The Walking Dead – “Thank You” Review (spoilers)

Thank you… (Spoilers inside)

The third episode of The Walking Dead premiered tonight, and we get to see how much danger is out beyond the walls of Alexandria. The group that was responsible for herding the massive group of walkers is now franticly trying to get back home and see why there is a large alarm/horn going off drawing all the walking to their haven.

The inexperience of the Alexandrians is shown off in this episode as they drop off one by one, making simple mistakes that the battle hardened members of Rick’s group would never dream of making anymore. Rick’s group wasn’t holding any hands throughout the process either, Rick had no problem leaving the group behind as he went to do what was necessary to get home. Michonne, Glenn and the rest were set to fend for themselves as more and more mistakes are made, and we keep asking why don’t Michonne and Glenn even try and just save themselves. This caring, and eventual handholding of the unprepared Alexandrians cause one of the biggest upsets of the entire series.

There is no point beating around the bush about what happened either, Glenn is dead. He died due to his biggest weakness, and the thing everyone loved about him, he cared and wanted to find some sort of redemption in the people he surrounded himself with. Glenn tried so hard to turn Nicholas into the type of person who could survive anything, and be an effective part of the team, and this episode we almost saw him turn into that very person. With the past creeping up on Nicholas and the near impossible situation he was put into, his nature showed its true colours and Nicholas chose to take the easy way out, and take one of our favorite characters with him. Glenn didn’t die saving the group from a deadly foe, causing him to make a huge sacrifice, we didn’t even get to see him die with Maggie being able to say goodbye. We got so see Glenn die due to a coward’s final choice, and no one will even know what happened to him, or get to see him off the way he deserves. Also, what will Maggie now do without anyone in her life that she truly loves. She has lost her entire family now, and she will never get any answers to why Glenn is not coming home. Its a very tragic and cruel thing to have happen to a member of the group that has very little left to begin with.

After the biggest death of the season (I don’t care who else dies, this was one of the originals, it should have meant more), the rest of the episode sets up the horrible situations that now Michonne and Rick have been left in. Rick is now trapped in an RV full of dead bodies of another group of survivors (not wolves since they had guns), and Michonne is trapped in a town full of walkers with the rest of the Alexandrians who lived. I have no doubt that Rick and Michonne will make it out alive, but the cut that Rick got on his hand from fighting off a walker does not bode well due to the fact that he is now crippled and in a very terrible situation. Could this finally be the point where Rick loses his hand like in the comics? Or will Rick be forever able to tie his shoes with both hands.

The episode itself as a whole was not the best. It gave us a ton of zombie killing, more mistakes than anyone ever wanted to see happen, and the loss of one of our favorite characters. I wont be able to watch Talking Dead tonight, but I hope there was a very good reason for Glenn to go out this way, or it was a giant dream sequence they can explain next week.

RIP Glenn. Thank you.