10x07 Open Your Eyes

[6.2/10] Once again, I find myself liking the theme that The Walking Dead is going for, but not the way the show dramatizes it. There’s a really interesting story be told about the war for hearts and minds between our heroes and The Whisperers. Alpha has told her people that civilization and stability are a myth in this world. At Lydia’s behest, or by their own volition, different good guys try to win that war through showing the fruits of their progress: a world where you can have children, where you can have fresh baked bread and jam, where there is safety and security.

It’s a good pitch, but one that ultimately fails. The episode does a good job of toying with the audience on this front, showing both Gamma and the Whisperer captive seemingly intrigued and even entranced by these offerings, before ultimately rebuking them. But the twist, the thing that turns the heart of at least Gamma, is the realization that Alpha is a hypocrite and a liar. She preaches detachment and claims to have killed her own daughter out of a devotion to the cause, but in fact, kept her alive out of sentimental attachment. There’s a cynicism there, where you have a better shot at converting someone to your beliefs by showing the corruption of their leaders rather than the rightness of your ideas. (If only it could work that way in real life.)

Still, the results here are mostly underwhelming. The episode gilds the lily quite a bit with these points, and while there’s intriguing beats in the scenes where Carol and Daryl schmooze, torture, and interrogate their captive, or where Aaron tries to get through to Gamma, there’s also a lot of the usual overly blunt dialogue that underlines the intended points too hard. As usual, there’s some decent conflicts and moral conundrums, but the second the characters’ open their mouths to try to elucidate it, you get more eye-rolls than pathos.

This is also the Siddiq spotlight episode, and that’s a real mixed bag too. Once again, the show’s visuals and sound design and editing work are impeccable. The flashing images of Siddiq’s PTSD episodes are gripping and unsettling in the best way, and carry a lot of the weight in a way that other parts of the episode can’t. I even like what they’re going for here with the Tyler Durden-esque reveal that Dante was a Whisperer plant the whole time, as it recontextualizes a few things.

But it also feels like a pretty cheesy soap opera twist as presented. The episode does a good job of spoon-feeding us the reveal, but there’s something hard to put your finger on about it, a certain convenience, that tugs at the part of your brain that says, “this doesn't make any sense.” Maybe we’ll get a spotlight episode for Dante that will help things fall into place, but this seems less like the last piece of the puzzle and more something calculated to make the audience say “whoa!” regardless of how well and poorly things add up.

I’m also not really on board with the presentation of Siddiq’s struggles here. There’s a solid enough throughline of Siddiq feeling guilt for the people who died, as though he could have done more, and Dante’s reassurance that what happens in this community is to everyone’s credit and to everyone’s blame. But Avi Nash isn’t necessarily up to this and even the editing and visual flourishes start to feel like too much after a while. Nash is certainly doing a lot of acting, but that’s not necessarily good, as it makes a very human struggle seem more over the top than anything. And the whole “fall in the water” thing and rescue by Rosita is just the pits. (Though I did appreciate the setup and payoff of why everyone’s sick, and how it connects to Dante.)

Overall this is another TWD that aims high and grazes some interesting ideas, but stumbles in the execution.

It was kinda nice episode... I think. As I wrote before, people seems to get annoyed by what they're reffing to as "filler" episode, but I think "fillers" are someway important for the vibe of this kind of story. It's about routine survival now. They're living in the same place for 7 years. They have known hunting grounds. Agriculture schedule. Jobs. Borders. Nothing like the beginning of the show.

Saying that, here are couple of things seems wrong this one:
• Aaron. Dude, what are your intentions?
• Rosita. Dude, what are your intentions?
• Gabriel.
• How come the water flows one way and water wheels spin the same way? I mean, if the stream runs :arrow_right: than the wheel should turn:arrows_counterclockwise:, not like this:arrows_clockwise:.
• A sign for pointing out that there are non drinkable water but there's no way to know if the handle is in the right configuration. Eugene, you lazy.
• Lydia didn't recognized Dante, who must be really trustable to Alpha if she sent him to spy, but knowing who the old walker guard is? Suspicious.
• Carol got a cheap shot from Lydia? Spec Ops Carol? Double suspicious.
And for what Lydia got so upset about. I smell a secret plan.

Pretty good stuff:
• The old walker guard (guard of guardians?) fooled me for a moment with those sandwich tears. To the point I asked myself if I feel sorry for him. Spit second later, I was proven wrong.
• Dog is getting older. He has buts of white fur on his face. Nice touch.

We have really breached into full on negative IQ territory with this episode. So much stupidity in one 40 minute sitting. Siddiq’s constant flashbacks were getting tedious, the speech he gave to Rosita should’ve been given a while ago, but at the end of the day, as good as the delivery was, I just didn’t care. I’ve never really had a reason to care about him, he’s a bland character with bland dialogue and way too much screen time. I’d be kind of glad for his death were it not for the fact that it was so stupid. So this Dante guy who completely came out of nowhere just so happens to be a Whisperer. Do they not screen who comes in anymore? Why does he decide to kill Sidiq now, what is the whole point in him being there? So so silly, which also has implications for the captured whisperer who we can assume got taken out by Dante after all, someone who realistically speaking should not be there at all. If they are neighbouring their enemies, the vast majority of whom cannot even be identified without masks, surely immigration should be completely halted.

The Lydia situation is also just baffling. Earlier in the episode, she says she hates the whisperers, and when Carol uses her to potentially benefit their downfall, she goes off running back to them. Am I missing something????? How is Carol in any way like Alpha????? Who is writing this shit????? It’s no surprise that, being Neganless, this episode was just straight trash. It’s also no coincidence that the only other episode without Negan was only decent because it focused on character rather than plot. It seems all these writers are capable of is writing for select characters, who happen to be the more prevalent ones in the comics. Most characters and most of the plot is just ridiculous. 6/10