After the death and destruction of last week’s opener, ‘The Next World’ gives Rick, Daryl and the audience a chance to enjoy life… and even find ‘Jesus’…
There’s little doubt that The Walking Dead‘s mid-season return ticked all the right boxes for most viewers and set out a declaration of war that is likely to last well beyond this latest run. So perhaps it is both understandable and wise that the this following episode shifts in both tone and time – picking up the surviving populace of Alexandria around two months after the fiery conclusion to No Way Out. The shift in time gives Carl time to be be back on his feet and beginning to deal with the loss of his eye. It also gives time for the immediate stages of grief and anger to have passed and for Alexandria to be in the process of rebuilding what Deanna and her original followers had started.
But the tonal shift is important as well. This could never match up to the opening salvo and the audience, only a week on despite the time-shift, needed a time to catch their own collective breath. Good drama doesn’t just start small and build, it knows when to drop in humour as punctuation and The Next World has plenty from the outset. However it is a careful combination of organic character development and never-cartoonish prat-falls. Daryl’s uncomfortable conversations with the likes of Eugene (the qualities of specific grain) and Denise (the benefits of ‘pop/soda’ beverages as a going-away present) start the bemused ball-rolling as Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Rick (Andrew Lincoln) head out on a supply run. Their luck appears to have taken a turn for the better when they find a truck at a gardening centre (yay – specific grain!) which is packed with everything they could wish for. However they’re also tricked by another stranger/survivor in the area – one who apparently has the nickname Jesus (Tom Payne). His unholy sleight of hand and gift of the gab leaves Rick and Daryl without their booty-loaded transport, but they decide to head out after their hijacker rather than cut their losses. It’s a game of cat-and-mouse with each party getting the upper-hand then losing it once more. By the time the episode’s done, the booty is no more but it’s still not clear (at least to tv viewers unfamiliar with the comic) whose side ‘Jesus’ will be on…
Elsewhere Carl continues his rehabilitation, determined to be able to patrol Alexandria’s borders as well as anyone. Both he and Michonne (Danai Gurira) independently discover something familiar about one of the zombies lurching around the perimter – it’s Deanna, or what’s left of her form. However it’s her son Spencer that insists on ending her existence – thus finding his own way forward.
When the day is done, none of these stories will likely be what the viewers remember – as we end up Rick and Michonne together at last, both emotionally and physically… something that isn’t in the comics (where Andrea is still alive and with Rick) but tv fans have been pushing for. Again, it’s an organic development, rather than something too left-field and one well-executed but it’s the singular element that will like have the social-networks twittering with ‘Richonne’ shorthand squee-ing.
Of course, Rick’s partners don’t have the best track record of survival… maybe a katana-wielding ninja is the answer?
9/10
