Questions are answered, and new questions are asked on the most interesting episode in years.
BY: JACOB POLITTE
Staff Writer
The Walking Dead: “Warning Signs”
Season 9, Episode 3
Airdate: 10/21/2018
***SPOILERS INCOMING***
I don’t say this often, but I definitely need to now: this episode of The Walking Dead will go down as an all-time great. “Warning Signs” was without question the most intriguing episode of the zombie-drama in at least three seasons. I don’t say that lightly. Many of the big events on the show since Season 6 such as Negan’s introduction or Carl’s death weren’t so much intriguing as they were genuinely nauseating or just plain stupid. The last two episodes have been really great, but it’s been a long time since an episode of The Walking Dead left me feeling fully engaged quite as this one did. I’m still trying not to buy into the hype this season has built, and I still have doubts about the show’s stability following both Andrew Lincoln and Lauren Cohan’s departures. But if “Warning Signs” is the kind of episode that we can expect from the show more often, then I think I’m a little less worried about the show’s future.
Two big events happened in this episode, but we have to talk about the helicopter first.
After nearly a full year of build-up, we finally got a reveal about what exactly is going on with the helicopter. In the dead of night, Jadis returns to her former home of the Junkyard and speaks with someone on the other end of a walkie-talkie who is affiliated with the group. It appears that it basically amounts to a post-apocalyptic slave trade; Jadis has been trading people for supplies. With this new information, it also appears that perhaps we finally have learned the circumstances behind Heath’s disappearance in Season 7. Could this also be what happens to Rick in a few episodes? Based on the appearance of the letter in the various locations that he has been in over the years (including the boxcar in the Junkyard last season), Rick is most likely an “A,” and that’s what the helicopter representative has requested.
Also most likely an “A,” at least according to Jadis: her love interest, Father Gabriel. Gabriel suspects something with Jadis is amiss following a Savior outburst at the work site, where she was a direct target of anger. Tension is rising, as it becomes apparent Justin, the Savior who was ousted from the work site last week was in fact murdered. Jadis is one of the people who is immediately suspected for this, and while she is not behind this particular act, they do think that she does have the motivation to start taking them out: the Saviors murdered her entire group right in front of her after all. As Rick is trying to track down Justin’s killer, he asks Gabriel to confirm her whereabouts the previous night, and he lies and says that she was with him the entire evening. When he questions Jadis about the matter, she doesn’t give an answer, raising his suspicions. In the dead of night, he follows Jadis to the Junkyard, catching her on the walkie while she is communicating with whoever is on the other side. She comes clean about her transgressions and offers to take him away with her to wherever the helicopter leads (it’s still not specified), as she’s leaving following being threatened by the Saviors. But Gabriel says he must tell Rick, and he gets knocked out cold for his troubles.
Speaking of Rick, it appears that the rebellion against his plans for peace has fully begun, with the community of Oceanside being at the forefront. Still bitter at The Saviors for the numerous atrocities they committed against their community, the group decided to take action following Gregory’s execution at the hands of Maggie and Daryl, feeling that since they took action against the former Hilltop leader, they could do the same. They were the ones who killed Justin at the end of last week’s episode, and have been behind the numerous Savior disappearances that have been mentioned.
I really shouldn’t have been so surprised that it was Oceanside. They were never given much to do on the show besides be victims, so at the very least, this arc gives them an actual purpose on the show. They arguably had the most motivation too: the Saviors did murder half of their population, even if Negan didn’t want that to happen.
At the episode’s conclusion, Maggie and Daryl (on the hunt for the missing character Arat) discover Oceanside’s treachery. While appearing to be genuinely disturbed by their actions at first, Maggie and Daryl’s sympathy for Arat quickly vanishes when they learn why she was specifically targeted: she viciously murdered Cyndie’s (the young leader of Oceanside) brother while saying “No exceptions.” If that term sounds familiar to you, it’s because Negan said it as he killed Glenn, directly in front of Maggie and Daryl.
Arat begs for her life and insists that she has changed. And all things considered, she has since the war to be freed from Negan’s rule has ended; she has been on the front-lines, working with Rick and his allies to create a better world for the communities. But none of that matters, because in the eyes of the Oceanside community, Arat has to be held accountable for her actions.
After she repeats the phrase she said while killing Cyndie’s brother, Maggie and Daryl walk away, leaving Arat to her captors and ensuring her death shortly thereafter. Maggie and Daryl are reminded of what happened to them, and Cyndie’s actions have inspired Maggie to finally do something she couldn’t do before… confront Negan. And thus, Maggie and Daryl are heading to Alexandria, seemingly to finally end the former Savior leader’s life, regardless of the consequences.
The conflict between the sides consisting of Maggie/Daryl and Rick/Michonne is about to reach the tipping point, and it’s very likely that we’ll have a pretty clear picture on what Rick Grimes’ ultimate fate is by the end of the next episode.
SCATTERED THOUGHTS:
– With Arat dead, the death of Olivia from Alexandria in Season 7 has been avenged. Long live Olivia, gone too soon.
– Cyndie says that Arat is the last person they plan to target, so I guess the question is now if the rest of the communities will ever find out about their actions.
– Father Gabriel and Jadis are going do some freaky trash stuff in the next episode, and I’m actually fine with that as I’ve really come around on Jadis’ character since the middle of Season 8. Now that she’s been exposed, though, I do wonder how much longer her tenure on the show will be.
– No matter what happens in the next episodes, one thing is for certain: Father Gabriel is definitely making it out of it all alive, and he’ll be staying in Alexandria. The previews have spoiled as much. I’m also really happy about that, as I really like Father Gabriel now, as compared to a few years ago when I was actively rooting for him to die.
– Another character I’ve come around on? Judith. It’s amazing how that in three episodes, the show has made me care more about Rick’s (or Shane’s) daughter after eight full seasons of not doing so. The “family fun day” montage was genuinely heartwarming and could prove to be Rick’s final moment of happiness with his family.
– Nice to see Carol getting comfortable as a leader, even if she’s not afraid to admit her insecurities to Rick.
– I don’t think Negan will meet his end in the next episode, but I have to say that once again, I can completely understand where Maggie and Daryl are coming from, and I don’t blame them for wanting him dead. Daryl will always have Glenn’s blood on his hands even if Maggie doesn’t blame him for it, and it’s because of Negan that Maggie is raising her child alone and being asked to provide for the same people who stood by and allowed it to happen. She may be a leader, but her life really isn’t great right now, and I’m not sure killing Negan would make it better, but in her eyes, it’s the right thing to do.
– Speaking of Negan, he was once again absent in “Warning Signs” but obviously will be featured in the next episode. I’m genuinely interested to see how that all goes down.
