The Walking Dead, “Always Accountable” (6.6) - TV Review

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

After last week’s boring episode, I was hoping The Walking Dead would get back to either some good character drama, or at least some good zombie action. The preview promised we’d catch up with Daryl, Sasha and Abraham as they continued to move half the herd away from Alexandria. Despite being better that “Now”, “Always Accountable” felt like it missed the mark again, which has unfortunately become a trend this season.

Things get off to a chaotic start, when our trio of friends get ambushed by a group with vehicles and guns. This came out of nowhere and genuinely gave me a shock. We know right away this isn’t the wolves, but who could these people be? We never really get to know, but more on that in a bit.

Daryl quickly gets separated from Sasha and Abraham. He ends up being caught by a trio avoiding the same group, but not before hiding his bike under some brush. They initially think Daryl is part of the same group, which is why they took him hostage. Daryl escapes with their supplies, but returns upon finding out there’s insulin, which one of the members needs. We never really thought for a second that Daryl would just take the medicine and leave them. He’s not Rick, after all. Maybe the Daryl of a season or two ago would’ve left them behind, but he’s a changed man ever since they arrived at Alexandria.

He also helps the trio evade the group that comes back for them. We don’t know the identity of these men, though their leader is called “Wade”. With Jeffrey Dean Morgan recently being cast as the next major villain from the comics, could this be that group? It’s unlikely, but interesting to know there are other groups out there that could be friend or foe besides the wolves. After one of the trio needlessly gets killed by a walker that survived a cabin being torched, Daryl offers to bring the remaining two back Alexandria. He goes so far as to ask the three questions that were asked of him and the rest of Rick’s group when they arrived. Despite Rick’s requests to not recruit anymore individuals, Daryl can’t help himself. He knows the future of Alexandria depends on having more good people behind the walls than out on their own. This proves to be a fruitless endeavor, as the two force Daryl to give up his crossbow and bike at gunpoint. He tells them they’ll regret this as they drive off. Fortunately, he’s able to find a van to make his way back.

Sasha and Abraham, on the other hand, do a whole lot of nothing except talking about big, existential ideas that really mean nothing in the long run. Sasha realizes Abraham still has a death wish, as he needlessly wants to take out walkers when they’re not a threat. His scene later on with the military walker hanging from the fence was so pointless. We’ve seen Abraham force himself into threatening situations so he can feel alive to some extent. We know he’s not going to be bit, as that would really put too much distraction from the situation with Glenn. He ultimately is able to recover an RPG and other weapons, along with some cigars, but not before he puts on a military uniform to complete his ridiculous look. He seems more like a soldier ready to go on suicide mission after suicide mission. There’s even a hint that he’s into Sasha, which is just ridiculous. Not that he couldn’t be into her, but if the writers expect us to believe in this budding romance, they’re doing the absolute worst job going about it. Sasha only just got over Bob and Tyreese’s deaths last season. Plus, Abraham is still with Rosita, who has had next to nothing screen time wise. I know Abraham’s character eventually strays from Rosita in the comics, but that was at least built up for some time. This feels rushed and pointless, but who knows.

The only other exciting thing came at the very end when Daryl picks up Sasha and Abraham, and they head back to Alexandria. Daryl radios Rick and gets a static answer. Upon asking again, we hear a stifled “help”. I’m not about to jump up and declare Glenn’s alive, because the voice sounded nothing like him. If it is, please don’t drag out his fate for two more episodes and just get him reunited with Maggie. The other thought is it’s the man who stole Daryl’s bike, or perhaps someone else from Alexandria. Either way, this is something the show can use to pick up some steam for the remaining two episodes. I know they usually ramp things up, but there needs to be something to kick this show into high gear because it’s been sorely lacking any good forward momentum on its story.

The Roundup

• ”Loose ends make my ass itch.” Always great with words, Abraham.
• The fire the trio set seemed to do a great job of getting rid of walkers. Perhaps this is something Rick can use going forward to save bullets and lives.
• So many characters are taking a back seat this season, it’s pretty disheartening. Let’s hope this changes quickly.