The Walking Dead Review: The Tower (Season 10 Episode 15)
The acceptance of others is a universal theme that speaks volumes on The Walking Dead Season 10 Episode 15, “The Tower,” as Beta takes the horde on the last hunt.
Princess is the kind of person that is a little hard to read at first. She’s a big, fun personality for the show, and Paola Lazaro is doing fantastic with the role, but it’s mired by literally going in circles, as evidenced by Eugene’s frustration of learning they ended up back at the street he recognized.
The minefield sequence is a fun place to put the nervous trio in, but it does leave this dissatisfaction that the episode spun its wheels rather than Princess being a big help of getting them across the city faster. It’s certainly no fault of Princess, whose scattershot mind and loneliness leaves her as needing a friend right now no matter the cost.
It’s the kind of characterization that helps humanize her and makes up for that dose of frustration that we won’t be getting a conclusion to Eugene’s mission just yet. If Princess becomes a part of the show from now on, that could bring some new energy to the cast as her attitude clashes and meshes with the various people back home.
Plus she does mention weapons several times, which could come in handy; though it’s up for debate if they are good weapons or if they’re just like the “wheels” turning out to be a bicycle stash.
But the moment of Eugene accepting her despite the false pretensions, and allowing her to come along, is such a great boost. We all have our faults, and still being accepted is a great message for her story.
Carol gains acceptance from Kelly, too, despite what happened with Connie (also disappointingly left in the air, as well). It’s similar to the conversation with Eugene on The Walking Dead Season 10 Episode 12, “Walk With Us,” where she’s still beating herself up and looking for forgiveness.
But Kelly’s response is one of looking up to Carol, that her lone wolf attitude has gotten her this far and shouldn’t be seen as a fault. It’s like this sudden realization, that the original characters still standing are like the legends of this universe now, their stories passed down to the younger generations as tales of heroism. It’s a great moment for Melissa McBride and Angel Theory, and the writing is impactful.
There’s also the fractured relationship between Lydia and Negan. Their small bond back on The Walking Dead Season 10 Episode 4, “Silence The Whisperers,” is torn to tatters, not because of Negan’s protection of Lydia and murder of her mother, but by the fact that he still found redeeming qualities in Alpha despite all of the horrors she inflicted.
With Lydia’s conversation with Judith in the back of our mind, Negan’s words are like poison, despite trying to make things right. Lydia lashing out at him is letting out all of the anger she could never throw back at Alpha, and it’s just as interesting how Negan reacts to it.
He wants to be her punching bag, to let it all out at him specifically. His look of anguish when she can’t fight him any longer is perhaps the most human moment for Negan out of all of his appearances, because it’s the most genuine. He feels for her, potentially seeing himself reflected back in some way, and it’s this emotional closure where the two outsiders mourn for someone they both hated but begrudgingly respected deep down.
There’s a lot of great work being done with Judith that’s fleshing her out as the kindest heart left in this world. Her words of care for Lydia, and her sorrow over the Whisperer being left in a ditch, are fantastic reminders of how easily kindness can be corrupted by the darker forces. But Judith’s goodness is not swayed, even if she’s starting to see the darkness of the world more clearly now.
It’s a progression from The Walking Dead Season 10 Episode 12, “Walk With Us,” where she kills a Whisperer and has to face down Earl, the hardships of the world pushed onto someone so young and innocent. But she’s handling it all with a level of grace, where she wants to treat enemies with the level of respect they deserve, because everyone is human, no matter their allegiance.
This is all hopefully the start of pushing Judith further into the center of the show. Cailey Fleming is great on the show, and the writing is a far cry with what other shows usually do with their younger characters, and so following down this path would do wonders.
Beta’s newfound whispers that act as his conscience and advisor are a neat little addition, although he still needs to revisit the notion of killing anyone that speaks out of turn around him. He’s down to a few left on his side at this point, and it’s becoming a running gag, though one that’s appreciated.
His horde makes for a major threat to close the season out with, but one has to wonder if Eugene’s mission and finding new people may be the final stand that’s needed to put the horde and the Whisperers out of commission for good, because they are quite a while away from coming back with help.
For what is essentially the season finale now (until the real finale airs sometime later this year), it’s a massive cliffhanger: Beta arrives at The Tower with the horde, Aaron and Alden are captured, and Eugene and company make a few miles of progress.
This leads to an unavoidable sense of disappointment, not in the episode itself, but how it’s going to take a while to resolve all of these threads. It’s not the show’s fault that its finale is now postponed, but it does hurt with how long Princess meanders the crew around in the parking lot minefield (as fun as that sequence is).
But The Walking Dead Season 10 Episode 15, “The Tower,” makes up for that by delivering on its emotional hooks. The moments between Carol and Kelly, Negan and Lydia, and Princess with the group, all promote that aforementioned acceptance that is a powerful message for the show.
As things stand, the episode sets up a much larger confrontation than the one at Hilltop, and with most characters locked into a race against the clock, it’s a solid set-up. If only that could be resolved soon.
What did you think of this episode of The Walking Dead? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9/8c on AMC.
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Kevin Lever
Kevin Lever has been following television closely for most of his life, but in starting to cover it, he has grown a further appreciation. He strives to give the blockbusters their due, and give the lesser known shows a spotlight to find more fans.