‘The Walking Dead’ Recap: ‘What It Always Is’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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​When it comes to television, I think we can all agree that the transitional episode is something that leaves a lot to be desired. For these particular tales tend to be clunky in nature, since they offer up unimportant plot points designed to entertain, while the major plot points are developed in slow and sweet fashion, all the in hopes of keeping you hooked for a big moment down the line. It’s an unfortunate style of storytelling that every series out there, stumbles with from time to time, even The Walking Dead. Since we’ve seen the series provide us with a few transitional episodes here and there and they really haven’t enthralled us in the manner we’ve come to expect from this series.
 
If anything, this is on my mind today, simply because the transitional episode is precisely what the show delivered our way last night. But rather than subscribe to the traditional formula for these tales, ‘What It Always Is’ ended up being quite the fascinating ride, one that introduced a boatload of plot points that actually managed to captivate. But with so many competing plot lines, where does one begin? Well I think it’s best we discuss Magna, and her quest to stock up on supplies from Hilltop since this more or less served as a follow up point to last week’s thematic notion involving the fallout of fear. Because clearly, Magna is nervous about what comes next now that the Whisperers have made a direct attack on Hilltop. And the fear within her, prompted her to prepare for another life on the road and it was sad to see that such terror still existed in her heart despite the good that’s come her way and I love that this was resolved with caring and understanding since that is likely the only way to calm her nervous mind.
 
Speaking of last week’s theme, the story also took the time to dive a little deeper into what exactly helped put Ezekiel into such a dark place during that particular tale and that’s critical to explore. Because I think we can all agree that after watching that episode, Ezekiel’s attempt to take his own life didn’t sit well with anybody. After all, he’s about as tough as they come and loss and strife is something that often motivates him over anything else, and while fear definitely had an influence upon his poor mental standing during that particular story, the revelation presented here, in that he is suffering from advanced thyroid cancer, filled in the blanks. Because as it turns out his fear was also related to the fact that he is going to waste away in the weeks to come since there’s no chance of survival without advanced medicine being available to him, and it was just fascinating to watch Ezekiel try to come to terms with his mortality and it should be interesting to see how he deals with his final days as the story continues along.
 
Yet while these moments were fascinating in their own right, there are two other key plotlines that this episode introduced that quite frankly, blew me away and the first one involved the Whisperers. Because in this story we came to learn that Alpha is indeed the mastermind of all of the trouble that’s been brewing for our heroes this season. Since concerns were expressed within her camp about the wealth of guardians they were burning through as they sent wave after wave at Hilltop and Alexandria, when they could in fact just send the horde and end them all. But a quick and swift victory isn’t Alpha’s style, not when it can benefit the pack. Because eventually, fallen trees and unending waves of walking corpses will motivate others to join the group once their world has fallen to the wayside and what’s chilling is that Alpha still has bigger plans in motion in order to make that happen.

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​Because we also spent some time with Gamma in this story, simply because she has become the point woman of the next phase of Alpha’s twisted machinations. Since it has been her job to bring the dead to the river and drop them and open them up in the hopes of plugging up and likely contaminating the water supply for the communities at large, which is dastardly and chilling in its own right, since it helps us understand just how far Alpha is willing to go to win. Something that was reinforced by the fact that she is hoping to use Gamma as a spy of sorts since Aaron showed the Whisperers’ third-in-command mercy and kindness when she sliced her hand open in a fit of fury, and having her make nice with Aaron is an idea that may or may not benefit Alpha. Because Gamma’s anger did make it clear that she’s not exactly keen on how her master handled her sister’s breakdown, and one has to wonder if seeing a better way might help her turn away from the dark clouds that Alpha hangs above her brood.
 
But of the many plotlines introduced in this story, the genuine centerpiece of the night involved Negan. For in this story we caught up with the former villain as he made his grand escape from Alexandria and well, his freedom brought about quite a twist. Because when he took a moment to rest and relax, he found himself face to face with an Alexandrian named Brandon, and while that should have signaled the end of his freedom, Brandon instead offered up his praise and admiration for Negan, on an annoying level. Because this kid would not stop celebrating Negan’s time as the leader of the Saviors and even offered his hero a brand new bat with barbed wire and his old leather coat in the hopes of seeing a legend come back to life, something that Negan didn’t want any part of and that’s what made this part of the episode so intriguing.
 
For in essence, Negan was looking for a fresh start in this tale. In fact, he even went so far as to show a mother and her son kindness when they were in trouble and he also offered to bring them to Hilltop so they could find safety for a change. But Brandon refused to see beyond what once was, and killed these kind people in the belief that his loyalty was being tested by Negan, as part of ushering in a reformed Savior empire and well, that forced Negan to put the kid down and make his way into Whisperer territory for a little chat with Beta. Which now begs a pair of questions. Is Negan looking to join up with the bad guys in order to exact revenge on a world that has shunned him, or is this part of a grand plan at redemption, since Negan could turn on the charm in order to get close to the Whisperers and gather intel or do some damage on his way out of the forest. Time will tell of course, but this was definitely a powerful storytelling segment since we genuinely saw the good that resides within Negan once again, and how his reputation and past actions continue to cloud his future.
 
In the end however, I really was impressed with how this episode drew me in. Because this one should have and could have been quite boring. But the strong performances present here, and gentle weaving together of important themes helped to make this one fascinating for certain, as did the revelations that came into play here. Because Alpha’s plans are messed up, plain and simple and its unsettling to know that there is a fair chance we’ve only seen a sliver of her master plan and that darker days might be ahead, all in the name of revenge and proving a point. Plus, it should be fascinating to see what becomes of Negan and I really do hope this is his shot at redemption since it would be nice to see him become more than the man we met back in season six. Either way, this season continues to impress and I imagine it won’t be long before the plot is cooking once again as the Whisperers and the remnant of civilization inch closer to war and once again, I’ll be counting down the minutes to next Sunday’s episode to see where this magnificent season is headed. Until next time.  

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