TV Review: The Walking Dead: Clear

For two weeks on AMC’s popular The Walking Dead not a whole lot has happened. Last week, it didn’t work at all. This week? It was fantastic. There were a lot of differences between the two episodes, but the big one was where the focus lie. Last week we spent a lot of time with Andrea, The Walking Dead‘s least likable character. This week we got to hang out with Morgan (played by the always outstanding Lennie James). Not only is Morgan a character that audiences have wanted to see again since the pilot, but his arc was legitimately interesting, with quite an emotional pull. Also, unlike Andrea, Morgan totally stabbed someone.

Since Rick left him with a rifle and a walkie-talkie, things have gone downhill for Morgan. His zombified wife killed his son, sending the man into a spiral of grief and paranoia. The result was a man whose collapsing mental state was on display to anyone who happened by his bizarre fortifications.

Once you get beyond the spears, barbed wire, live traps, knives, and numerous booby traps, you find an arsenal that would put most of the gun nuts (or firearms enthusiasts, if you will) of the world to shame. And that, of course, is why Rick and company are there. Having struck out at the armory, Rick decides to hunt down the guns he knows are around the community thanks to his memory of the permits he used to write. Why he didn’t just hit up a sporting goods store or a gun shop is a mystery to me, but I’m happy with where this episode went, so I won’t complain too much.

Once they arrive, they get ambushed by Morgan. The trio split up, and Carl manages to shoot him. Luckily for Morgan, he was wearing body armor. Rick stays with Morgan while Carl and Michonne set out on their own. Carl spins some excuse about getting a crib for Baby Asskicker, but he’s really after a photo of his mom so that his sister can know what she looked like. It’s an unusually tender moment for Carl, who spends most of his time scowling and shooting things.

I really enjoyed Carl and Michonne’s side mission, even though at the start I was ready to hate the sideplot. It gave both characters a chance to show a little much needed humanity. I’ve made no secret of my distaste for Michonne. The character seems to be little more than a personification of fan service. A beautiful, tough woman who kills zombies with a katana. Yawn.

Letting her smile and joke around was the best move The Walking Dead could have made. I can appreciate a badass as much as the next guy, but Michonne has never once seemed like a human being. This episode made up for a lot of that, but I hope it’s only the beginning.

Meanwhile, Morgan and Rick have a heart-to-heart, giving Morgan the chance to give us his painful history since we’ve seen him last. He’s scared, grieving, confused, and angry. He wants to die, but can’t bring himself to take his own life. Rick tries to bring him into the fold, but he refuses. The man might be losing it, but he’s not stupid. If Rick needs several bags of guns and ammo, things aren’t quite so warm and sunny as he’d like Morgan to believe.

When they leave, Morgan continues on as before. One day much like the next.

Beyond the strength of Lennie James’ acting and a rare moment of humanity for Michonne, this episode also benefited from its focus. While last week’s episode was primarily about Andrea, there were a lot of minor plot points that also had to be addressed. This episode was able to give us a much tighter story, with no side trips to the prison or Woodbury. The show can’t do that every week, but when it can, it works really well.

Looking at the preview for next week, I’d say we’ve reached the end of our character-building interlude.

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