Is Hope Dead?


Summary

Is Hope Dead? Review of “The Walking Dead” 410 – “Inmates” By RC Murphy


Talk about some tense moments. Pretty sure there’s holes in the Command Center’s couch after the newest episode of “The Walking Dead.” Well, holes not put there by scavenging zombie bunnies. They’ll eat anything, much like the walkers in this episode. Note to dead guys: flames are not food. Fire bad, bleeding corpse pretty. Okay?

You shall not pass . . . if you wish to avoid show spoilers.

This week, viewers caught up with the remainder of the main characters, starting with Daryl and Beth. During their stay at the prison, Beth fell back in the habit of journaling and covered their journey to make a home in the apocalypse—something we never saw, but once her entries were read in the episode, they struck a nerve. Listening to Beth’s strained hope after they found the prison in contrast with her and Daryl’s mad dash through zombie-infested woodlands twisted the knife still firmly implanted in viewer’s hearts after the mid-season finale. Beth’s hope stemmed from her father. From the idea that normalcy was once again obtainable after so long on the run once the farm fell to the undead. From the simple idea of having a bed to call her own. The prison is gone, a smoldering graveyard. Her bed left to provide rats and bugs with homes. And Hershel . . . there’s no hope left in his unseeing eyes.

Daryl isn’t packing much hope, either. He’s got the stare of a man waiting for the split second he isn’t good enough to make it in the wild. For him, that may be weeks out. Daryl also understands, without him, Beth and her journal of hopes and dreams would be chow, much like the pile of dead walkers and human chunks they found near the train tracks. In a way, she’s become his motivation. Before Daryl had Merle, then little a** kicker, and later when everything looked good he opened his home and heart to any stray people he encountered who needed help. Regret is a powerful drug. As is guilt. How many deaths does Daryl hold over his head? He personally rescued a good portion of the prison’s inhabitants, put them directly in the line of the Governor’s tank fire.

Luckily for Daryl, and Carl and Rick, Judith is alive. Tyreese is the kiddo pied piper. Not only did he rescue Judith from becoming a yummy snack, but he’s also toting around Lizzie and Mika. Much to his delight. Tyreese is all heart. There’s limits to it when faced with a screaming infant, eternally frightened Mika, and the picture of sociopath behavior Lizzie. Any saint would turn to Satan for help dealing. Tyreese doesn’t. He convinces himself he’ll see the three girls to safety, even if it means relying on the darkness in Lizzie to be his backup. That’s a dog that’ll come back to bite everyone. Lizzie is too unstable. Too unpredictable. The type of person who’d murder anyone and everyone to see to her own survival. Does that extend to her sister? For now. It certainly doesn’t extend to Judith. The only reason the baby survived the episode is because someone else stepped in.

Carol is back. Actually, according to her she never left. Which everyone should’ve expected. As far off the reservation as Carol went in the days before Rick told her to never return to the prison, she always acted in a way she thought would protect others. The good of the many outweigh the perils of the few. Since Sophia passed, Carol hardened her will. Forced herself to tap into the internal strength she’d built enduring her abusive husband’s verbal and physical attacks. Unfortunately, her extreme survivor’s point of view clashed with how Rick operated. Will Carol’s strength come in handy? Can she work with Tyreese to keep the girls alive? Most importantly, is there any way she can pull Lizzie back from the abyss?

Glenn and Maggie fans have it the roughest right now. They’re separated. Maggie faced a gauntlet of walkers to make sure her husband didn’t die when walkers overwhelmed the escape bus from the prison. Not alone, she’s supported by Sasha and Bob. They’re help, but not the succor she needs. Maggie won’t be whole or sane until she’s reunited with Glenn. Speaking of, the man has a well-intentioned death wish. Out of everyone who should’ve left the prison in the dust, he’s still there. Weakened from his bout with the super flu. And completely alone, or so he thinks. Glenn isn’t a helpless lamb. He’s learned how to toughen up since they abandoned the quarry. He’s also the only one of the main survivor group, aside from Carol, possessing any supplies not shoved in their pockets when they bolted. Supplies he’s now agreed to share with Tara because he knows his limits. He isn’t like Shane or Daryl. Glenn’s strength is in his heart and mind. Both of which he’ll se to find Maggie, no doubt.

There’s some new faces coming to the show. How they’ll mesh with the survivors is completely unknown.

Were all your questions from the mid-season finale answered? Tell us in the comments below.