The Walking Dead Review: The Good Vibes Continue in ‘Stradivarius’

*SOME SPOILERS AHEAD*

Not only has The Walking Dead found its storytelling groove again but now there is also real tension and a sense of dread in the air. All of these things had gone missing during the last couple of seasons but they are back and then some. ‘Stradivarius’ continues the trend of solid episodes this week with some solid character building, the reconnecting of old friends and touching on what is going on with Maggie and The Whisperers.

We pick up where we left off last week, with Rosita injured and stumbling through the forest, no sign of Eugene anywhere. She is being pursued, but is it by the usual walkers or the new ones who speak? Either way, it is a great opening with some of that tension and fear that has been missing for a few years now. It may not sound like much but it is a big deal and helps put the viewer on edge right off the bat.

Michonne, she of the raging and conflicting emotions these days, is escorting the new people from Alexandria to Hilltop with the help of DJ and Siddiq. She feels enough for these people to help escort them to their destination yet does not trust them enough to give them back their weapons. They find the camp destroyed and later that night there is an incident between Luke, Michonne and a violin that leads to a great speech by Luke, again, another one of those monologues sorely missing on this show of late.

Jesus has become the reluctant leader of Hilltop, with Tara as his lieutenant. It is an interesting dynamic with Jesus wanting less to do with leading, missing his old job that Tara now has. He takes to avoiding his duties by meeting up with Aaron on a semi-regular basis, sparring physically and verbally, trying to keep the lines of communication open between the two communities. Obviously, something went terribly wrong to have Maggie leave and Michonne avoiding Hilltop altogether. For now, it is still a mystery but it has me intrigued, especially when we find out Michonne didn’t even know Maggie was gone.

Carol, Henry, and Daryl finish out this week’s storyline, with Carol trying to convince Daryl to come back to Hilltop so he can keep an eye on Henry. It seems Daryl has been searching for Rick, no body was ever found and eventually, he just stopped coming back to Hilltop and embraced the comforts of the forest and the silence. Daryl and Carol have some great moments and Henry is even less annoying than usual, making this part of the story a nice reunion so to speak. Hey, and Daryl now has a pet dog named Dog, which I can’t put into words just how perfect that is.

There is a nice moment at the end where we find everyone is converging on Hilltop, probably preparing for the mid-season finale that will have The Whisperers making a huge impact on the show. If I had my way this would be a great time for someone else to die, making the show feel dangerous again. However, it plays out it is just fun to watch The Walking Dead again with anticipation for what’s going to happen during the episode and then beyond.

Four stars out of five