Levity, Romance And Shifty Ninjas: 'The Next World' For The Walking Dead
In the universe of The Walking Dead, “The Next World,” as last night’s episode was titled, is apparently one-fourth Benny Hill, one-fourth ninja fighting, and remaining parts divvied up between romance and teenagers finally starting to come of age.
After last week’s episode (spoiler town ahead, y’all) of heart pounding, family massacring (R.I.P. to Jessie and her insufferable, yet screwed up so I kind of feel bad for saying it but not enough not to say it, sons) eye-ball popping (R.I.P. Carl’s right eye), mass-zombie murdering mayhem, this Sunday’s episode provided much needed levity. And yes, as well all know, the cardinal rule of The Walking Dead is They Who Giveth Hope, Taketh Away, but let’s just bypass that and allow ourselves this little joyride for a moment, mmk?
Despite the fact that his new girlfriend got eaten alive in front of him and his son’s eyeball got shot out on the same night, Rick has suddenly Seen The Light and realized there’s hope for humanity. Seeing a bunch of people he thought were pathetically unprepared for the realities of the new world successfully save the entire town of Alexandria by slaughtering a massive herd of walkers that vastly outnumbered them will do that to a guy, I guess.
At least for now, gone is the overly brooding, suspicious Rick of seasons yore. Now we’ve got a Rick who gleefully declares any time anyone will let him that the odds have to be favorable because they’ve gotten the crap end of the shit stick for so long that statistically speaking, they’ve got to be due a comeuppance. Or, as he put it, the “law of averages” is in their favor. Same thing.
(Source: Comicbook.com)
Rick’s sudden saccharine attitude is met with a sour look of dismay from our beloved punky angel, Daryl. The two quickly find a truck full of food, seemingly proving Rick right – but a shifty dude Rick decides to trust swipes the keys and makes off with the haul. Ensue Benny Hill chase theme music (at least in my head) as the two run for ages chasing after the guy – who calls himself Jesus due to his hipster beard, by the way – before finding him, only to get roundhouse kicked at lighting speed. They manage tie him up and leave him, yet, somehow, the shifty ninja manages to get on top of the truck, unbeknownst to Rick and Daryl.
(See, I'm not the only one who heard it! Source: 43eyes, Youtube)
The whole debacle ends with a romp in a field as Daryl tries to kick the shit out of the dude, who ends up saving his life as a walker sneaks up behind him. So he’s shifty, but not evil? That’s a change of pace, but who knows if it’s for real.
Oh, and then the truck sinks into a lake, food and necessities and all.
Which brings me to the toothpaste.
At the start of the episode, Michonne requests toothpaste – or at least the makings of it – from Rick before he goes out on his run. She’s all cute, fresh out of the shower, wrapped up in towels – a state we’ve really never seen her in, except for in flashbacks. For a while now, Rick and Michonne have been developing a pretty deep connection, and I’ve been ‘shipping it pretty hard. I mean, Jessie was nice, but Michonne and Rick together? Unstoppable, and let’s be honest: super hot.
SO. Rick gets home from his field trip – shifty Jesus ninja in tow, I might add – and collapses on the couch, where Michonne joins him. They’re talking, it’s cute, blahblahblah, and then Rick presses some spearmint into her hand, letting his hand linger just a bit until their fingers intertwine. And then hail-to-the-lujah, their lips meet, they’re getting frisky on the couch, and then next thing we know, they’re naked in bed.
(OMG, amIrite?? Source: AMC)
Oh, and then Jesus wakes them up and that’s the end of the episode, but that’s less interesting to me than the fact that RICK AND MICHONNE DID IT. Please get together and be fabulous parents to Carl and Judith and never die.
. . . Not that I have an opinion on it or anything.
Moving on, losing his eye seems to be benefiting Carl as a person, although probably not when it comes to his peripheral vision. He still does stupid stuff like traipse about in the woods just for kicks, but he seems to have matured. When he finds Walker Deanna, he leads her to her son instead of killing her himself, despite personal risk. And he does it because he knows it will give the dude closure. Good on you, Carl.
(Source: AMC)
Meanwhile, his buddy Enid realizes that the whole romping through the woods thing is immature and tells Carl she can’t do it anymore. Her sudden clarity might have to do with Maggie’s reminder that if it weren’t for her, both she and Glenn might not be alive. Speaking of people being cute parents, I sincerely hope that Maggie and Glenn make it. Maybe they can quasi-adopt this lonely girl. That’d be perfect.
So for now it’s all hunky dory. But let’s be real – half my hopes are about to quashed within an episode or two, if history is any indication.
Oh well. At least Carl looks a little less snarky as a pirate.