After an optimistic return to The Walking Dead last week, I waited with bated breath to see if lightning could strike twice. Fortunately, the season’s second episode, “The Bridge,” seems to be continuing a trend towards a new and improved formula, returning urgency and agency to the characters and this new world they’re creating. Warning: spoilers follow!
1. Building Bridges
Two primary plot points weave together in this episode. The first is the reconstruction of a bridge connecting the settlements. It’s no surprise that Rick oversees the construction, literally working to build the world he so desperately envisions in his quest to return to how things used to be, before walkers roamed the earth. With a workforce compiled of people from all of the different groups, the bridge is symbolic of unity, humans coming together for the greater good despite their differences. The episode both opens and closes with light-hearted moments of Rick observing the workers bonding around the camp. Carol and Ezekiel share some funny moments in their new family dynamic (having seemingly ‘adopted’ young Henry), Enid learns medical skills from Saddiq, Rosita works with the women from Oceanside to create and lay explosives, even Father Gabriel has sparked up a romance with Anne (formerly Jadis, ruler of the ‘Garbage People’.) These are hopeful moments, portraying a possible new future. As Ezekiel tells Henry, “This boring structure connects us all.”
2. Timber!
That being said, this is The Walking Dead, and any sense of normality rarely lasts long. There are severe cracks in Rick’s vision. Over half of the bridge’s workforce are Saviors, and as established last episode, some of them are still Negan. One Savior in particular embodies the resentment at this new leadership, coming to blows with Daryl twice throughout the episode – once for harassing Henry on the bridge, and later for failing to set off a crucial alarm. As Rick and Rosita plan to divert a huge herd of walkers, it’s vital that two alarms are set off to distract them. All goes smoothly until Justin fails to set his off, ultimately leading the walkers right to one of the construction crews at a lumber site.
What followed was probably one of the most edge-of-your-seat moments in recent Walking Dead history. Confronted by a huge herd, panic ensues. An unnamed Savior stacking logs lets go of his rope, only to be saved by Aaron who throws him out of the way. Aaron is not so lucky and ends up pinned under the huge log. Daryl scrambles to free him and contain the threat, but as the herd grows around them, it’s evident this is far too much for one man to tackle alone. We discovered a long time ago that our heroes (and thereby the audience) no longer consider walkers to be much of a threat. The pacing of this scene, however, created a real sense of urgency that has been long missing from walker invasions. Fortunately, a large cavalry headed by Rick arrives to help. The walkers are taken care of in a dramatic head-bursting fashion while Aaron is freed from under the log, his arm ruined – one of the grimmest visual effect moments so far – and rushed to Enid for treatment. With Saddiq away and Enid still very inexperienced, she amputates, led only by a medical book. It’s both a gross and exciting sequence, but ultimately proves to Rick that the foundations of his new world might not be as solid as he thinks.
3. Common Law
The second key plot point takes place between Maggie, Michonne, and Jesus at the Hilltop. Michonne arrives to ask for supplies for the Sanctuary, but Maggie denies. The supplies of ethanol required for running a tractor haven’t been delivered, so she considers it an unfair trade. Maggie is steely-eyed and determined this season, and while she’s always been relatively headstrong and confident, it’s great to see her embrace the leadership role, especially with such a different mindset from Rick. While she may currently be overseeing the Hilltop with a firm rule, Maggie just might understand the status of this new world better than anybody else.
Earl, the blacksmith who Gregory manipulated into attempting to murder Maggie last episode, is still in prison, behind the bars he built himself. We discover that Tammy, his wife, has not been permitted to see him. Instead, she sits outside and waits for him. Both Michonne and Jesus express some concern at Maggie’s harsh ruling towards Earl. Michonne believes his skill as a blacksmith is more important than having him locked away; Jesus is concerned that the crime doesn’t fit the punishment. Eventually, Maggie yields and grants Tammy a supervised visit to see her husband. She later returns to speak to Earl alone, where he recalls his past as a drunk. Breaking through Maggie’s defensive front, she frees him, allowing him to return to work under supervision. This is all about second chances. She has no regrets in hanging Gregory. For every inch she gave him, he took a mile. She’s well aware that some people can be redeemed, while others can’t, and is the risk worth it? It’s with this that she agrees to help develop a common law with Michonne, so long as she can continue to put the needs of her people first.
Continued below4. Mysterious Endings
A number of mysteries are established in this episode. Hidden under the normality of their new lives, something sinister is lurking. As Michonne arrives at Hilltop, she reveals that Saviors have been going missing during their trips to deliver ethanol. It’s assumed they’ve run away, but it’s never really clarified. It’s later revealed that more Saviors have gone missing – members of the community who would have families to return to. By slowly weaving in threads of these sudden strange disappearances, it helps to heighten the tension. Something dangerous is hinted at, rather than shown.
Anne/Jadis is keeping watch at night, and we see the return of that helicopter that appeared over the junkyard in season eight. It’s unclear whether her expression is one of fear or hope. Is there some kind of escape on the horizon, or something troubling?
The episode ends with troublesome Justin, exiled from the camp by Rick, as he staggers drunkenly along a road, returning to the Sanctuary. While a drunken stroll down an abandoned track in the dead of night doesn’t seem like a good idea at the best of times, it’s a particularly dangerous mistake in a post-apocalyptic world. He doesn’t notice as he’s being watched from the bushes. In the end, he’s ambushed. The audience is left in the dark about what happened to him, our only clue being that he doesn’t consider his unknown attacker a threat. Has he been picked off by the same person/thing that has been targeting the other Saviors?
5. Negan
The episode opens with Rick visiting Negan to tell him how successfully his new world is coming together. He’s doing exactly what he set out to do, and it’s working. This is undoubtedly a framing device for the main body of the show, as Rick recounts the events – the good and the bad – letting his nemesis know that no matter how dark or difficult events get, people will always choose to come together to build something bigger and better. As the show circles back to the discussion near the end of the episode, we get our first glimpse of Negan, skulking in the shadows of his cell. With his raspy whisper, Negan assures us his cocksure attitude is far from gone as he tells Rick that his bridge isn’t a glimpse of a future, but “a monument to the dead.” Despite being behind bars, Negan feels like more of a legitimate, intimidating threat in his few short, leering lines this episode than in the previous seasons combined.
Things really do seem to be changing for the better in The Walking Dead. The writing has vastly improved, which means plots are driven, and mysteries are established without feeling rushed or ridiculous, while characters develop and interact more naturally. It also allows the actors the chance to do more with their characters, Daryl especially. While the series will probably never recapture the heights of the early seasons, this ninth season might just be the thing to bridge the gap.
