THE WALKING DEAD Season 7 Episode 10
Episode Title: “New Best Friend”
Writer: Channing Powell
Director: Jeffrey F. January
Previously on The Walking Dead:
Episode 7.09: “Rock in the Road“
There are spoilers ahead for last night’s episode of The Walking Dead, but don’t pretend that you didn’t know that!
The Walking Dead has officially entered Mad Max territory. Or perhaps even Lord of the Rings. It’s a jaw-dropping turn for the series, as the Scavengers are the most cartoonish characters to have debuted on the show. And their signature zombie really did look like something from LOTR.
Needless to say, this all felt very hooky and out of place with the tone of the series to date. Admittedly, the Kingdom is a little silly too, but at least Ezekiel has shown the audience that he doesn’t really believe his own hype. Jadis and her Scavengers don’t seem to have the same theatrical bent that Ezekiel does. Considering that the bulk of the episode dealt with Rick’s attempts to strike a deal with Jadis, it made for a very bizarre…and it was not a very compelling story turn. The design of the spiked Walker that attacked Rick was actually pretty cool, it just didn’t belong on this show.
Compare that to the reunion of Daryl and Carol that came later in the episode. That was an extremely layered and rich interaction that beautifully played off of their shared history together. Now, that was a great piece of writing that made both Daryl and Carol stronger. There’s so much that remains unsaid between them, but the biggest thing now is that Daryl told Carol a lie of omission to keep her in seclusion. He didn’t tell her that the Saviors killed Glenn and Abraham because he knew she would join his attempt to avenge their deaths. It may be the first real lie to come between them, and it’s possible that Carol may have realized that Daryl was lying…and chose to believe it anyway.
The buildup to that had Daryl and Richard form an alliance to strike back at the Saviors…right up until Richard admitted that his plan was to trick the Saviors into killing Carol so that King Ezekiel would be moved to avenge her. That was a terrible plan, no question. At least Daryl wasn’t fooled into going along with it. His moral center wouldn’t have allowed it even if he didn’t know it was Carol; which makes Richard look like an even bigger dick.
Also: ‘Fear The Walking Dead’ Season 2 Deleted Scene
Events unfolding within the Kingdom were still effective, as Richard was continually pushed to the breaking point and even Morgan was forced into action at the cost of his beloved staff. It helps that Ezekiel, Benjamin, and the rest of the Kingdom seem to be genuinely decent. However, Richard seems like the type to get himself exiled from the Kingdom if it meant spurring Ezekiel into action. That’s not necessarily a bad turn for Richard, since he’s so clearly desperate. And yet it does rip away the sympathy that he generated for being so badly treated by the Saviors.
There was another strange character turn this week with Father Gabriel, who turned out to have not betrayed Rick and the group despite what we saw in the previous episode. It’s hard to process that one because the previous episode went out its way to make it seem like Gabriel was a traitor. If, as this episode explained, Gabriel was under duress the entire time, then why did we only glimpse the shadow of the Scavenger in his car?
Clearly, we’re meant to believe that Gabriel has changed when he rooted for Rick to survive the ridiculous trial by zombie combat. It was also quite silly to see Gabriel take a hostage of his own to force Jardis to let Rick strike a deal with them. The entire thing felt less like The Walking Dead and more like a cartoon that overpowered even the best aspects of the episode.
Tone is everything on this show, and when it works, it can be amazing. Most of the Kingdom segments were worthwhile, especially when Carol and Daryl shared the screen. Unfortunately, the stronger moments did not outweigh the weaker aspects of it. The Scavengers were simply a bridge too far. Rick does need partners to fight Negan, and hopefully he’ll have better luck finding new groups that won’t attempt to kill him first.
