feelings of excitement are as gone as Heath (Corey Hawkins). That mofo pulled a Houdini. Not only does he leave in the Winnebago, he doesn’t appear to make it back to Alexandria. The question remains, where is Heath? And do we care?
So, I’m not the biggest Tara (Alanna Masterson) fan. Sorry, not sorry. She’s gone from being an immature know-it-all to the least interesting character. This Tara-centric episode leads us to an unusual community. There are no men, no boys, and no shits taken. I love how much girl power exudes from “Swear.” Not a single female in this episode backs down or cowers, waiting for a guy to save her. I mean, Rachel (Mimi Kirkland)—an eleven year old (I’m guessing) brat—holds to “we have to” when it comes to shooting strangers on sight. I can’t say I blame the women of Oceanside for having such harsh rules but can’t we all just get along? If the Saviors had found them again, do the Oceansiders believe they would have gotten off so easily? When has Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) been merciful? When does he not take what he wants?
Overall
Beatrice is pretty bad ass. Love that we get to see more female roles like this one.
I seem to be falling into a funk with TWD. I didn’t love this week’s venture into what else is out there. “Swear” doesn’t blow my mind with any new revelations. We already know the Saviors have a far, far reach and run everything. Why wouldn’t Negan and his men be everywhere in Virginia? We are in Virginia, right? I miss the days of old when the villains weren’t cruel just to be cruel but had some madness behind their plans. It seems to me Negan is amassing an army simply because he can. This season is supposed to be awesome and right now it’s straddling awful. Can we go back to the Kingdom? At least they have a tiger there.
Let me know what you think about “Swear” by dropping me a line in the comments section below or tweet me @ellemoe. I’m getting disappointed by the sneak peeks of the following week’s episode not actually being what we’re shown. Misleading much?
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Photo credit: Gene Page/AMC © 2010-2016 American Movie Classics Company, LLC. All rights reserved.
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