Review #TheWalkingDead S11x22 FAITH #twd

 Previously: Review: S11x21 Outpost 22 

- S 11 x 22   FAITH -

Directed by Rose Troche

Written by Nicole Mirante-Matthews and Magali Lozano

'If we lose faith in that, the idea that we can change this if we want to, we're as good as dead anyway.'

This episode was so good, so edge-of-seat I could hardly bear to watch it.  No, I didn't think for a moment that Negan was going to revert to Sanctuary Man and give Ezekiel up, in exchange for Annie's safety.  That's not who he is now.  His face, when Ezekiel mentioned Benjamin (Bury Me Here ~ IMO the best episode of Season 7) was the same as when he heard Carl was dead.  He isn't prepared to spend the rest of his life wearing a hair shirt, but he knows he can never make amends for what he's done.

...unlike Happy Shopper Negan, sitting there showing off about doing the stuff others don't have the stomach for, little knowing that the man who sat across from him has done all that, and then some.

'I used to be him'

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Nobody could fail to see the irony of Negan being forced to work on the Commonwealth version of the Burma Railway, or of him kneeling in the darkness awaiting execution, lit only by a flashlight, but the sacrifice he intended to make did move Ezekiel, even if he will never forgive him (and who can blame him for that?).

Ezekiel is such a natural leader and bright hope for the future - love him.  He's a king, even though he just sees himself as 'some guy' these days.

I did think Nabila started to look a little 'Um, not sure about this' once the order was given to the firing squad, though!

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Elsewhere, on the road to Oceanside, it struck me how scattered everyone is, and what it's like to live in a world with very little communication ~ the elusive LUKE (yes, he still exists!) did not know who the Commonwealth soldiers were, when they arrived at Oceanside.  More worryingly, Aaron's comments reminded us that he, Jerry, Lydia and Elijah know nothing of the hell that's taking place in Alexandria.  When they set off with the supplies for Oceanside, Carol had just made her deal - they thought the worst was over.

Three cheers for Lydia, using her Whisperer experience to get them to where they're going to be, and probably remove a fair few Commonwealth soldiers when they get there.

Apart from Trooper 197, of course.  ;)

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It was hard to see Alexandria turned into an internment camp, especially when the homely details were all still there, like the wallpaper on the landing, the bottles and jars in the bathroom that Maggie and Carol hid in.  Another lovely and highly emotive scene between the two of them. 

Have to say that outside, when Rosita reluctantly accepted the suggestion that she should be a look-out rather than go in, I thought, wrong decision.  Maggie is fearless, fiery and emotional, whereas Rosita is fearless, fiery and able to shelve emotion when necessary.

Then again, it's Coco she's trying to find.  btw, I liked how, when Maggie and Carol entered the room and found Hershel, Carol shot the Commonwealth soldier in the face without hesitation.  As usual, assessing the situation and doing the right thing, in an instant.  How awful for Rosita that Coco wasn't there too, and that Hershel didn't know where they were.

And so to the trial, Pamela's lies and crocodile tears, Yumiko's clever reminder to all present of the fake lottery, and the big question - is Mercer wuss or warrior?  Man or mouse? 

Just when I was thinking, come on, you've got to do something to justify those devastating alpha male good looks, he comes good.  I think we knew he wouldn't, didn't we?

'Time to fuck shit up'

I do wonder how Princess will react to the knowledge that he did nothing to save her at first, though.  That it took Eugene's speech to do that, not his feelings for her.  Of course the two are connected; I'm sure I'm not alone in wanting a happy ending for Princess, but perhaps it will be the knowledge that she's okay on her own and won't settle for a man who didn't support her in what was right.  I reckon she could cut Mercer some slack with this one, though.

I loved Eugene's off-the-cuff speech on many different levels; one to go down in the TWD annals:

'....I placed value on order and safety above all things.  But I soon realised that, while I wasn't the one swinging the bat, I nevertheless had blood on my hands.'  

His personal version of that well-known quote and its many variants: 'All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing'.

Meanwhile, back in the firing line...you know how, on TV, when a goodie is about to be killed, the baddie always takes the time to talk to them first, outlining the reasons why, etc, which gives the goodie's mates enough time to sneak up behind and save them?  Perfectly illustrated when Daryl leapt in and killed Leah to save Maggie in 11x16 Acts of God.

At the end, during the execution by firing squad that never was, I thought it was a particularly stretched out one of those scenarios, at first ~ but then I realised that, like 197, at least some of the other soldiers were just ordinary guys with family, etc, who probably hadn't signed up for mass murder.  Who might have been hesitant to kill ordinary people who were just sticking up for their friends.

...and of course Happy Shopper Negan signed his own death warrant, Greg Stillson in The Dead Zone style, by grabbing Kelly in front of him as a shield.

Poor, poor Rosita; he chose to have his face eaten by one of his men, rather than tell her where the children were.

So to the end, and Lydia leading a herd of Walkers, Whisperer fashion.  Was that a Variant Walker who picked up the dropped knife, or one of the others in a Whisperer type mask?  Or even an actual Whisperer?  I watched it twice and couldn't see for sure.

Other stuff I liked:

• The way Negan looks at Annie :)

• His face when he noticed that 197 could be a possible ally...

• How Magna is another Rosita, managing to look stunningly cool, stylish and beautiful even in the most adverse of circumstances!

• Creeping into Alexandria...

I am sure the last two episodes are going to be awesome ~ though I bet I am not the only one who is super-nervous about watching them... as usual TWD is keeping us guessing, completely!

and a nice bit of nostalgia ~ the taking of the prison, in 3x01 :)