Walking Dead: New Best Friends + Rick vs. Winslow

By the seventh season of AMC’s The Walking Dead, one might say the series had veered its attention too far away from walkers. However, the episode “New Best Friends” was one of those moments where viewers would go, “Oh yeah, that’s right: This show is supposed to be about zombies!” Granted, most Walking Dead fans loved the human drama elements, but there comes a point where you need to put that aside and let zombies take over. In this case, that zombie arrives in the form of Winslow.

Granted, there are still those moments of tension between groups and worthwhile callbacks to previous crazy moments involving non-walkers. For example, IMDb notes of this episode that “Carol (Melissa McBride) on her wardrobe or even in her new home are a direct reference to the ‘look at the flowers’ moment in season 4.” Good eye, IMDB!

However, when you reach the tenth episode of the seventh season, you might want to pepper in more zombie zaniness and maybe try to make them look more badass and threatening than comical. Winslow pretty much does that.

The Walking Dead: Did Winsow revamp the series?

When assessing the power of Winslow, one might note that it potentially overpowers a greater summary of the episode. Basically, this one zombie is probably the most memorable story element. Even when the episode’s not exactly about Winslow, it will seem like much of the episode is building up to it.

The episode starts with a glimpse of a new group, the Scavengers, who live in a junkyard. They come across Rick Grimes and his group and capture them (though it’s never quite as scary as “No Sanctuary“). Jadis, the leader of the Scavengers, demands that Rick prove their worth by providing supplies and defeating a creature known as Winslow — and history is made.

Winslow almost seems to transcend conventional walkers

The confrontation between Rick and this innovative walker begins in a pit and stays there. The vibe of this fight is that, somehow, this walker is especially dangerous. It turns out Winslow was actually a former Scavenger turned walker but dressed up in spiny armor as a way to test the fighting skills of other survivors— in this case, Rick. It definitely comes across as a more battle-ready walker and almost like a mythic creature to be defeated in a gauntlet.

Incredibly, Winslow still somehow allows for the story to progress, even though it becomes a central focus. For example, as Rick faced off this spiny foe, the episode still tastefully peppers in some moments of Daryl Dixon. Recall he had escaped from the Sanctuary, and now he makes his way back to the Kingdom where he reluctantly seems to (potentially) have genuine sanctuary. He reunites with Carol Peletier and informs her about the dire situation with Alexandria and the Saviors, and at no point do these key moments sap energy away from Rick’s battle.

Kill Winslow, win a prize?

Back at the junkyard, Rick and his group manage to defeat the Winslow, demonstrating their strength to the Scavengers. Jadis agrees to help them fight against the Saviors, but she demands a large portion of the Savior’s spoils of war in return. The episode showcases negotiations and a burgeoning alliance between Rick’s group and the Scavengers, setting the stage for the upcoming conflict against the Saviors.

Somehow, this episode retroactively improves previous season 7 episodes, such as “Rock in the Road” (which wasn’t a terrible episode, but needed payoff moments, such as the fight with Winslow, in order to retain the feel of a “zombie show”). Winslow is a freaking great walker! They even featured it in the episode promo!

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