Some hold fast, while others collapse.....Review: THE BRIDGE #TWD S9:2 #TWDFamily #TheWalkingDead

Review: S9:1 A New Beginning

An all-encompassing title ~ brilliant episode, all about the shaky state of not only the physical bridge but also the metaphorical ones.  Rick tries to stop all he has built from crumbling once more, as former enemies join hands in comradeship over turbulent waters, but the clash of egos chips away at the supports beneath....

~ Michonne~
As ever, the queen of level-headedness tries to reach solutions to suit everyone ~ so, you need your blacksmith to mend the plough, but he's locked in a cage.  Um, why don't you, like, let him out...?  She sees all points of view, and every contour of the bigger picture.  Seems like she's the only person who can truly put aside all issues and prejudices, all that happened in the past, and just get on with the business of surviving.

~ Maggie ~
I'm getting a bit fed up with seeing her glum face; yes, yes, of course despatching Gregory was the right thing, but the business with Tammy and Earl?  Unnecessarily harsh.  If Michonne hadn't stepped in, would she still be stomping around, unmovable, with that downturned mouth?  Is this the woman Glenn fell in love with?  Nice to see a bit of the old Maggie at the end, though, when she compared Earl's situation with Hershel's, and relented.  I like Earl; he seems to be a good guy, give or take the odd bit of attempted murder, and he and Tammy are old-school authentic characters.  
>Spoiler alert>  I looked on the cast list on IMDb, and he's only in six episodes, so my guess is that he'll meet a sticky end ~ something else for Tammy to blame Maggie about?

I assume that little conversation with Jesus about Maggie joining Georgie The Key lady means that's where she'll go, at the end of this season.  Can she leave little Glenn behind, please? 

😉

~ Daryl ~
It's realistic but so frustrating to see him always at war with Rick.  I want them to be brothers, working together...though he does talk sense: 'You may want to move ahead, but does everyone?'  'Are we, though?  Are we on the same side, Rick?'  The thing that Rick forgets, when he's trying to have meaningful dialogues, is that Daryl was a redneck ruffian before the zombie apocalypse brought out the best in him.  He learned from both his father and Merle to thump first and think later; even though he's evolved from that, it has to still be a part of him.  

But he's right about a lot of stuff.  Justin Savior deserved every thump. 

~ Rick ~
Oh, how good it is to see Rick smiling again... and just when I thought he was getting too 'we're all going to live in peace and harmony together' Deanna-ish, he came up with that excellent 'I used to be cop' speech to Justin Savior, letting him know who was boss.  Rick, we want you to remember who you arr-rrr, but it's good when you don't suffer Negans gladly, too.  Talking of whom, I imagine the Negan-Rick chats will continue to be a feature of this season, though I'm not too sure about the way in which Negan still seems to have the power to intimidate Rick.   

As for Alden with his 'They work for you, you protect them ~ who does that sound like?', I'd have been tempted to tell him to bugger off and go build a windmill, or something.  

~ Carol ~
Isn't it great to see her with her new family?  Even though many wish it was Daryl, not Ezekiel.  I'm pretty sure she is going to break the King's heart, somewhere along the line.  Generally, though, she just gets more and more awesome all the time.  Like Michonne, she sees what is really going on, not what she would like to see... as Michonne is the voice of reason between Rick and Maggie, so Carol is the fair, realistic middle ground between Rick and Daryl.  She has more of a nose for danger than Rick; she knows Daryl is right about the Negans.

...and talking of bridges, d'you remember this one?

Meanwhile.... 

~Love is in the air.... ~
Jerry and Nabila, Carol and Ezekiel ~ and Jadis-Anne and Gabriel???  Not sure I'm totally convinced by this one yet, but I suppose now that she's drawn him a picture of the woman he loved who he shut out of his church to be ripped apart by Walkers, anything could happen. 

Remember this, in S5:2 Strangers?

This season is all we could have hoped for so far, I'm loving it.  But I do want Rick's happiness to last longer than the odd day... and I think that the Atlanta Three ought to sit down with Michonne and thrash it all out.  Preferably with Maggie, too, if she can put her bottom lip away for long enough.  

Last of all - wasn't that a terrific ending?  Questions....

• What's happened to the missing Saviors who've gone missing en route to Hilltop and back to the Sanctuary; are they deliberately sabotaging the bridge, or has something more spooky (whispery...) happened to them?  Does not bode well...
• Are we ever going to find out who is in Jadis-Anne's helicopter?  
• Would Siddiq have been able to save Aaron's arm?
• Will Rosita pay Arat back for slicing her face? (She might want to think about Olivia while she's doing it, just in case she gets cold feet)
• Please can we have Eugene's dialogue in subtitles so I can hear all his witticisms first time round instead of not catching them all until the fourth viewing? 
• But most of all, which idiot is going to let Negan out of his cage? 

We wait with baited breath....

Future blog post ~ The Walking Dead Best Amputations?