A surreal Walking Dead episode like no other before it ends with a timely Motörhead song.
BY: JACOB POLITTE
Online Editor
The Walking Dead: “New Haunts”
Season 11, Episode 10
Airdate: 2/27/2022
“New Haunts” is the weirdest episode of “The Walking Dead” that I’ve ever seen, and it’s entirely because of its new setting. After over a year of build-up, we get a full episode exclusively from the Commonwealth, and while the sudden deep-dive into the politics and class system of the massive community can be jarring, the episode moves at a brisk and confident pace.
30 days have passed since Daryl (Norman Reedus), Carol (Melissa McBride), Judith (Cailey Fleming), Rosita (Christian Serratos) and others have arrived in the Ohio safe haven, and they’ve begun to settle in.
The most surreal thing about this entire episode is just how normal things feel in the Commonwealth. You have Daryl talking about getting ready for work, and Rosita and Judith talking about earning and spending money. The sight of Carol walking through a fully functional hospital bustling full of people is also a surreal image.
Daryl and Rosita are undergoing basic training to become part of the Commonwealth’s militia… and they’ve been given crappy apartments to live in while they do it. Daryl is also officially Judith and RJ’s guardian, and watching Daryl attempt to be a parent is kind of hilarious. In particular, the look of bewilderment on his face when Judith asks to be given an allowance should net him an Emmy Award for comedy.
The television version of the Commonwealth’s Governor, Pamela Milton (played expertly by Lalia Robbins) differs a bit from the comics. In the comics, she comes across as friendly but stern, only a bit disillusioned with the ways of the old world and unaware of people’s plight. In this television version, however, Mrs. Milton comes across more aware, and she’s not nearly as nice when the attention isn’t on her. She’s an old school politician, and while she likes having power and influence and using that to help rebuild the world, she definitely has a direct interest in maintaining a class system within the Commonwealth’s walls.
It’s also worth noting that the unnamed powerful politician that Connie (Lauren Ridloff) mentioned that she brought down with her journalism before the apocalypse started was Pamela’s own father. Small world, eh?
Pamela’s son, Sebastian (Teo Rapp-Olsson), is just as insufferable as he was in the comic series. It remains to be seen what his role in the final episodes will be, as Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) isn’t around to be murdered by him. In the meantime, he’ll have to serve as an annoyance that rivals any other unlikable character on the show.
Lance Hornsby (Josh Hamilton) also is featured throughout the episode, and to see where he’ll ultimately land as the series begins to draw to a close should be rather interesting. He’s not treated very well by the Milton’s throughout the episode, and seems more than willing to make deals with Carol as she begins her own quest to get her former husband, Ezekiel, prompt medical care for his cancer. Ezekiel’s cancer will take him out if he’s not moved to the front of the line, and while Carol is working in the bakery, she’s also up to her old tricks in order to get that done.
“New Haunts” is an unintentional commentary on a lot of different social issues, the main ones being healthcare, class divide and political struggle. Historically, this hasn’t been the show to handle that sort of commentary very well; it is a zombie show after all and we literally just saw an entire group be brutally massacred just one episode ago.
But it’s very clear that a sort of civil war over all of these topics is brewing within the Commonwealth’s walls, and it’s been brewing long before our group ever showed up. Things come to a head at the Commonwealth’s Halloween ball, which only the upper class citizens of the Commonwealth are invited to. Tyler, a soldier who Princess beat up in the train car in “Splinter” reappears as a waiter serving the guests of the ball, ruthlessly demoted after that single mistake. He’s not a happy camper, and he takes Pamela’s assistant hostage in front of everyone. He eventually makes a run for it, only to be captured by Daryl and turned over to Sebastian so that the latter could receive brownie points with his mother… even though this act nets Daryl and Rosita their promotions and better living quarters.
Tyler makes it clear though that there are thousands more citizens in the walls that are just like him. Pamela directs Lance to ask the soldiers to find out for sure, and as Daryl and Judith listen to a Motörhead record with the appropo song “Eat The Rich,” Rosita busts through a secret wall of Tyler’s apartment where she finds a bunch of Anti-Commonwealth propaganda.
The revolt is on, and our group, perhaps for the first time ever, aren’t the instigators in the conflict. They’re just caught in the crossfire.
STRAY OBSERVATIONS:
– Pamela’s father was apparently in both Congress and the White House at one point, so I’m not exactly sure which one Connie got him kicked out of, or what his specific titles were in either.
– Lalia Robbins was fantastic as ‘Katarina Rostova’ on “The Blacklist.” I have no doubt that she’ll excel in this role.
– Also Connie’s current Commonwealth career is basically what it’s like to be a Community College journalist. She’s probably getting paid more than me though. It is very interesting that the place seems to have a newspaper organization with free speech protections, although with a revolt coming that may not last for long.
– I still cannot believe that I grew up watching Rosita’s actress on Nickelodeon. She’s an entirely different person but looks almost exactly the same.
– Can’t blame Dog for wanting some of that food. I don’t think there is a lot of dog food left in the apocalypse.
– I hope that Judith gets to keep her new friend! Anyone who buys a Motörhead album for someone else is a keeper! Also, it’s amazing Motörhead’s music has only been featured on this show, like, twice. The Walking Dead needs more Motörhead.
– Father Gabriel is also at the Commonwealth, and is barely featured in this episode, which is kind of surprising after literally saving the group’s hides last week.
– It only took Mercer one instance of being really nice to Princess and inviting her into the ball for me to do a complete 180 on his character. Mercer rules, and I hope he’s the next one to punch Sebastian in the face.
– Carol and Ezekiel have a nice talk about Henry, who, as you may or may not remember, was once the worst kid in the zombie apocalypse. I’m not sure he’s worse than Sebastian is currently, but he was still pretty bad, and the show doesn’t get to pretend otherwise.
