As a good friend of mine had posted on Facebook just shortly 10PM EST, “… and that just happened”. Sunday night’s The Walking Dead episode “The Next World,” was far more subdue compared to last week’s carnage that took the lives of Jesse and her sons Sam and Ron. But it still wasn’t without its action, new character introduction and a “happy ending” for two of our favorite characters. Warning, spoilers ahead…
There was a definite time jump during Sunday‘s episode. The last thing we saw was Rick holding Carl’s hand after his surgery that saved his life after being shot through the eye by Ron. Fast forward an unknown amount of time and we see what appears to be Michonne living with Rick and his family. We have Daryl taking “grocery” request from the good doctor Denise and seeing Alexandria being rebuilt. Life seems very different from the one they had been dealing with. It almost seemed for a lack of a better word, “normal” or at the very least as normal as normal can get in this apocalyptic world.
Rick and Daryl go on joy ride for supplies that made me think of them as male versions of Thelma and Louise minus the suicidal ending. Sorry if I spoiled that movie for you. Their joy ride gets a bit sidetracked with the introduction of Jesus (Tom Payne). He’s not menacing by any stretch of the imagination but he does prove to be a headache to Rick and Daryl when he steals their goods. Rick and Daryl were able to get back their stolen items only to lose them for good at the bottom of a pond when Daryl and Jesus fight over control of the truck. This catch me if you can song and dance between the three men was fun to watch and a nice break from the usual blood and guts. Despite the drama that faced with Jesus, Rick still thinks about recruiting him and since he’s already knocked out, they bring Jesus back to Alexandria.
If there was any amount of sadness to the episode it came in the form of Walker Deanna. The last time we saw her was when she decided to use the remaining bullets she had left to take out as many walkers as she could. Her son Spencer had thought he spotted her walking around. He has been looking for her ever since. Carl found her first but let her go knowing that it should be Spencer who gives her peace. And peace is exactly what he gave her in a touching scene. It brings closure to her story. But perhaps the biggest surprise and the one that had been hinted at in the beginning of the episode as well as hoped for by fans was the hookup between Rick and Michonne. ‘And then that happened’ certainly did happen.
The final scene showed Jesus, no pun intended hovering over a very naked Rick and Michonne. It was creepy and funny at the same time. He tells Rick that they need to talk. Fans of the series may have an idea of what but the series has gone in different directions on the past so we’ll have to see how this develops.
May the Dork be with you,
JPB
The Dork Knight
