Walking Dead Series Blog: Claimed, Still & Alone

Episode 11: ‘Claimed’

Finally reunited, ‘Claimed’ sees Michonne, Carl and Rick sheltering in a house and it seems things are finally looking up. Well, as up as things can be when you’re separated from the majority of your group in an apocalypse.  Carl is a lot more tolerable and just a lot nicer when he’s around Michonne, who’s become a sort of maternal figure to Carl; something he definitely needs after the rocky times he had with both his parents throughout the series. Their rapport is great, it’s one of the few times on the show where there’s a break in tension—it’s almost like they’re not hiding from zombies. The two bicker over soy milk before they decide to head out and look for supplies. Rick is assigned to nap duty and gets a well-needed rest, which of course, unlucky as ever, is interrupted by a group who come to ransack the house. Rick manages to get through the whole thing by hiding under the bed, witnessing one group member kill the other for a sleeping spot, before getting lucky when a zombie inside the house means that he was able to get away unseen and usher Michonne and Carl to safety. Rick’s part in the episode felt a little filler-ish as we’re so used to seeing him in these situations, albeit he was severely unprepared. His intense game of hide and seek wasn’t as key as other parts of the episode.

Their rapport is great, it’s one of the few times on the show where there’s a break in tension

Michonne and Carl’s strong bond grows when Carl learns about Michonne’s past, specifically her son and her marriage. We learn that he son’s name was Andre but little else- but enough to show that she trusts Carl, and hopefully by association Rick. I thought the duo was the best part of the episode, since there was humour, emotion and development all wrapped up in their conversations. It’ll also be interesting to see how Michonne reacts to Judith being alive, since she has taken Carl on as a sort of surrogate son. As each episode passes, the tension in the audience for the reunion of Carl, Rick and Judith is a constant underlying thought- which suggests there could be either a really great or really bad outcome.

At the end of the episode, we re-join Glenn, Tara, Abraham, Eugene and Rosita. Glenn comes up against the new group when he asserts that he’s off to find Maggie. In a blur or arguments, punch ups and machine gunning the group are left without a mode of transport and everybody seems to have come onto Glenn’s side when they follow him. Although it did establish some more characteristics of the new group and further solidified Glenn’s love for Maggie, the whole sequence didn’t really need to be in the episode as like Rick’s sequence, it felt like filler.

Episode 12: ‘Still’

‘Still’ focuses again on one part of the fragmented group, this time Daryl and Beth’s adventure. Their screen-time allows for the relationship between them to strengthen on screen, revealing a lot about these characters who usually keep to themselves.

Zombies are suddenly a threat again. After many an episode where characters see the walkers as a simple annoyance, they become an overwhelming problem for Daryl and Beth, who spend the night in a car boot hiding from them. There’s no doubt that there’s tension between them, probably because of how stressed and tired they are, and this situation isn’t helped when Beth decides that she wants to try alcohol for the first time. Beth becomes the rebellious teenager and Daryl becomes the unwilling guardian to her sudden outbreak.

They eventually come across a golf club, where Beth’s search for alcohol doesn’t go well. Her first find of a bottle of wine is destroyed when she uses it to kill a walker and the peach schnapps she finds at the bar is smashed by Daryl, who didn’t want that be her first drink. 

Eventually the two begin to make a real connection, and no surprise it’s because they’re both drunk off moonshine at a place that Daryl likens to his house growing up. They end up playing ‘I have never’ (‘Never have I ever’ to you and me) but Daryl becomes angry about Beth’s far better childhood and her assumptions about his life before the apocalypse. This escalates to Daryl drunkenly trying to teach Beth to shoot a crossbow at the lone zombie outside. Daryl finally breaks down, after considering the Hershel’s death and the rest of the gang. With both characters having had a number of vulnerable spots in this episode, both having brief break downs, their relationship seems to be getting stronger.

After coming to see walkers as an annoyance, they become an overwhelming problem for Daryl and Beth,

The episode closes with the two sitting outside drinking moonshine. Daryl confesses that before the apocalypse he was just drifting around with Merle as a nobody, but Beth tells Daryl he’s going to be the last man standing and that he’s going to miss her when she’s gone, solidifying the connection that they made this episode. This conversation may also suggest that Beth isn’t going to survive for long, or it could be the show trying to trick us after the constant stream of character deaths. They decide to burn the house down as catharsis for Daryl’s childhood and they walk away smiling, accompanied by some jaunty folk music, signifying a rare ‘happy ending’ for the Walking Dead.

Episode 13: ‘Alone’

This episode we follow Bob, Sasha and Maggie and continue Daryl and Beth’s story.

The three seem to have grown quite close but tensions rise when Maggie leaves the group in search of Terminus, where she believes Glenn is going to. She leaves notes written in blood for Glenn to meet her there. Bob and a willing Sasha search for Maggie and the two eventually split when Sasha wants to stay at a new hideout but Bob is determined to catch up to Maggie. The two share a kiss, possibly because Bob thinks that might get her to come with him, but no to avail. Sasha ends up finding Maggie nearby her new hideout, asleep next to some dead walkers and an ice cream truck. She comes to her rescue and the two decide to go to Terminus, after finding Bob. I was indifferent to Bob before this episode, but have come to like him; he really cared about both Sasha and Maggie and wanted them all the stick together. While it was great that they didn’t get separated, I have a sneaking suspicion that either Bob or Sasha will die in the season finale.

Meanwhile, Daryl and Beth end up at a pretty well-kept funeral home after Beth hurts her ankle. The two continue to develop the initiated connection, made evident by Daryl’s inclination towards carrying her around.  After Daryl’s cathartic burning of the house, Beth too is given some relief when she sees a grave for a father and she and Daryl hold hands beside it as if it were Hershel’s grave. It seems that the two can finally be themselves after ‘Still’ and there’s no more awkward tension.

They find a large and organized stash of food, prompting Daryl to ration the food carefully as he believes that a group is coming back. After stating that there aren’t any good people left alive, Beth reminds him that he’s one of the good people. The two finally have some peace, as Daryl rests in a coffin whilst Beth sings and plays the piano, which is probably what convinces Daryl to suggest staying at the home and greeting the group and trying to make it work when they come back.

The peace doesn’t last for long when the home is invaded by walkers and the two are separated. Daryl survives the invasion but gets outside only to find a car speeding away and Beth gone. After searching, it seems Daryl has given up, on his knees in the middle of an open space, which makes it a great target for a group who find him, and by the looks of it, it’s his new group. It’s unclear whether the group that kidnapped Beth is the group that was using the funeral home, or whether or not they’re a real threat to her. Now that Daryl and Beth are so close, he’s sure to find a way to use the new group to his advantage in searching for her.

I have a sneaking suspicion that either Bob or Sasha will die in the season finale.

This was a great episode that managed to keep me interested throughout, as there have been so many similar episodes of groups walking towards Terminus. There’s so many references to this ‘sanctuary’ that it feels increasingly likely it will be a trap, as historically during this apocalypse people have not been inclined towards allowing others into their groups. But only time will tell.