‘The Walking Dead’ 6.13 “The Same Boat”

‘The Walking Dead’ Episode 6.13 “The Same Boat” (9 out of 10) Created by Frank Darabont; Starring Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Steven Yeun, Danai Gurira, Chandler Riggs, Lennie James, Lauren Cohan; Sundays on AMC.

I’m still hashing things out in my head at this point, but I think I might have actually felt sympathy for the group of Saviors that was systematically massacred on tonight’s episode. If you know who/what the Saviors are, it’s easy to write it off as a necessary evil. For those who don’t have that background knowledge and take a look at Rick’s (Andrew Lincoln) death squad approach to this Savior outpost, it’s hard not to feel a little frightened by our heroes. Spoilery spoils ahead!

Hostage Crisis

We left last week expecting a hostage negotiation, and that’s what we got—but it was ramped up on TWD’s trademark stimpack of moral ambiguity and visceral bloodshed, not to mention some amazing performances from a great supporting cast. In between all of that eye candy, this episode was also playing with some interesting subtext—one that didn’t have a set of gonads to trip over.

We soon learn that the Saviors who captured Maggie and Carol consist of three tough women and a whiny-ass guy. Right off the bat, it’s clear that tonight’s episode belongs to the interplay among a cast of complex and equally terrifying ladies. In some cases, it might be trying a teensy bit too hard to throw this dynamic into the audience’s face—quotes about how men can’t handle pain and Polly’s (Alicia Witt) pre-apocalypse tale of corrupt patriarchy detract from an episode that just needed to let these ladies perform. When they do perform, what we see is a clever game of manipulation and cunning play out within the dingy confines of the Saviors’ facility.

Getting back to my aforementioned Savior sympathy, I can’t think of two scarier people to have backed into a corner. You’ve got Carol, who has become eerily adept at finding the good in someone only to horribly exploit it, and Maggie who, like any soon-to-be mother, will rip her way through anything that could potentially harm her baby. From the moment Carol started her hyperventilating act, I knew that this group of Saviors was in trouble. Carol uses Maggie’s pregnancy to get into their heads, and the two of them systematically execute their way out of the compound back to Rick.

Since I’ve grown to love all of our heroes, I was totally stoked to see Carol and Maggie tag-team for a bloody victory over their captors. But when I think of things from their perspective, even though I know the Saviors are evil, it’s pretty messed up. There you are, minding your business when a group of well-organized killers descends upon your safe little compound in the middle of the night, burying their knives into the temples of your compatriots as they sleep. You manage to take two of these attackers hostage thinking that it might somehow preserve your life, only to have them manipulate the hell out of you and feed you to the undead. Is it even safe to call Rick and company good guys at this point? Heroes, maybe. Heroes sometimes have to do the terrible things that no one else wants to do. I guess they still have the fact that they dole out death and destruction without really enjoying it—almost like they’re taking out the garbage. Either way, they’re still engaging to watch.

Verdict

This was an episode that was only as strong as its actors, and everyone did an amazing job tonight. The Saviors were sufficiently pissed off, with just enough sympathy to allow Carol to weasel her way into their heads. Lauren Cohan had some great action scenes—I’m still thinking about the look on her face as she pistol whips a Savior to death. It was one of those moments in TV that remind us how refreshing it is to see stories that are driven by complex characters who happen to be women. An episode that could have been generalized by depicting a bunch of tough characters making tough threats became elevated by adding an element of primal motherhood into the mix. Only three episodes left! Eeeeeep!