‘The Walking Dead’ Recap: ‘Ghosts’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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It was Albert Einstein that once said, and I paraphrase; that the fourth World War would be fought with spears and sticks and stones and his words are definitely sobering. Because that phrase truly embodies the horrors and the long-lasting implications of nuclear war and those are words that honestly kept swimming through my mind while I watched last night’s episode of The Walking Dead. Not because there was some kind of nuclear surprise to be found in ‘Ghosts’, but because we are entering bold new territory when it comes to this particular story. For most zombie related stories, this one included, often provide us with combat between warring factions that make full use of what weapons remain after the world has come to its end.
 
But this saga has gone far beyond that point, and now our heroes and our villains live in a world where bombs and bullets are hard to come by. Which means it is time for them to create spears and weapons out of sticks and stones in order to fight and fight soon, they shall. For war is brewing between Alexandria and the Whisperers and this particular story took the time to introduce a new and terrifying aspect to fighting a post-modern war; psychological warfare. Which I say is new, simply because this is something that I’m honestly not sure horror or many other genres that deal with life after the end, have ever taken the time to explore. But this episode definitely allowed for this exploration to unfold in curious and fascinating fashion, despite the fact that it sure didn’t seem like it was going to be part of the story in the slightest.
 
In fact, the earliest parts of this tale made it seem as though the good people of Alexandria were merely dealing with some sour luck when it comes to the hordes of walkers that kept showing up at the gates. But a constant stream of the dead, led a tired community to quickly believe that Alpha and her people were responsible for this in some fashion, and an olive branch from Alpha only confused and stressed the community further since it seemed like their expectations were incorrect and a series of weird events were unfolding for no particular reason. But something unique happened, shortly after a meeting at the border almost went south because of the fury that Carol displayed. Because our intrepid heroine began to exhibit signs of weakness like never before, something that was likely related to her guilt and her grief and the PTSD she’s suffering from, thanks the past year’s events.
 
In essence, Carol was simply not herself in this tale. For she was popping some kind of stimulant and lacking sleep because of it and it also seemed that her mind was slipping. Because she was beginning to wonder if she was seeing things that apparently were not there, and she was having realistic discussions that never took place and that made one wonder if this story was going to be about the fall of Carol. And that we were going to bear witness to the end times claiming another victim by way of the stresses that it provides, and that was compounded further by her violent encounter with the dead in a gymnasium at a school where the group holed up for the night. For an encounter she thought she had with a Whisperer in that gym, looked to be just another hallucination and another moment of weakness, leaving many back home to wonder about the state of her mental health.

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​But the final moments of this episode revealed that this was all part of a massive plan on Alpha’s part to sow discontent and fear within her enemy, and wear them down from the inside, bringing forth the psychological warfare in question. For in essence, Alpha chose Carol as the perfect mark since she realized she could exploit her seething anger. So, she sent her minions out into the world to torment Carol and sow discontent and worry amongst the group and well, she was definitely successful in her venture since Michonne and Daryl haven’t a clue as to whether or not Carol can be trusted right now. And it was brilliant how the show revealed that Alpha was screwing with all of them by showing us that one of her lieutenants was indeed present in the gym and endured some serious injuries in her fight with Carol, the kind that ended and restarted her life.
 
However, what truly impressed me about this part of the story, is the sheer fact that the audience was drawn into the madness of this tale as well. For we never quite knew what we were seeing, and that allowed for us to get as lost as Carol and well, when all is said and done, this is one horrifying way to defeat an enemy. Because everyone is rattled right now, and with good reason. They’re tired, they’re exhausted and they’re emotional, and they’re also afraid, which means that mistakes might be made, giving Alpha the opportunity to deal with this community with impunity. And while it seemed ambiguous at first, as to whether or not she sent the hordes to the gates of Alexandria, Gamma’s timing and the long haul here makes it clear to me that this was all the opening salvo of a grandiose plan to bring down this strong community, it’s simply a matter now if everyone can come together and ignore the noise in order to win.
 
Yet while all of this was fascinating and brilliant in its own right, this episode also made it clear that some of the issues that persist in Alexandria, the kind that also need to be overcome in order to fight in a unified front, have a long way to go resolution wise. That was demonstrated by Aaron and Negan’s voyage to fight the dead in this tale since the bad blood between the two of them resurfaced, which made it difficult for the two of them to work together since they kept slinging bad memories at one another in the hopes of inflicting some emotional damage. But hopefully, the fact that Negan showed off some the good within his heart, by giving Aaron all the help and care he needed, will go a long way in making that peace happen. Because they need one another, now more than ever, with this kind of threat waiting for them in the darkness of the night.
 
Also, I’m quite intrigued by Siddiq’s journey since he’s crumbling fast, but for potentially different reasons since this episode hinted greatly at the possibility that he’s hiding something from the group. For some of his flashbacks were suspicious for certain, as is his constant push to keep his nerves at bay. But while I’m sure the show will reveal that truth in due time, in the here and the now, we have quite the brilliant episode to celebrate. Because this one was a mind-screw for certain, the kind that kept you guessing and kept you uncomfortable, and kudos to writer Jim Barnes for weaving together a script that manipulated the audience in all the right ways and for presenting us with a fascinating new angle for warfare in a world devoid of bullets and I cannot wait to see where this powerhouse tale takes us in the weeks to come as the back and forth between these two groups continues to escalate. Until next time. 

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