The Walking Dead Review: “Them” (5×10)

After the Terrence Malick style fever dream of the midseason premiere it was inevitable that The Walking Dead would simmer down this week. The entire group is featured, but after two traumatic deaths the episode focuses on how Maggie, Sasha, and Daryl deal with their grief.

Maggie cries alone in the woods, staring blankly at a walker caught in some tree branches. Sasha lashes out at her fellow survivors, resorting to anger in her mourning. A sulking Daryl chooses to become distant and cut off. Normally I am all for the introspective, slower paced episodes the series frequently thrives on. It allows for nuanced character development and gives the actors time to shine. But this episode covers overly familiar territory for most of its run time.

This episode does highlight an oft forgotten element of supplies, and how fast they are dwindling. In the beginning of the zombie apocalypse, food and ammo were easy to come by. Well over a year in, the world is picked apart. The group is low on food and water and frequent scouting trips for rivers and animals to eat prove fruitless. It doesn’t make their sixty mile trek down a road towards Washington very easy. The survivors closest to the departed Beth and Tyreese begin to wonder if they have the strength left to live in the world. “How long have we got?” Maggie asks, referring not to their destination, but time left to live.

An early establishing shot clearly defines the group in their current predicament. They walk down the road, haggard and dehydrated, as a pack of walkers stumble behind them in the distance. Death is stalking them, but none have the energy to turn back and clear out the horde. Instead they amble forward as if zombies themselves.

This is our survivors at their lowest. This is a group who consider themselves lucky that a pack of feral dogs emerge from the woods for them to kill. Lucky, that they get to eat dog while the camera pans to Fido’s bloody collar next to their fire. It is scenes like this that skirt to close to hammering home points already made. Carol tells Daryl “You’re not dead”. Maybe Daryl hasn’t felt this way before but I think we have already covered this emotional beat multiple times with multiple characters over the past few seasons. Michonne is right, they need to find a home quick.

The “survivors-are-walkers” theme comes to a head as the group takes shelter from a storm in a small barn. Rick recounts asking his grandfather if the Nazi’s ever tried to kill him during the war. His grandfather responded cryptically that he was dead the moment he entered enemy territory, but “after years of pretending he was dead, he finally made it out alive”.  Then Rick does the unthinkable and says the name of the show IN the show: “We tell ourselves we are the walking dead”.

Andrew Lincoln sells the moment surprisingly well (and I prefer this title drop compared to the way it occurred in the comics). Its actually the most resonant aspect of the episode, and makes the earlier shot of the trailing horde of walkers more symbolic and immediate.

Daryl is having none of Rick’s assessment on how to to stay alive. And not content with just one title drop, he firmly declares “we ain’t Them”, before moving to the opposite side of the barn for sleeping…and more sulking. This leads into the climactic moment of the episode where an overwhelming number of zombies sneak up on the barn while everyone is asleep. By the dozens, the walkers pour against a weak wooden door attempting to force themselves in. The entire group awakens and presses themselves against the barn door, a very obvious metaphor for keeping “Them” out.

The sequence is thrillingly shot with a myriad of quick cuts, and it genuinely appears like this could be the end. We don’t see the aftermath until the following morning. The horrors of the night jarringly jump to a pleasant morning with everyone safe and sound (was anyone else confused and thought this was a dream sequence?). Maggie and Sasha step out of the barn to reveal the massive storm felled the entire walker horde with many downed trees. They take in this blessing in disguise and bask in the morning sunrise. Faith is restored now you see. They’ve learned to live again. Are you getting all the symbolism? Are you? In case you aren’t, a broken music box found earlier in the episode suddenly starts playing music in the last frame. Hey writers: we get it.

Other Thoughts:

• The mysterious “Friend” introduced in the last scene is Aaron, the series’ first gay male. Comic fans know he will thankfully take the group to their next safe-haven, which is bound to change up the pacing and story.
• Did anyone notice the angry Sasha slash Abraham’s arm with a bloody knife in the ravine scene? That’s walker blood, girl! Be careful.
• How on Earth did lil baby Judith survive the long trek with little food or water? Per TV rules, she basically doesn’t cry the entire episode. I sense a time jump at season’s end to grow her up quicker.
• I thought this episode did a great job at pairing up characters who rarely get scenes with each other. The Michonne vs. Sasha dynamic was great to watch, and the actresses play well off each other.
• Walker Kill of the Week: This one goes to the storm for the several tree-limb-impaled zombies in that epic wide shot. Good job storm.