‘The Walking Dead’ Recap – ‘Acheron: Part I’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the season eleven premiere of ‘The Walking Dead’.
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When one thinks of the word, desperation, we immediately think of a specific type of person. One that has in essence, hit rock bottom, and has lost their way and because they are now at a point where their life is an utter mess… they are ready to do bad things to be seen and heard and get what they need, and we think of that type of person… simply because they are the ones that make the six o’clock news, and when that’s all you know, that’s all you can associate with and that’s unfortunate to say the least. Because desperation extends well beyond broken people causing him, it also relates to people that are pushing themselves to harmful extremes in order to get their fragile lives back on track. If anything, that word and the different behaviors that accompany it is relevant to our discussion today, because that’s precisely what the season eleven premiere of The Walking Dead takes the time to explore.

For when we catch up with the good people of Alexandria in ‘Acheron: Part I’, they’re in a desperate place. Because despite their best efforts to utilize strength in numbers to finally put their home back together, their once proud and safe city is still in ruins long after the end of the Whisperer War and well… that’s not the only problem they are facing. For Alpha’s super herd scared off all the local wildlife, making hunting impossible and the dead’s occupation of Alexandria, while brief, destroyed all their crops and lessened their chances of growing good crops again. Which meant that the people of this place were in fact, quite hungry and desperate. To the point where Daryl and his starving band of hunters, went to extreme lengths to put food on the table.

As evidenced by their first major run in this story, one that saw a task force converge on a nearby military base in the hopes of sneaking in past the dead and grabbing as many MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) that they could carry, and for a time, it seemed as though this ugly plan was going to work. For the dead have started lie dormant in this world, and are content in waiting patiently for a meal to come to them, since they have all the time in the world, and that dormancy worked to the advantage of the group… for a time. But a quick and bloody misstep changed all that, and the mission shifted gears from retrieval of food to a fight for survival, and while the group did indeed get away unscathed and complete, their efforts and haul were apparently all for naught in the end.

For Gabriel informed them that the food they brought back, wouldn’t last more than a week. Which motivated Maggie, to offer up a bold idea. One that involved taking a group back to her old home of Meridian in the hopes of bringing back a bounty of crops and livestock and food stores. An idea that sounded great in principle but sadly carried with it, a real sense of danger. For the Reapers were potentially still in Meridian and if by chance the group ran into them, a horrible fight would likely take place. But desperate times call for desperate actions and the group set out to chance the positive possibility that they might get what they want and well… unfortunately for the group, a nasty storm, one that drove them into the sewer system, brought about a supremely unique examination of what happens when desperation boils over in a group of people.

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As is turns out, it can fill folks with utter fear, since several members of this retrieval group decided to turn tail and try their luck at surviving in the dark with the living dead… and it can also bring out some harsh truths. Such as how Negan called Maggie out over the fact that she brought him along to dispose of him and he had no qualms with re-opening old wounds in the process. An accusation and cruel moment that she didn’t shy away from because the hate she harbors for Negan hasn’t cooled in the slightest, despite efforts to face it and resolve it and well, that kind of exchange can only bring about more dark acts when desperation settles in. For in the closing moments of this tale, Negan had the opportunity to take the high road once again and save Maggie when the dead came knocking. But rather than go that route, he opted instead to save his own skin in a desperate act, and leave us wondering if Maggie will be the first victim of this final season of storytelling.
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But rather than conjecture upon that possibility, it is best we shift gears and point out that this episode had far more to offer than a fascinating examination of how desperation can break us down. For we also had the opportunity to catch up with Eugene and his group and see how things were going for them after Princess was bagged and dragged away with her buddies in her special season ten episode. Thankfully, it turns out that they remained unharmed by these strange stormtrooper clad soldiers and were instead transferred to a processing facility for an organization known as The Commonwealth, and the hope here, was that they would answer any and all questions posed by the auditing team in this place. Because doing so would grease the wheels and get them into The Commonwealth and well… that went about smooth as one might expect.

Because not only were the questions brutal and silly and downright embarrassing at times. But the whole process was uncomfortable and made worse in some cases by the strange commander of the Commonwealth’s stormtrooper squad, Mercer. To the point where eventually, this foursome decided that sticking around was likely a bad idea and it would be best if they worked out an escape plan. One that involved stealing some Commonwealth armor and basically walking out the back door and oddly enough, their plan nearly worked. That is until Yumiko noticed something quite special on their way out of the door. In that, posted on the wall by their escape route, was a powerful message, one that was left behind by her brother and indicated that if she was ever to be found… she was to be let into the Commonwealth immediately and that definitely changed everyone’s priorities.

As to whether or not that will be a beneficial decision since the Commonwealth is so weird, time will tell, but while we wait to see if the Commonwealth is indeed host to Yumiko’s brother and whether or not Maggie will survive the onslaught of the living dead… we can revel in the majesty of one incredible season premiere. Because this one wasted zero time in plunging us into a harrowing plot, one where everyone was in a dark place after spending years finding some semblance of peace and well… that makes it outright clear that this final season of the series, is going to go hard and hold nothing back and wow us at every turn just like year one did. And truly, it will be downright amazing to see where this rollercoaster of a story is going to take us in the weeks to come and who we will lose along the way, as we inch toward the end of a powerful eleven-year journey. Until next time.

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