TV Review: The Walking Dead – Season 7, Episode 13

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

Season 7, Episode 13: Bury Me Here

PLOT: The relationship between the Kingdom and the Saviors reaches its breaking point.

REVIEW: Kingdom knight Richard (Karl Makinen) is a character I have grudgingly been on the side of. I’ve never really liked the guy, but he had the right idea about wanting the Kingdom to strike against the Saviors before it was too late. But then again, his plans to get the fight started have been questionable – like the one he tried to put in motion a few episodes back, which would have involved getting our beloved Carol (Melissa McBride) killed.

Richard wisely abandoned that idea, opting for the backup plan seen in tonight’s episode. A plan that fell apart around him and wasn’t all that exciting to watch play out. As much as I like Carol, I have to admit, it would have been much more thrilling and intense to kick off the war with some Saviors getting ambushed and their buddies going out hunting for her. The events of tonight’s episode were more sedate than that.

We did lose someone due to Richard’s manipulations of the situation between the Kingdom and the Saviors, but I don’t think anyone’s going to be too heartbroken to see Benjamin (Logan Miller) go. Sure, he was a good kid, I liked him, but we barely knew him, and I didn’t see a long future for that character on the show. Maybe a little longer than this, but not long.

Truly, it was only a matter of time before something went really bad during a Kingdom / Saviors meeting, and the Kingdom really got unbelievably lucky that Gavin (Jayson Warner Smith) was the Savior assigned to them. From a community that could have given them the likes of Dwight, Simon, and various other reprehensible douchebags, including Negan himself, they get Gavin? Gavin’s team may have a bad apple in the bunch with Jared (Joshua Mikel), but even he is low-key compared to some of the other options. The people of the Kingdom can be a bit dim, and Gavin has shown them nearly infinite patience, being one of the few Saviors who isn’t prone to violence. Even when his patience ran out tonight, it was more like he was being forced to act than him actually wanting to act. Under the right circumstances, I could even see Gavin bailing on the Saviors.

Benjamin’s death may not have a great impact on the audience, but the loss is felt at the Kingdom, and especially by his aikido mentor Morgan (Lennie James). We see just how much of an impact it has on Morgan with a sequence that shows him raging in the streets, contemplating slitting his wrists, and having flashbacks. A sequence cut together in such a way that I found it to be laughable and cringe-inducing, capped off with an awkward, clunky flashback to a moment earlier in the episode when Morgan realizes what caused things to go wrong. If I were to describe the Morgan breakdown montage in one word, it would be “atrocious”.

Throughout the episode, Bury Me Here was often riding the line of getting a 6/10 rating and being called a disappointment. I worried that the episode was going to keep things hanging, as The Walking Dead so often does. I was concerned that it would end with Carol still not knowing the truth about what happened between the Saviors and Alexandria, and that we wouldn’t know Morgan’s mindset, just like we were left not knowing what’s going on in Eugene’s head after Hostiles and Calamities. If we didn’t find out what Morgan was thinking, the episode would have felt empty. He just displayed loyalty to the Saviors, smoothed things over between them and the Kingdom, and if we weren’t told that the Kingdom was ready to fight after this, it would have been pointless.

Thankfully, the makers of the show decided to be merciful to us this week. They assured us that Morgan is locked into badass murder mode and ready for war. Carol got the information she needed and is ready, too. Even King Ezekiel (Khary Payton) is showing a willingness to fight. That’s progress. Those final moments made the episode worth it, pulling it up a point and saving it from the disappointment brand.

Richard really wanted to sacrifice himself to the cause tonight. Benjamin wasn’t supposed to be hurt. However, between the two of them Benjamin was clearly the right death to get the war rolling. Poor dumb Richard, the Kingdom would not have gone to war to avenge you. Maybe you realized that in your final moments, when everyone just stood rooted in the spot, mouths agape, and watched Morgan kill you. That scene could have been presented in a better way to give the impression that someone there cared about him. There was some yelling, but that’s it. As if that softie Gavin would have had someone killed for trying to intervene.

Bury Me Here wasn’t so great, but it moved things forward.

BEST ZOMBIE MOMENT: Carol killing her way up to the gates of the Kingdom. Benjamin thought it was quite a feat that she took down five walkers on her own. Pfft. He should have seen Rick and Michonne last episode.

GORY GLORY: Obviously the standout was Carol using a sign post to jab zombies in the head, but that was a bit too CG for my taste. I’ll give the gore honor to the head wound on the zombie Carol had left writhing in the street. Not only was it a good looking wound, but it also brought a creepy feeling with it, as it made you wonder “Who was out there to finish off that zombie?”

FAVORITE SCENE: Morgan telling Carol what happened to Glenn and Abraham. It had to be done, because she has asses to kick.

FINAL VERDICT: