'The Walking Dead' Recap: 'Rock in the Road'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

As time has passed I've come to realize that everything The Walking Dead has done over the past ten episodes (and that includes last night's) has been outright brilliant. A year ago, the series was focused on the good people of Alexandria starting over and putting together a new world free of the trappings of the old but then came the Saviors, and Negan and that brutal season seven premiere and nothing was quite the same.

Suddenly a show about hope and starting over was filled with dread and fear and angst and it seemed that our intrepid survivors were going to be trapped in a life of servitude to a man who loves nothing more than screwing with people and taking lives as he pleases and well...that kind of bleak twist changed everything. I have friends who no longer watch the show because of what Negan has done. I've seen comments on NTG's Facebook feed about how Negan needs to die and well, the reason I call these moves brilliant, is due to the fact that we are now deeply vested in this storyline and it has accomplished quite the wonder...it broke us in the same way that Negan broke Rick and much like our favorite former sheriff, we've finally had enough...we're ready to see the good people of Alexandria fight back against the Saviors.

That desire to see justice for Glenn and Abraham made last night's midseason premiere, 'Rock in the Road' quite the satisfying venture, because of the fact that this was it. Rick Grimes was ready to put together a coalition of communities to rise up and fight the Saviors and considering the fact that Rick spent the last eight episodes cowering in fear for the safety of his friends and family, it was outright wonderful to see Rick slip back into leader mode, complete with inspirational speeches, and for the group to rally behind him and the fight he's preparing for as they spoke with community after community in the hopes of putting together the army that Rick so desperately needs. But, nothing on this show ever comes easy...and assembling a fighting force was no exception to that rule.

Because unfortunately, Rick found plenty of resistance, specifically in the place he needed it most...The Kingdom. Despite being able to plead a solid case to King Ezekiel, an age old human trapping came into play in regards to the fight...fear. The good King was paralyzed by it, and despite the desire from Richard and even young Benjamin to stand with Alexandria and do some good in the world, he followed some of Morgan's advice and followed his heart, and turned down Rick's offer to help in the fight against the Saviors and well...it's a shame that some parts of the world that was are still seeping their way into present day, especially when such trappings are now completely and utterly irrelevant, and it's heartbreaking that Ezekiel and Morgan...refuse to see the world for what it has become. 

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It's clear now that both men are trapped in their own specific vision of the world and what it should be in order to cope with the harsh realities surrounding them. Ezekiel still believes that creating a fantasy world full of gumdrops and lollipops will somehow bring mankind closer together and Morgan is stuck in his pacifist lifestyle, despite the fact that he is starting to realize that his beliefs come from a different time and place in humanity's past and in the here and the now, it has no foothold or practical application to make the world a better place.

However, despite that harrowing setback, not all is lost for Alexandria. Despite the fact that Gregory of course immediately weaseled out of any potential alliance, his people think otherwise and they're ready to stand with Rick and his cause and fight Negan with their dying breaths and that was inspiring to say the least. Plus, there's that titular final moment of the episode where Rick and company come across a new group, one that is armed to the teeth and clearly doesn't take any crap from anybody, and well...the smile from Mister Grimes in the closing seconds of the story indicates that he is overjoyed to finally find his army, though I'm sure it will take a little bit of convincing to get them to join the fight.  

But the other part of last night's episode that made it extremely enjoyable was the fact that the show returned to its gory, walker killing roots with a stunning highway sequence wherein the gang got their hands on some explosives, thanks to the Saviors, and took on a herd in the most creative way possible...by turning a steel cable and a pair of cars into a zombie flesh grater and let's be honest...that was hands down one of the coolest things the show has done in years when it comes to walker kills and I certainly hope they find ways to integrate more of that as the season rolls on, and it was equally as nice to see a few tense moments involving the walking dead once again.

When all is said and done however, this was a lovely little midseason premiere. I like the fact that it was more or less a slow burn storytelling wise, one that took its time to dig into the characters and their motivations and that their fears still control some of them after all this time. It added a gentle depth to this particular episode that we haven't seen in quite some time and one has to wonder what it will take for Morgan and Ezekiel to get with the program and unfortunately, I get the funny feeling it will take an act of bloody aggression from the Saviors to show them the way. Regardless, insurrection is brewing, and we can only hope that Rick gets enough people to join Alexandria's cause before Negan figures out what's going on...until next time...

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