I loved the episode really... It was a very important one to the group's growth, and cohesion. Here's some random thoughts I have though...
Totally loved the way they ignored the hitchhiker, only because that's the group in a nutshell at that point... Carl looks over, but Michonne and Rick, f it... Carl still has the innocence in him that believes people can be good and you should help, and that's his growing up in this world whereas the others are dealing with the world from the totally separate adult perspective. Trust noone...
Talking Dead said this season's got a theme of "you can't survive alone", and this episode was very heavy on that theme.
That guy couldn't... They signed his death sentence by ignoring him. Dickish? Yes, but that's the group right now... Splintered, screwed up, and dead themselves, inside.
Then they get to town, and there's 2 separate growth moments for characters... Carl's is just reinforced in this episode, but Rick and Michonne's is shown a lot. Rick grows when he finds it's Morgan... I totally agree that Rick's completely looking at Morgan as his future if he doesn't get his stuff together NOW, and he desperately needs to save him because he's saving himself if he does. He, more than ever, I think will realize he needs to get it together.
Michonne's clearly growing just by talking... I think she realized a little bit when Carl confronted her that, she too needs people... And she shares with Rick at the end her talking to her bf, and acknowledging Rick's mental issues, and saying, "It's ok, I'm here and been there too, and we'll be ok". He needed that... and she needed and needs him, and the group. I think Andrea's basic betrayal of her scarred her so much, she's really now seeing she fits in with the prison.
Doesn't answer any Merl questions obviously but it sets up a lotta heavy stuff.
I'm truly hoping Morgan doesn't get just offed or we never see him again... I want to see him saved but that episode didn't give me a lot of hope. It gives hope though, that Rick's pulling himself up by his bootstraps, that Michonne is going to work with the group more rather than on her own and being so bitchy, and Carl's just becoming a badass.
I think Rick's gonna bring a lot of Morgan's ideas back to the prison too and the Woodbury folk will have their hands full if they should pay it another visit. He had a nice set-up in that town really. His story was nothing short of tragic though.
The scene with him loading the bodies in that small doorway, onto the fire, as Rick & Co. drive away... That was pretty awesome.
And keeping with the theme... Yeah they abandoned that guy, but you need people to survive, and so they stop and took what he had because it still sorta plays into the concept.
I think Rick might be a little more into keeping some people he finds now... It's easy to say, "F em, they may be dangerous", but clearly you NEED people... You can't fight Woodbury on your own. I think that was just a huge concept... I think next time there's a hitchiker he may get a ride... if he's alone, and they search him, and make sure he's normal.
TO me, the group's like a jaded person who doesn't want to date again because the last person they were with broke their heart... Darryl choosing Merl, Andrea being part of Woodbury, Rick taking Merl/Darryl in and upsetting Glenn/Maggie... There's a lot of anger flying about, but it's healing a bit, and I think they'll trust again... Just ****** they didn't come to this before they scared off the other group that wandered into the prison and are at Woodbury now.
I don't think this was the BEST episode ever, but it was a powerful and deep episode with a ton of messages that are pivotal to the direction the show has taken I think... and somehow the Morgan question was answered, yet left unaswered, all at the same time.
If I have a complaint it's largely that they didn't load up more guns, and the picture thing I'm ok with... Michonne grew as a character from it, a lot, but she also really was as wreckless as Carl was with all that... On Talking Dead they said Carl still thinks like that though, about the picture, and that's the major difference his character has that the adults generally don't. He has sentimental thoughts. He's NOT dead inside, and maybe the most well adjusted of everyone, and it's largely due to his age... It's amazing how his character has gone from annoying, to awesome, in a season.
