
Last nightâs fall finale of The Walking Dead confirmed two things: wearing clothing smattered with walker guts is a strategy that isnât utilized nearly enough. And children ruin everything.
Six seasons in, The Walking Dead has proven predictable in many ways, and the inevitable death of a (probably) beloved character in a finale is one. After the watchtower collapses to the ground, the walker super clan thatâs been terrorizing the area finally breeches Alexandria, making the once-safe space uninhabitable. In defending the initial invasion, Deanna gets bitten and thus another leader falls. Thereâs been an array of leadership examples shown, from the ruthless to the savage, but Deanna was certainly the most rational weâve seen, and far from a failureâdespite being ill-equipped to prepare her people for survival. This says a lot about the magnitude of survival skills necessary to manage a group of screwed up humans, and also says a lot about why both Deannaâs and Rickâs jobs are applaudable.
So Deanna goes down in her own blaze of gloryâin a room, shooting walkersâand leaves us and Michonne with a great question to ponder, too, before the second half of the season premieres in February. Minor hiccups aside (a zombie Apocalypse), Deanna feels like she lived the life she wantedââI got what I wanted right up âtil the end,â she says, neglecting the part about her husband being brutally murdered by a domestic abuser. She then asks Michonne, âWhat do you want for you?â
In a series where a lot of hypotheticals and probing questions get asked, this is a good, provoking one. Knowing that most of this existence will be miserable, to what do you aspire? What do you want that would make you personally content? Being around good people? Fighting? Finding love and companionship? Religion? Thereâs no career or dream of family here, so Michonne has some thinking to do. The warrior path has seemed to be her calling for most of the series, but thereâs also been a clear indication that contentment for her is something deeper.
(Side note: Rick makes the wise decision that the only way to escape the walker invasion in Jessieâs home is to wear the walker guts as clothing in order to sneak out, since itâs worked in the past. When a Talking Dead audience member asks executive producer Robert Kirkman why they donât do this more, he gives the bullshit response that it isnât practical because the guts smell, would need to be replenished and might cause disease. Rickâs crew has never tried the method long enough for me to be convinced that they should rule it out.)
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Anyway, Deanna dies anticlimactically and, like Bethâs death, it wasnât exactly the saddest moment in the showâs history. Others could have perished in Deannaâs place; in fact, any of the following options would have been acceptable:
The case for CarlâHe covers for Jessieâs blockhead son Ron after Ron inadvertently lets the walkers into the home by starting a fight with Carl over Carlâs dad killing Ronâs dad. Ron is a dummy who is, yes, a victim of an abusive household and still very impressionable but should be old enough to understand that Rick saved him from a killer. Carl righteously tells Ron sorry your dad was an asshole and deserved it, but then lies about Ron being the cause of the walker home invasion. Carl likely wonât die soon, but he could go.
The case for RonâSee above.
The case for Carlâs hat â Itâs a dumb hat.
The case for MorganâThe strongest storyline of the episode is the battle of morality between Morgan and Carol over what happens with the captured Wolf. Their differing opinions on killing humans is the crux of the season and much of the series: Who deserves to die? Morgan is as usual focused on fighting the wrong person, instead of directing his anger at the guy whoâs most likely to murder them all. The hipster Wolf captive even basically says âDude, you should probably kill me?â
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A fight between Morgan and Carol leads to the Wolf escaping and taking the nurse chick as hostage (she, as well, needs to learn not to help everyone). Iâd rather not see Morgan die yet, but a dose of reality is what he needs.
The case for Eugene â How is he still alive?
The case for Sam â The Walking Dead has killed off innocent kids before, so itâs nothing to them. Children are allowed to be traumatized, especially in this case, but Sam is quite literally a punk. Right as everyoneâs escaping in their walker disguises, Sam yells out for his mom Jessie. (If only Carol was there to silence him). The walker growls heard as the episode fades to black indicate that they probably heard him and the group is now in jeopardy. Couple of tweets from last night:
âSAM FUCK YOU. YOU TRAUMATIZED LITTLE SHIT. I WILL KILL YOU AND YOUR BROTHER. #TWDMidSeasonFinale #TWDâ
âDAMN IT SAM ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS SHUT UP AND WALK YOU ARE USELESS PLEASE DIE #TWDâ
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Who shouldâve died? The answer is clearly Sam*, but youâre an alive human and free to vote as you see fit.
*Just kidding, heâs just a kid!... ... ...
Contact the author at clover@jezebel.com.
Image via AMC