‘The Walking Dead’ Recap: ‘Guardians’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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

When it comes to the villain or villains of just about any particular story, I think we can all agree upon the fact that they all have their own respective ceiling, or low point if you will, when it comes to their particular brand of evil. We simply know what to expect from them, and how far they’re willing to go when it comes to the heinous acts they’re going to commit, providing the audience with a sense of comfort and a solid reason to rally behind the hero’s quest to bring them down. Unless of course, that story happens to be The Walking Dead, since this particular show has finally decided it is high time to allow for a villain to truly let loose and take their wickedness to a whole new level.
 
For last night’s episode of the show, ‘Guardians’, provided us with some incredible insight when it comes to Alpha and how she operates as leader of the Whisperers and my goodness, did this exploration provide us with some incredibly dark and unsettling material. But, I don’t want to get into her bleak and twisted journey just yet, because while this episode definitely left me squirming in my seat, it also offered up some fascinating ideas when it comes to the nature of leadership, and the need to relinquish our fear, and all of that was explored by way of a return to Alexandria in this tale, wherein both of those issues were handled by Michonne’s journey, since we found her at quite the crossroads. 
 
Because her return to Alexandria brought about all kinds of debate and fury amongst the Council. For Michonne and Aaron both believed that now was the time to tighten their borders with a new threat surrounding them. But there were others who firmly believed it was it was high time to do the opposite and take part in the fair and re-open relations with neighboring communities in the event of a crisis and just to spread goodwill and well, Michonne was having none of this discussion. In fact, she outright made mention of the fact that she would veto any decision by the Council involving unity, all of course in the name of security and while the Council seemingly let her have her way, there were others who challenged her panicked authority in fascinating fashion.
 
For example, Negan took the time to question her decisions and her leadership, and he even pointed out that she was slowly losing her grip on everything in Alexandria by hanging on to everything so tightly, and ironically…Negan even offered his help as a consultant to help her regain control. And as if that wasn’t enough to unsettle Michonne, she came to learn that Judith had been speaking with her once mortal enemy and thankfully, a moment of honesty that only a child can provide about who Michonne was becoming, helped her to understand it was high time to loosen her proverbial grip and as it turns out, Alexandria will be helping out with the fair after all…

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If anything, Michonne’s story, and the nature of leadership that it explored, in that, the best ones collaborate with others and reign in people when appropriate, served as fine contrast to the nightmare awaiting us in the woods. For out there, in the wild, the Whisperers roamed free and they also caught up with young Henry and brought him back to their base of operations and this, was quite the sight. For we came to learn that this group is more than a mere handful of people, they’re a thriving community and their leader rules over them with an iron fist. Because we saw on several occasions, people turn their eyes to the ground or outright cease their conversation when Alpha walked by and while that’s fairly innocuous in its own right when it comes to a villain, what happened when she was challenged by a couple for leadership is what brought Alpha to a whole new level.
 
For she was quick to rise to the challenge and point out the great deeds she had done in keeping everyone alive to this point and for a brief moment there, it seemed as though mere words had finally quieted the disdain from these potential usurpers. But Alpha wasn’t satisfied with just using words to quell a rebellion, she knew action was necessary and in a stunning turn of events, she sliced the head off of the real challenger, a young woman who used her boyfriend as the front man to her plan. And she even went so far as to deliver that oozing skull to said boyfriend before plunging a knife into his flesh as well, and to properly remind everyone that she was still in charge, she had the bodies of these troublemakers fed to the dead and well, this truly hammers home the point that Alpha is not to be messed with.
 
But what matters more here, is the sheer insight that we were provided with when it comes to Alpha, and her twisted vision of the world. For she truly believes that the dead are the natural successor to man on this planet, and that adaptation is necessary in order for mankind to survive. And we also learned of her real disdain and disgust for the old trappings of civilization since she seems to enjoy living in the wild, and most importantly, we came to learn just how much she thrives on not following the old rules. It’s her world, and what she says, goes and those who don’t fall in line pay the penalty and that makes her hands down, the most calculated and terrifying enemy that our heroes have ever faced. Plus, to make matters worse, her daughter is on the run, as is her prisoner, and that will no doubt cause more harm than good and well, when all is said and done, this really was a fascinating episode.
 
Because we really did need a story that explores what makes Alpha tick, and how happy she is in a world where her impulses can be indulged, and this truly was a disturbing tale to say the least. Because there is a real savagery that surrounds the Whisperers, the kind that jars you since we are so used to seeing some semblance of civilization on this show and well, that lack of civility is downright chilling and while I’m sure Daryl and his tiny group will be just fine once Beta starts chasing after them, because Daryl, I can’t say the same for other folks at say, Hilltop. For Alpha is cold and calculating, and she knows how to use the ties that bind the rest of mankind against people and well, it’s only going to get uglier from here on out as this conflict continues to grow. Until next time.

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