Melodrama reigns as “The Walking Dead” morphs into “Alexandria 90210.”
Review: 1.5 out of 4 stars
8 p.m. Sunday, AMC
“The Walking Dead” is best when it uses its apocalyptic backdrop to reveal essential human truths. It’s at its worst when trolling for cheap action thrills or soap opera melodrama. In its latest episode, it seems like the writers just went down a list of the Alexandria characters and decided to give each one a plot line from an old episode of “Beverly Hills 90210.”
Fans of the show are waiting breathlessly to find out if Glenn somehow survived falling into a mosh pit of hundreds of zombies. This episode commences incredible backpedaling on that now-surely-fake death scene. After some survivors add Glenn’s name to a memorial wall, Maggie and Aaron erase it. Rick invokes Glenn’s name and potential return several times. Maggie tells Aaron she’s pregnant, which means Glenn is a lead pipe lock to have survived. The show can be cynical, but it’s not that cynical.
Since we know that Glenn must be alive, we don’t much care about what happens in this episode. We just want to fast-forward to the reunion. While the show could have made a bold move by finishing Glenn and forcing the survivors to cope, it’s now just treading in the same territory as any soap opera character with amnesia. Will that character remember her true identity? Of course she will. All tension is defused. Now you’re just testing the audience’s patience until it happens. It’s a cheap stunt.
The show also missed a great opportunity by showing exactly how Rick escaped from the stalled RV where he was last seen sobbing in fear. Apparently, he just ran. The episode begins with him sprinting past zombies and screaming for the Alexandrians to open the gate. Oh, well.
Deanna’s son Spencer delivers an impassioned speech to his fellow survivors about continuing to ration food instead of binge-eating in their final days. Then, out of nowhere, Spencer steals liquor and crackers from the pantry and gets drunk. What?
Dr. Denise has a momentary crisis of confidence before miraculously discovering how to heal that guy who got shot in the leg. She celebrates by planting a kiss on Tara. A medical miracle and new love all in the same day!
Ron and Carl have a slap-fight about Enid’s disappearance. Carl plans on going on a solo rescue mission and the teenage whining climaxes when Ron literally says, “I’ll tell your dad.” Which boy will take her to the prom?
Jessie is upset when her youngest son, Sam, does not want to come downstairs, even when lured by freshly baked cookies. Will Sam ever stop pouting long enough to enjoy a snack?
Jessie later kisses Rick, having forgotten being furious with Rick two days ago, and the fact that he killed her husband maybe three days ago. Our male lead must have a love interest!
This episode featured just one storyline that didn’t feel like it was pulled off the shelf from the library at drama camp. Deanna begins the episode in total shock. As the architect of the Alexandria experiment, she’s been a wise and thoughtful leader. Since the attacks from the Wolves and the zombies, she’s gone practically catatonic. Midway through the episode, she stares at her dead husband’s wedding ring and inspiration strikes. Deanna grabs a map of the town and draws up plans to make it more self-sufficient: a farm, a mill, a training center and plans for exploration and expansion. She scribbles a quote from Ovid on the map. “Dolor hic tibi proderit olim,” translates to, “This pain will be useful to you.”
Late in the episode, a walker appears out of nowhere and attacks Deanna. She fights back by stabbing it in the heart with a broken bottle. Deanna must have missed the workshop on how to kill zombies with head trauma, so eventually Rick races in and kills it. Deanna admits the town needs Rick’s leadership, but she’s evolved, too. Deanna says, “I want to live.” It’s a great moment for an interesting but largely forgotten character.
Two episodes ago, “The Walking Dead” appeared to have embraced its apocalyptic setting to give us a jarring, chaotic, terrifying world. Now it seems to be sprinting back to the false safety of melodrama and low stakes. Nobody cares about which boy ends up with Enid, how much Spencer drinks or whether Sam will eat his cookies. “The Walking Dead” needs to spend less time on Nero fiddling and more time on Rome burning.
Ben Bowman is a RedEye special contributor.
