Article first published as THE WALKING DEAD Review Season 5 Episode 10 Them on Seat42F.
THE
WALKING DEAD on AMC is about a group of survivors who have done
everything they needed to in order to survive. This week’s installment,
“Them,” brings them to the end of their ropes in this regard. Starving,
dehydrated, walking slowly after their vehicles run out of gas, our
heroes are still sixty miles from D.C. but they might as well be six
hundred. If something doesn’t break soon, they aren’t going to make it.
Things are especially hard for the
survivors closest to those who recently departed. Sasha (Sonequa
Martin-Green) is angry at her brother’s demise, which happens because of
a careless accident, and she doesn’t know how to come to terms with
that. Her erratic behavior endangers everyone when she abandons an easy
Walker slaughter plan in favor of working out her anger with a knife. If
Sasha doesn’t find a way to begin to move on, she may lose her own life
or that of yet another person she cares about. Though, she tells
Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) that they are not friends, so maybe she
doesn’t care about anyone left.
Maggie (Lauren Cohan) has also lost a
sibling, and also becomes self-destructive, though not at the expense of
the others. Granted, Maggie has been a part of the group longer so
maybe she cares more. She isn’t shut down and cold; her compassion won’t
let her walk away from a Walker in a trunk, which Glenn (Steven Yeun)
helps her dispatch. But reluctant to even sip water, Maggie isn’t doing
well.
And then there’s Daryl (Norman Reedus).
His instinct is to hide away, hard to do when the group is traveling
together. So he keeps making excuses that he’s looking for elusive
water. Carol (Melissa McBride) tries to help, telling him he needs to
grieve, but like Abraham’s failure with Sasha and Father Gabriel’s (Seth
Gilliam) inability to get to Maggie, Daryl rebukes her attempts. That
is, until he purposely burns himself with a cigarette, and then the
tears come in a very moving scene, which may just give him an advantage
over the other two because he’s at least he’s facing his emotions.
These three are the worst, those
personally highlighted in “Them,” but they are far from alone. Every
character on this show has been similarly featured at one point or
another because this life is not one they can stand much longer.
Michonne (Danai Gurira) argues last week that they have to settle down
to recapture their humanity. She’s right, as our group stumbling along
looks almost no different from the Walkers trailing them. This leads
Rick (Andrew Lincoln) to give voice to what fans have been saying for
years: they, not the zombies, are The Walking Dead.
All of this builds into a fantastical
storm, a metaphor for the pent-up feelings they all battle, and the
group takes shelter in a barn. When Walkers push against the doors to
get in, it’s Maggie, Daryl, and Sasha that first rush to hold off their
attackers. Those left at this point want to live, and even when things
look grim, the most desperate among them find a way to rally. Like the
Walker Maggie finds in the barn who couldn’t turn her gun on herself,
they will never give up.
At the end of “Them,” a new face enters
their midst: Aaron (Ross Marquand, Down and Dangerous). Aaron has
anonymously gifted them water, which they ignore for fear of poison, and
now he wants to speak with their leader, whom he asks for by name.
Maggie and Sasha, whom he first approaches, are naturally suspicious,
and with good reason. This group has faced many a hostile person who
disguises themselves as good. With Aaron skulking around and spying on
them, how can they trust him?
Yet, that’s exactly what Rick and crew
tried to do at Terminus, observe from afar before deciding to approach.
It’s smart tactics, and doesn’t necessarily condemn Aaron as evil. If
the series follows the books (SPOILER – though the series often makes
different choices, so this may not really be a spoiler), Aaron is the
catalyst that finally lets them flip from pure survival to rebuilding
civilization, as well as basically doubles the cast size. He’s the start
of the second half of the story as told so far; he’s a desperately
needed savior. Will the Aaron of screen be the same, and how can they
learn to trust him?
“Them” is a fascinating portrait of
people on the edge, highlighting some of the themes often seen in the
show in a more extreme, while still quiet, fashion. Having the weather
match the mood is pleasantly artistic, and there are excellent
performances from a number of cast members, including Gilliam, whose
priest burns his collar. I find no flaw in the hour, and am stoked for
the next chapter of the story.
The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on AMC.
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