'The Walking Dead' Recap: 'New Best Friends'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

Loss is something that all of us have to deal with at some point or another in our lives and let's be honest...it's something we prefer to avoid if possible. After all, the people and the things that are close to us, keep us happy and give us a sense of fulfillment and without them, there is most certainly a void and when that dark day arrives where we are forced to say goodbye, we surround ourselves with family and friends to mourn and eventually heal.

It is simply the cycle of life, and we are thankful for the fact we are allowed time to grieve and time to process our loss, but what would life be like if that wasn't the case? What if doing our best to survive and see tomorrow took precedence over our emotions? How would we heal, how would we process? Those are questions we never hope to explore but it's something The Walking Dead decided to look at in depth last night, because 'New Best Friends' was a powerful examination of loss, how we react to it and how we fear it and quite frankly it's about time the show dug into this, considering how much Rick and his friends have lost thus far in season seven.

With all of that in mind, let's examine the show's interpretation of the fear of loss, because there was plenty of that to go around in the Kingdom, where we spent a fair chunk of the story last night. It was in this place that we saw just how much Ezekiel is terrified of his people suffering under the spoils of war, going so far as to have stern, out of the way discussions with his people after Richard and Benjamin and for that matter Morgan, pushed the envelope a little bit with the Saviors when the time came for their usual exchange. But the fact that Ezekiel is willing to call out his people in front of the Saviors and reinforce the need for peace in private, demonstrates he is terrified of what kind of loss and consequences will come from a battle with Negan and his men. 

Others however, feared and dealt with loss in different fashion last night, take for example Richard. He has now come to believe that if Alexandria and the Kingdom do not join forces and execute a preemptive strike on the Saviors, that more people will suffer in incredible fashion and considering how much he has already lost...he's now prepared to sacrifice whatever is necessary to secure a safe future for those left in his life and in a stunning moment, he tries to recruit Daryl into an attack on a Savior convoy to instigate a war, one that will lead to Carol becoming a sacrificial lamb to convince Ezekiel to strike back. It's a plan Daryl wants no part of, but it was incredibly disturbing and heartbreaking to know that Richard believes that giving up other lives, is the only way to fill the void in his soul.

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But the heartbreak from that moment was outdone by way of the long awaited reunion between Carol and Daryl, wherein we learned just how much loss has effected Carol over the past few years and how close she is to her breaking point. It led to Daryl keeping Glenn and Abraham's death a secret, just to give her a moment of solace and hope for a change and well...at this point who knows if Carol will ever be able to return to action, or civilization for that matter since she outright admitted that every single person she puts down, forces her to lose part of herself and recovering from that may be next to impossible.

However, despite the fascinating exploration of loss, there was still an army that needed to be assembled for Alexandria and the rest of the episode took place in a junkyard/landfill where we learned the fate of Father Gabriel and more about the strange and stoic people that forced a smile from Rick at the end of last week's episode. These people, known as the 'The Scavengers' (according to Talking Dead) are a group that simply take what they need in silence and don't cause any trouble, unlike the Saviors. It's that mantra that allowed one of their people to force Gabriel to appear to abandon Alexandria by giving them a hand in stealing the food and the car last week and it is their resolve and ability to work together that has Rick convinced that they can be of great help in the upcoming war.

Of course, Rick has to prove that Alexandria is worthy of their cause and is forced to square off against one of the coolest walkers the show has ever put on screen. But Rick is up to the task, and with a little help, he proves himself worthy and at long last, he has his army...for a price. Because the Scavengers want guns, and one has to wonder now, if this is how the series is planning to tie together Oceanside, because they have guns a plenty, guns that Rick needs and while there's bluster and bravado surrounding the notion of taking what they need, my guess is Rick is either going to work out a deal, or figure out how to get Oceanside to join him in his cause, so that everyone gets what they want.

Either way, for being a vastly slowed down episode compared to the midseason premiere, this one was damn entertaining. It was nice to see the characters take inventory of what they've lost over the past year and it was equally awesome to see the show provide a pseudo answer as to how with deal with loss...in appropriate fashion of course, in that penultimate moment between Daryl and Morgan, wherein Daryl pointed out that you can either hang on to what you lost and let it haunt you...or honor it and move forward, and honestly...it was lovely to see Daryl play the wise man role for a change and who knew we would be treated to a touch of philosophy at the end of the world? Until next time.

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