‘The Walking Dead: World Beyond’ Recap – ‘Exit Wounds’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 203 of ‘The Walking Dead: World Beyond’.

Over the course of the last ten years or so, The Walking Dead Universe has posed a great deal of questions about humanity as a whole. Such as what it would take for us to work together as one or what makes us worthy of being the dominant species on the planet, a question that The Walking Dead is exploring in great detail in its final season. But of the many questions this franchise continues to ask throughout the years… none are more important than its uniquely philosophical ones that relate to the here and the now. Since that adds depth to the franchise and give us plenty to think about in regard to current events and issues hanging over our society, such as what community really means in 2021 and how it needs to evolve in order to keep humanity united in the face of future crises. 

If anything, those latter concerns are of note today, simply because they served as the focal questions that hung over last night’s episode of The Walking Dead: World Beyond. For ‘Exit Wounds’ is a story that opted to deeply ponder upon all of that and that made this quite the cerebral and poignant story as well, since those are questions, we are asking ourselves right now when it comes to climate change and the pandemic, and what was truly fascinating about this tale… is that it more or less explained to the audience that our future more or less lies in simplicity. In that, reinventing the wheel and making sweeping changes is one thing and sometimes a necessity, but if we don’t stick with the fundamentals of society, then we stand no chance at keeping our species going. 

A point that this story expressed, by showing us point blank how the reinvention of some core concepts doesn’t work. For we spent a great deal of time in this tale, at the CRM’s fancy research facility… wherein we saw firsthand how life really goes in this place and, it is nothing more than a shell of the world we enjoy now. Sure, there are well-furnished places for people to live in, the kind that features all the creature comforts of home and warmth and food and the like. Plus, the CRM has education rolling along and the stability that comes with that. But in reality, the CRM is quite hollow, there’s simply a forced feeling to this place, as though it desperately wants to be the right path and doesn't know how to properly achieve that… a reality that was exposed when Hope took the time to hang out with some of her classmates.

Since they revealed to her that a great deal of them were forced to come to this place as she was, thanks to good aptitude tests and a scientific mind. And they are so entrenched in what the CRM is doing, that their families only see them a couple of times a year. Which means that until then, they’re on their own to forge relationships and forge connections and that scared Hope to no end. Because in that moment, it hit her, and the central theme of this tale came to life. In that, humanity can reinvent the wheel all it wants in the face of adversity and try to force community. But if we don’t build it and make real connections with our fellow man under zero pretenses, the end result is nothing more than what we saw here; shallow existence without meaning. And if we cannot figure out how to do those things as our species faces more challenges… then we are as doomed as Elton believes.

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But while the story did a wonderful job of hammering home that point, it made sure to go above and beyond with its lesson and show us the value of fostering that kind of future, as evidenced by Hope’s decision to demand that Huck take her to the community where Iris is hiding and by way of a morality tale that played out with Elton and Percy. For we also came to learn in this tale, that they did indeed fly under the CRM’s radar at the end of season one and their voyage toward Hope and their friends… wasn’t going all that well. In fact, that’s putting it mildly, it was going awful. For there was no food on the road, nor was there any solid shelter. Their only win was finding a horse, and some survivors believe it or not.

For they ran into a pair of people that had a cozy camp set up, one complete with food and water and everything one could ask for. And that’s when the morality lesson came into play. Since Elton believed that kindness and honesty would net them plenty to eat and a chance at tomorrow, whereas Percy believed… to hell with the rules. Which is a shame, since Elton’s plan was the right one after all, and Percy’s decision to go against that, led to all kinds of trouble for this duo. Since they were forced to fight the dead in harrowing situations and were of course chased by those that they tried to steal from and once the dust settled and all were safe… for a time it seemed as though, the lesson inherent was going to be a sorrowful one for Percy and Elton.

But the reveal that this duo was from the very community where Iris was held up, alongside the tough lesson they taught them about honesty, helped to remind us of the importance of community and its safety and it also injected a bonus lesson into the tale in the process. In that, kindness is something that has to be a standard for us as well. Because crisis brings strife and tough times make life terrifying. But a little kindness can heal that for people and give them hope and Percy and Elton both found that as well. Since they were finally safe and welcomed and fed again, giving this story quite the lighthearted feel, one that only grew as the story came to a close.
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For in the end, sisters were united on a quiet night, since Huck did indeed fulfill her promise to reunite them and that not only brings the wonder of these message’s home, but it truly allows for us to believe that better days might be ahead for the campus survivors. But while we wait to see what plans come out of their reunion, we can bask in the wonder of one supremely intelligent tale. For this one really did dive deep into some powerful and timely concepts. The kind that were hopeful in nature and reflective for certain. Since they serve to remind us, long after this story has come to an end, to be better and to fight for a better tomorrow. So that we never lose sight of what matters and so that nefarious forces are kept at bay, since unity will never let it gain a foothold. Until next time.

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