Image: The Walking Dead/HBO
Episode 1011: “Morning Star”
“Morning Star” brings us tons of story and one amazing battle, all of it coming together in yet another brilliant episode, if not quite on par with the previous two. We might have been treated to an epic battle reminiscent of Game of Thrones, but we had to sit through a whole lot of filler to get there.
We begin by seeing Negan finally get fully inducted into the Whisperers. After weeks of trying to impress Alpha, at long last, he gets to put on his Walker mask and roam around with the dead. Alpha knows that if she is to overcome the Hilltop, then she enlist Negan, which turns out to be a great decision later on in the episode.
In Alexandria, Eugene continues his conversation with Stephanie over the radio. I really like the callback to the satellite that crashed back in the season 10 premiere. Of course, if Stephanie and Eugene both saw the satellite crash, then their communities cannot be situated too far from each other. The two seem to be getting close to arranging a meet-up until Rosita curiously picks up the radio. I love Eugene’s reaction to this; we rarely get to see him so heated and it took me aback. This shows how much Stephanie means to him.
Eugene gives up all hope of reconnecting with Stephanie following the unexpected disturbance to their deal , until it turns out to be Rosita who convinces him to reconnect with her. The dialogue between Rosita and Eugene is so wonderfully endearing, especially since they’re two characters who have been together in the show for many seasons.
When Eugene powers up his radio again, refilled with hope, he sings “When The Wild Wind Blows” by Iron Maiden, and Stephanie responds with her own rendition. Finally, she and Eugene arrange a date and time to meet up. Overall, this story is really entertaining, while also being the most comic-accurate part of the show. It’s perfectly setting up the next huge community, the Commonwealth, which I’ve talked about in more depth here.
At the Hilltop, the first battle of the Whisperer War is beckoning, and tensions are running high. Aaron arrives with Gamma, who wishes only to see her nephew, but Earl refuses to let her. In fact, Earl really comes into his own in this episode, stepping into the role of leader. We really haven’t seen enough of him on the show.
As a community, the Hilltop decides to evacuate the children to the far-away Oceanside, only to find that that the Whisperers are already ahead of them. They have blocked off the roads with trees and hanged scouts. Daryl instantly realizes that these tactics are similar to Negan’s, as seen in season 6’s “Last Day on Earth.” The team is forced to retreat back to the Hilltop. “All the roads are going to be like this now,” Daryl says. “We ain’t getting through. It’s Negan. He’s with her now.”
I loved the dynamic between Daryl and Judith. This was the first episode since Rick’s “death” that Daryl has really played that leader/father figure. Judith even makes him a new angel wing vest. It’s very cute, which is needed ahead of the carnage that awaits.
We get a glimpse of Carol after the heartbreak of the midseason premiere. She is sad about everything she has done wrong, made worse by the fact that Ezekiel has cancer. And as tensions run high in what could be their last time together before the battle, they have sex.
Carol actually has a nice interaction with Daryl as well, confronting him for the first time since her stupidity in the cave. She apologizes and asks Daryl not to hate her. “I’m never going to hate you,” he replies, but their relationship may not be the same again, as actor Norman Reedus has already said.
The final 15 minutes of the episode are taken up by the spectacular battle. There’s lots of tension as Alpha’s horde of Walkers attempt to break into the Hilltop but are stopped by a genius electric fence constructed by Eugene. Daryl sets down his crossbow in favor of a morning star — hey, it’s the title — and we see some beautiful Walker kills. It’s honestly a joy to watch!
But the Whisperers get the last laugh with Negan’s idea is to dump gasoline on our heroes and then shoot flaming arrows. Negan himself actually tells Alpha not to kill them all, but instead make them all bend the knee and obey her. “We can get them to join us,” he says.
In the end, Alpha shows no mercy and lights the entire Hilltop on fire. The credits roll as Daryl stares at the carnage the Whisperers have caused as they creep up behind him. The final shot is absolutely stunning.
Many might argue that this episode was the best so far this season. However, I just don’t think it benefited from juggling so many storylines, which slackened the pace and killed the tension leading up to the battle. The Walking Dead is not Game of Thrones; it thrives on fast-paced, focused episodes. But the battle itself was incredible.