The Walking Dead Review: Open Your Eyes (Season 10 Episode 7)

Siddiq finds himself reaching a point of no return on The Walking Dead Season 10 Episode 7, “Open Your Eyes.” The episode is a highlight for Avi Nash that pushes Siddiq further into a spiral, but one not entirely of his own making as originally thought.

On the side of that story is that of Carol continuing to take things to the extreme to force the Whisperer threat to a close. The episode handles both her story and Siddiq’s through showing how their actions are viewed differently by those around them, but on opposite ends of the scale.

The episode handles the descent of Siddiq powerfully, making his confusion and the worsening of everyone’s condition a potential failure of his own doing. There are moments of doubt, where it’s completely possible, within his lapses, that he is accidentally causing the illness. The exhaustion of holding the weight of the community’s health solely on his shoulders is a burden, and it is taking its toll.

But in the end, it turns out to be Dante behind it all.

The twist of Dante being a Whisperer comes as rather sudden, but it ends up working because of how disarming he can be at times. It’s been hard to tell if his grandeur is real or if there’s something off about him; now, we know it’s the latter. He is the cause of the captured Whisperer dying (and passes the blame on Siddiq to further torment him), and he is the reason for the water sickness.

But with Siddiq being murdered before he potentially warned the others, will Dante continue to effectively poison Alexandria from within? Of all the things Alpha has done, this is perhaps her most damaging, doing so from within, and causing more distrust.

Avi Nash is wonderful throughout, navigating his rather complex character with so much trauma and a need to do good despite the odds and his own well-being. The episode is on his shoulders, and Nash is able to bring so much urgency and hardship to the performance.

The endless struggle of overcoming what Alpha has done to his character, and making that compelling over the season so that this episode lands so strongly is a major testament to both Nash and the writing team. A quiet moment by the water with Rosita is just as powerful as those tense moments of losing control because Siddiq is human to a fault, trying to do right when his body and mind struggle.

It can be a shame when characters get an episode centered on them, as it usually means something harsh is coming their way, or their end is near. With the case of Siddiq, the season has been building to this, but just as he’s reaching a breakthrough and can deliver pathos to himself, Dante puts him down. It’s a shame, but necessary for the story.

The Gamma and Aaron part of the story ties together the doubt that Alpha’s leadership is starting to cause. Lydia may be the key to overthrowing the Whisperers now, especially with her decision to strike out on her own after Carol uses her to confuse Gamma.

The many dangers coming Alpha’s way makes her time as head of the Whisperers feel closer to an end than expected. Negan is still within her camp, Gamma is now doubting her, and Lydia is out in the wild. It all depends on who will be able to strike first.

But this portion of the episode also manages to speak on Carol’s descent into worrying tactics to get results. She’s doing everything in her power to strike back, but doing so by devolving down to the Whisperers’ level. Her torturing of the Whisperer (the great James Parks!) is a return to the darker road she promised she would never go down, and using Lydia is a harsh move, knowing the pain it can cause.

With Lydia taking off, The Walking Dead Season 10 Episode 7, “Open Your Eyes,” takes away the little leverage left against the Whisperers, and it places the communities in a dire mess to clean up. The episode speaks to trauma in a mature and elegant way through Siddiq’s condition, making for one of the stronger character-centric episodes in recent memory.

At the same time, the episode manages to leave open a number of avenues for what comes next. There are so many ways the Whisperer threat can explode into something worse now, and so many ways it can be silenced. Where each of these characters will come out, and whether or not Alpha will be ready for it, leaves open a lot of potential for the midseason finale.

The Walking Dead is strongest when servicing its characters with a story that speaks through them, rather than at them, which has been an issue in the past. This episode brings Siddiq’s story to a natural and honest, but perhaps premature, close. The show has reached a solid place where its grasp on character is used to inform the story in a way where anything can happen next.

Carol’s rogue nature and Alpha’s games leave them as opposing forces, but Negan, Gamma, and Lydia may prove the most useful pawns for the game ahead.

 

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The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9/8c on AMC.

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