TV Review: The Walking Dead (Season 6, Episode 2)

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

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EPISODE 2: JSS

THE HOOK: The Wolves attack Alexandria intent on leaving no survivors.

The following contains MAJOR SPOILERS, so I don’t recommend reading this if you haven’t watched this episode

THE LOWDOWN: That didn’t go quite as I expected, but then again, I like surprises. The biggest one being that tonight’s episode takes place along the same timeline as last week, leaving a small gap before the return of the rest of the group and about a half million zombies. It’s always nice to see that Rick isn’t the only badass in the group, and when shit happens, he’s not the one to always bail everyone out. That said, had Rick and crew been there, The Wolves would’ve been shred into coleslaw not long after making a move. This way felt much more dramatic. It also served as quite the reminder of just how vulnerable these Alexandrians are.

As I said last week, I knew this had to be The Wolves, but the attack felt a little too convenient. One, this was supposed to be a practice run for Rick’s group, which I took to mean that they wouldn’t have been gone long, so if The Wolves were watching them, they should’ve known that and not attacked. There’s no way they had someone at the quarry, so there’s no way they could’ve known the practice run was a no go. And the horn wasn’t a deliberate diversion to mess up their plans either. That shouldn’t surprise any of us as these Wolves don’t seem overly bright. Yet, they got into Alexandria awfully easy. That bothers me a little. How did they get in? They didn’t climb the walls, or breach them. Morgan did close the gate, but that begs the question, how did it get opened? Are you thinking what I’m thinking?

The other big surprise was Enid’s opening sequence. Obviously, they’re showing it to us for a reason. As to what I was thinking, well, was it Enid who let the big, bad Wolves in? She’s been shrouded in mystery from the start, and then there’s the ‘JSS’ title of the episode. At first I was thinking, is that code? Just Stay Safe? Jesus Saves Souls? And then we get the note at the end, “Just Survive Somehow.” Enid’s may be a bit sketchy, but did she unlock the gate? It’s hard to say, but if I were to judge based on what we were shown at the beginning of the episode, I’d have to say no. Those were her parents who got chomped outside the car. Then she was on her own (that turtle sure looked yummy), and found her way to Alexandria—and about that, it’s blind luck they weren’t hit sooner, when Enid comes up on the place it sounds like there’s a damn party going on. Not exactly subtle.

THE WALKING DEAD SEASON 6’s second episode is another stellar achievement that relies on some of the sub-par little people to get things done. Most of those people fail miserably, but thank Christ we have Carol. Loved her ‘W’ costume, brilliant, though too bad Morgan (who got back just in time to join the fray) didn’t seem to agree. Morgan presents quite a conundrum for me at this point, from a moral perspective. Okay, I get that he doesn’t want to kill unless he absolutely has to, but holy f*ck bro, these Wolves are rabid animals literally hacking the hell out of these people and smearing blood all over their faces. I’d say that warrants some killing. It was pretty damn cool that he ended up running into the dude from the campfire though, and I’m assuming he killed him. He’s shook up, and I get it, but I hope that wasn’t him leaving the damn complex at the end. Dammit Morgan, suck it up, you just got there! Oh, and there’s a half million zombies on the horizon, so the crew still needs you.

ZOMBIE KILL OF THE WEEK: Jessie goes nuts with the scissors and gives a she-wolf more than a haircut. Can you say, pent up rage?

BLOOD AND GORE: These Wolves are definitely rabid, hacking and slashing their way through Alexandria’s residents like zombies with weapons. It’s some of the most brutal human on human fighting we’ve seen thus far.

COOLEST SCENE: Though Carl was criminally underused during this battle, I loved when he heard the ringing in the kitchen, turned off the timer, and casually removed that (I’m assuming) casserole from the oven. Like a boss.

FINAL VERDICT:

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