This week’s episode was yet another fun outing in a half-season full of fun outings.
BY: JACOB POLITTE
Staff Writer
The Walking Dead: “Stradivarius”
Season 9, Episode 7
Airdate: 11/18/2018
***SPOILERS INCOMING***
“Stradivarius” was arguably The Walking Dead’s weakest outing of the season thus far. Even so, it was still pretty great overall. Directed by former series regular Michael Cudlitz (R.I.P. Abraham Ford), the episode featured absolutely stunning cinematography, a great soundtrack, and two fantastic stories to follow. This show feels absolutely energized in a way that it has not for an extremely long time, and that’s huge for a show about to enter it’s tenth season.
I think that I have finally bought into the hype train that I’ve attempted to resist buying into all season long. They’ve got me. I look forward to watching this show again each week, and it feels like there is little-to-no downtime. The loss of Rick has not hurt the show in the way I thought that it would, at least from a creative standpoint.
Daryl continues to be one of the more compelling characters of the season thus far, and Norman Reedus has done great work this year in the role. His reasoning for retreating into the woods is a rather simple one: he originally went into the woods looking for Rick’s body, and after awhile just decided to stay there. Part of me thinks that Daryl doesn’t fully believe that Rick is dead, and that’s an interesting development if that proves to be the case. Either way, it now appears that Daryl will be returning to civilization, and is chaperoning Henry to the Hilltop Colony at Carol’s request.
Speaking of the Hilltop, it appears that a big change has occurred there: Maggie has vacated her post as a leader and has left with little baby Hershel. She has gone with Georgie (the mysterious woman from last seasons episode “The Key”) to help build another community.
Before Maggie left, however, a massive rift with Michonne developed, resulting in Alexandria being isolated from the rest of the communities in the years following Rick’s absence and Michonne being unable to return to the Hilltop. What exactly happened is still unclear, but that “X” scar on both Michonne and now Daryl’s backs might have something to do with it.
In Maggie’s absence, Jesus has assumed her leadership position, and it appears that Tara is his second in command. While he is an elected leader, he is most definitely a reluctant one. Tara is left to handle most of the day-to-day operations, while Jesus prefers to stray outside of the Hilltop’s walls. For example, it appears he’s giving Aaron lessons in combat fighting. Not only is it rebellious on both of their parts (as Aaron still resides in Alexandria), it’s proof that the rift between the communities is ready to be healed.
I thought the choice to have Tara assume a leadership position at the Hilltop was an odd one. As a viewer, I still haven’t forgiven her for or forgotten about her involvement with The Governor’s final assault on the group at the prison in Season 4, even if all of the characters on the show have. She has had her moments from time to time, but I can’t say I like Tara too much, and the show really hasn’t given her much of anything to do since her introduction. At the very least, this new role gives her character an actual purpose on the show.
Another interesting relationship (although not a romantic one) on display this week was that between Michonne and Siddiq. Avi Nash is a very good actor, and a lot of people may not like him because his character was partially responsible for getting Carl killed, but I don’t have an issue with his character this season. The two seem to be communicating on a very personal level, and it appears that Michonne fully trusts Siddiq. She is upset, however, that he did not tell her about Maggie’s departure. I do wonder if the relationship between these two will be further explored.
Rosita and Eugene are focal points of this episode, even if Eugene isn’t present. As the episode opens, we see Rosita limping through the woods, bloodied up and being pursued by those talking zombies. Eugene apparently has been trapped inside a barn, and the mid-season finale will revolve around finding him. News of Rosita’s injury reaches Michonne, and that is what convinces her to finally make the trip to Hilltop in person.
So there we have it… it appears that just about everyone who we’ve been following over the last few weeks is heading to Hilltop or going out to search for Eugene in the mid-season finale. And The Whisperers are near. More on them after the final episode of the year, “Evolution.”
SCATTERED THOUGHTS:
– The Jesus and Aaron pairing is a great move. The two are a romantic item in the comics, and I’m glad that the show appears to be heading down that route as well.
– The song we hear from the record that Jesus received from Georgie was “April Skies” by the Jesus and Mary Chain. Georgie has a good taste in music.
– Enid’s a full-blown doctor now. OK.
– Michonne and Siddiq spent this episode escorting the newcomers (Magna, Connie, Kelly, Yumiko, and Luke) to the Hilltop. The title of the episode comes from the musical instrument that carries the name. Luke is a former music teacher and comes across a Stradivarius when they return to their former camp. Michonne later chops it to pieces when she thinks that Luke is constructing a weapon. While Michonne obviously overreacted, something like that could have easily been avoided had he let her know what he was doing beforehand.
– Daryl has a dog now, and he named it “Dog.” That’s awesome. I’ve seen it speculated online that Daryl doesn’t want to name the dog because he doesn’t want to get emotionally attached to it, and that’s a great and reasonable theory. However, there’s a problem with that logic: it’s impossible not to like dogs. I’ve known of this dog for one episode and I already care more about him than I do Tara.
– One thing I do appreciate about the people in charge of The Walking Dead now is their honesty: do not expect definitive answers about what happened between the communities until after the show returns in February. Knowing this information is a good thing, as I can’t be let down now by a lack of explanation regarding that plotline until next year.
– Henry is still the worst kid in the zombie apocalypse.
