Sadé Green reviews the twelfth episode of The Walking Dead season five…
This week’s episode, ‘Remember’, saw the Family try to adjust to life in Alexandria. Understandably nervous and extremely hesitant, watching them attempt to fit in led to an outstanding episode.
For at least two seasons now we have watched the humanity slowly being squeezed out of the Family. Not only have they been making more questionable decisions but they have been confronted with group after group of utter psychos; people who would use them (literally use the meat on their bodies) to survive themselves. They can’t be blamed for what they have now become; completely uncivilised. But until now, viewers may have just been shocked by their declining behaviour, by Rick’s willingness to kill another human for the sake of saving his people and for their increasing levels of aggression and violence, particularly as a way to deal with grief. What is genius about ‘Remember’ is that until now, it may not have occurred to us just how uncivilised the Family truly have become due to their years on the road, constantly protecting themselves from various dangers. Compared to the sheltered existence that the residents of Alexandria have been living since the Walkers took over, Rick and his Family look positively feral.
As soon as the gang walk across the threshold into Alexandria, it is clear how insanely hard they are compared to the residents. As Sasha turns back to shoot a Walker’s head clean off its shoulders from long range, the shock on the nervous greeters face is clearly evident. Even Aaron, having spent a few days in the midst of the group is still in awe of their ferociousness. They are introduced to Deanna (Tovah Feldshuh), the matriarch of the community, who explains to Rick how her husband, sons and herself created the community after they were sent there by the army. She films her meeting with Rick and it’s interesting to see him squirm in the presence of Deanna, surrounded by dust free book shelves and a too clean sofa that he perches awkwardly on the edge of. Rick tends to welcome new people with a punch to the face and a bit of bondage until he works out if he can fully trust them; it’s evident that he is awkwardly struggling with the urge to do just that to Deanna until she reveals that she wants the Family in her community because it is clear that they can protect themselves, and therefore herself and her own Family.
During their first night there, the gang refuse to be parted. Someone suspiciously mentions that they have all been given houses (mansions, as Carl correctly describes them) away from each other and they have had their weapons taken away (but only their guns, Daryl still sports his crossbow and they all still have their knives). They assume they are being made weak on purpose – they can’t be blamed can they, look at their track record with outsiders!
Everyone apart from Daryl has showered and groomed; Rick shaves his impressive beard off and gets a haircut (did anyone else forget how delightfully beautiful Andrew Lincoln is?). For the first time in a long time, the group look happy and begin to look at ease. However, they all openly worry that living in a community such as Alexandria will make them weak; the rest of the community are obviously fragile and Deanna has already expressed that she wants them on her side for protection. Michonne worries about the other residents, especially the fact that they seem to be carrying on as if the Walkers aren’t an issue and Rick tells Glenn to find a way to get to their weapons – just in case the worst happens.
In addition to their new surroundings, the Family are given jobs within the community with Rick and Michonne becoming officers and Glenn, Tara and Noah being ‘trained up’ (hah!) to go on supply runs with Deanna’s egotistical son, Aiden (Daniel Bonjour). Aiden clearly thinks he is the bee’s knees and gives our three a pitiful looking gun each. When the frankly inexperienced Aiden nearly gets Tara killed because he wanted to punish a Walker rather than kill it, Glenn punches him to the floor whilst Daryl, pacing wildly in the background like a rabid dog goes in for the kill and wrestles another resident to the ground. In the meantime, Carl and Rick go out for a little father-son bonding time and kill a bunch of Walkers is a few seconds flat – you can take the Zombie killer out of the Zombie infested woods, but you can’t take the need to kill out of the Zombie killer; they must keep their murderous skills fresh just in case. No matter what the residents of Alexandria think they know about the Family, it’s fairly clear that they are being underestimated; they freaking kick ass.
The stand out performance of ‘Remember’ has got to be Daryl, depicted perfectly by Norman Reedus. Daryl was only borderline civilised before the outbreak occurred and now, after years of isolation and Walker-weary awareness, he sticks out like a sore thumb in Alexandria. Pacing every scene like a chained up dog, it is clear he is having a much more difficult time than the others in their new environment. There are some genuinely hilarious moments though, intentional or not. Daryl killed a possum on the way into the commune and doesn’t let go of it during almost the entire episode. In his meeting with Deanna, we see his grimy, unshowered self in stark contrast to the pristine sitting room that he is filmed in. Crossbow still on his back and possum still in hand, he paces uncomfortably, clearly struggling to work out if he can trust these people or not and clearly feeling more comfortable out in the dangerous Walker ridden world protecting the Family that he loves. Instead of showering and getting comfortable in one of the houses, Daryl simply guts his possum on the porch of Rick’s new house despite the seemingly endless food supplies available to them now, whilst perching on his knees smoking cigarettes. Daryl is obviously not happy about the others and their willingness to trust a bunch of strangers, but it seems as though the trust might all be part of the show…
Overall, ‘Remember’ perfectly encapsulates a group of people who have seen all manner of horrors, who have been through the most heinous of atrocities, awkwardly try to adjust to a normal community. Their internal darkness has been evident for a while now, but their external brutality relative to sheltered folk has not. As Carol rightly puts it ‘we can’t let our guard down’ and it is clear that it will take a lot more than a hot shower and good food to earn the trust of Rick and his Family – especially Daryl. ‘Remember’ is a must-see episode, arguably one of the best of Season 5 so far.
Zombie Kill of the Week
Douchebag Aiden pushes the gross out rotting Walker into Tara, and as Tara tries to push the Walker away, her hands get tangled up in the rotting flesh of the back. As she pushes harder to get the Walker off her, more and more of the thick, green, putrid skin comes away in her hands until the spine and back of the rib cage is almost totally exposed. Just as things are looking dire, Glenn comes charging in with a knife to the side of the head. The kill itself, not so spectacular, but the lead up was certainly the gross-out moment of the week.
Sadé Green
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMekjOsexHs&feature=player_embedded&list=PL18yMRIfoszH_jfuJoo8HCG1-lGjvfH2F
Originally published March 4, 2015. Updated April 13, 2018.
