THE WALKING DEAD Season 7 Episode 2
Episode Title: “The Well”
Writer: Matthew Negrete
Director: Greg Nicotero
Previously on The Walking Dead:
Episode 7.01: “The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be“
There are spoilers ahead for last night’s episode of The Walking Dead, but don’t pretend that you didn’t know that!
It may have been a mistake for The Walking Dead to give away the tiger in its Comic-Con trailers. Sure, fans of the comic knew that King Ezekiel (Khary Payton) and Shiva were coming to the show eventually. But can you imagine how much more of an impact their intro scene would have had if it hadn’t been spoiled for months?
For casual fans, Ezekiel and his kingdom may seem like one of the more insane twists yet, and not entirely in keeping with the tone of the live-action series. But as comic readers can attest, Ezekiel has a big role in the story ahead and it’s hard to picture it without him. It was probably a good idea that the creative team of the TV show didn’t hold off on the reveal that Ezekiel is putting on…not necessarily a con…it’s more of a performance for a willing audience. He sells the lie, and they buy into it because it makes them feel better. Payton nailed both the theatrical side of Ezekiel and the glimpse of the real man behind his regal persona.
This episode went back to the well, so to speak, of slowing the story down to a significant degree. After last week’s premiere, a breather was definitely in order. But it feels like this show still hasn’t mastered the art of pacing even after seven seasons. The opening sequence of Carol’s harrowing journey to the Kingdom was effective, and yet it felt like the show was really pushing credibility by depicting her recovery in days instead of weeks or months. Does AMC think that we forgot that Carol was shot multiple times in last season’s finale?
Related: ‘The Walking Dead’ Producers Explain Why They Killed [Spoiler]
What Carol wants out of life still hasn’t been well defined beyond her desire to get away from everyone else. But it was a lot of fun to see her slip back into “Batman mode,” as she once again conned strangers into thinking she was the harmless person that she used to be. It’s telling that the only person she initially let her guard down around was Morgan, with her truly hilarious (and genuine) response to the Kingdom. Morgan and Carol have actually gotten to the point where they’re almost friends. And yet if we’re betting on the shipping, it seems more likely that Ezekiel and Carol will become romantically close. In the comics, it was another character who had that conversation with Ezekiel about who he really is and what he was before the fall of civilization. Since that character is occupied elsewhere on this show, shifting Carol over to fill that void makes sense in the narrative and it could give her something meaningful to do this season.
The real highlight of the episode was that extended scene between Ezekiel and Carol, but Morgan got some mileage out his storyline as well. In part, this episode felt like a sequel to last season’s “Here’s Not Here” by re-positioning Morgan as a teacher, rather than a student of Aikido and philosophy. At this point, it’s a real question as to whether Morgan even believes what he’s selling anymore. And yet he seems more at home in the Kingdom than he does in Alexandria. He may not be going back there any time soon.
Another small touch in this episode was the way that the Kingdom had a small act of rebellion against Negan’s Saviors by sending them pigs filled with the flesh of the dead. Whether that will actually harm the Saviors remains to be seen, but it’s a fantastic “f*** you!” moment, which contrasted with the helplessness they felt as the Saviors threatened them and beat up one of their men. It’s not that the people of the Kingdom can’t fight back, it’s that they don’t think they could win against Negan’s men. It may be some time before that theory is put to the test.
Putting Carol and Morgan at the forefront was a smart choice, as both characters have a lot of support from the viewers even after the occasional missteps last season. Some Walking Dead fans have no tolerance for these seemingly stand alone episodes. But anyone who has been watching the show this long should know that this is going somewhere. It may just take a season or two to fully play out.
What did you think of the newest episode of The Walking Dead? Let us know in the comment section below!
