TV Review: AMC’s The Walking Dead (6×03) “Thank You”

Well that was a doozy of an episode, wasn’t it? As much as I would like to analyze this whole thing, it seems as if no one will be talking about anything else this week aside from whether or not a major character died. With that in mind, I can least say this was a satisfyingly intense episode that had to get around a rocky start and some very pronounced moments to make sure we once again get that Rick is right and life sucks because of walkers.

Okay, so let’s get into it – Glenn is maybe dead. Yes, some may be completely convinced he is dead, but now we are in an era where denial and social media have made it possible to doubt everything, so it is a tough call. On the one hand, the guy fell into a pit of walkers. On the other hand, it would be a pretty pathetic end and there seemed to be enough stylistic touches in filming this scene, which are enough to cause speculation.

There is honestly not much reason for me to speculate. I could argue the case either way, but I am also writing about this show weekly. Why go on and on about one theory and then look like an idiot a week later, were I to be proven wrong. Instead, let’s look at what the scene means: Glenn and Nicholas are trapped, with nowhere to go. The man Glenn saved is having panic attacks and finally comes to terms with the chance he was given. While Nicholas may not have redeemed himself entirely, he realized the error of his ways and chose to thank Glenn for attempting to help. Next thing you know, there’s a bullet in Ol’ Nick’s head and somehow Glenn falls down with him.

It would truly help if Glenn did live, as we could see an interesting arc continue to take place with him. While Rick is now a hero with no empathy and writers are committed to punishing anyone who gets in his path, Glenn is a guy we’ve known from day one who can both get out of sticky situations and be a true help. His compassion is useful in a show full of so much despair and bleakness. However, if Glenn did die, it would show The Walking Dead takes no prisoners and doesn’t have to celebrate every major character that dies either.

Moving on for now, how about this other stuff? Well, this episode does begin in a clunky manner, as we have another idiot Alexandrian question Rick’s authority and immediately get himself killed. It would be funny if it wasn’t so sad (although I did have a chuckle). This is followed by more Alexandrians proving how inept they are, between sprained ankles and friendly fire. Luckily, this episode also gives us Michonne being awesome and I am aware many like me enjoy seeing Michonne being awesome.

This is an episode that may drill into our minds that Heath learns what it means to be a dedicated survivor that makes tough decisions, but it also gives us Michonne delivering one of her best monologues to the guy. That’s good stuff and while the show never benefits from quieter scenes of dialogue to show supposed deep characterization, it is good to hear from the characters we like most.

The same can’t quite be said for Daryl, who is basically driving around on his chopper the whole episode, but there is something to be said for Darth Rick. As you may recall, Rick is all for saving the town, but he lacks any real emotion about it at this point. It is a curious place for him to be and this episode does delve into it slightly, with his “this is for them” mini-speech. And we also get Rick mowing down a group of Wolves with an assault rifle, so The Walking Dead is clearly into having the cake and eating it with Rick.

This whole episode is one deadly party, as the million walker march is still in effect and it mainly finds our heroes running away from them in an effort to get back to town. It is unfortunate we have to deal with a few red shirts in order for the episode to make its very obvious point even clearer, but the tensions are at an all-time high, given the involvement of many fan-favorite characters. Given the lack of a clear overall arc for this season so far, it is neat to see how the investment in what started in the season premiere is clearly having a lasting effect. Now we just have to hope it didn’t really lead to the death of our favorite pizza delivery boy/walker bait.

Aside from a clunky beginning, this was a very intense episode of The Walking Dead. It may be a notch lower than last week (one of the series’ bests) and the premiere (a solid opener), but it gets the job done on an action front. We will just have to wait as far as what the actual results were, which is a bit odd for a series that doesn’t usually feature too much ambiguity. This episode may have gathered together a lot of clichés, but it did plenty to pump us up for whatever is next.

Dead Bits:

• Zombie Kill of the Week:  Both Rick and Michonne land a triple kill this week, but Michonne is easily the MVP of the episode, so she gets the credit.
• More on Glenn – I honestly don’t know at this point. There does seem to be enough to point to him lasting longer in this show, I just hope it’s not a cheap move by the writers that provides the excuse for why he does live, if that is in fact the case.
• Seriously – Daryl was just driving around the whole episode. Bleh.
• Meanwhile, Rick is running all over the place. The man is in serious shape, which makes sense. Did you see him kill all those wolves?
• Alexandrians are the worst.
• Not a good week to be a husband on this show.
• Next week is apparently Morgan: Episode 1 – The Phantom Cheesemaker.
• Thanks for reading and feel free to hear what myself and a few other fans of the show have to say about the series on the The Walking Dead TV Podcast.