JSS:
I'd like to take a personal moment out of my general review to give a huge shout out to whatever team of writers makes Carol possible. Throughout the first few seasons (shaky at best) the writing was sub-par. She served no purpose. She was just an abused woman with an asshole bossing her around, and while compelling was never anything more than a slight side show between the 5 POVs.
As Season 2 swung around, I was more sick of her than of anyone else (Lorie that bitch notwithstanding). Seriously, we get it bitch you're scared and worried about things in general. Toughen up already!
By Season 3 I honestly can't recall was happening with her.
Season 4 (I think?) she was in the prison and she was at least sorta a part of things, but again, was never anything more than a compelling "girl who got raped yeah yeah we get it already" character. She was bland. And she got banished. But then she got a bit interesting.
As Season 5 came around, we've finally got a look behind her glass mask. She did toughen up. Hard. This woman is more than just a "soft girl turned tough in the future". She is sinister.
For starters, her plot arc is unrivaled by most characters I've seen since Breaking Bad's leads. She is graceful. She is not conflicted anymore, nor is she empty. She's the dark mirror of Maggy, who recently (and for this reason) has faded into the roll Carol once took. No longer is Carol just a pushover (though she never REALLY was--always playing coy).
As Season 5 came around, we've finally got a look behind her glass mask. She did toughen up. Hard. This woman is more than just a "soft girl turned tough in the future". She is sinister.
For starters, her plot arc is unrivaled by most characters I've seen since Breaking Bad's leads. She is graceful. She is not conflicted anymore, nor is she empty. She's the dark mirror of Maggy, who recently (and for this reason) has faded into the roll Carol once took. No longer is Carol just a pushover (though she never REALLY was--always playing coy).
She goes from the Unassuming House Wife Damsel In Distress(TM) into what resembles something of an assassin. She is a character that is no doubt personal to the staff of whoever is writing her POV. Subtle things like the child trauma book etc. paint a vivid picture of her past without actually saying directly much of anything--it's not relevant "now". It might come off as heavy handed, but the fact remains we never really get a clear picture--even when the breaks are full stop and we're chatting with her in a log cabin etc. Remember, this woman kills children.
Her "romance" with Daryl is more of a pity, I think. She views him (perhaps rightfully) as a child. He's got the mind of a teenager. She views herself above most, with the exception of maybe Daryl, explicitly because she understands they've both seen the same hell (presumably). She has come to respect Rick only after he has learned what it takes to survive. Had Rick still been a soft winy bitch at the start of season 5, she probably wouldn't have traveled with them again.
Japanese Silent Banshee Assassin In her world, that is death--both judge and jury. She is a wraith consumed by it.
In this last episode (S602) I was seriously blown away by her performance. From maybe-sorta-assassin into full blown Japanese Silent Banshee Folklore Assassin.
Alright, onto the review of the episode.
First, I loved it. A lot. That's usually not the case with this show, but the last episodes have been a great build up to this. This episode in particular was a war drama more than a zombie horror show. This was her (Carol's) moment. This is where she belongs. On a battlefield. Seeing her domesticated was sinister (threatening children with death and torture), but now we see the demon for what it is.
My favorite scenes are tied between the woman hiding with the child in the closet, and that moment where Carol just rolls up and blows that dude away after he's already tied up. It's the same moment where Rashone & Special Blast From The Past Black Dude(TM) watch Rick (in their minds) murder Kurt or whatever that dude's name that was screaming in episode 1 s6. It's exactly the same moment of disgust and shock. I anticipate this void ripping the group apart and those two Buddist monks (I mean really they even gave him a staff it's pretty awesome) making their own path and taking leadership from Rick and Carol.
So we also see a bit of Rick, but enough about him, more about Carol. She isn't PTSD the way Rick(TM) or that other "Army proxy" chick (an interesting transformation and I think more a commentary of soldiers in her episode than a real plot filler). Carol is a different monster all together, and make no mistake folks that's what she's ALWAYS BEEN. In a world this hideous, it's just now we get to see it. She burned those dudes in the prison season. Remember? Rick at that time was a different type of disturbed man then. He (rightfully?) banished her for it. . . and hell spat her back.
When I end up teaching film story classes in a few years I'm using her for damned sure. The fact we didn't have her around for a full season (banished) is a great leap from where she originally was "wah things are awful" -- Season 2. We saw a bit of what happened to her in flash backs but honestly Season 5's premier was one of the best ever.
She is what is referred to as a demon in a human's body in the writers world. Whatever she represents (I think it's the assassin or "silent banshee" from Japanese lore given her last outfit with the mask) is more than just "tough bitch who gets it."
That brings me to the review of the episode JSS. I'll jump right in and just say I was more than impressed. I was a bit disapointed my guess that it was Carl using the alarm to alert that the "Come on...just let us in" people were in fact spies (they've been gone for weeks and we've never met them and the idiot of the group let them in...) for the W's.
I feel ashamed I fell for that red herring, but perhaps I wanted it to be true because I don't like the fact The Talking Dead made a very forced strawpoll asking "who do you think it will be next week"? and a reminder of "the W's" as the only plausable choice. Now everyone who picked A will feel so smart....
Anyway, the moment where JSS snaps the turtle's neck was fantastic. That type of editing is on par with Breaking Bad for certain. Finally, we have the show we've been craving since Season 1.
To me, and this could be subject interpretation, but I believe the W's represent WAR. I'm sure they'll give it another in-world meaning soon enough, and reveal The Big Badass who owns the slaves, but basically it's just WAR in general. And what they, the producers of the show, are trying to convey is "War Is Comming to Suburbia. This is what it will look like. . . Prepare."
They're showing you a multitude of attitudes of pre-collapse plot devices while stringing it along through the POV of our usual suspects...and Carol. The background noise of the zombies really isn't that important. Next episode, obviously, the Zombies will be front and center, but I think the entire dedication of an episode to a strictly human enemy was really fantastic. We've not yet had that. We've come very close with the governor, but until season 6 it was always about tieing in the action with Zombies.
I repeat, this episode was amazing, but I would not describe the genre as "zombie" anything, even if there are some zombies in the background. This was a speculative war drama and nothing short of magnificent.
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