The Walking Dead Mid-Season Premiere, ‘Honor’ Plot Summary:
Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and the crew must cope with the stark reality that Carl (Chandler Riggs) is going to die. Morgan (Lennie James) and Carol (Melissa McBride) attempt to rescue Ezekiel (Khary Patterson).
Why can’t every episode of The Walking Dead be like this?
On paper this seemed like a terrible idea for a premiere — an 80-90 minute episode revolving around Carl dying. It seemed like another turgid, tear-filled episode that was once again about the unending, unbearable pain and suffering the characters on this show go through nearly every second of their post apocalyptic lives.
Instead what we got was an episode that was packed with some of the best acting in series history. We also got answers to one of this season’s big mysteries, saw a couple of truly shocking moments, and experienced smart direction, parallel storytelling, and an honest to God cliffhanger.
In short, it was a great episode…and the standard for every episode the rest of this season needs to be held to.
Who knew that Chandler Riggs would’ve delivered one of the best performances in the show’s history? It feels like just yesterday that we all hated Carl’s hat wearing kid who would constantly get in stupid situations that nearly cost everyone their lives?
Now, he’s the inspiration for hope and change in the world of the series. Riggs hands in a sincere, emotional, and most importantly, controlled performance. Too often characters on this show become unhinged, dying Carl (thanks to Riggs, the writing, and directing) was portrayed with dignity, grace, bravery, and clarity. He’s given some great lines to work with, and despite the character’s death being a radical departure from the source material, it felt like a natural moment (unlike the other departures the series has taken).
Riggs’ performance actually made everyone else around him that much better. Riggs brought the best out in Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurrira. It brought out a new shade of Norman Reedus’ serially stoic Daryl Dixon, and it gave us some fantastic moments from new character, Siddiq (Avi Nash).
Through Carl’s dying hours we also discovered that the “Old Man Rick” vision was actually Carl’s vision. It was what he wanted for his dad, not some sort of weird time jump that we all envisioned. Although, we have to wonder…why did the episode end with Rick lying with a stomach wound under a tree?
Carl’s speech about the easiness of violence is wonderfully juxtaposed to Morgan’s newfound, insatiable bloodlust. There’s a really great moment where Carl is talking about peace, and resisting the urge to kill that overlaps with Morgan deciding whether or not to murder one of the last Saviors’ in The Kingdom. It’s a dramatic moment we don’t get often on this show, and the editing and direction really made this a special scene.
‘Honor’ will probably not rank as one of the best episodes in series history as there are so many big action and horror filled episodes that could take that title. However, when it comes to being a complete episode — acting, character and plot development, and action sequences — this is easily one of the best.
I firmly believe if this series wanted to, it could use this episode as the blueprint for success for the rest of its time on television. If they did, the haters would fall by the wayside, and this could truly become a great series once again.
Rating: 9 out of 10
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