Review: #TheWalkingDead S11x13 WARLORDS #TWD

 Previously:Review: X11x12 The Lucky Ones

- S 11 x 13  WARLORDS -

Directed by Loren Yaconelli

Written by Jim Barnes and Erik Mountain

My goodness.  Best episode this part-season, I think.  Anyone else feel nervous before a new episode?  I always do, and more so these days - it's ALWAYS a surprise, NEVER what we think.  Loved loved loved the structure of this episode - starting with a situation then going back to show how it came to be.  This format was used to an extent in 8x10 The Lost and the Plunderers and 4x10 Inmates, but Warlords was a different scale.  The continuity worked like a dream. 

Back to the beginning, the alert call of 'Rider!' at the walls of Hilltop always makes me think of Saxons protecting York from being sacked by Vikings, or a messenger arriving from Wessex with news of an invasion from across the Channel.  21st Century medieval.

Poor wee Jesse, the Commonwealth lad who didn't sign up for this; his last words were delightfully ambiguous: 'Devils - they're slaughtering them - liars - '.  Just the thing to make Maggie wonder about the identity of the devils, who they were slaughtering, what they were lying about and why, and leap into action.

As Maggie, Elijah and Lydia left Hilltop, muted sunlight highlighting the dilapidation of the place, I got a 'Greene farm, 12 years on' vibe (wouldn't it be great to go back there and see it now?). I don't think Maggie's story about Hershel Snr resisting an offer from developers who wanted to buy them out, many years before, quite resonated with her younger friends as she'd hoped.  Which is understandable - with all they've suffered over the years you can see why they want better times NOW, not the promise of an extra turnip for dinner and maybe a couple of pheasants if they're lucky.

Can't you just imagine Hershel shouting at the developers to get off his land?!

Maggie was spot on once more, though - she's been through as much as anyone possibly could since the world changed, and even though she has moments when she feels almost alone, she's sticking to what she knows in her heart is the right path.  This time it's not Maggie-being-stubborn-and-stroppy.  It's Maggie knowing about people.  However hard that might be, right here, right now.

'What's easier isn't always better.'

...and, as she said, the Commonwealth people have not been tested for 10 years.  'Do you want to be there when they are?'  Because they will be.  It always happens.

A couple of 'hmm' moments (though I always suspend my disbelief)

• How come Maggie has a vehicle still running, if Alexandria doesn't?  Where does the fuel come from?
• If food is so scarce, how do some people look noticeably rounder in the face?  

*

Gabriel was the shinest star this week - thumbs up to the greying moustache, and that he's found his calling once more.  His sermon said so much - the observation about how out there on the road, stranger helps stranger without discrimination, echoing Maggie's philosophy that going back to how things were before the Fall might not be so civilised after all.  'The way we were before the world fell cannot be the way we are moving forward'.

Much though I love Aaron, I felt that the scouting for new people and bringing them into the glory of the Commonwealth smacked a little of European missionaries in the 18th and 19th centuries bullying perfectly happy African and South American tribes into behaving like obedient Victorian subjects, or white settlers 'civilising' the Native Americans and indigenous people of Australasia.  Like those native communities (who actually knew what 'civilised' meant, because they'd been doing it for hundreds of years), others in TWD world don't need the guidance of Cheesy Video Guy.  What right does the Commonwealth (good name...) have to rule over them?

As we saw in 10x19 One More, Aaron's idealistic side still believes, deep down, that everyone is honest, open to negotiation and working towards the good of all.  

Again, Gabriel is more realistic ...

Toby Carlson: 'Better not spook the natives' ... 'Abort?  Just because of some pre-game jitters?'

Gabriel: 'No, because your plan is shit and I don't want to die'. 😂😂

... while Aaron got out his satchel and photos, like he did in 5x11 The Distance - didn't work out so well that time, either, at first.  

Lots of throwback moments this week - the skull collection in the Riverbend HQ made me think of The Governor's heads-in-tanks feature at Woodbury, except that this time, though equally macabre, there was at least a good reason for it.

Another laugh out loud moment:  Gabriel to Ian the Riverbend governor - 'What do you have that we would want?  This place is a shithole, why would we want it?'

I just love the friendship of Aaron and Gabriel.  Their personalities are so very different but mesh together so well.  I hope there is more of them as a duo to come.

Jason Butler Harner (loved him as the ghastly Roy Petty in Ozark, and Varick Strauss in Ray Donovan too!) is spot on as sadistic psycho Carlson.  Unlike Deanna, who understood that her Alexandrians did not have the skills to face the world outside the walls and, thus, needed the experience of our gang, Hornsby and Carlson think themselves superior, and have much to teach them.   

Pope and The Governor fused, spontaneously combusted, 

and Toby Carlson rose from the ashes. 

Before we knew that his terror was fake, that his aim was to decimate the Riverbend settlement in order to retrieve weapons and supplies he believed they stole - rather than to entice them into the Commonwealth with promises of ice cream - one would have been forgiven for thinking he was just a general dick, but then the demented demon within the reformed CIA assassin's clothing was revealed. Every time a new TWD foe is revealed I think, ah, they can't produce anyone worse than this - but Carlson is something else.

*

I heard myself utter a whimper of excitement at the return of Negan - little does Carlson know what he's dealing with: you don't try to overrun a community that boasts the man with the leather jacket and nutsack made of steel amongst its member.  And Annie seems cool.

It's notable that Negan knew Maggie was the person to help.  He didn't send Jesse to Alexandria - is this move, showing his faith in her, a forerunner to their spin-off?  However ... how did he know she was at Hilltop?  That there was anyone there at all?  I hope there will be an answer to this, and that it's not a plot hole.  Or that I haven't missed something, which is always a possibility.

The final flashback gave us a few answers to Commonwealth questions  - you don't hire a former CIA assassin to peacefully bring in other communities unless you have a more suspect agenda.  

Like Pope and The Governor, Toby Carlson is a nutter who would kill anyone who gets in his way - anyone, and on impulse.  As for the Riverbend victims of his insanity, it was so awful to see what happened to them - to have survived that long, only to die in that way, for something they didn't do.  C'mon, Carlson, wouldn't they have given up the guns rather than be pushed off the top of a high building?.  So much for Pamela's comment last week about the Commonwealth being a better idea than hundreds of small communities all killing each other for resources...

I can't begin to imagine what's going to go down next week - will 'The Rotten Core' be exposed?  I don't think it will, especially as we now have yet more insight into that 'six months later' scene - below, for your further recap.  It means more and something different after every episode.

Is Maggie about to be hauled in for killing Commonwealth soldiers?  If this is the case, it looks like Daryl believes it to be true.  Or is he just playing along, for another reason?  Will Aaron and Gabriel be blamed?  Has Carlson wrongly accused our people of the deaths?

I hardly dare watch - especially as there are no more episodes listed on Wikipedia after 11x14, though IMDb has 11x15 listed for 27 March, and 11x16 for 10th April - a two week wait for the final one in Part B - does this indicate that it's going to be BIG???

Eek!

Next week:  11 x 14  The Rotten Core

Lately I've Been Watching

 The latest in my series of mini TV and film reviews, with trailers and 'where to watch'.  If you have trouble finding where any show/film is available in your country, this is a good site: Justwatch.  Just put the name of the show into the search, and choose your country further down, from the drop-down menu.  It shows where you can stream, buy or rent.  Or you can put 'where can I watch ***' into whichever search engine you use, or go to the programme's own site, if it has one.

If you would like to see more posts, please click here: Lately I've Been Watching.  If you get as far as the bottom, 'Older Posts' will take you to more.

Miniseries: John Adams

5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

(UK: Sky, Now.  US: HBO Max, HBO, Directv)

Made in 2008, the story of the second President of the US.  Paul Giamatti (Chuck Rhoades in Billions) is as terrific as one would expect.  Laura Linney (Ozark) plays his wife.  It's a fine televisual achievement, so well-written, acted, directed, with intricate historical detail, and made me understand more about why the Americans make such a big deal of patriotism - also how far removed Congress was from the ordinary soldiers, when I watched Turn: Washington's Spies (see further down).

I particularly liked the last episode, about the time after Adams' presidency, his family and the last years of his life.  Best of all, the portrayal of how he and his great friend and sometime adversary Thomas Jefferson (POTUS #3) (played masterfully by Stephen Dillane - Stannis Baratheon in Game of Thrones) died within hours of each other, on July 4th, 50 years after the Declaration of Independence.  If that was a detail in a work of fiction, the editor would score a line through it for being too unfeasible and corny!  

Highly recommended.

Series: Squid Game - Season 1

4.5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

(Netflix)

Much hyped and discussed Korean series about a few hundred people who, stricken with hellish financial problems, agree to participate in a game that ends in death for all but the winner, who gains a life-changing amount of moey.  The setting up of the storylines was, I thought, a bit slow at first, but as time went on I realised this was necessary to make one care what happened to the characters.  The games were thrilling.  I loved it.  I watched the dubbed rather than the subtitled version.

Series: Vikings: Valhalla - Season 1

4.5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

(Netflix)

At first I thought this was going to be little more than a Happy Shopper version of the original Vikings, but it turned out to be great, and just as good, give or take the absence of Travis Fimmel and Katheryn Winnick.  Loved it, and am fascinated by how the world has moved on in the 100 years since Ragnar.  Made me feel nostalgic for the first season of Vikings all over again, and sad about how the peoples' culture was destroyed.  I was interested to see that the settling of Greenland had come to be by then, too.  If you remember, at the end of the last season of the original, a party had gone there but the only one who stayed was a chap who went off his head.

It's great, and I very much look forward to seeing more.  Also, plenty of eye candy. 😉

Series: The Walking Dead - Season 11b

(AMC+, Disney)

Episode 10: New Haunts - full review HERE    5*⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Episode 11: Rogue Element - full review HERE   4* ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Episode 12: The Lucky Ones - full review HERE   5* plus ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Episode 13: Warlords - full review HERE   5* plus  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

4-part miniseries: Our House

3* ⭐⭐⭐

(itv.com)

The first thing I said to my husband after we'd finished watching this was, 'Next time my test reader points out plot holes or not adequately researched aspects of one my books, I'll be tempted to say just two words: 'Our House.'  

Some of the gems:

• A whole pack of sleeping tablets crushed into a small glass of wine, dissolving to leave no taste or sediment.
• A 999 emergency call giving information about a hit and run accident that left a child dead - the call was cut off half way through but was not immediately traced and followed up by the police.
• Solicitors able to effect a house sale for two million in cash, within a matter of about 3 weeks, from deciding to sell to the new owners moving in. 
• Not one of the neighbours in this close, everyone-looks-out-for-each-other neighbourhood notices the estranged husband emptying the three storey house in the middle of the night.
• Man with dodgy unpaid fine background opens Swiss bank account at the click of a key, it appears (I've just looked it up, and it's a fairly complicated process).
• The writer(s) didn't appear to realise that all phones can be traced for location and all text messages uncovered.

Seemed like a great plot idea - woman comes home to find that all her belongings are missing from her home, that it's been sold while she's been away, and the new owners are moving in.  Martin Compston (Line of Duty) was good, as was to be expected, but the woman who played his wife was horribly wooden and po-faced.  Rupert Penry-Jones did a reasonable job of playing the suave baddie.  It was quite entertaining with lots of enjoyable plot developments, but was just too far-fetched.

Then there's the dialogue ... when one character was caught having sex with someone they shouldn't, we made the this isn't what it looks like joke.  Imagine our shouts of laughter when this really was the next line of dialogue.  Along with the regulation just breathe, uttered whenever someone was suffering an understandably severe reaction to horrendous life-changing trauma, I felt there was much room for improvement.  The fact that there was no HEA, however, earned it an extra half star.

Series: Money Heist - Season 5B

4.5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

(Netflix)

I wasn't as mad about the first part of Season 5 as I had been the first 4 seasons, but this second half is much better.  It's also the end of the story, it appears - since Tokyo died at the end of the last half, it seemed at first to be logical that these five episodes would be a wrapping up, but there's a lot of exciting stuff happening, still - the last 3 episodes are particularly good.  Yes, it ends but there is scope for more...

Miniseries: The Tourist

4* ⭐⭐⭐⭐

(US: HBO Max.  UK: BBC iPlayer, Sky, Virgin)

Jamie Dornan as an Irishman in the Australian outback, who leaves a rundown old gas station, gets in his car to carry on with his journey, only to be chased down by a huge truck, 'Duel' style.  After a crash, he loses his memory - which means that the reason for him being in Aus and exactly why he was being chased by the truck are a mystery to the viewer, too.  Slowly, slowly, his story is pieced together, though he doesn't know who is genuinely trying to help, and who had something to do with the situation in which he found himself.  

I very much liked the setting; the cinematography is most atmospheric.  It's a good story but one of the main characters I found so irritating that I could hardly bear to watch her.  I liked it.  Wouldn't rave about it, but it's good.

Series: Turn: Washington's Spies - Seasons 1-4

5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

(UK: Amazon, Apple, Google - buy only.  US: AMC+, Directv, Fubo)

Love this series so much - I wasn't sure during the first season, but since then it's got better and better.  Set during the American War of Independence, it's about the spies who infiltrated the opposing side, mostly the real life 'Culper Spy Ring' -  Washington's spies pretending to be Loyalists.  The main character is Abraham Woodhull (Jamie Bell) a Long Island farmer and son of a magistrate.

My favourites are Major Edmund Hewlett (Burn Gorman), who is far more decent than most of the other Loyalists, and I loved Samuel Roukin's marvellous portrayal of Captain John Simcoe as a ruthless sociopath (though I've since read up on him and he doesn't appear to have been so!).  I also liked JJ Feild as Major John Andre (not least of all because he's gorgeous), and Idara Victor as Abigail, a maid working for Andre and then the loathsome Benedict Arnold, who did her best to help Abraham's people - and the beautiful Peggy Shippen, played by Ksenia Solo.

Also featured: Angus MacFayden as revolting Loyalist mercenary Robert Rogers, John Carroll Lynch (Eastman in TWD) as the rather dandy owner of a small newspaper and a Loyalist tavern, and Aldis Hodge (City on a Hill, and Michonne's Mike in TWD!) as Abigail's man and Loyalist ranger.

The plot is based on real incidents and real people but with much fictional embellishment.  Aside from the great acting, I very much liked how it was kept 'real' - aside from the well-to-do, most people really did look filthy, and as though they suffered great hardship.  I have three episodes more to watch, and wish there was another season!

Film: Ted K

4.5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

(US: Rent on Apple, Amazon, Google)

Sharlto Copley stars as Ted Kaczynski, better known as domestic terrorist the Unabomber who lived in a cabin in the woods near Lincoln, Montana, and grew increasingly angry about the destruction of his environment and the effects of technology and industry on the world.  He channels his rage into a series of mail bombs, some of which cause fatalities.  Copley was outstanding, and the film was so artfully produced; I imagine there will be many who watch this and feel some sympathy for his emotional state if not his actions.

I notice that Wikipedia describes it as a 'historical crime drama'.  Kaczynski was arrested in 1996.  Does the genre 'historical' now refer to anything that took place before the 21st century, one wonders?!  

Film: Last Night In Soho

4* ⭐⭐⭐⭐

(UK: Virgin, or rent on Apple, Amazon, Google.  US: Rent only, on Apple, Amazon, Google etc)

Quiet, small-town Cornish girl Eloise Turner (Thomasin McKenzie) is obsessed with the 1960s, and just a little bit psychic.  When she goes to London to study fashion design, she finds that she doesn't fit in with her fellow students.  Choosing to move to a bedsit in an old house, she becomes enmeshed in the problematic life of Sandy (Anya Taylor-Joy - The Queen's Gambit), an ambitious flirtatious young woman looking to become a singing star - in the 1960s.  Yes, Eloise does time travel, too!  Also stars Diana Rigg (who sadly died before the film came out), Terence Stamp and Matt Smith.

I loved all the sixties clothes and the general atmosphere, but Eloise is shocked to find out that the Soho of the time was somewhat darker than her fantasy.  I'd describe it as an entertaining time travel romp, with bloody murders and a few scary bits.  I enjoyed it, but it's not particularly memorable.

(btw, if you've watched it, I was convinced that the girl who played the horrible Jocasta was the daughter or some other relative of Keeley Hawes, because her face and facial mannerisms are so similar, but she's not).  

Film: No Exit

3.5* ⭐⭐⭐

(US: Hulu.  UK: Disney+)

Havana Rose Liu stars as a junkie who absconds from rehab and holes up in a visitors' centre in impassable mountains during a bad storm.  Four other people are already there - but which of them has dastardly intent?

It's good, as far as fairly solid thrillers go.  Nothing outstanding, but worth a watch.

Review: #TheWalkingDead S11x12 THE LUCKY ONES #TWD

 Previously: Review: S11x11 Rogue Element

             S 11 x 12  THE LUCKY ONES

Directed by Tawnia McKiernan

Written by Vivian Tse

An epic episode in which as much was conveyed by words unsaid and masterful foreshadowing as it was by action and dialogue.  Huge round of applause to all involved ... it's left us with so much to think about.

First, to the main story, at Hilltop: after watching this, I am one hundred per cent Team Maggie.  Despite finding her too stroppy and self-important over the last few seasons (though it was understandable that Hershel Greene's daughter died and was born again as a different version of herself after she lost Glenn), right now I think she's doing absolutely the right thing.  Loss and heartbreak can bring out strength and resilience, and it seems this is what has happened with Maggie.  Despite the hardships she and her friends will continue to experience, her intuition tells her she's made the right decision for her and Hershel Jnr, and anyone who wants to stay with her - and for the future of Hilltop.

That was a great little sequence at the end, as the Milton contingent were leaving - Maggie saw Daryl fall into line like a good soldier, heard Mercer tell him to remember that they're always watching.  This consolidated in her mind what she'd been thinking since Lance unwittingly echoed Gregory by suggesting that she was 'in over her head' - as she said, he doesn't know her very well.  You don't tell Maggie Rhee that she can't do something.  Hershel Snr would be proud of her.

It was surprisingly good to see how she and Pamela Milton related so well (more echoes of Deanna, and Georgie), though Pamela's view of 'restoring the natural order' was revealed to be at odds with Maggie's.  Maggie said that Pamela's idea sounded like an autocracy, which of course it is; Pamela idea all the small communities should come under one umbrella means they would then have to be governed by someone, or a series of someones.  The opposite of Maggie's aim: fair, equal, communities free to live life as they wish, trading where and with whom they want to.  

What with Lance's grandiose suggestions of universities and concerts, her face said that she wasn't sure she wants a return to pre-Fall days for Hershel, anyway.  

This was reiterated when Mercer commented how hard it must be for kids at Hilltop, and Daryl pointed out that Hershel is a different kind of kid, who grew up on the road; Mercer was thinking of himself as a child, and what he would be missing, not the children who have only known the world since it changed.

Then there was Rosita saying to Eugene that she missed going outside the walls and the freedom they used to have, even though she thinks being at the Commonwealth is the right thing 'for now'.  Our people seem to share the same belief: that it is only temporary, and when the time is right to return home, they will be able to do so without encountering resistance.  Is it only Maggie who can see the worst case scenario?

'Everything costs something'

*

As for Daryl: falling in with rules and regulations is so opposed to his innate personality that he can only be doing so for the sake of others, particularly Judith and RJ.  Like Rosita and Carol, he appears to be walking the quiet middle ground and biding his time, despite any reservations. 

Maggie: 'Why do you trust these people?'

Daryl: 'Who says I do?  When did I ever?'

But ... do not forget that 'six months later' scene at the end of 11x09 No Other Way.  I had to check it out again after seeing this episode - if you watch it again (below, only 39 seconds long) you'll see that it's quite worrying, given what we now know!

On a lighter note, I like how Daryl has become something verging on matey with Mercer; Daryl seems more open and vocal now, like he was in the early seasons before he started communicating in grunts.  I'm waiting for Mr Pumpkin-Coloured Space Suit to reveal more, as he does every episode, little by little...

'Commonwealth ain't perfect, bro ... don't get too comfortable.'

(btw, when Mercer asked Daryl what he did before all this, I so wanted to hear him say what he said to Beth back in 4x12 Still: 'I was no one.  Nothing.  Just a redneck asshole with an even bigger asshole for a brother'! 😄 )

*

And so to Alexandria:  What was Aaron getting people to hide, when the Milton-Hornsby crew first showed up?  Telling one guy to put a plant in front of a particular window?  Maybe he's scared that it will end up like the Saviors, with them having to give half of what they produce, in return for the help.  Or maybe it's weapons.  Hmmm...

Best case scenario, they've got it all worked out.  Daryl, Carol, Aaron, Rosita, Gabriel - they've put contingency plans in place.  This seems possible, as we never saw the actual exodus to the Commonwealth, how it took place and what happened when Daryl and co left.  Is Aaron just playing the game, to get what they want?

Was nice to see that photo of Deanna and Reg in Deanna's old sitting room, which still looked just the same.  And that Pamela knew her.  I wonder what Deanna would think if she could see them all now.

It's notable how Lance told Aaron that, as far as help for the communities was concerned, it was 'all or nothing' (which was, I believe, the original title of the episode), but this didn't seem to be the case when he talked to Pamela.  I can't see Aaron allowing that little 'worm' to retain the upper hand for long, though.  He stopped being the open, trusting Aaron of Season 5 a long time ago. 

As for the curious partnership of Milton and Hornsby - on the face of it, Pamela seemed refreshingly above board at the beginning of the episode.  She said that the former Alexandrians will be free to return to their communities when they want to; when Lance said that the three communities were perfect for what they're envisioning, she replied, 'What you're envisioning', implying that it was his show and she was just an observer.  In contrast, Lance's power-crazed eyes were doing overtime this episode, never mind the little Walker shooting display at the end and his avowal to rule the world bring more and more people in.

 

Later, though, when they were packing up to leave, their conversation was a mass of complicated undercurrents: she said 'You've been ambitious our whole lives' - what 'whole lives'?  Are they related?  And when she suggested that his desire to rule over Alexandria, Hilltop and Oceanside meant that his work at Commonwealth might suffer, she threatened 'consequences'.  Does she have a hold over him that we don't know about?

Talking of hidden complications, Mercer and Max's flashback scene showed that he was only angry with her about the radio thing because he feared for their safety.  He remarked that contacting a 'rogue' community was 'dangerous for everyone, especially for me and you'.  Why?  Is it just because Milton and Hornsby are scared of takeover by outsiders, or is there something else afoot?  His use of the word 'rogue' doesn't exactly imply a live-and-let-live attitude towards other communities, generally.

I'm so pleased that Max and Eugene have finally got it together, after a shaky start, and she seems lovely.  Interesting to be on her side of the conversation that we heard in Season 10, and see how she's just like him, in her interests.  If ever there was a couple you want to make it, it's these two.

And finally...Ezekiel and Carol. I was amused by how he sussed out straight away that she had been 'up to something' in order to get his surgery pushed up the list.  Because we weren't around for most of those six years during the time jump, it's easy to forget how close they were for a long, long time, and, thus, how well he knows her.

A few other things I'm wondering about:

• I read that Negan returns in the next episode - will he find his way to Hilltop, or back to Alexandria?  I really hope he's not going to team up with skanky Leah!
• So Rachel is running Oceanside, but what happened to Cyndie?

• What happened to Hilltop's Eduardo and Kal?
• ...and where is Alexandria's lovely Scott?  He was mentioned a couple of episodes ago, but he hasn't been seen since S10.

Is Pamela Milton looking for answers in the seas of Oceanside?

A couple of other bits and pieces:

• Jerry talking about medical bills - depressing to think they would exist again.
• I love Elijah's face - he looks kind of noble, honourable, strong, but in a quiet way.  And Carol and Rosita just get more beautiful every episode!
• I came across two leaked photos online the other day - they're of Episode 23, and put my mind at rest about a couple of things.  Obviously I won't put them on here, though, because we don't do spoilers!

It's all getting better and better, isn't it?  

Next week: Warlords

Review: #TWD Season 11 episode 11: ROGUE ELEMENT #TheWalkingDead

  Previously: Review: S11x10 New Haunts

            - S 11 x 11  ROGUE ELEMENT -

Directed by Michael Cudlitz

Written by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick

So I was wrong about Eugene having sussed out Fake Stephanie, then... I wonder if Mr Cudlitz was assigned to direct this episode because it starred his old buddy?  And if he's tempted to leap in and become Abraham again, to show him what's what? 😄

A month has passed since the last episode, so everything has moved on ... Eugene and Fake Stephanie's relationship, Connie establishing herself on the Commonwealth Tribune, Carol getting friendly with and being of use to Lance Hornsby, no doubt to slowly and secretly further a future cause or two down the line, in the way we know and love so well.  Already she's made an ally out there: double-crossing opium grower Moto's lieutenant with the bandaged wrist.

Hornsby talked about giving them a 'raise', but I wonder what form that payment takes?  

For a while, when they were riding out and dealing with the Moto situation, I thought Cheesy Video Guy seemed not so bad; I almost started to like him.  The conclusion I've come to, with all his scenes this week, is that whether or not he likes Pamela Milton or agrees with her strategies isn't the issue; his primary objective is looking after Number One, and he will do whatever is necessary to keep himself in clover.

Despite him coming clean to Eugene, I don't think we've learned anything like the whole truth; what exactly was the motivation for this plan to get them all to the Commonwealth?  It can't just be that they need more workers, and I'm sure altruism doesn't have a great deal to do with it.  

I liked how Eugene's 'lame-brained misadventure' was played out a bit like The Hardy Boys, with the spooky foreshadowing music, etc, and him seeing conspiracies where Princess thought he was simply unable to accept that Stephanie had just dumped him.  However, many so-called conspiracy theories have their root in truth, and of course Eugene ended up being at least partially right.

...and my guess is that Roman Calhoun has other responsibilities aside from those of a plumbing nature.

Princess was great this episode - I like her more and more all the time, especially how supportive she was when she tried to explain to Eugene the workings of the world and affairs of the heart, without being too brutal; I loved this: 'You can think you know someone then find out you never even met them'.  What a great line.

Poor Eugene reacted so typically to his first experience of heartbreak—the obsession, the reluctance to accept reality, going totally off the rails.  I hope he's got another copy of that novel.  Or that Shira (as we now know she is called!) made one.

...at least Real Stephanie has show herself at last!  And she appears to be Mercer's sister; didn't expect that.  I wonder if they're both being kept in some kind of stranglehold by the Miltons.  It gets more and more clear all the time that Mercer is not happy with how things are.  He doesn't seem like the type of guy to put up with BS in order to have a safe roof over his head; maybe he just accepts it for his sister's sake.

As for Connie, I was a little unconvinced by her actions this week.  She's smart as well as intelligent and a warrior for justice—as the new kid in town I thought it unlikely she would have been so outspoken with her boss, insisting that they reveal the true story about Tyler and investigate what's really going on.  She's no timid flower, but her style is usually one of diplomacy, charm and subtlety, especially as she doesn't yet know exactly where the other woman's loyalties lie.

Anyway... who do you think put the list of names under Connie's door?  I think it was Mercer.  I imagine that Eugene, Carol and Connie's investigations and questions will come together at some point to show us what goes on behind closed doors at the shiny happy Commonwealth - but not for a while.

And here's Rosita looking fabulous ;)

Other stuff I liked:

• Connie's boss's comment implying that the 'news' is nothing more than a paraphrasing of Pamela Milton's press releases - how art imitates life, eh?
• Eugene's totally OTT, Carrie Mathison type wall, with all the pins and connecting threads.

• Mercer splitting the Walker's head in two!

Next week: back to Alexandria - and Hilltop and Oceanside