The Walking Dead 603: ‘Thank You’ explores catastrophic failures

“Thank You” is another Walking Dead episode about failed plans. How many ways can things go wrong at once?

As we’ve seen before, there are many ways a plan can fall apart. Hell, even in the average week, most of us have at least a handful of special plans that don’t pan out. Throw walkers into the mix and failure would be even more guaranteed and more catastrophic (also, if you recall, season 2 Daryl had reason to regret riding horseback in season 2).

Some of the episode’s tension comes from Heath. He comes to distrust Rick after overhearing some callous comments about potentially leaving people behind if necessary. However, thankfully, a sizable chunk of the problem simply involves managing the massive herd of walkers. How does one do that? At certain points, you would obviously want a hole in the herd (so to speak), and at other moments you’d perhaps need them to be a congregated mass (though, in any case, you should never try to run towards it unless you want to be a walker horde’s breakfast, lunch, and dinner).

David’s death

The Walking Dead is obviously still a drama, so when David gets bit in the shoulder, we are made to feel bad when Michonne cannot deliver a farewell note to his wife. Granted, a cynical viewer might debate what it hypothetically could take for a walker to bite through his collarbone rather than injure his shoulder a bit (could any walker have the necessary pounds of pressure, even if they’re undead and don’t restrain their biting power?).

David reminds me of Tyreese. Obviously, Chad L. Coleman gave a stirring performance during Tyreese’s final moments. While the whole episode is not dedicated to David’s death, his sentiments could still bring a tear to a sensitive viewer’s eye. It is somewhat in contrast to
Abraham (though Michael Cudlitz did great in depicting Abraham’s forgiveness of Eugene.

Why Alexandria isn’t just a return to Woodbury (or Hershel’s farm, or the prison, etc.)

I partly understand some critiques of The Walking Dead, with one of them being a summation of the show as cyclical; The characters find a new location, battle some walkers and some people, then move on to the next place. I’m not ultra-defensive of the series, but it’s a bit like blasting the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for interacting with Shredder and Krang regularly. To some degree, you have to accept that this is what these character’s universes are like, right?

By season 6, the question was how events would shake up Rick, Glenn, Michonne, Rosita Espinosa, Tara Chambler, Sasha Williams, and the rest. When they realize that they do not have enough manpower to complete Rick’s plan, it’s another source of compelling drama. In this case, the drama is more directly “walker-centric,” which was perhaps a refreshing aspect of season 6, compared to previous ones where walkers were a little more on the backburner.

Granted, there are thematic crossovers with previous seasons. The Walking Dead season 2 dealt with the issue of finding volunteers, meting out justice, and a walker horde swarming the farm by the end. Also, we have to wonder how often Rick can potentially leave behind Carl or Judith, rather than offering to stay behind to protect them and others. Still, season 6 is about pitting Rick’s experience against people who lacked such skills and who did not face such dangers. There’s a largely new kind of interplay between those willing to do the unthinkable and those who never even pondered doing so before.

Follow the herd?

“Thank You” is also interesting because it separates people again, with each acting to distract the herd of walkers in their own way. However, things go awry (of course!). The only question is, how many Tyreese-style deaths will they fit into each episode of the season. Ironically, had more people decided on staying behind to guard Alexandria, they still would have needed to fend off the Wolf attack.

As the episode winds down, some of the most dramatic situations face Glenn and Michonne, and they are once again pushed to their limit. Yes, they’ll decide that it’s best that they continue, but what about those around them? Nicholas ultimately decides to opt-out, while someone like Rick seems willing to shut off the debating part of their brain, operating chiefly on basic survival instinct. Too bad Rick’s instincts so often put him in precarious situations!

What are your thoughts on this Walking Dead episode? Let us know in the comments!