WiC Watches: The Walking Dead Season 10

Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 14 – Photo Credit: Jace Downs/AMC

Episode 1014: “Look at the Flowers”

Following on from Michonne’s emotional final episode, this week’s hour of The Walking Dead wastes no time in delving right back into the ongoing struggles of the Whisperer War, where things have taken a turn. It also marks some great progress in Eugene’s storyline, as the introduction of the game-changing Commonwealth community edges closer.

The last episode ended with Negan killing Alpha and delivering her severed head to Carol. Now the secret is out, and people know that it was Carol who let Negan escape imprisonment under the condition that he bring her Alpha’s head. The first thing Carol does with the head is put it on one of the spikes that was used as the border. I’ve already seen a few fans online complaining about the use of her head. I personally found it cool. I thought it was great how the head is treated as it’s passed from character to character. Soon enough, it ends up with Beta.

After fulfilling his promise to Carol, Negan returns to the shack to rescue Lydia, only to find that she’s gone. Not only that, but Daryl somehow finds him, and he’s armed and ready to kill. Of course, Daryl doesn’t know about what Negan has done, and doesn’t believe him when he tells. Before long, Negan tries to prove hitby taking Daryl directly to Alpha’s head. But when they arrive they find it gone.

I loved it when a group of Whisperers bow to Negan when they find out that he killed Alpha. “Alpha is dead because of you!” a Whisperer says to him. “Kneel before your Alpha!” Essentially, in Whisperer lore, the one who kills Alpha then becomes the new “Alpha.” For a moment, we wonder whether Negan will go back on everything due to his new status, but he just plays along with it for a while before killing his new-found followers. It was really fun to watch.

I really liked what they did with Beta this episode. Despite him carrying around Alpha’s severed head and taking advice from her zombie growl (odd, I know), we finally get confirmation of the fame he had pre-apocalypse. Fans have long speculated that Beta was famous before the outbreak. Turns out that he was a country singer, after all. In fact, he went under the name Half Moon. When he enters a bar, he finds a poster on the wall promoting one of his shows. There’s even one of his records atop an old record player. Before long, he plays his own music through the speakers while the hordes of Walkers rush towards the bar like adoring fans. After spending some time soaking up the nostalgia, Beta realizes his danger and knows what he must do. He puts Alpha’s zombie head out of its misery and walks away. I predict that this won’t be the last we see of him.

In another side story, Carol finds herself haunted by Alpha. She goes off on her own again, something she’s done a lot over the years. The ghost of Alpha relentlessly follows her, mocks her, and criticizes nearly every decision she’s made. She messes up Carol’s mind so much that it nearly gets her killed.

To be honest, that was all this story was: Alpha messing with Carol’s mind with no real outcome. It was the most irritating part of the episode for me.

Elsewhere, after weeks of conversation with a mysterious lady named Stephanie over the radio, Eugene finally embarks on his quest to meet her. When he breaks the news to his fellow citizens, they are understandably wary of the prospect of meeting up with another community. But after a bit of persuading, Ezekiel and Yumiko decide to join him.

It’s nice that we’re going to get one last adventure with Ezekiel. Of course, he is sadly dying of cancer, which is something this episode constantly reminds us of. It’s also good for Yumiko to get some screen time, as so far I’ve never seen her as a massively important character.

Anyway, when the trio make it to the city, there’s a cool callback to the pilot episode of the show, when Rick enters Atlanta. They use a similar shot here. We also get our first encounter with Juanita Sanchez, otherwise known as Princess (Paola Lázaro). Unfortunately for us, it happens right at the end of the episode. Princess is an eccentric character directly from the pages of Robert Kirkman’s comic. Even though she was only in the episode for a few seconds, I’m glad they seem to have decided to remain loyal to the books with her. It already looks like she’s going to be a new fan-favorite, which is nice, as we’ve just lost Michonne.

I think they’ve absolutely killed it with Eugene’s storyline so far. Not just in this episode but throughout the season. It’s had everything from mystery and intrigue to the adventure of this episode. I’ve always said that The Walking Dead is at its very best when it’s filled with adventure, and if it happens through Eugene, all the better.

Overall, “Look at the Flowers” delivers, and it does it well. I loved the dynamic between Negan and Daryl. The two have been against each other for so long, but there’s also the slightest bit of respect between them. The story with Carol and her haunting visions of Alpha was disappointing. It built up so much, with little payoff. They did get it right with Beta. I can’t wait to see more characters recognize him as the former country musician Half Moon.

The war with the Whisperers is coming to a close, while the introduction of the Commonwealth is just getting started.

Say goodbye to Michonne, say hello to Princess!

Grade: B