It’s not really a spoiler that Carl (Chandler Riggs, left) survives his injury, much to the relief of his father, Rick (Andrew Lincoln). Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC
Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) may have lost his signature crossbow, but he seems to have consoled himself with an RPG. Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC
It’s uncool to blame the victim, but maybe if Jessie Anderson (Alexander Breckenridge) hadn’t coddled her whiny children, she’d still be alive (and so would they). Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC
By Andrew A. Smith
Tribune Content Agency
Those who have recovered from the mid-season premiere of “The Walking Dead” Feb. 14 probably have a few questions. As well you should, as it’s a turning point for the series.
With a huge spoiler alert for the episode, “No Way Out,” here are some Q&As:
Q: Why is this a turning point?
A: Well, Carl (Chandler Riggs) losing an eye is pretty serious turning point for that character, and it will have an impact on his, uh, world view.
But mainly this was “Zombie Gettysburg,” the high-water mark of the zombies as a threat to our heroes. For the first time since the show began, the inevitable zombie surge didn’t chase our heroes from their refuge -- instead, they stood and fought to the death. (Or undeath, maybe.) From now on, if the comics are any guide, Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and the Grimes Gang are no longer nomads, but are instead the first line of defense for Alexandria, Virginia, as well as ground zero for whatever civilization can spring up under these circumstances.
Q: Does that mean the Walkers are no longer a threat?
A: Not at all. But now Rick & Co. can see them as a manageable threat. The real threat, as ever, is from the living.
Q: You mean that Negan fella we’ve heard tell about?
A: Oh, yes. Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is definitely a threat. He makes the Governor, the Claimers and the Wolves look like a church choir.
Q: Is Zombie Gettysburg what Rick had in mind when he faced the horde all on his lonesome?
A: No, he saw that the herd was being attracted by the lights in the infirmary, lights necessary for Denise (Merritt Wever) to save Carl’s life. That made his decision pretty simple: “Go stop the threat to my son.” It wasn’t smart, but his girlfriend was just eaten and his son shot in the face, so he might not have been thinking very clearly.
Q: So he got lucky that everyone saw his Alamo improv and jumped in to help? That wasn’t a very good plan.
A: Honestly, when have you ever seen any of Rick’s plans go well? That’s largely because his plans going well would make for boring television, so the writers always make everything go pear shape.
But in this show you can also justify why everyone still trusts in a leader whose plans gang aft a-gley, in that Rick & Co. have few resources, no back-up and are flying by the seat of their pants. Of course things are going to go wrong, but there’s not much they can do about it.
And while this “plan” sort of worked, and Rick will be held in great esteem by the survivors, the real heroes were Abraham (Michael Cudlitz), Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green), who came up with a plan to break the siege and did so without any instruction from Rick.
Q: Why did Jessie have to die? I liked her.
A. Everybody liked Jessie. She was smart, pretty, a fighter and played by talented actress Alexander Breckenridge. But she had to die because she did in the comics, and did so in much the same way.
Q: So the comics dictate everything?
A: No, but they are a road map for where the show is going to go, at least in broad strokes. Major events like Jessie’s death and Carl’s injury are virtually necessary, or the show would diverge from the comics so strongly as to put them on a different track entirely.
But it’s not a straitjacket, and the writers have plenty of wiggle room. For example, since there’s no Daryl in the comics, there was no “Lake of Fire” to make Rick’s survival more plausible – and to make for more exciting television. Andrea, who is alive in the comics, is dead on the show, her story niche (sniper, second in command, potential love interest for Rick) split between Sasha and Michonne (Danai Gerira).
It’s strange, but the show following the comics really doesn’t seem to have many downsides. For most fans of the comics, such as myself, knowing what was likely to come in “No Way Out” wasn’t a spoiler so much as 20 CCs of anxiety straight to the heart. The 11 weeks between episodes were just as nerve wracking for me as they were for anyone else.
Further, in a conventional show Jessie would live – it’s unlikely the writers would kill off such a likable and attractive character in which so much screen time had been invested. Then the show would begin to follow conventional outlines of other stories where “Mom” and “Dad” lead a group of adventurers, from Robin Hood and Maid Marian to “Lost in Space.” But with the diktat that Jessie had to die, the writers instead have to come up with different angles, which sometimes lead to surprising places.
Q: So no Lake of Fire in the comics. Were there any other differences between the print version of “No Way Out” and the screen version?
A: Quite a lot, actually.
* In the comics, Morgan (Lennie James) dies at Zombie Gettysburg, but on the show there’s still plenty of story ahead for him (probably).
* The comics make it clear that Rick was ready to abandon Alexandria, making his transformation into its defender that much more dramatic.
* There was no dramatic rescue of Maggie in the comics because she stayed behind in a house with Sophia, instead of being stuck all episode on the rickety tower that was about to fall into the swarm. Also, there's no Sophia in the show -- she's most sincerely dead.
* In the comics, Deanna Monroe was Daniel Monroe, and it was he who shot Carl, firing wildly into the zombie herd. On the show, of course, it was Jessie’s son Ron (Austin Abrams) who accidentally shot Carl, but it wasn’t friendly fire – he meant to kill Rick. (Which is a better story anyway.)
Oh, and in the comics Jessie was a brunette. But whatever her hair color, she became zombie chow in a heart-stopping manner in both media, and that sort of gruesome surprise is why we sick, perverse non-zombies love “The Walking Dead” so much.
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Replies
Not a lot of revelations. I am surprised that they decided to go with Carl's injury, and I think that may have different long-term implications when contrasted with the comics.
But I still think the Morgan/Carol feud is more significant as a turning point.
This season has lots of turning points because so much happens in this show; the "status" doesn't remain "quo" for very long. Next week's (Feb 28) episode promises to be a major turning point, too.