The Walking Dead: A Day at the Carnival

First Aired March 5th, 2017.

Rick (played by Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (played by Danai Gurira) scavenge for supplies and guns but don’t find much. They come across a group of Saviors golfing and manage to take their supplies.

In Alexandria, Rosita (played by Christian Serratos) grows impatient with the lack of progress and strikes out on her own to find guns. Rick and Michonne find an abandoned carnival where a gunfight took place and search the grounds hoping to find weapons. They find an enclosed field packed with walkers, many of which are carrying guns, and make a plan to kill them and collect the weapons. They climb a roof to survey the field when it collapses in on them; both are fine and they discover boxes of food. After spending the day searching and finding nothing, Rosita vents her frustrations on Father Gabriel (played by Seth Gilliam). She feels guilty she messed up her shot to kill Negan (played by Jeffery Dean Morgan) and that several people were killed as a result and is unmoved by his attempts to console her. Rick feels they can take their time killing the walkers since nobody is likely to come into the carnival, despite Michonne’s worries about being away from Alexandria too long.

Rosita is like a kid who can’t sit still in class waiting for recess to come and all she had to show for her impatience was a toy gun. It was also her impulsive attack on Negan that led to those deaths, but so far she hasn’t put that together. If Rosita doesn’t learn to be patient, she will likely do something that will cause more harm than good. Rick and Michonne’s road trip for supplies was actually like a honeymoon for them; they had lots of alone time to be amorous at night while working during the day. This is the first time since they became a couple so long ago that we’ve seen them act romantic with each other. Their relationship is one of the biggest departures from the comics, but watching them together makes you realize how well it works. The first half of the episode was slow but the Rick and Michonne scenes helped keep things from getting too stale.

Tara (played by Alanna Masterson) struggles with whether she should tell everyone about the Oceanside community. She knows that while they have lots of guns and a grudge against the Saviors, they would attack them and it would result in a loss on both sides. Rick and Michonne begin clearing the walkers, but a walker with a machine gun triggers the weapon, and they are fired on. While dodging the gunfire, they are trapped in a car by a large group of walkers; they climb out the sunroof and behind a barrier to hold off the walkers as they kill them but it collapses. They run into the carnival and split up, splitting the walkers into smaller groups. After climbing the Ferris wheel for a better vantage point, Rick falls and is surrounded. Michonne runs to him and when she sees the walkers apparently devouring Rick, she becomes catatonic and nearly lets them kill her. But Rick bursts out of hiding and she snaps out of it; they had just been eating a stray deer and the two of them kill the walkers and collect the guns.

In theory, Tara telling everyone about Oceanside is harmless as it’s just information, but people like Rick and especially Rosita wouldn’t just wait around. They would go charging in and might even kill some of those women if it meant getting more guns for the fight. And recruiting them as allies is out of the question, they tried two or three times to kill Tara even after she won their trust. The scene of Rick and Michonne clearing the walkers was really fun; in the carnival backdrop, it was almost like they were playing for prizes. They seemed to be really enjoying themselves until that brief moment where Rick almost died. As unlikely as it is Rick will die, every once in awhile it has to look like he will. It wouldn’t be much fun if it was obvious the character was immune from death. But after seeing the playful and romantic side of Rick and Michonne’s relationship, that was a great moment to showcase how emotionally dependent they are on each other.

Michonne breaks down and tells Rick she can’t lose him; he reminds her they aren’t just fighting for themselves but a future for everyone. They deliver the guns to Jadis (played by Pollyanna McIntosh), but she demands more in return for her people fighting the Saviors, prompting Tara to tell Rick about Oceanside. Rosita steals a few guns and goes to Hilltop to ask Sasha (played by Sonequa Martin-Green) for help assassinating Negan. Sasha agrees with both women, understanding they are likely embarking on a suicide mission. Lucky for Michonne, Rick is probably the one character guaranteed not to die (at least not anytime soon). Jadis and her group are still very sketchy, but, at this point, Rick has no choice but to put some trust in them. But so far they’ve been more welcoming than the women of Oceanside, who are likely to get a visit from Alexandria soon. Rosita and Sasha are brave but way too impulsive, and the only thing their mission is going to do is jump-start the war. But, as a viewer, that makes me excited.

Quotes/Thoughts

“I’m here because I need your help.” “One condition, I get to take the shot.”

Rosita already missed once from about 15 feet, it’s definitely best if Sasha takes the shot.

“You can lose me, I can lose you, we can lose our friend’s, people we love. It’s not about us anymore. It’s about a future.”

It’s looking like we’ll have to wait for next season before the war against Negan really begins.

If you enjoyed Manny’s review, 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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