The Walking Dead season 10 episode 6 review: Never underestimate Carol
By Sonya Iryna
As the communities struggle under Alpha’s pressure tactics on The Walking Dead, Carol goes on the offensive while Alpha gets an unexpected ally.
There’s no question that Alpha is as brilliant as she is evil. But she could be making the same mistake that so many others have made over the years in underestimating Carol. During “Bonds,” Carol goes out ostensibly to look for Negan, but she’s got her own agenda. She’s been tracking the walker waves and using them to geolocate the position of Alpha’s horde. Her plan, as she explains to Daryl, is to take out the horde and take away Alpha’s biggest weapon.
It’s a very smart and direct plan, and if she can pull it off, she can once again save everyone she cares about. But at the end of the episode, when Carol takes a Whisperer prisoner, it raises questions about Carol’s true motives. Taking out the horde may be only part of her plan. She may have an even darker and more direct plan to make Alpha suffer the way Carol has suffered after losing Henry.
Carol has always been a pragmatist, and her approach to threats has been simply to get rid of the threat. But Henry’s brutal murder and Alpha’s taunts may have pushed Carol to an even darker place, where she will use her considerable strategic skills to conceive a plan that won’t just eliminate the Whisperer threat but will also deliver some additional blows to Alpha.
While it’s been difficult to see Carol suffer so deeply after the loss of Henry, it’s wonderful to see her getting some real character development — and to see the relationship between her and Daryl become even stronger.
Negan and Alpha
Alpha may not see Carol coming, but it’s possible that the information she gets from Negan will give her enough information to destroy the communities without using her horde. Is Negan really switching teams? It’s hard to imagine him being eager to walk around with a skin mask on. However, when he got free before and went back to Sanctuary and realized there’s nothing left, he returned to Alexandria and captivity rather than try to survive alone. He knows that there’s a target on his back at Alexandria, so maybe he’s decided that becoming a Whisperer is better than trying to survive alone.
I have a hard time believe that Negan is about to become a True Believer and a disciple of Alpha, though. For one thing, he’d have a really tough time trying to stay quiet all day, every day. And he definitely doesn’t take well to not being in charge. But the scenes of Beta putting Negan through various tests in order to be presented to Alpha are great. It’s interesting to see Negan, who was previously the worst threat that the survivors faced, contrasted with the Whisperers, who are definitely now the worst threat the survivors have ever faced.
For comic readers, this arc is very familiar and exciting. It will be interesting to see how this storyline plays out — and to see if Negan manages to infiltrate the Whisperers. It’s entirely possible he’s planning on taking out Alpha himself, or at least getting information he can use to get himself a better position at Alexandria. In any situation, if there is an angle that will provide an advantage, you can be sure Negan will find it and work it. It’s part of his charm, and one of the many skills he has that has kept him alive for all these years.
Pandemic at Alexandria
Is the mystery illness at Alexandria due to the tainted water that Gamma produced by gutting a walker and leaving it in the water? It’s hard to say. That’s a good working theory, but they must have some kind of water purification system at Alexandria. It’s possible that the flu that’s going around has a less nefarious origin, but it could also very well be caused by Alpha’s terroristic assault on the communities.
A Friend For Eugene
Who is the mysterious woman on the radio? Is it someone from Commonwealth? She smartly didn’t want to reveal her name or location, but it’s safe to assume that this is the beginning of a bigger storyline that could finally give fans some information about CRM and where Rick is. Eugene hasn’t gotten a lot of development in the last few seasons, so it’s great that he’s finally getting a chance to shine.
The Inevitable Showdown
The Walking Dead midseason finale is coming up fast, and with all these different storylines coming together, there are bound to be some conflicts coming to a head. The Whisperers arc is so compelling and well done that I actually hope this arc continues past mid-season. I’m not ready for this particular narrative to end.
Next. The Walking Dead season 10 episode 5 review: Everyone wears a mask. dark