‘The Walking Dead: World Beyond’ Recap – ‘Shadow Puppets’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

When we set out into the world as adults, we often do so with a rosy perspective. For we genuinely believe that the world is a wonderful place, one filled with majesty and opportunity and like-minded individuals that are ready to seize the day in the same aggressive manner as ourselves. Which is why we approach every single situation that we encounter when we bid farewell to home, with a fearless gusto and outright bravery. Because we firmly believe that we are going to take on the world and outright change it, because that is the expectation that our parents instilled in the core of our souls and nothing is going to stop us from achieving our goal. 
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But unfortunately, it doesn’t take long for us to learn… that such goals are incredibly difficult to achieve. Because soon we come to realize that the world is a harsh and unyielding place at times, and its citizens aren’t keen on having their status quo interrupted in the slightest. Plus, we also get a crash course in the fact, that like-minded individuals are difficult to find in the real world. Because people often have their own agendas and ideas about what they want out of life and they are willing to ignore what others have to say so they can pursue their respective goals. And of course, we also learn the harshest lesson of all when we set out on our own, in that… there are some rotten folks out there, the kind that are willing to screw others over and how we respond to these lessons, determines how our future is going to go. 

Because they can quickly teach us to give up and lose ourselves within the status quo, or motivate us to fight harder to find what we wanted in the first place and it just so happens that these particular lessons came into play in the next episode of The Walking Dead: World Beyond. Because ‘Shadow Puppets’ gave our group their first real taste of the harshness of the real world and what humanity has become at the end of the world, in that… a great deal of people have abandoned notions of society and cooperation, and this particular lesson came about by way of the mystery man that our friends met at the end of the last episode. For they quickly confronted this intruder and came to learn that his name was Percy, and that he was in quite the unfortunate pickle. 

For he explained to the group that some bad folks took the time to straight up rob him of something quite valuable; a car. Which is indeed a rarity in these troubled times and Percy was willing to offer the group a ride toward their destination, if they were willing to help him steal his car back. Something that Iris was happy to agree to, in part to get to her dad as quickly as possible, but also because… this was a chance to do good in a world gone mad. Because she firmly believed that the noble mission that she and her friends were undertaking could inspire others to pay good deeds forward and make a devastated world a better place. But while Iris’ heart was indeed in the right place, the prospect of getting east faster in a car, was indeed too good to pass up and that alone prompted the group to help out. 

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But alas, it turns out that this entire rescue operation, was nothing more than a ruse. For Percy and his Uncle, a man named Tony, were nothing more than a pair of grifters. Who were keen to use the good nature of people as the catalyst to rob them, which ended up being quite the shock for the group. Since they really weren’t expecting to deal with cruelty and deceit in a world where humanity was an endangered species. But that is sadly, the harsh reality of this world, but thankfully not all hope was lost in this particular situation. Simply because a little bit of worry on Iris’ part, when the grift was in motion, prompted Percy to show them mercy and save them when the dead came calling.
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An act that served to remind us to stay true to our ideals when the world teaches us some hard lessons, simply because staying the course will eventually reward us. But before we dive too deeply into the wonder of this lesson and what it could mean going forward, we do need to discuss the interesting surprises that the end of this particular tale sent our way. Because it is supremely fascinating that Tony and Percy were able to get their hands on a CRM truck. And while there is precedent for the CRM losing their supplies, thanks to Fear the Walking Dead, Al was more or less handed those supplies by her love, Isabelle. So, it is a tad strange that these guys just managed to get their hands on it with minimal fuss and that they can sneak in and sneak out and get refueled when necessary. 

But what truly makes them so suspicious, is the post credits sequence in this tale. Because once again, we spent a little time with that mysterious and icy doctor in the CRM’s New York research facility. And she was quick to speak with our favorite Lieutenant Colonel and imply that everything that’s happened thus far, is all by design. Which means that there is a possibility that Tony and Percy are working with the CRM and working to gain some trust in order to complete whatever mission Kublek has outlined for them. One that clearly involves revealing the location of a major CRM complex. Why exactly, well we will have to wait to find out. But it is truly incredible to know that Kublek has assembled some kind of master plan for the group, and hopefully it involves salvation and kindness, since we have seen the Lieutenant Colonel’s softer side. 

But in the here and the now, it’s best we take a moment to celebrate one fascinating and dynamic tale. One that really did do a fine job of teaching the group a solid lesson about the cruelty of the world and how it isn’t what we expect it to be. Because now they have learned to take a little time to learn more about the people they encounter, and that should help them deal with the genuinely evil ones when they eventually run into them, and in the end, this episode served as a wonderful reminder that we are indeed building toward something big in this story. Because lessons such as these, and hints like the ones we received at the end, are all part of a grand storytelling plan. One that will fundamentally change our characters by its end. Whether they change for better or worse, time will tell of course. But for now, we can continue to enjoy this thoughtful and fascinating ride as genuine good and a unique kind of evil continue along on an unsettling collision course. Until next time.

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