The Walking Dead: Season Six, Episode Two – “JSS”

First Aired October 18th, 2015.

A flashback shows Enid (played by Katelyn Nacon) watching her parents be eaten alive by walkers before fleeing into the woods. After some time on her own she finds Alexandria and is taken in.

Jessie (played by Alexandra Breckinridge) tries to talk to her son, Ron (played by Austin Abrams), about his father’s death but he refuses. Meanwhile, Maggie (played by Lauren Cohan) tries to help Deanna (played by Tovah Feldshuh) recover from her husband’s death. Tara (played by Alanna Masterson) gets treated for her head injury by the new town doctor, Denise (played by Merritt Weaver). Maggie and Deanna see a man burned with a Molotov cocktail and realize the town is under attack. Carol (played by Melissa McBride) sees a woman being attacked on the street and rushes to help. She defeats her assailant but the woman is killed anyway. They were a part of a mysterious group known as the Wolves that moves through town attacking people with knives and makeshift weapons. Someone then tries to drive a truck through the town’s walls but is shot dead. The driver crashes and the truck collapses onto the horn and the sound draws the walker herd back to Alexandria.

The opening sequence was a great parallel for the devastation that would come to Alexandria. Also, Enid was one of the few Alexandrians who survived the horrors of the outside world so, although she wasn’t a major character, it made sense to tell her story. Starting the first half of the episode catching up with the characters in Alexandria made the abrupt attack more impactful. The shot of Carol watching that woman suddenly killed out her window set the tone for the fast paced action in the second half of the show. The Wolves have arrived sooner than I expected. The walker horde was assumed to be the main problem this episode so it made for a great twist. What makes them scary is they have paltry weapons but are skilled enough to make them effective. We already knew the Wolves existed in last season’s finale so there was no need for a slow buildup this season. Their fast introduction this episode was appropriate.

Morgan (played by Lennie James) stops the horn and goes inside to help. He fights with a Wolf who Carol (disguised as one) kills. Morgan chastises Carol for killing the man before they go to the armory to gather/protect the guns. Jessie and her boys are nearly killed by a female Wolf in their home but Jessie stabs her to death. Morgan leaves Carol to save Father Gabriel (played by Seth Gilliam) and she manages to get to the armory, killing several Wolves. Morgan ties up the Wolf who attacked Gabriel but he’s put down by Carol who begins arming everyone and continues executing Wolves. Morgan fights off five Wolves, one of whom he fought before and convinces them to leave after telling him the Alexandrian citizens have guns. When the attack is finally repelled, Carol rests on a stoop and notices a red letter “A” written on the hand railing. Aaron (played by Ross Marquand) discovers one of the dead Wolves had his backpack and it led them to Alexandria.

Badass Carol is back; watching her transform from housewife to warrior was an episode highlight. And now everyone knows that Carol isn’t as weak as they thought but a wolf in sheep’s clothing (corny, but it was right there). Morgan was initially a badass as well but crossed over into a dumbass when he not only refused to kill the Wolves but let some go. These people murdered dozens of citizens but somehow Morgan allows them to leave and views Carol as the monster? The devastation the Wolves inflicted was proof of both how dangerous it is outside and how woefully unprepared Alexandria is for it; these people are armed to the teeth but the Wolves nearly killed them all with sharpened sticks and knives. She almost singlehandedly defeat the Wolves. Sure, Carol was willing to let Gabriel die, but he tried to have her group kicked out; karma’s a bitch. That red “A” means the Wolves have a connection to Terminus. It’s too big a coincidence and that would mean the Wolves had another motive for attacking Alexandria: revenge.

When the fight is over, the streets are strewn with the bodies of Wolves and Alexandrian residents, who are left severely shaken from the attack. Another Wolf who Morgan previously met attacks him and although Morgan fights him off he can’t bring himself to kill him. The Wolf taunts Morgan over the fact that he can’t kill him. Morgan is forced to when he keeps attacking. These people got their first taste of how evil some can be, and next episode they’ll get their first real walker attack. I don’t know where Morgan got his attitude of not killing people but I can tell even after all this he hasn’t changed. If he doesn’t wise up he won’t last too long because all the karate moves in the world can’t save a man who won’t adapt to survive.

Quotes & Thoughts

“Your dad used to hit you and then he got himself killed. It happened. Now it’s done. You live with it or it eats you up.”

Enid left Alexandria for parts unknown and left Carl with the message “Just Survive Somehow” (JSS). I doubt she’ll survive very long out there by herself.

“You keep choosing this life, you will die.”

Between the Wolves and the walkers, is there anything else that can get thrown at Alexandria right now?

If you enjoyed Manny’s attack, 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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