Article first published as THE WALKING DEAD Review "JSS" on Seat42F.
“JSS,” the title of this week’s
installment of THE WALKING DEAD on AMC, stands for ‘just survive
somehow.’ This seems an apropos title when The Wolves attack Alexandria
and lots of people are dying left and right. The world in which this
series takes place in is very, very dangerous, and all anyone can be
expected to do is to try to stay alive. Unfortunately, that is much
easier said than done.
“JSS” begins with a girl in a vehicle
with her parents. It’s Enid (Katelyn Nacon), whom we’ve seen living in
Alexandria. As the next few minutes pass, viewers witness how Enid loses
her parents, survives on her own, and eventually makes her way to the
settlement. It’s a brief character profile that certainly tells us more
about the girl, how she has toughened herself in order to stay alive,
which is also why she has trouble getting close to anyone, trying to
avoid going through that pain of loss again.
It’s not unusual for THE WALKING DEAD to
begin quietly, even after a cliffhanger like the one in last week’s
season premiere. What is unusual is that the cliffhanger is not picked
back up upon during the hour. One could argue the horn honk is to let us
know about the attack on Alexandria, and it does. But it also turns an
entire hoard of walkers towards the safe zone, and “JSS” doesn’t show us
what happens with that yet. It’s basically a real-time event that takes
place during the season premiere.
THE WALKING DEAD is terrific at teasing
and drawing things out. It will eventually give us a satisfying
resolution to the huge action sequence promised, but it will not be
rushed in getting there. There is more story that needs to be covered
first, and the show is structured in such a way as to expertly build
drama until it can be built no more. It may be frustrating for some
viewers to have to wait until episode three to get a promised battle
between humans and zombies, but given just how good “JSS” and “First
Time Again” are, I feel like there’s no room for complaint. Anticipation
only continues to build, and the events of “JSS” leave our heroes much
less prepared to deal with the coming zombies.
“JSS” sees The Wolves attack Alexandria,
and as Rick (Andrew Lincoln) predicted, the people who have been living
behind the walls don’t know how to defend themselves. Most of our main
contingent is away, as we see in the premiere. It’s basically left to
Carol (Melissa McBride), Morgan (Lennie James), Rosita (Christian
Serratos), and Aaron (Ross Marquand), who isn’t one of Rick’s group, but
has spent a lot of time in the outside world, to defend everyone else
from a band of armed marauders. This isn’t a large force, but thanks to
their experience and smarts, they are able to do so.
Now, not every Alexandrian is helpless.
Jessie (Alexandra Breckenridge) does take out one woman when her family
is threatened. This is clearly because of Rick’s influence, since she
previously couldn’t bring herself to stand up to an abusive husband.
Now, though, she’s growing quickly, and finally seems prepared to
contribute.
But a lot of other Alexandrians lose
their lives. Mrs. Neudermeyer (Susie Spear Purcell) is one of the first
to go. Olivia (Ann Mahoney) and Denise (Merritt Wever) cower in fear,
content to let others do the work for them. Spencer (Austin Nichols)
helps from his tower, but then doesn’t directly counter attack on the
ground.
Now, Rick has a plan, and he will be
helping them get better at surviving. Some, like Father Gabriel (Seth
Gilliam), are willing to learn, thankfully. Others are not so eager. As
THE WALKING DEAD has shown us, those who do not step up and become
capable of defending themselves will die. So it seems the community
could end up being mostly Rick’s group when this is all over.
Morgan is a big question mark, though.
He clearly abhors violence, and tries to only disarm The Wolves, not
kill them. Is this an attitude that will work for him? He encounters The
Wolves prior to this, and if he had killed the two he ran into then, at
least the attacking group would have been slightly smaller. Can he
really afford mercy in this day and age? I have serious doubts that he
can, and he’ll either have to adapt or put the group at risk.
Thankfully, we’ll always have Carol. Her
cover as a timid housewife may be blown, at least with Olivia, and
she’s not able to save everyone, but she does a lot, arguably more than
anyone, to defend the place. Carol is highly capable, and a good example
of what Jessie might become in time, their histories being so similar.
Yet, Carol isn’t cold, either, much as she might appear to be, as we see
her holding a dying neighbor in her arms. Carol has found the right
balance, just like Rick, that is needed in this world.
“JSS” ends with Enid running off. Will
she be back? She is the one that tells Carl (Chandler Riggs) to just
survive somehow, and that is certainly easier to do in a group,
especially with some of the strong people around to help protect her.
She’s a capable girl, but I hope she changes her mind before she becomes
walker food. She definitely isn’t the only Alexandrian that needs help.
THE WALKING DEAD airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on AMC.
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