At first glance, the opening of this episode could be mistaken as promo for The Walking Dead ride at Universal Studios during Halloween Horror Nights™. However, the lack of fake terror or intense narration made it clear that this was indeed part of then newest episode, where the horror isn’t in the experience itself, but the fact the Commonwealth decided to create an attraction based off actual experiences people in their world are enduring just outside the walls.
This is the equivalent of creating a ride where patrons have to wear masks and social distance from people who potentially have COVID-19.
Despite being less than a minute long, that opening scene did a great job throwing viewers right into the Commonwealth and how confusing its existence in this world is, which was only reaffirmed by the subsequent scenes at the fair.
On one hand, there were so many adorable scenes.
Carol (Melissa McBride, The Reconstruction of William Zero) being a baker and commenting about how she used to read tabloids on Pamela Milton (Laila Robins, The Boys) while she and Daryl (Norman Reedus, The Boondock Saints) watch them announce the winner of the costume contest was almost too normal to fully comprehend; side note, the little girl dressed as Mercer (Michael James Shaw, Avengers: Endgame) for Halloween was absolutely adorable.
Seeing Connie (Lauren Ridloff, Eternals) and Ezekiel (Khan Payton, Invincible) back at their old jobs as a journalist and zookeeper, even in far more subdued forms, was heartwarming, as it almost seems as though the characters have been given back the lives that they deserved to have this entire time. Not to mention the wonderful romantic tension between Connie and Daryl which had been sorely missed the first half of the season.
But nothing beats Jerry’s (Cooper Andrews, Shazam!) entire family dressed as tigers and Ezekiel entrusting Shiva’s leash to Ezra, Jerry’s oldest son. It was an absolute tearjerker which was surprising considering how early on in the episode it was at.
On the other hand, however, it’s not hard to forget all the Commonwealth had done previously, as well as how their attempts to recreate a normal life have completely alienated them to the rest of humanity that, for all the justifications and understandable motives they have to give the residents another chance at normal, it’s hard to shake the discomfort that comes from knowing all that the others on the outside have had to do while these residents had access to luxuries some people in current modern day America don’t have access to.
Although, it seems that the Commonwealth has really made an effort to make people feel normal in the sense that the majority of the residents will never actually experience the luxuries of mangoes or surgeries unless they’re the elite or manage to bribe the elite with a case of vintage wines.
Lance Hornsby (Josh Hamilton, 13 Reasons Why) really did just drop an entire case of perfectly good wine into the trash because they didn’t meet the standards of a woman who hunts for sport in a world where people hunt to survive.
Also, seeing Tomi (Ian Anthony Doyle, All Rise) being back in medicine was absolutely heartbreaking. It’s understandable why he was forced back into his profession—people need doctors—but the fact that he’s not only unhappy, but also living a life that he’s sickened to be part of only makes it worse; it almost would’ve been easier to see him locked up in a cell somewhere rather than downing glasses of wine with shaking hands.
It’s fascinating that this show is making a point to tackle wealth inequality and class differences, especially in its final season. It makes sense with the show’s theme of human morality and survival, as well as the transition to communities and stable conditions.
The way this show managed to use its post-apocalyptic setting to communicate modern day criticisms of current U.S. systems is brilliant.
It’s pretty on the nose in this episode in particular, but that’s the point.
Last episode, the people of Alexandria had just received the food people lost their lives to steal, and now there’s a soiree where the elite are applauded as they walk the red carpet in their dress code approved clothing.
The build up to the soiree was incredibly effective, especially with the scene in Daryl’s apartment. It’s easy to expect Daryl to thumb his nose at the system that requires him to stroke the ego of Sebastian Milton (Two Rapp-Olsson, King of Knives) and generally comply with this elitist system, but it’s much harder to expect anyone to do that when they have children to take care of.
RJ (Antony Azor) and Judith (Cailey Fleming, Peppermint) want to stay at this new place with cookies and new friends and heavy metal records with coincidentally relevant songs, and Daryl wants that for the children, any guardian would. He takes Judith’s request for an allowance seriously, which puts even more pressure on him to succeed in this place.
‘This place’ being a town where a whiny man-child complains about the weapons he’s given when he doesn’t know how to use them and uses Mercer as a verbal punching bag.
Speaking of Mercer, a lot more was revealed about his character and it’s both great and sad to see.
It’s obvious he’s not thrilled with the situation he’s in, he knows how unequal the Commonwealth is, but he can’t afford to do anything about it. Not much is known about his personal life, but it’s not hard to see why he doesn’t want to go with the alternatives.
He may wind up turning against them in the end, as he did stand up for Princess (Paola Lázaro, Lethal Weapon) when he asked her to be his date—which was an adorable scene, it’s great to see the two of them still have their banter and tension—but it would also make sense if he doesn’t turn because that’s the reality of this system.
It’ll be interesting to see the positions everyone winds up taking, even before the end, as well as who may actually be getting into the most trouble; considering Connie is a journalist, she’ll probably be the first to go, which will be an interesting conflict for Daryl.
Trooper Davis (Cameron Scott Roberts, Chicago Fire) was an interesting character, and a great way to start conflict within the system. It was funny that Princess had to remind viewers who he was, and even then not all viewers may actually remember, but he definitely was memorable by the end of the episode.
His and Daryl’s scene in the haunted house was great, especially since the climax of the episode was at the same place as the opening, and it really solidified Daryl’s motive, as he pointed out that not everyone has family anymore.
While Davis’ reaction was extreme, the desperation was clear, and in a world where people have to do things they normally wouldn’t in order to survive, it begs the question of whether the monsters of the world are truly outside the Commonwealth, or if they actually built it.
After all, it was very telling when people gasped more at Davis slicing the painting of Pamela Milton’s father than him holding Pamela’s assistant hostage.
It was also very telling with how Pamela responded in the moment and after. It was comical how fake she was, the theatrics were through the roof, but by the end it was clear just how dangerous she is, telling Lance to make sure that there aren’t any other members of the proletariat who want to unionize and be treated better.
Ezekiel and Carol’s scene was very emotional and filled with a hope that feels far more tentative from the perspective of the viewers than the characters themselves; it’s not yet clear if Ezekiel was moved up to the front of the line, which only raises the stakes.
The final scenes get the ball rolling in terms of what was shown at the end of last episode since Daryl now has his discount stormtrooper uniform, a much nicer apartment than he had three days prior, and enough money to get Judith a new dress and a record player.
It’s still up in the air if he’s going to be indoctrinated into this system or if he’s only pretending to be loyal in order to work the system in his favor, but with the discovery of Trooper Davis’ spray paint room, it’s clear things are only going to get more interesting from here.
Rating: 10/10