‘The Walking Dead’ Episode 5.16 “Conquer” (9 out of 10) Created by Frank Darabont; Starring Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Danai Gurira, Chandler Riggs, Steven Yeun, Lauren Cohan; Sundays on AMC.
Some season finales are longer just to be gimmicky, but after watching the season five finale of “The Walking Dead,” I’m not sure how they could have packed so much into a mere hour of TV. There is a veritable pantload of material to cover, so hold onto your butts. And don’t read this if you haven’t watched the finale, or you’ll get a spoiler to the face!
Morgan the Zen Master
Morgan (Lennie James) has always been an interesting character. He doesn’t show up often in the series, but when he does, a lot of awesome comes along with him. It’s important to note that the few times we’ve seen him during season five, he appears to have recovered from his bout with full-blown insanity. It’s that recovery that made me a bit nervous when a creeper with a W scarred into his forehead showed up and offered vague threats mingled with pleasant conversation. When the shit inevitably hits the fan, we learn that Morgan’s recovery has only made him stronger—and more adept with a bo staff.
When evaluating this new incarnation of Morgan, it’s difficult to overlook the reference to the 1972 cult TV show “Kung Fu,” which follows the adventures of David Carradine’s Kwai Chang Caine as he wanders the old American West. Both men have undergone some serious mental and physical conditioning, and it’s a rigid adherence to their respective philosophies that have helped them survive in a hostile environment. Not only does this make Morgan more of a badass, but it revisits the ideological struggle that Tyreese (Chad Coleman) was going through at the beginning of the season—the idea that a person who values human life could survive during a zombie apocalypse.
The beautiful thing about Morgan’s arrival in Alexandria during that gut-wrenching final scene (more on this later) is that we know his “peaceful warrior” philosophy is going to grate against Rick’s (Andrew Lincoln)—which appears to be more along the lines of “public executioner of law-breakers.” The expressions on both mens’ faces spoke volumes.
Pieces
One of the things that tonight’s episode did well was tie up a few loose ends. Abraham’s (Michael Cudlitz) reconnection with Eugene (Josh McDermitt) was probably the most touching moment of the evening; Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Aaron (Ross Marquand) shed some more light on the W folks while getting a triple kill with a discarded chain; Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) continues to be obsessed with death as she gets comfy on top of a pile of dead bodies and nearly shoots Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) in the head—all good stuff with the supporting cast.
Carol (Melissa McBride) continues to be a perfectly camouflaged sociopath—and her scenes are becoming the most darkly fun to watch. She has a beautifully terrifying confrontation with Pete (Corey Brill) in which she explains just how easily she could slit his throat and get away with it—followed by a stern demand to wash and return her casserole dish when he’s finished eating. McBride is having a great time with this character, and she always makes me feel bad for laughing at her stoically-delivered threats.
The conflict between Glenn (Steven Yeun) and Nicholas (Michael Traynor) also came to a head tonight, and the pair got into a particularly nasty melee outside the city walls. After a few close calls, Glenn pummels Nicholas into submission—but he chooses to let him live and face Alexandrian justice rather than blow his head off in the woods. This mini-conflict was a nice way to shove some more drama and bloody faces into the episode—and there’s a good chance Nicholas isn’t going to dig what Alexandrian justice has become.
Town Hall
Aside from some seriously tight subplots, tonight’s episode was all about Deanna’s (Tovah Feldshuh) town meeting in which Rick’s fate was to be decided. At first, it’s a sign of Rick’s guilt when he doesn’t show up—but when we learn that he doesn’t show up because he was cleaning up after Gabriel, who left the front gate open because he’s awful.
When Rick finally does show up, his entrance is appropriately epic. Homeboy chucks a zombie into the middle of the circle and explains how he just saved all their asses while they were sitting around deciding what to do with him. Just as Rick is driving his case home, drunken Pete shows up with Michonne’s (Danai Gurira) katana and accidentally slices the throat of Deanna’s husband Reg (Steve Coulter). This is the moment that Rick has been talking about, and this is the moment that Deanna realizes the value in Rick and his people—they’ll do the dirty work that is necessary to keep civilization afloat. With a nod, Deanna gives the order to put a bullet in Pete’s head and that, my friends, is that.
Verdict
“The Walking Dead” does season finales right. They’re not always barn burners, but they definitely make the audience want to wait it out for next season. With little hints leading towards a confrontation with a savage colony called the Wolves, Deanna’s acceptance of the world Rick lives in, and the arrival of Morgan, season six already has tons of great areas to cover.
Overall, season five was one of the show’s best. Admittedly, it was a bit of a repeat to have our characters stumble upon yet another strange colony, but having the storyarc revolve around the dangers of everyday society was an interesting direction to take. Tovah Feldshuh, Alexandra Breckenridge, and Corey Brill were all awesome additions to the cast, and the show’s ability to take advantage of every minute of screentime has been impressive to watch.
I suppose I’ll just have to hope that AMC’s unfortunately-named spinoff “Fear the Walking Dead” will satiate my desire for zombie-filled action/dramas.