THE WALKING DEAD Season 7 Episode 12
Episode Title: “Say Yes”
Writer: Matthew Negrete
Director: Greg Nicotero
Previously on The Walking Dead:
Episode 7.11: “Hostiles and Calamities“
There are spoilers ahead for last night’s episode of The Walking Dead, but don’t pretend that you didn’t know that!
For better or worse, people need to understand one thing: The Walking Dead isn’t going to change its approach. As far as the creative team and the network are concerned, the status quo has turned the show into one of the top rated series on television. The problem is that The Walking Dead has become stagnant with its storytelling. There are 16 episodes per season, and yet so much of it seems like filler that the show probably would have been better served with fewer episodes.
“Say Yes” is another in a long line of filler episodes that we didn’t really need, nor does it advance the season’s arc beyond just a few moments. And yet the scenes between Rick and Michonne land so well that it’s easy to overlook the fact that almost nothing happens here. The majority of the episode simply follows Rick and Michonne as they hunt for guns, kill walkers, and make love in the van to pass the time. Bringing these two together as a couple was an invention of the TV show, since Rick’s later love interest in the comics was killed off a few seasons back. Of the remaining survivors, Michonne was really the only one who made sense as a partner and lover for Rick.
Earlier in the show’s run, the argument could have been made that Michonne was more in love with being a surrogate mother to Carl than she was with Rick on any level. That reading goes out the window here, as we see just how devoted the couple is to each other. Nobody with half a brain should have been fooled by the half-hearted attempt to make us think that Rick had been eaten by zombies. That trick just doesn’t work after the stunt this show pulled with Glenn last season. However, Michonne’s shocked and hurt reaction was just about perfect. Without Rick, she literally lost the will to live in the world that she made for herself.
To a certain extent, both Rick and Michonne are fatalistic about their chances of survival. Rick treated their scavenging time as a vacation of sorts, since the war with Negan is still on the horizon. And he seems to be convinced that one or both of them could die in the conflict, although he wasn’t very convincing when he claimed that he or Michonne could carry on without the other. On the other hand, Michonne is now acutely aware of how much she cares for Rick. Because now she knows how she would react to his death, and it isn’t pretty.
Also: ‘Fear The Walking Dead’ Season 2 Deleted Scene
That was a dark turn, considering how much fun they were having in the episode. It almost took on a cartoonish tone when Rick and Michonne fell through a roof and landed safely. Their foreplay with the Ready-to-Eat meals was also pretty amusing. At this point, even the show’s most ardent detractors have to admit that they’re a cute couple together. But despite the foreboding tone of the ending, it’s very unlikely either of them will die soon. Death is for other people on this show.
Speaking of death, let’s set the deadpool for Rosita and Sasha. Sonequa Martin-Green has to go join the new Star Trek series, so Sasha can’t be long for this world. But it’s less clear where Rosita will end up or whether she’ll survive. Rosita’s recent selfish and vengeful side has given her more of a personality than she ever had before. And while that is interesting, it’s not enough to make Rosita into a fully rounded character. Aside from Rosita’s encounter with a unique and bloated zombie and her brief confrontation with Father Gabriel, most of her scenes are one-note.
Regarding Tara, the show is still trying to push her to the forefront with mixed results. The hour spent with Tara in Oceanside earlier this season was among the most excruciating installments. And yet the show seems eager to revisit it as Tara essentially talked herself into betraying her promise not to reveal Oceanside to anyone. There had to have been better ways for Tara to reach that conclusion without using baby Judith as a sounding board, but that’s really all we get. Jardis and her strange band of Mad Max-inspired scavengers weren’t satisfied by Rick and Michonne’s gun run; which means Tara has been backed into a corner. It still doesn’t seem like a good idea, but it does give Tara something to do besides mourn her girlfriend.
As filler episodes go, “Say Yes” had its enjoyable moments and even a few indispensable scenes of character building. If The Walking Dead had made the entire episode feel essential, then the filler tag wouldn’t apply. But we’re eager to see the show move beyond Negan, even if it seems to be going nowhere fast.
