The Walking Dead: When Is The Stepford Bubble Going To Burst?
The writers of The Walking Dead are trying to lull us into a false sense of security. Just like Rick and his crew are waiting for the other shoe to drop, so are we, because no way in hell is Robert Kirkman going to be able to sleep at night with Carol playing Stepford Wife much longer.
The mid-season premiere led me to believe that the second half of this season would be boring as hell, in the way that that season where we all waited for Rick and the gang to finally go to war with the Governor felt like pulling teeth. And about that mid-season premiere: listen, Tyreese was a nice guy, but that artsy-fartsy episode in which nothing happened except his death was nothing short of dull.
Luckily, things picked up after that episode. Rick and his crew were scouted out by a gated community conveniently run by an ex-legislator and conveniently equipped with solar panels making electricity actually work, which is something we haven’t seen on this show like, ever. (Note to self: equip home with solar panels in case of apocalypse). Ever since their arrival in this Real Housewives Of Atlanta twilight zone, our main characters have undergone some seriously cognitive dissonance-inducing transformations, namely because they’re all actually showering for once. And on that note:
(image source: me!)
Watching Carol morph back into a field mouse and sing the praises of her deceased domestic abusing husband all so she can become “invisible” as a means of self-defense has been fascinating. This is the woman who murdered a sick person to prevent the spread of disease, who murdered a child because she was a sociopath, who blew up a tank of highly combustible fuel to rescue her newfound family – and now she’s in a cardigan??
Similarly, watching Carol threaten a small child with as horrible a fate as he could ever expect – tying him to a tree and letting walkers eat him – because he saw her stealing guns was pretty hard to swallow. Yes, as we have all seen Carol will do anything to protect herself and her family. But she has also always done everything in her power to protect children (okay I know she murdered Lizzie, but my argument there is that she was protecting not only Lizzie but EVERYONE else in doing so) so it’s pretty difficult to see her emotionally abuse an innocent kid.
Seeing Daryl try to cope with civilization and actually make new friends has been interesting, and also sweet. I also find it intriguing that his new friends are gay, considering all the rumors swirling lately that his character is, in fact, also gay. We’ll see how that pans out. I’d be sad to see my dreams of a “Caryl” couple squashed, but otherwise am all for it. And it says a lot about those guys if Daryl actually trusts them.
In other news: Sasha seems to have PTSD, I am really upset that they let that horse adorably named Buttons get eaten by walkers (for reference, for years I wouldn’t watch Homeward Bound because I was terrified that all the animals would die), Rick is schmoozing a gorgeous married woman, and Michonne and Abraham may have had sexual tension for a second.
Now, when is the Stepford bubble going to burst?