So far, this season of The Walking Dead has had a perfect blend of action, worldbuilding, and character development. In Episode 3, things get even crazier as the hunters become the hunted. This installment is terrifying, suspenseful, and action-packed. That said, it’s not without its dull moments. Let’s dive in!
“Hunted” lives up to its name. The vast majority of the episode follows directly on from “Acheron: Part II,” where our heroes were ambushed by a mysterious gang called The Reapers. Now, we see the chaos that follows. Meanwhile, back in Alexandria, Carol (Melissa McBride) takes matters into her own hands and tries to find supplies to aid the desperate situation.
Here’s your SPOILER warning!
The Reapers attack on The Walking Dead
While the introduction of the Commonwealth is exciting, many fans already know what they’re in for because of the comic books. However, when it comes to the Reapers, we’re in the dark. This group wasn’t in the graphic novels, so we don’t know anything about them.
When we last saw our group, they were ambushed after strolling into Reaper territory. Roy (C. Thomas Howell) was killed almost instantly, and the other group members instantly tried to make an escape. Most are left injured, some worse than others. There are a few casualties, too. These deaths come pretty fast, giving viewers no time to breathe. Cole (James Devoti), Agatha (Laurie Fortier), and Duncan (Marcus Lewis) are among those killed off this episode. None of these characters were central to the plot, or even in the show for long, but it does show how brutal the Reapers are.
After the attack, our group ends up scattered. The episode focuses on Maggie as she makes her escape. Sadly, Daryl (Norman Reedus) is absent for the remainder of the runtime, though looking at the description for next week’s episode he appears to have been captured by the Reapers.
We do see what happens to Gabriel, who is alone after fleeing the scene. He kills an injured Reaper, who asks for forgiveness.
This is Maggie’s episode. She finds herself in an abandoned building (perhaps a former mall) as Reapers close in. What makes things extra tense is that, for a lot of scenes, we don’t actually see the Reapers but instead hear them. It’s Negan of all people who has her back. It feels strange seeing them work together.
It turns out Alden is severely injured following the ambush. Maggie takes it upon herself to protect him despite the danger from all angles. Negan, on the other hand, sticks to the wings. I found it interesting to see how Maggie’s motivation changes when Alden is in trouble. Would she have gone to this much effort to save Gage? Albeit, the context is slightly different.
Maggie and Negan take Alden to an empty church where they decide to wait it out. Eventually, it becomes evident that they have to move, though Alden is not ready. He decides to remain behind and let them go. We’re left wondering whether Alden will receive help, or if the Reapers will find him.
Carol and co go hunting
In the B-story, we follow Carol as she goes hunting for horses, which are needed both to find food and so our group can travel further in search of additional supplies. She’s joined on her quest by Rosita (Christian Serratos), Magna (Nadia Hilker) and Kelly (Angel Theory).
One of the most interesting parts of their hunt involves Rosita. She tells Carol that she’s been having dreams about Abraham, who was brutally killed by Negan back in season 7. She says that he’s telling her something, although she cannot tell what. Perhaps this is setting something up.
I feel like this story continues the theme of Carol doing anything she can to help out. She just wants to do something, as we saw in the season 10 episode, “Diverged,” which was incidentally the lowest-rated episode ever. This time, she’s obsessed with finding horses. Of course, the stakes are much higher this time around because Alexandria is in desperate need of food.
Nobody faces much trouble here. We mostly just sit through several minutes of members of Alexandria chasing down horses…and it’s kinda dull. Once the horses are captured, we see Carol slaughter one of them in order to feed the community. Again, this goes to show how dire the food shortage is. Normally, horses are vital and no one would dream of killing them for food, but the community has fallen on bad times.
This entire subplot falls somewhat flat. They don’t really encounter any obstacles. They’re just going through the motions. We didn’t really need to see any of this.
The kids!
We also get a couple of scenes with the kids: Judith, Gracie, R.J. and Hershel. While they don’t necessarily drive the plot forward, it was nice to see the next generation of survivors share a scene together. Hershel talks about his time on the road with his mother Maggie and the time they ate a spider. They also talk about missing their parents. Of course, R.J. feels lonely because Rick and Michonne are no longer in Alexandria. Mostly, they just sit around moaning about having to eat horse meat. Seeing them together is super cute and adds a light-hearted note to the episode.
Verdict
“Hunted” is a suspenseful, action-packed thriller of an episode. It’s a crazy ride. I was surprised that Daryl hardly got a look in. After everyone is scattered due to the sudden ambush, the episode focuses on the ongoing conflict between Negan and Maggie. It looks like we’ll have to wait, impatiently, to see how he fares — I mean, we all expect him to survive, right?
For Maggie and Negan, it’s a strong case of “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” There are plenty of moments that make you wonder if these two will finally get along. That said, the tension is still there. It feels like when more than if one of them will make a move to kill the other.
Overall, “Hunted” is a wild ride full of action and great character moments. It all comes together to be the strongest entry into the final season so far!
Grade: A
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