She was understandably broken after being forced to grind all her friends into doner meat, in the episode’s gory highlight. The fact that Jadis’s “Me Jane, You Tarzan” style of speaking was an act didn’t make it any less annoying at the time, but at least when she no longer had need for it Jadis got some much-needed fleshing out. It was compelling to see Jadis’s power get snatched away in increments: first, the guns then Jadis’s authority when Simon made her apologise and, finally, her followers themselves. It wasn’t just because they got their comeuppance for being quadruple-crossing goons, either.
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I also – and brace yourself – enjoyed my time with the Trash Pandas. He seems to be having a swell old time cranking everything up to 11 without it boiling over into parody. Plaudits must once again go to Steven “Simon” Ogg. Whichever it is, I’m eager to see how it plays out. So he’s either taking the initiative, making a decision he thinks Negan will come to realise is the right one, or Simon’s maneuvering for power. Simon clearly never had any intention of getting away with it, given his clear wish to repeat the action at the Hilltop and Kingdom. Now, of course, Simon’s gone directly against Negan’s wishes, so it’s inevitable. The Walking Dead: Danai Gurira as Michonne, Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes Photograph: Gene Page/AMCīased on the nascent signs of discord here, I’m intrigued by the proposition of Simon and Negan coming to blows. When he suggests to Negan that it would be easier to simply wipe out the troublesome elements and start again, you have to grudgingly agree with him. Yet, here, Simon’s penchant for mass murder, at the risk of sounding like a monster, felt justified. Having seen that the Trash Pandas were now Zombie Trash Pandas, you knew exactly what was coming when he confronted Jadis: Pandamonium. A small part of me always lights up when it looks like we’re in for a Simon-heavy episode, and this one was a peach. Yes, Enid’s chunk was duller than an insurance conference PowerPoint slide, but the rest zinged along nicely.
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The title cards used to segment the narrative into various characters’ points of view allowed the episode to hop around various timelines, and it’s a technique the show should use more often. They did that too, of course, but doses of it were kept mercifully small. I for one was pleased this episode had Rick and Michonne actually doing things as opposed to quietly telling each other how sad they were. But one of the major criticisms hurled at this show’s recent seasons is pacing that makes glaciers look like sports cars. (Top marks to the makeup team too for the poor zombie who managed to rip his entire face off on Alexandria’s gate.) Perhaps not having the two of them sobbing in a heap for the whole episode was a slight emotional cop-out, considering the magnitude of what they’ve been through. Rick and Michonne’s decision to deal with Carl’s passing by indulging in a cathartic zombie-killathon was definitely more engaging to watch than a load of snot and weeping.