‘The Walking Dead’ Retro Recap: ‘The Suicide King’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Often times in storytelling, cliffhangers of any sort… will result in a slam bang finale. One that features action and adventure or big moments that simply knock our socks off. Simply because, that’s what we want and expect from the end of a big setup, and anything less is often regarded as a failure of sorts. But the fact of the matter is, having the follow-up story not shock us at every turn, isn’t failure in the slightest. In fact, it can lead to powerful storytelling on its own if whatever low key idea that comes next is handled in the proper manner and for proof… look no further than the next episode of The Walking Dead. For ‘The Suicide King’ is a follow-up story that was quite low-key in nature and took quite the philosophical turn.

A feat that this story accomplished, by quickly wrapping up the cliffhanger the season three, midseason finale set up. For rather than continue to let Merle and Daryl Dixon languish in the Governor’s weird Gladiator Arena, Daryl’s friends came to the rescue and opened fire. Dropping the easy targets to encourage to the Governor to NOT pursue them and once everyone was on the road, the story immediately shifted gears and became a powerful examination on the power of fear and how it can make life difficult in the midst of a crisis. For instance, it taught us that fear can motivate us to drift to what’s familiar. Since Daryl was quick to head off with his brother into parts unknown, over the fear of losing his brother once again and that left the group vulnerable and equally as afraid.

To the point where Rick Grimes made a foolish decision. Because despite being able to save two people that meant the world to him and return home safely, the loss of Daryl and the loss of Lori… convinced him that he would fail again and lose more good people in his stead. Which in turn motivated him to cast Tyreese and his group out into the wild to keep them 'safe' and he wasn’t the only leader in this tale that succumbed to fear and let it motivate dumb decisions. For the Governor’s failure to keep the people of Woodbury safe, basically motivated him to say ‘f*ck it’ and let chaos reign. Because he was deathly afraid of looking weak and of failing in general and if it wasn’t for Andrea, Woodbury likely would have fallen apart.

Which really is quite the unexpected direction to take this story in. Because the cliffhanger made it seem as though a grand fight was coming between Woodbury and the Prison Group. But instead, this episode opted to dig deep into an age-old truth and remind us of the fact that fear will always find a way to divide us and put us at odds with ourselves when we let it wash over us, and when that happens… disaster genuinely does strike. Since Rick’s group is scattered to the wind and lighter now because of his fear of failure and the Governor is losing control of his dream because of his fears, and that not only leads to compelling moments in this tale, but it also serves as deep and intimate commentary on our modern world and the various crises we've endured recently.

But what matters most here, is that adding that commentary and offering up this examination, allows for this midseason premiere to defy the odds. Because it is no disappointment or misstep. It is genuinely good through and through, and you’re captivated and fascinated by everything that takes place in this tale. Plus, ironically, going this slower and more intimate route… allows for the tension that the first half of season three built up, to ease for a bit and help the audience slip back into this world. So they can slowly steel their nerves for the fight ahead. Because more dark moments do await us since the Governor would indeed lose control down the line. But before we get to that point, we can bask in the wonder of a solid story. One that genuinely surprised us in wonderful ways and offered up everything we love about zombie stories. Until next time.  

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