Hello! It’s been a while, my fellow Walking Dead watchers, and I apologize for keeping you hanging without a recap for the episode “Consumed” last week. What can I say? All of that emotion between Carol and Daryl had me in a tizzy! They are best friends, you guys, and I came into this week’s episode very concerned about the lengths to which Daryl would go to save Carol.
So that was a major question heading into this week’s “Crossed,” but The Walking Dead writers also answered a few more questions for us: What is going on with Abraham and Co.? What about Beth and her extremely boring adversary, Dawn? How is Sasha’s grieving of Bob going? And will Father Gabriel ever understand that zombies WILL EAT YOU if you don’t do anything to stop them? Important questions, all of which were answered … well, somewhat.
“Crossed” was clearly a setting-up-stakes episode before this upcoming Sunday’s mid-season finale, “Coda” (our last new episode until February!), but that’s ultimately fine. The narrative urgency of previous weeks was somewhat lost by checking in with everyone, and the various subplots’ timelines were confusing (hasn’t it only been a couple of hours for Abraham and his group, but days for Carol and Daryl?), but we’ve got clear problems to be solved for next week. Carol needs to be saved. Sasha needs to figure out her shit. Father Gabriel needs to get it together. And if Daryl somehow tops his zombie-head-as-a-bowling-ball-weapon gimmick (here, watch this gif!), that would be impressive and great!
Anyway, let’s cover the various things that happened in “Crossed.” Even though we all know it doesn’t get better than Daryl’s resourcefulness, honestly.
+ “We all owe Carol.” “I owe her more.” Oh, Rick. Always nice to see some humbleness from him, especially when it’s coupled with ruthlessness – notice the cold way he mentions cutting a guard’s throat to rescue Beth and Carol. His plan is questioned by Tyreese, and then eventually brought down by Daryl (who agrees that Tyreese’s idea of taking prisoners first and then trading for Beth and Carol instead of just going in there and killing people right away), but as we see how rapidly Rick’s people get overwhelmed (why would you turn your back to your hostage, Sasha?!), maybe they should have listened to the onetime officer Grimes. Their attempt to talk their way into getting Beth and Carol might work … maybe. But only because Dawn is so ineffectual, which leads to …
+ “I thought you were weak. You’ve proved me wrong.” What is Dawn’s endgame with Beth, exactly? First she accuses Beth of killing Carol by exclaiming her outrage at them taking her off the life support machines; then she gives Beth the medicine cabinet key to save her. What the what? My excitement over how rapidly The Walking Dead handled the Garth and Terminus storyline has been steadily tempered by how long we’re spending in this Atlanta hospital with Dawn, especially since she’s utterly unbelievable as a hardass leader. Maybe it’s the actress or maybe it’s just the shallowness of the character, but I find her not at all compelling. True, the hospital has given us some opportunities to see Beth’s adaptability – love her bribing that patient with strawberries as a way to get the attention off her while she raids the medicine cabinet for Carol – but still, why spend so much time on this subplot? We get it, people in authority positions turn into jerks. No surprise there, given what we saw happen all those seasons ago with Shane. Dawn hasn’t exemplified anything we haven’t seen before, so here’s hoping next week wraps up this hospital storyline for good.
+ “Get over yourself.”Maggie, showing some spine! You know, as much as Beth is holding her own in the hospital, Maggie is holding her own with Abraham; nice to see the separated sisters each being self-actualized this week. Since Abraham punched Eugene in the face and knocked him out, Maggie has stepped into being responsible for the fake scientist, while Abraham is doing some kneeling vigil thing by the side of the road, refusing water and contact with anyone. It’s when he threatens Rosita (is that any way to treat a woman who will have sex with you while your creepy mulleted friend watches, Abraham?!) that Maggie refuses to put up with his shit any longer (the delivery of “Sit down or I’ll put you down” was nicely ice cold), and I liked that they stayed together while Glenn, Tara, and Rosita went off to forage.
Of all the subplots, this might have been the most hopeful this week: Abraham finally drinks the water Maggie gives him; Eugene finally wakes up; we finally get some Rosita backstory (“He saw what I could do, and he wanted my help,” she says of meeting Abraham; it would be more touching if we actually saw what Rosita could do, though); Glenn’s resourcefulness returns (catching fish like a boss!); and Tara’s weirdness finally clicks, as she revels in finding a yo-yo and nicknames their group GREATM. I can finally remember her name because she finally has a personality, you guys!
+ “Are you going to take the cross, too?” “If we need it.” Father Gabriel continues his self-hatred parade this week, fucking up his fingers as he obsessively tries to clean the blood from Gareth and Co. off the floorboards; arguing with Michonne when she tries to persuade him that “the things that we do, they’re worth it”; and eventually cutting himself an escape hole through the floor of the boarded-up church where Carl, Michonne, and Judith are hiding out until Rick, Tyreese, Daryl, and Sasha return from the hospital, theoretically with Carol and Beth in tow. But since Father Gabriel is inherently useless, he lands on a nail and basically tracks zombies to him through his blood loss – and then he stops himself from killing one who attacks him because she is wearing a cross.
Dammit, Father Gabriel! Your Christianity is doing nothing for you! Just let it go! Otherwise you are not long for this post-apocalyptic world, my friend (and yet I want Seth Gilliam to continue being on this show, because Sgt. Carver forever).
+ “You’re still a cop.” “No, the real ones are all gone.” Did you recognize Officer Bob Lamson, the one who Noah identifies as a good guy, who chats with Rick, and who smashes Sasha’s head into the window? If so, then you don’t watch FX’s The Americans, and you should! That is actor Maximiliano Hernandez, and he is really good, and let’s hope he sticks around The Walking Dead a bit longer. We’ll see how that shakes out next week, I suppose.
And some final things I liked:
+ “It might work. This will work.” I appreciate Rick’s conviction when Tyreese suggests his less-violent plan, but it’s a sign of Rick’s open-mindedness that he goes for it. Nevertheless, his pragmatic ruthlessness is my favorite thing.
+ “They were liars and murderers.” “Just like us?” Oh, Father Gabriel, your existential babble does not work on Michonne! She will not stand for this! Just don’t argue with her and you’ll be fine.
+ “Do you want me to shoot you?” “Thought I did.” Welcome back, Abraham. May your facial hair continue to thrive in this post-Eugene-admission landscape.
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