God damn it. I know we had to check in with Heath and Tara but ANOTHER whole episode devoted to a side story that no one really cares about? Jesus and Carl are both on their way to the belly of the beast but let’s forget about that for a while, eh? Fine, whatever, let’s see what you got.
They’re supposed to be out scavenging but it seems there’s nothing out there that hasn’t been picked over. Heath is having his doubts about their purpose while Tara remains optimistic. The episode is laid out in a series of flashbacks set against the present, with Heath and Tara’s last efforts to scavenge and Tara’s encounter with a new group comprised of women.
The point of interest here is when Heath and Tara get overrun by walkers at an abandoned camp on a bridge. They try to create tension by making it appear that Heath abandons Tara but that’s not the case. Tara falls over the bridge and gets washed ashore, only to be rescued by a merciful member of the woman camp, Cindy.
The whole episode, while mostly pointless, does tell the tale of friendship. Heath is surrounded by walkers but is still taking shots at the ones accosting Tara before she falls. Cindy stops multiple people from killing Tara. The episode does well to show that there are still people in the world who still have compassion, who want to reach out and fight for one another, regardless of the danger involved in even the slightest amount of trust.
What throws me off is Tara’s jokey approach to every situation. Sure her awkwardness and lighthearted approach to horrifying situations is what endeared her to us when we met her during the Governor’s backstory, but there’s a time and place for everything. The episode takes a dark turn when we find out that the Saviors executed all the men in the camp she stumbled upon and once again we see the evil of the Saviors, and understand why the camp is comprised only of women.
They are all survivors of the Saviors’ savagery and try to play Tara when they decide to “release” her. They value their privacy a little TOO much. But Cindy comes to her aid and we see a real moment when Tara asks her why she’s not like the others in her group. In some ass backwards way I kind of understand why each episode lately has been focusing on different groups. While there is a ton of shit that we can learn about the Saviors and Negan, there is a point to all this side story bullshit. The Kingdom, Hilltop, and now this new group…they’re all under Negan’s thumb; but in that oppression there is still room for mercy.
I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt because I think once all the threads get sewn up, the Saviors will have their reckoning. I think that there’s a point to these bullshit episodes. Each group has their grievances with the Saviors and Negan and they will get theirs at the end of the season.
Really, that’s the only excuse I can think of. These episodes are slogs but they’re also chess pieces moving against Negan. Cindy is a hell of a shot, so I think she is a character we’ll be seeing again towards the final showdown. I’m hoping the back half of the season will be, as the arc in the comics is called, all-out war. And I hope all these groups and side stories will play a part when Negan is confronted with all the people whose lives he ruined. That’s the only way I can forgive this boring season so far.
Written by A Play On Nerds contributor, Jerry Herrera - Lover of horror, sci fi, and fantasy in that order. Semi-permanent Disneyland resident. I'm at least one of the droids you're looking for. Twitter: @FrankenJerry - Instagram: @GeraldoPedro