‘The Walking Dead’ Retro Recap: ‘Now’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

We like to believe that we are fully prepared to handle any tough moment that comes our way. For we know that we are resilient creatures that can comprehend and understand differently than the members of the animal kingdom. To the point where we can rationalize and dissect our emotions, and move on from them as necessary, especially when tough times arrive. All so we can survive and thrive and grow in the process and sadly, we come to learn somewhere along the way that while we can indeed handle a tough moment… in the moment… once the darkness passes, we find ourselves in a difficult place mentally. Where going through those very steps is impossible since emotions straight up take over.
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Which in turn motivates us to become quite foolish in nature. Wherein we might withdraw, lash out or find ourselves turning to behavior we normally wouldn’t, to find peace. Which begs an important question… how then do we escape that kind of unfortunate behavior when dark times arrive? And it just so happens that the next episode of The Walking Dead digs into that full bore. For ‘Now’ is a story that takes place shortly after the events of ‘Thank You’, wherein Rick Grimes high tails it back to Alexandria and its walls and safety, and well… the dead sadly come with him and quickly surround this tiny oasis. A reality that is dire and uncomfortable and allows for the people of Alexandria to revert to those very ugly thoughts. 

For they have doom beyond their walls, and they don’t know what tomorrow will bring and they’re still reeling from the horrors of the Wolves coming through this once safe space and ripping it to shreds and well… that puts that dark behavior on display. Since we see some of the good people of this town prepare to loot the pantry out of panic and desperation and worry, plus we see some of those same citizens lose hope. To the point where they believe that suicide is the only answer to their problems. Not to mention, even a hero of the hour, Spencer, succumbs to the same thoughts since he too raids the pantry… despite being the man to convince everyone to not do such acts in the first place. Which are acts that brought forth that all-important answer.

In that, when this kind of darkness arrives, we need a support network. We need folks around us that see the bright side of things, so we don’t lose ourselves in the pain and the sorrow. And once we have that particular network surrounding us, we need to find people that can lead us out of the ugly. Since they are the ones that are levelheaded and have the right kind of advice to put us back on track and above all else… at some point, we need to be the beacon as well. Because we might be in a situation where those other elements aren’t present and if so, we need to be objective and calm and step up to the damn plate and calm others down or ourselves down… so we can forge ahead and do what needs to be done to get life back to normal.

All of which are elements that made this episode, surprisingly uplifting in nature. Simply because this writer didn’t catch such messages the first time around. But they are there, and they indeed help us, and the good people of Alexandria find their way and heal, for the most part. Since obviously, Ron’s stupid behavior will lead to trouble and Spencer is a mess. But not everyone latches onto the lesson. But before we discuss that unfortunate reality, we can revel in the wonder of a quality tale. One that once again let us take a minute to breathe and process the horror and it surprised us as well. After all, this is when we learned that Maggie Rhee was going to be a mother down the line, and well, now that we’ve reached the end of this fascinating journey… it is time to turn our attention to the next chapter in this tale. One that sets the stage for the future in a surprising manner. Until next time.

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