This episode, Beta becomes the living embodiment of Jason Voorhees and wrecks Alexandria while Alpha and Daryl have a great bloody showdown. My name is Kent, and I ask 5 weekly questions and then people answer them. Any comments in BOLD are written by me. I hope you enjoy and if you or someone you know may want to do this blog, contact me, leave a comment, etc.
1. All in all, do you consider Beta’s mission a success overall: yes or no? (Obviously, there’s some yes and some no.)
Bob: Failure in Beta’s eyes. It is all or nothing with that guy. Success in an overall effect, that battle was won but the war is in peril for the Whisperers. (At this point, I think Alpha may blow her proverbial load with this next fight and isn’t thinking long term on this war. Peril and panic go hand in hand.)
Raylene: I love me some Beta but he was not successful. He gave away their secret tunnel into Alexandria but him coming up Kane style was excellent. I do wish he’d have killed Rosita. I find her useless. (Uhmmmm, if wearing Hammer pants is useless, sign me up!)
Kent: It pains me to say this, but it has to be considered a failure. The main point of the mission was to return with Gamma and he didn’t. With that being said, he channeled his inner Jason Voorhees, owned those cocky Alexandrian red shirts, came up through a grave like Undertaker or Kane, was smart enough to put on the vest, jumped down a 10-foot hole where a Whisperer was waiting in the dark, and he got to have a fight with Rosita while she was wearing terrible pants. I call that a moral victory, but still a failure.
2. Laura was killed and seemed like a complete afterthought. Should the former Saviors that tried to be better people have gotten more of a storyline in this show?
Bob: Actually, she was kind of distracting. You’re always wondering what she was going to do or what important role was she going to have, so her, in particular, leaving the show is an all-out positive thing. (It was her terrible tattoo that was distracting, right?)
Raylene: I thought she was the only one left besides Negan. She should’ve gotten more than she did. Perhaps this episode will showcase a funeral for her but I’m doubting it. (Well, I feel that it is safe to assume that others are there, given how many of the “good guys” have been killed, yet we still have big societies. But beyond speculation, Brandon was technically a former Savior, so there still are some out there, just none with name-value aside from Negan and Dwight.)
Kent: This actually annoyed me a great deal. Aside from her terrible neck tattoo that is only slightly better than Cody Rhodes’ new tat, I thought Laura was a great character that could have been further developed as a redemption project, especially with Dwight gone and Negan off doing dirty things. Laura deserved an episode at the very least, but what a great kill. I’m pretty sure there is a very similar kill in the Friday the 13th video game. Totally missed opportunity. Just kill off Oceanside and give us less Carol and Daryl, and we could have had a compelling Laura story.
3. Daryl and Alpha had it out in a very interesting back and forth fight. (Much better than the supposed epic fight of Beta vs Rosita.) If you had to say that one person won the showdown between Alpha and Daryl, who would you give the edge to?
Bob: if it had been one-on-one, Daryl all the way. But because he was dealing with multiple people at first, and received a major head injury, Alpha definitely would have the upper hand. Without Alpha’s daughter interfering, Alpha would have woken up and have killed Daryl much earlier.. (One on one, absolutely, but one on one obviously isn’t her style or strength. She’s the first “big bad” that doesn’t feel on even footing in a fight, as the Governor and Negan were formidable on their own. With that being said, Alpha vs Carol, Maggie, or Michonne in a one on one fight surely intrigues me.)
Raylene: I say by a fighting stance Alpha won. Daryl had the moral victory only because Lydia chose to save him and basically told her mother goodbye forever. (Moral victories are still losses. No participation trophies for Daryl!! His newest episode of Ride was great because it was an hour of him and Michael Rooker, AKA Merle. It’s worth checking out.)
Kent: I’m still not sure exactly what the horrible wound was that Alpha suffered. Still, she had the numbers game, she had the upper hand by calling in more guardians, she got to sing, and she was ready to pass the torch. When that all went awry, she got ready to go Keyser Soze. Daryl did his Daryl whimper and got saved by Lydia. Whoopty Doo! Alpha by a Landslide. In some weird way, I would have loved to hear that song during the Alpha and Lydia scene, and I feel that it would have worked. You could do so much with this song and this show.
4. Did you think that Alpha was possibly dying in this episode? Also, does the knowledge that Daryl and Carol have contracts that run through to the end of next season minimize some of the drama for you?
Bob: It still has not fully occurred to me that alpha is dying. I didn’t know about the contracts but there could still be drama between them absolutely. I know you didn’t feel the drama between them really maybe for a moment but then it just dissipated knowing this is the same old story being used again..(The problem of the feeling of “being here again” is a plague on this show. That is why Jesus’ death or Carl’s death were a breath of fresh air, just with the wrong characters. A death could have happened here if you substitute Daryl for someone like Aaron and it would have made a big impact.)
Raylene: I always forget about the contracts I thought Daryl was going to die when he pulled the knife out. I was ready to do my “I called it” dance thinking Lydia was taking out Alpha. No need to be rude about me predicting something Kent. (I haven’t been rude up to this point in the blog. I have no idea what you are possibly referring to. Also, Russ has that dance trademarked.)
Kent: Okay, I admit that I started building this theory in my head. I was like, damnit, Raylene got something right so she won’t be shutting up about it. Then I thought that this could be the twist. Lydia taking over the Whisperers and making Negan her Beta and then unleashing hell on Alexandria and Carol for how they treated her. And I got super excited about these possibilities. Then I sighed. I hate knowing contract lengths on this show. I also hate knowing that you know who is due back very soon. Hopefully, she finds a dumpster.
5. Did Gabe make the right moves and simply get outsmarted by The Whisperers or was his thirst for vengeance clouding his judgment?
Bob: Can I just say Gabe is not a good leader? So, Gabe is not a good leader.. This guy makes no sense cuz he’s still a big wimp. (I hate to say it, but you’re right. He’s not a good leader. Is a good person to have in camp, lots of positive qualities, but leadership isn’t one of them.)
Raylene: Gabe was simply outsmarted by Beta. It seemed for a second Gabe was having a Carol moment. (I wonder if that will continue to be a theme of people acting out of sorts in this war. It’s a good seed to plant but they need to do it with at least 2 more characters. Yes, you could say that Daryl is normally smarter about his business too. Keep having them go a little too hard, Revival style. Carelessness is a good tool.)
Kent: I think he made the logical decision. Like, is Alexandria going to start digging to see if there are more tunnels? Who really would have suspected that. I know that Gabe was bloodthirsty, but I am giving him a pass on this one.
6. Is there any way that Gamma makes it out of this season alive? Also, despite what Judith said about the possibility of Gamma meeting Rick first, do you think that she would have survived longer as a Whisperer or as part of Rick’s group?
Bob: LOL. I think Gamma will make it past this season. Now the lol was for the idea that Gamma would still be alive if she met Rick first – this all depends on what season we’re talking about if one of the earlier seasons, then no definitely not alive anymore. But if she metric (This typo was too good to fix. Thank you autocorrect!) post season 4 absolutely would be alive except for the end of this season.(Yeah, maybe if she met Rick after season 4, she’d have a 20% chance. That number isn’t that far off in accuracy.)
Raylene: I say Gamma and Aaron have a relationship yes I know he is gay but you never know. I say if she was with Rick’s group she’d been a love interest of Rick then died. So she survives longer with Alpha. (Her and Aaron could be a good dynamic, but they deserve to have some screen time or else don’t do it. That’s an issue for me. Don’t make a big change in the character’s life and fail to follow up on it.)
Kent: It’s weird because I don’t see a huge longevity for her character. How many people are going to risk themselves for her? She’s got the appreciation of Alexandria’s power couple and Aaron, and that could be enough. I think that she gets to meet her nephew and then Alpha or Beta get the kill. The thing is, Thora Birch really gets this show and she has a really good understanding and appreciation for it. So there’s a part of me that wants to see her survive, but I’m not sure if she would just live with Aaron and raise her nephew and he raises Gracie. That’s boring. She’s gon get got. I believe that she lives longer living with Alpha but happier with Rick’s group until her horrific demise.
7. Who was the MVP of this particular episode? This was a pretty good episode in totality, right?
Bob: despite Gabe being wimpy, making the call to keep Rosita at Alexandria was a really good call and actually did exhibit some good leadership characteristics. (I like your answer. Not enough to persuade me to change my answer, but I do like it and I was really close to saying Gabe.)
Raylene: Beta all the way for this but anything with him I love.
Kent: Gabe was close, but why is the partially blind guy the only one with a gun? If he killed Beta, I also probably couldn’t give him MVP. Daryl and Alpha truly gave us compelling TV. In the end though, I have to give it to Ryan Hurst’s performance as Beta. There were plenty of horror nods to past films and that will win me over 50% of the time, every time.
Final Thoughts – Next week we get a battle at Hilltop, and Daryl apparently good to go. Do you foresee a clear victory for either side? Do you have any bold predictions because this seems like a good time to kill off a character?
Bob: well I’m not really sure about any of that! I’m very disappointed there was not a beta versus Judith sword fight scene. (Okay, now you got me thinking about Beta vs Judith in a blade fight. Does Judith have the speed advantage? I don’t know how to gauge Beta’s speed, but he is nimble. He definitely has a huge strength and intelligence advantage. Does Judith think to slice an Achilles, the back of the knee, or try to slice off his toes? With proper knowledge, it becomes a slightly more interesting fight, but Beta is Voorhees and Voorhees ain’t losing to no kid. Wait, F13 Part 4 happened and Corey Feldman survived. I’m terribly conflicted.)
Raylene: I say Ginny appears; it’s time to start that prediction going again. Also has Daryl and Michonne just stopped looking for Rick? Is anyone around ever reminding Judith about Laurie? (I can’t wait for FTWD to return so you can get to talk about Ginny some more. In TWD time, she is dead by now. I don’t know that for a fact, but I will present it as fact.)
Kent: I know that you are thinking “Kent, you stupid so and so. There can’t be a clear victory because there are 5 episodes after this upcoming one.” First off, quit swearing at me. Secondly, there can be a clear victory. You can win battles that don’t win or end wars. If the Whisperers put a serious hurt on Hilltop like Negan did to Alexandria like he did on December 10, 2017, you know, THAT episode, then I’d call that a victory. If Hilltop takes out half of the herd that is present for the fight, I consider it a victory. If a major character goes down, I would consider that a major victory for the opposition. Of course, it could just be a lame tie with no real outcome, just an episode of fighting.
I’m torn on this one. I feel like The Whisperers won the last major showdown and then trapped some people in a stupid cave that is still holding 2 people. Furthermore, if you believe that we may see some of the comic play out, when Alpha gets taken out, Beta brings hell to Alexandria. On the other hand, Alpha seems ready to go Governor on their asses. I also can’t help but shake the feeling that we lose Yumiko, Luke, or most likely Ezekiel. Ezekiel hasn’t informed anybody else about his lump, and that seems like it has to be a prerequisite. If you see him tell Jerry or Carol about the lump, just consider the king dead. That revelation needs to be made to somebody before he can die.
I’m on my third paragraph for a simple question. The person that can change this is Negan. If he participates, that is a game-changer. He may still be a liability from Alpha’s perspective. I say that Negan hangs back or doesn’t have much of an impact until the end. I think The Whisperers lose a ton of guardians but still manage to cause a lot of destruction and at least one important death. That will be Ezekiel. Whisperers win. I also think that Negan is seen so this is held against him when he does return to Alexandria because…drama.
One final thing. This episode was titled Stalker, and this reminds me of one of WWE’s greatest failed gimmicks. This is Barry Windham (Bray Wyatt’s uncle) as The Stalker. This is property of WWE.