'The Walking Dead' Recap: 'The Lost and the Plunderers'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

The Walking Dead is a franchise that I have followed for as long as I can remember. I distinctly recall picking up the fascinating first issue many years ago and the many subsequent issues that followed it to see what wonders awaited in its pages as Rick Grimes and his family fought to survive a world ruled by the living dead and I was ecstatic when I heard that the comic book series was going to be adapted into a television show for AMC. Mainly because of the fact that there was going to be a television series on the air featuring zombies, but shortly after that announcement I have to admit that I was also incredibly curious as to whether or not the show was going to depart from the rich material available on the page.
 
As it turns out, the series has been quite the faithful adaptation for the most part, only shifting a few pieces of the puzzle around here and there, and while it’s been an utter joy to see iconic moments from the comics play out on the screen, I came to realize last night when I settled in to watch the show that we are in fact, in undiscovered country for the first time when it comes to this series. After all, Carl Grimes is gone from the show while he lives on in print and honestly, I didn’t have a clue what to expect from last night’s episode, ‘The Lost and the Plunderers’ because of his absence.
 
What I came to find however, is that this particular tale in essence marked the beginning of a grand evolution for the show and the first real marked change that I took notice of, is the sheer fact that a genuine sense of danger, something that’s been missing for some time now, has returned to this storied saga. It really feels as though no one is safe anymore and could exit the series at any given moment and the show hammered that home last night by way of the fury that Simon unleashed upon the Heapsters since he had his men murder just about all of them without giving it a second thought because of their betrayal. 
 
It was a savage and brutal moment that helped to reveal the next significant evolution for the show in that, it’s clearly going to focus a little more on loss and grief and how that impacts the characters going forward. After all, this is a world where people see loved ones die and they are often times forced to move on quickly to survive. But in this episode, people grieved like never before and we were even witness to how this kind of pain can change a person since the loss of her entire ‘clan’ changed Jadis completely. Suddenly she reverted to the woman she was before the end of the world, an artist who had hoped to transform this junkyard into her own special place and quite frankly this level of loss broke her since she seemed shattered shortly after putting down the monsters her friends had become.

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​But that kind of sobering reflection didn’t end there. We saw Michonne struggle with Carl’s death as well, to the point where she risked life and limb to save anything and everything that served as a reminder of the young man to preserve his memory and what he stands for and speaking of Carl’s legacy, it really seems as though his wishes and his words reached her on a fundamental level since she straight up called out Rick for his actions against Jadis, and how that wasn’t what Carl wanted of him and well, she’s right. Rick had a legitimate chance to save Jadis but chose not to, in order to fulfill his need for revenge, and oddly enough Michonne’s choice to point out Rick’s folly, combined with the discovery of a letter for Negan, led to the most powerful moment of the night.
 
Because that letter forced Rick’s hand to call Negan, and while that seems like no big deal at first glance since their little chat was filled to the brim with the usual bravado and bluster these two men seem to enjoy, this call was in fact a huge deal when all is said and done. After all, it gave a chance for both men to grieve in their own special way and it was stunning to see that the news of Carl’s death brought Negan to tears. But more importantly, this radio chat more or less seemed like a cry for help from both sides. Because I get the sneaking suspicion from both men that they want this conflict to end, they want a sense of normalcy back and a measure of peace and quiet, but they’ve both let this go too far now and haven’t a clue how to reign in the firestorm they both started and well, that oddly enough was the only part of the story that felt, familiar.
 
After all, for some time now, the show and its characters have been pondering upon what tomorrow will look like. We know what kind of peaceful future Carl envisioned before he died, and everyone in the Allied communities has been dreaming of what life will be like with the Saviors gone forever and hell, even Negan seems to have an idea, albeit slightly twisted, of a world at peace where people live out their lives in relative peace and really, this episode seems to be the grand setup to addressing how exactly both sides find a way forward, and while Negan was a bit of an ass biscuit to Rick on the radio as he tried to get his way, it feels as though that conversation was the first big step forward to ending this awful conflict and potentially making Carl’s dream come true.
 
And while I am fully aware of the fact that Rick once again declared his intent to put Negan down, I don’t fully buy it at the moment. He showed regret for what he did to Jadis, and hey, the guy just lost his son, all he has in his heart right now is fury and pain over the death of his boy and the fact that he called Negan to talk, still gives me hope that there can be peace and a way forward after all. Either way, this episode was deep to say the least, and if this is what The Walking Dead is going to transform into by taking part in such a radical departure from the source material, then I welcome these bold yet painful changes because this was some quality storytelling through and through and I’m curious yet cautious to see what other surprises await us as we barrel toward the end of All Out War. Until next time.  

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