The Walking Dead, “Now” (6.5) - TV Review

11/8/15, 9 pm (EST), AMC

I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. The Walking Dead finally had a bad episode after a long stretch. Scratch that, it wasn’t necessarily bad, but it was boring and uneventful. Last week’s Morgan filled episode was a bit slow, but it was necessary in the big scheme of things to show us how his character progressed to a stable man from when we last saw him. Now brings things to the present, but with literally nothing happening and the character interactions lazily thrown together at best, we’re left scratching our heads.

Rick finally returns to Alexandria, but brings half the herd with him. He looks exhausted too, barely able to get up after pushing a walker out of the way when he reaches the gates. I guess we’re to assume he somehow ran the rest of the way back since the RV was trashed. How he was able to get past the walkers is beyond me. Also, his hand injury doesn’t seem to affect him as they spent no time on it.

Deanna also looks mentally and physically exhausted. She spends most of the episode wandering aimlessly around Alexandria. She can’t muster up the energy to try and raise morale for the remaining Alexandrians after Rick tells them half the herd made it with him. Her power in Alexandria is quickly fading. The people are looking to her, and she just can’t handle it. I can’t blame her for acting this way; I can’t imagine anyone in her position trying to keep things together. A conversation with Spencer later is eye-opening when he tells Deanna she’s the reason they were slaughtered when the wolves attacked. He blames Deanna for trying to go on with life like nothing had changed. Later on when she’s confronted by one of the wolves that turned, she takes out her frustration by repeatedly stabbing it in the chest. It’s like she never paid attention when Rick told them to go for the head. She tells Rick she wants to live after he helps her, but her behavior is so erratic, it’s hard to see what her next steps are. Hitting the fence at the entrance to entice the walkers seemed odd, but perhaps it was her way of getting back at them a little.

Denise doubts her abilities as a doctor once again, and Tara believes in her ability to help people since no other doctors are around. She magically discovers a way to help treat the Alexandrian Michonne brought back. She then seeks out Tara later to kiss her. I never really guessed there was any sexual tension or emotions between them, but I guess we’ll need some new romances if the biggest one is surely done for. I like Tara, but she feels really underused this season. It’s still early, but her role seems to have taken a step back. Perhaps it was due to Alanna Masterson’s pregnancy, but I hope we see Tara step up later on this season.

Rick and Jessie rekindle their romance, though who knows how long that’ll last. I was happy to see Rick finally find someone he genuinely cared for last season, but after murdering Jessie’s husband and going full out psycho more than once, it’s hard to imagine Jessie would want to still be that close with him. Not to mention Ron isn’t Rick’s biggest fan. It also begs the question why Ron suddenly wants Rick to help him shoot. Is Ron secretly want to become apt enough to get rid of Rick down the road?

The biggest bombshell of the night came from Maggie. After hearing from Michonne about Glenn and Nicholas, she decides to head off after him, even if it’s just to find his body. Aaron, feeling partially responsible for the wolves’ attack, tags along to assist, but also because he knows an alternative way out. After almost being taken over by a couple of nasty looking water walkers (great effects once again), they arrive at the entrance only to discover the herd isn’t too far away. Maggie then decides it’s best not to go, telling Aaron she’s pregnant. This is the reason Glenn didn’t want her out there with the group to take care of the herd; he wanted her safe in Alexandria. If Glenn truly ends up dead, Maggie will have lost everyone close to her. Considering Rick did everything he could to protect and claim the prison for Lori when she was pregnant, I have to wonder if he’ll double down efforts to keep Alexandria safe for the same reason.

It’s understandable the show wants to play catch up with everyone with what’s been happening on all fronts for the past few episodes. It’s possible to do that episode and still have something compelling about it. Now just doesn’t bring anything to the table. All these new romances seem forced, or at the very least we know they’re not going to last. The only relationship that felt like it would last was Glenn and Maggie’s. With Glenn’s fate still in the air, we’re left with people we don’t care about as much prodding around for 40 minutes being somewhat mindless or dumbfounded. I just hope the show doesn’t pull what they did with Sophia’s fate and stretch Glenn’s out to the mid-season finale. With only three episodes left, it certainly looks feels like a possibility.

The Roundup

• No sign of Carol this week, which seems really odd. You would think with her leading the counter-attack on the wolves, Rick would want to talk with her.
• Great performance by Tovah Feldshuh as Deanna. While most of the Alexandrians are boring or disposable, her character is one of the few I can stand to keep around for some time.
• Steven Yeun’s name is still absent from the opening credits. Hmmmm…
• Who’s blood is seeping through the walls (or dripping from above)? Is another attack from the wolves imminent, or did someone perhaps take their own life?