‘The Walking Dead’ Retro Recap: ‘What Happened and What’s Going On’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

One thing that we can all agree upon, is that none of us have a clue what is going through our minds in our final moments. We merely have conjecture and stories from others to go off of. Some that suggest that as our bodies begin to fail us, we see those we loved and lost one more time as they welcome us into the afterlife. While others speak to fear upon someone’s face as their final moments approach, as though they are about to cross the threshold into something awful. Yet there are others who see people just pass quietly in their sleep or without incident. Which continues to leave that question hanging over our heads and it is so complex a question and so worrisome… even storytelling tends to stay away from it, if possible, since the unknown is tough to write about.
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But now and again, you run into a story that wants to take it on and envision that reality and oddly enough, the next episode of The Walking Dead opted to do just that. A feat that ‘What Happened and What’s Going On’ accomplished, by bringing forth another death of another major character. But it sure didn’t seem as though that was going to happen early on. For this story featured a grand trip to Virginia after Beth’s untimely death. In the hopes of granting her last desire, which was to give Noah closure regarding his family and perhaps a chance for Rick Grimes’ family to start over fresh at last. But alas, what they found at Noah’s old stomping grounds… was death and it was eager to creep forth and bring about the end of Tyreese as well.

For a moment of lapse led to a nasty walker bite, one that bled badly and well… as he began to fade from this life, he encountered the good and the bad of the last couple of years. Wherein he had conversations with the Hunter that got away and the Governor himself to try and understand why he let bad people persist in this world. But he also received visits from Beth and Lizzy and her sister, to help him understand he did the best he could. And once he came to understand that… he was able to just embrace death and find peace in its embrace. Which means that from the perspective of writer Scott M. Gimple and Director Greg Nicotero, our final moments could entail squaring up our lives and scrambling within ourselves to gain perspective on whether or not… we lived a good one before we make peace with the reality that the end has come.

Which is a very simple and shockingly noncomplex way to look at death, one that no one can cite as right or wrong. It is merely fascinating perspective. The kind that never overwhelms, courtesy of the other important subplot in this tale. Since this story also explored… the importance of having a home in crisis, and a sense of direction as well. Because to not have that when things are bad, could lead to our emotions and worries overwhelming our minds, wherein we slip into darkness and that’s a solid exploration to bring up. Since Rick and his friends did seem to be slipping a bit here, giving rise to wise words and important perspective from Michonne. Plus, this episode also hinted at the Wolves for the first time ever, making this one important to the future of the franchise.

But what matters more here, is that this was a powerful swan song for a beloved character. Because Tyreese really did seem invincible at times and was perhaps one of the most emotional and raw characters of the group and always meant well with his intentions. Which made this a devastating tale as well, one that served to remind us of how ugly life can get in the horrific land of the dead and what’s wild… is that the darkness isn’t over yet. For this group has miles and miles to go before they are rewarded with any semblance of peace again and that is an unfortunate reality that makes plenty of sense. For time and time again, we are often reminded of the fact, that it is indeed always darkest before the dawn. Until next time.  

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