10x01 Lines We Cross

[7.0/10] The scene opens up. Our heroes are training on a beach. The episode shows them moving like a well oiled machine in a Spartan phalanx. Waterlogged zombies emerge one at a time, and we all the good guys skills. We them launch arrows. We see them sling steel. We see them move and react when things go pear-shaped and keep their cool. We see these different people, born in disparate places, forged by distinct challenges, coming together in the name of protection and unity. It is visually captivating, conveying so much coolness and character in a single, well-crafted sequence, and I wonder why I have such beef with this show.

And then the characters start talking.

Oh Walking Dead. Let’s be real, after ten seasons, it is what it is. I know there was some hope that the show might change with a new showrunner in tow, but this is another dose of the same sort of incredible visuals and action set pieces, paired with a heap of ponderous conversations that can’t muster the emotional resonance the show is going for. That’s certainly tougher when the show’s killed off a lot of the characters worth caring about, but even in an episode like this one, which mostly focuses on TWD’s best characters, the results are a real mixed bag.

That said, I like the structure of this one a lot! The notion of starting with a unifying event -- the discovery of one of The Whisperers’ skins -- and then following how this development ripples through different pockets of these communities, is a strong one. It allows us to catch up with everyone in a season premiere, and spend some focused time in each locale with each person instead of trying to pack it altogether in one big hodge podge.

By the same token, I like the device of the crashing satelite. It captures your attention in the opening moments of the episode. (We’re not used to seeing spacescapes on this show.) And it provides a nice way for the episode to bring everyone back together in the end to put out the fire, another stunning set of visuals for the TWD to show off its superb action chops with.

Hell, I even like the overarching premise here. There’s been relative peace with The Whisperers in the months since we last saw everybody, due to our heroes obeying the borders that Alpha laid down. But now, that peace is threatened when no one’s even sure if they’re still there, and this act of god-type event requires them to cross the titular lines of the episode.

But man, everything we get in between the first scene and the last is some kind of rough or on the nose. I used to rag on Andrew Lincoln a lot for his performances here, and I will continue to venerate Danai Gurira’s work here and elsewhere, but her efforts to give a Rick Grimes-esque leader speech didn’t fare much better than his did. And the whole bit with Judith and R.J. talking about the “brave man” was pretty cheesy and didactic.

The same goes for most of the standard colloquies we get on the show. Aaron talking about not being nice anymore and wondering if we’re the good guys, Negan talking about staying on the side of the semi-liked and lying for the greater good, Carol and Daryl talking about whether this is “all there is,” are all decent enough ideas, but the dialogue just hobbles it all out of the gate, to where even some of the show’s best actors can’t rescue it.

There’s things I really like here, like Siddiq having PTSD from the whisperer attack, or a deeper exploration of what it means to be hearing-impaired in these circumstances. But even there, the show just writes it all on the screen. And the Eugene/Rosita/Gabriel/Siddiq situation continues to be weird as hell, along with tons of other little teases that there’s not time to flesh out now, but which seem to be pointing in odd directions.

Overall, this is a pretty standard edition of The Walking Dead. The things that have been historically good on the show are still good. The things that have been historically bad are still bad. And little seems poised to change. Oh well. Here we go with another frustrating season.