The Walking Dead: Season Six, Episode Ten – Jesus Has Arrived

First Aired February 21st, 2016.

Picking up several weeks after the last episode, Carl (played by Chandler Riggs) is up and walking around following the loss of his eye. With the walkers cleared away, Alexandria has begun to slowly rebuild.

Rick (played by Andrew Lincoln) and Daryl (played by Norman Reedus) drive off in hopes of finding supplies and possibly people. They find a truck stocked with food and drive it back to Alexandria, while stopped at a gas station they’re surprised by a masked man. He introduces himself as Paul aka Jesus (played by Tom Payne) and after a brief standoff he leaves. Rick considers asking Jesus to join their camp but Daryl is against it, but they realize too late that Jesus stole their keys and steals the truck. They track the truck on foot and catch up to Jesus after he had car trouble. After a short fight, they tie him up on the side of the road. While driving off, Daryl realizes Jesus is on the roof of the truck and Rick stops to throw him off, they chase him down near an abandoned farm. In the ensuing fight, Jesus gets knocked out but the truck ends up rolling into a nearby lake. Since Jesus saved Daryl from a walker during the fight, Rick and Daryl decide to bring him back to Alexandria.

I feel like the time jump skipped over some pivotal emotional points like Rick getting over the loss of Jessie (played by Alexandra Breckenridge). And of course Carl struggling to adapt to his new handicap. Now he’s just the same sullen teenage boy but with just one eye. The buddy road trip vibe of Rick and Daryl’s storyline worked well; the characters always have great onscreen chemistry. Plus after most of last season took place almost solely in Alexandria the narrative needed a change of scenery. Jesus made a splashy entrance and already he’s a fun guy to watch, and damn if he isn’t resourceful to boot. He never came off as being malevolent so the cat and mouse chases between him, Daryl and Rick almost had a Tom and Jerry vibe. Despite costing them all they’re food, I can see why Rick would bring Jesus back to Alexandria. But he better watch out: this guy has already proved he won’t be easy to keep pinned down.

Back in Alexandria, Michonne (played by Danai Gurira) notices Spencer (played by Austin Nichols) going off into the woods and follows him. Carl and Enid (played by Katelyn Nacon) are also in the woods reading comics. A walker shows up but Carl refuses to allow Enid to kill it and makes her go back. Carl leads the walker to Spencer and Michonne and it turns out to be his mother, Deanna (played by Tovah Feldshuh). Spencer had been spending his days scouring the woods in hopes of finding his mother and finally puts her to rest. Spencer mourns that his entire family is dead but Michonne reminds him that he still has family and a home in her and the other Alexandrians. Michonne confronts Carl about what he did and he says that only someone who loved Deanna should have put her down and admits he would do the same for Michonne.

I get that Carl and Enid are supposed to be some kind of couple, but whenever they’re together it seems like it’s because they have nothing better to do. How Deanna managed to not be eaten alive by that walker horde or stumble out of Alexandria is beyond me, but hunting for her walker gave Spencer a reason to exist this week. This was supposed to be a huge emotional moment for him and it was but a lot of that was overshadowed by Carl and Michonne. We were reminded of the painful moment where Carl had to shoot his own mother and Michonne realized how much Carl loved her as a mother figure.

Daryl tells Rick he was originally right about not looking for people but Rick believes they should keep it up, they drop off Jesus at the infirmary but are adamant he won’t be a permanent resident. Rick and Michonne relax back at home and tell each other about their days, they eventually begin to kiss and sleep together. Jesus comes upon them afterward and tells Rick they need to talk. If Jesus had walked in a little earlier that whole scene would have been a whole lot more awkward. This Rick/Michonne relationship is a huge departure from the comics but the way they were shown as a family unit in the episodes open made it clear they would hook up. The characters always worked great as close friends so seeing them this way was strange but let’s see how it plays out.

Quotes & Thoughts

“This is the next world. I hope it’s good to you guys.”

My general rule is that anyone who calls themselves Jesus is someone I should avoid, especially when I’m on the subway.

“You still got family and you still got a home.”

I like the new sign in front of Alexandria. It both invites people to join the community and warns that they aren’t to be messed with.

 If you enjoyed Manny’s walk, you can find the rest of his work right HERE on Sci-Fi Bloggers. You can also follow him on Twitter @KN_Manny.

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