‘The Walking Dead: World Beyond’ Recap – ‘The Tyger and the Lamb’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Three of ‘The Walking Dead: World Beyond’.
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Something that is truly fascinating about stories that focus heavily on the road back from trauma and loss, is that they kind of rush through the healing process and it is understandable as to why that is the case. For they are stories after all, designed to evoke an emotional response in the reader or the viewer, and having the character reach that all-important epiphany, where they realize that the time has come to change their lives for the better; allows for the audience to reach the message at the end, that will send their spirits soaring, in a prompt and satisfying manner. And while that does make for a lovely storytelling experience, it does tend to gloss over some important lessons that we all need to understand when it comes to the healing process.

In that, moving toward the proverbial light takes a great deal of patience and self-care. Along with the fact that there will be no magical epiphany, where we suddenly realize the right path forward. Instead, there will simply be a series of significant and poignant moments that make us realize that change is necessary and really, all of this is relevant to today’s discussion; simply because this more delicate message in regard to healing served as the focal point of last night’s episode of The Walking Dead: World Beyond. For being trapped in the Blaze allowed for a couple of key characters that are currently dealing with trauma, to realize that the time had come to start changing their lives for the better and that made ‘The Tyger and the Lamb’ quite the fascinating tale when all is said and done. 

Because this one took the time to teach us, that kindness is one way to reach people that are looking for a way forward. Something that was handled by way of Silas’ journey in this tale. For we came to learn that this young man has quite the sorted past, one that involves an act of violence against family members and that is what made him quite the outcast. Because such an act makes one appear to be nothing more than a monster, and it is that particular perception that motivated Silas to leave the Campus Colony. For out here he could be free of his past. Or so he thought. Because memories of that fateful day haunted him in the Blaze and moments of pause in this tale, left him wondering if by chance he would ever move forward from that life-changing moment.

Thankfully though, kind words from both Iris and Elton helped Silas to realize that perhaps he has a future after all, one where he is valued. And that realization motivated him to step up and help his friends in a time of need, simply because he was a part of something now and while that may not solve all of his problems at the moment, that's okay. Because what matters more here is that he finally understands that he can live a normal life without the burden of what looks to be an epic and unfortunate mistake on his part, and that will in turn, allow him to carve out his own path in life. One that will likely bring him sustained peace and that made his arc in this tale quite satisfying and hopeful. But there was mention of the fact that multiple characters shared in a string of moments that motivated change in the right direction, and the other person that went through this process… was Hope.

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Because for some time now, she’s carried all kinds of burdens, the kind that have left her in a lost and desolate place, mentally. With the most significant one being the difficult act that she performed on the night that everything went to hell. But stepping out into the Blaze and offering to be the one to set up the distraction to get her friends and family safe… was the perfect catalyst to begin her healing process. For it forced her to in essence, face her greatest fears and that night all over again, and by facing it… she was able to slowly overcome that fear and realize that perhaps she could do good when faced with adversity after all. And reaching that particular epiphany did indeed allow for her to save the day, and get those that mattered to her, out in the open world safely and once that was done, the next significant moment in her healing process came to fruition. 
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For after all this time, she finally opted to be open with her sister about what happened on that fateful night and being able to express her emotions and her regret about that night, allowed for her to feel some kind of catharsis and free her of her burdens. Which will now allow her to finally forge a new path forward, one that might see her be a leader, oddly enough. For Huck pointed out how much the people in this rag tag group of voyagers follow her cue and that kind of epiphany opens up all kinds of possibilities for Hope. Especially now that the group has a pair of warriors joining them on this epic quest east, since Huck and Felix are now officially along for the ride. But while it was wonderful to enjoy some seriously uplifting and poignant moments in regard to healing, we would be remiss to not point out that this particular tale had so much more to offer its audience.

Because for the first time ever, we were able to see a city that the CRM resides within and be reminded of the fact that not everyone in this outfit believes in its cold-hearted actions and its overall beliefs. For a young soldier that joined Lieutenant Colonel Kublek in the genocidal assault on the Campus Colony, expressed his concerns about that moment, a decision that he is clearly going to regret. Because Elizabeth was quick to punish him for his inkling of insurrection and send him to whatever horrifying fate awaits him in this city of 200,000 strong. But while it was chilling to see Elizabeth make another difficult call and fascinating to get a good look at what might be CRM’s HQ, what matters more about this particular segment; is that it pointed out that the Lt. Colonel might not be as evil as advertised. For what happened in Omaha impacted her greatly as well, and hopefully the humanity that still resides behind her cold exterior will benefit the group down the line. 

In the end however, this really was just another impressive episode from this young series. Simply because it continues to offer up unique explorations on the human condition that we just aren’t seeing anywhere else in The Walking Dead Universe and that isn’t an insult by any means. Because it just speaks to the fact that this series is genuinely something special, one that can handle this kind of reflection since our characters aren’t embroiled in a fight for a greater cause at the moment, and that means there is a fair chance we will receive more quality explorations like this in the weeks to come, and that leaves you eager to continue this powerful journey. To see if these teens will find what they're searching for internally as they head east, and whether or not hope can survive in a world where it seemingly has no meaning. Until next time.

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