The Walking Dead Review: Walk With Us (Season 10 Episode 12)

If The Walking Dead Season 10 Episode 12, “Walk With Us,” is a board game, someone just swiped the board and knocked all of the pieces on the floor. It’s a gripping, wonderful hour of going for broke, where the sense of complacency that sometimes rests in the show’s bones is shaken loose.

The Whisperer threat, as we know it, is pretty much at an end. Beta is still out there, as are some Whisperers, surely, but with Alpha gone, it’s likely they will either take to the wind or Beta will try to consolidate power. But as Negan says to Alpha, Beta isn’t exactly leader material.

For an episode full of dire circumstances, it’s impressive how much character development is able to come through the tense splitting of characters. Some seasons before, we would get episode-long arcs that are small in character scope; here, the episode is giving emotional payoff to a multitude of characters, some who do not make it to the end.

It’s an exciting place for The Walking Dead to be in, to be able to spread itself thin on purpose but still deliver on its beloved characters.

One of these characters is Judith. She’s been a supporting character since the time jump during season nine, but here, her arc of realizing the difference between killing walkers and someone human is such a hard moment for someone so young to face. For it to fall on Judith’s shoulders over Earl especially, as the one who has saved the children from certain doom, is a harsh lesson of the world beyond the walls of home.

It’s somewhat similar to what her big brother Carl has gone through in years past, and it’s touching that Daryl is there for her at the end. The moment with the Whisperer during battle is a jarring realization for her that there are people behind the walker masks, and for her to then put down someone she cares for is something that may forever change her.

It’s unfortunate that Thora Birch is no longer going to be on the show, but Gamma does get to enjoy some time with her nephew, a nice little moment to close out her character with.

But what’s interesting is the reaction to Beta’s mask ripping, exposing his face. The other Whisperer immediately remarks that he recognizes him, and that’s even through dirt and shadow. Beta must have been a person of renown in the real world, maybe a celebrity or an athlete (given his stature). But it’s clear he doesn’t want that getting out, the way he reacts.

It places attention onto The Walking Dead Season 10 Episode 2, “We Are The End of the World,” again, when Alpha sees his face for the first time and understands his reluctance. The initial thought is that he’s hiding something he isn’t pleased with; it appears it’s his importance, something he certainly wants to shed.

Carol continues to be torn down as defeatism sets in, but it’s a fantastic pairing to have Eugene be the one to be kind. He’s been in a similar place during season seven, and so while his words of wisdom may be hard to decipher, they leave enough of an impression that Carol appears to feel a little more accepted.

It’s something that the episode uses to its advantage: the similarities between characters. The Walking Dead has been ongoing to such a point that it’s feasible characters have an empathetic way to talk to one another as new threats and challenges face them. It’s what makes Carol and Eugene connect when they not have before, and it certainly speaks to the extended conversation between Negan and Alpha.

It’s clear from the way Negan is taking out walkers and lets Aaron escape that his plan isn’t to knock out the Hilltop population entirely, though there is a hint of revenge to letting them suffer so much. All of those years cooped up in the cell is certainly enough reason for a little revenge, but his speech to Alpha about how he no longer holds feelings for much anymore doesn’t quite ring true.

He has put himself through hell for both Judith and Lydia, where he clearly still has some humanity still in there somewhere beyond the wisecracking and big grin. Besides, his major move of protecting Lydia and ending Alpha is the proof we need to know he isn’t so far gone yet. It’s likely his way of placing Alpha into a false sense of security, only to take it all away.

Even if it’s clear by the time Lydia breaks free that she definitely isn’t in the same shack Negan and Alpha are heading towards, it doesn’t matter at that point. All of our attention is on the realization that Negan’s long game has finally reached its destination, and the end is at hand.

It’s a swift move to strike down Alpha, and it’s one that changes the direction of the show with four episodes still to go this season. While Carol isn’t the one to do it, her reaction goes down as one of the great moments of the season so far. There’s this look of satisfaction and the quip that Melissa McBride hits perfectly, and likely a weight of anger will lift off of Carol in time.

But there is the question of where the show goes next. Does Eugene’s meeting and Michonne’s visit to Virgil’s place become the focus now, or the clean-up of the Whisperers? Maybe it’s all of the above, which could be a great way to close things out.

The Walking Dead Season 10 Episode 12, “Walk With Us,” starts with a frenzy of terror, and closes with a quiet death. It’s a personal episode that shines a spotlight on all of the pain these characters have gone through, and the real fear of being split up again can cause after so long of feeling that sense of community and home again.

There’s still Alexandria and Oceanside, but their sense of security is lost. Maybe Eugene and Michonne hold the answer of what comes next for everyone, but one thing is for sure: The Walking Dead still knows how to be a fantastic show.

 

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

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