'The Walking Dead' Recap: 'Dead or Alive Or'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK... 

To say that The Walking Dead is a dark show, would in fact be an understatement. In part due to the fact that of course, this saga features walking corpses that consume human flesh but more so because, over the course of its eight-and-a-half-year run, this series has taken us to the darkest recesses of the human condition. We’ve seen the ugliness that hides within mankind’s souls unleashed upon the world without the power of civilization keeping it at bay and we’ve explored the places that we never thought everyday people could go when their lives are on the line.
 
Yet, despite the bleakness and the heartache we and the characters on the show have been forced to endure, there has always been a flirtation of hope waiting in the wings. We have seen Rick Grimes and his family and friends overcome incredible odds to see another day and their actions remind us that man can achieve anything when they put their minds to it. But true hope, the kind we all revel in when it comes to seeing a better tomorrow has always been elusive on this series. Because every time our characters seem to find it, they’re robbed of it in the worst possible way. 
 
However, this back of half season eight has clearly changed everything when it comes to that. Because for the first time ever, the series is truly starting to toy with the notion of hope in a world without it and that it is potentially attainable and last night it delved deep into that possibility in the most fascinating of fashion because ‘Dead or Alive Or’ actually managed to toy with the audience by implying that this particular tale might be focused instead on the nature and the power of revenge and what faith means to us in difficult times and that first skewed element was explored by way Daryl and the survivors of the siege on Alexandria. 
 
They are still on their way to Hilltop when we catch up with them in this tale, and they’re working hard to avoid Savior patrols, and their desire to stay in the shadows puts them on a potential path toward their oasis through a swamp that Negan once deemed ‘too dangerous’ to traverse and well, that was a wise call on Negan’s part. For this marshy part of the world was quite the risk, since it was teeming with watery walkers and while Daryl and a handful of Alexandrians went to clear a path through the dead, Tara finally saw the perfect window of opportunity to exact revenge upon Dwight for every bad thing he did to her friends and surrogate family before switching sides. 

---

​Of course, Dwight tried to change her mind and point out the fact that his allegiance was to her and Rick and anyone who wanted to fight against Negan and the Saviors, but she simply didn’t trust him. That is…until Dwight had an opportunity to turn her and the whole group in when a patrol tried to take a quick peek at the swamps, and thankfully, Dwight managed to lure them away. It was a move that left Tara in complete and utter shock since someone did something worthwhile in the middle of this war and well, that’s where the surprise of hope came into play, because the shock and awe on Tara’s face spoke volumes to the fact that she suddenly believed that people were capable of good after all, and the uplifting surprises didn’t end there.
 
Because at Hilltop, Maggie was faced with a tough dilemma when it came to the community’s waning food supply, wherein she made the decision to cut the prisoner’s rations to ensure Hilltop’s survival came first. But when Daryl and the refugees arrived there, she had a moment to speak with Siddiq, who pointed out to her just how important and wonderful a gesture of kindness was in the midst of these awful times and that struck a chord with Maggie, allowing for her to change her mind and give the captives some food and a few liberties as well and as an added bonus, Morgan even got in on this positive game by telling Henry that he had in fact killed the man responsible for the death of his brother, giving the boy peace since he was still hell bent on revenge. 
 
Yet, at first glance, while all of this is lovely and inspiring in its own right, it doesn’t quite scream hope. At least, not until we quickly examine Gabriel’s story. Because he and Doc Carson ended up stumbling upon one strange and beneficial coincidence after another during their escape, which of course Gabriel believed was related to Divine intervention. That is until their journey ended in heartbreak when the Saviors found him and the good doctor, wherein Carson was murdered in cold blood and while that is indeed a hopeless moment that broke Gabriel, the philosophical nature of this episode became clear then and there. In that, these groups keep waiting for a moment or a lucky break to change their fortunes, when all of the wonderful things that people performed in this tale, speak to the fact that everything they need to make that happen, is in their own hands.
 
Therein lies the hope. Because Dwight, Maggie and oddly enough Morgan proved without a doubt, that everyone involved in this conflict can be better. They can engender good and make the world a place where such acts are commonplace, and it finally felt as though Carl’s idea for what tomorrow should look like, could become a reality. As to how long that hope will last, who knows. After all, Negan’s new idea on how to use the living dead as a weapon is a disturbing one to say the least that will no doubt cause more heartache in the days to come. But in the here and the now, I was thoroughly impressed with this episode, and its sheer subtlety and I love the fact that there are uplifting moments to be found at the end of the world and that this war could potentially end on a far more positive note than originally expected. Until next time. 

---