Series Issues: The Walking Dead 6×02 – JSS

All spoilers must be placed in a container bin to pass security… Yes, there are spoilers ahead.

This episode started with Enid. We get to see a brief scene of how her parents ended up getting killed and some short scenes of what’s it like to live out there. In way her story is the story of all survivors. Try to keep some semblance of the society that existed, lose everything that you care for and then… JSS. Just survive somehow. It’s only at the end that we learn what those letters mean to her, but that sentiment is echoed all through this episode of The Walking Dead 6×02: JSS. The somehow of Enid’s mantra will merit some discussion. We’ll get to that.

First, we do have to give it to Carl. He’s all business in this one. Gone is the angsty teenager. Protect what you care about, forget about your ego. That’s all he does. And even if he already witnessed Ron (Jesse’s teenage son) and Enid sharing a hug (which already logic dictates it was just timing) he has no qualms about saving him from getting killed by one of the-

Oh yeah, I forgot. Them. The Wolves was the answer to the question that emerged on last episode’s final scene.

The Wolves have invaded Alexandria. The horn, in typical fortuitous fashion, was incidental. Spencer Monroe (Deanna’s surviving son) is on tower guard duty when it all goes down. His sniper skills are… How should we put this delicately… Remember Sasha? Well, he is nothing like Sasha. If we were picking teams, he would be picked right before Father Gabriel. Ok, ok, he does manage to kill the driver behind a truck. Which crashes against the fence. And the horn gets stuck. Spencer takes his sweet time getting to kill that horn. Yeah I know there was a door and then there was a walker inside and all that… Kill the darn horn. Sigh.

The Wolves are rabid. There’s some purpose to what they do. They do take some people in chains with them. Not quite sure what’s that about, but for the most part they kill and more than once, keep hacking at their already dead victims. They do recognize each other though. And nobody picks that up faster than Carol. Yes, Carol goes into one-woman-army mode again. Single-handedly she takes out several Wolves without hesitation, to the disapproval of Morgan. Morgan is trying to keep his human antagonists alive, but you can tell he’s struggling.

Carol convinces him to play Death-Star-Stormtroopers. With a W written in blood on her forehead and Morgan behind tugging on a chain, she even receives a compliment from a Wolf: “nice catch.” Were they picking people based on a particular criteria? Anyway, Morgan stops playing the moment he sees a Wolf about to kill someone (it turns out to be Father Gabriel, talk about lost opportunities) and can’t resist but help. Carol has to rely on her gun to take out the remaining Wolves surrounding the house that doubles as the armory. She makes it just in time as she fires her last bullet with two Wolves on her tail, gets inside, grabs a gun and takes out one female Wolf while the other runs away (but not without two shots on his back!). Holy assault team.

Morgan on the other hand, runs into a bit of trouble. One of the Wolves asks him “fast or slow” as a pack of his comrades close a circle around him. He just replies: “leave”. They laugh at him. Not for long though, Morgan goes Jedi-Ninja with his stick and sends them running. He lets them know that Alexandrians have guns and they are no match. In his brief interlude with one of the Wolves (who actually steals a gun) he’s told that the Wolves did not have a choice. I’m not sure what that means, but I doubt it’s random.

And then there’s Enid. There’s something that Enid tells Carl. Something that is more important for what was left unsaid. She tells him that a place that big is hard to protect. And then she begins, “that’s how we-” and gets cut off. Is Enid an informer for the Wolves? And if so, that implies there’s a mastermind moving the strings. Who’s the leader or leaders of the Wolf pack?

When all it’s said and done, we finish with more questions than answers. Great episode though.

Highs/Lows/Who let the Wolves out:

Enid. She’s an enigma wrapped around a riddle or plain simple she’s an unmarked Wolf. We get her backstory for the most part. But when she discovers Alexandria’s walls she steps away. Then we get her coming in. Something happened there. Was she recruited? Did she offer her services? After all, she doesn’t believe in this town’s survival.
Carol. The sleeper has awaken. Release the kraken. Rambo. Yes, Carol goes into assassin mode. But as cool as it is to see her take out Wolves with ease, something in her does not like killing. Morgan is right about that. But he’s wrong about thinking that you can survive without killing at all. Even Morgan appears to have to take out one Wolf at the very end.
Deanna. She is asleep at the wheel. Ok, she’s right when she tells Maggie if she goes back she’ll just become another person to protect, but she does have to reestablish herself as the leader. She can’t do that by being absent.
Jesse. Yeah, I skipped Jesse. I know she does have a moment when she’s forced to kill while Sam is hidden in the closet and Ron is refusing Carl’s help (after just being saved by him). I did feel Ron coming back to see his mom dispatching a Wolf was a significant moment. This is a mother protecting her territory, Ron. Your mother is soft on you, but she will go hard.
On the other hand, that conversation interrupted between Jesse and Ron in which Jesse tells his son that Rick is her friend… Bleh. That still tells me the show is thinking about joining Jesse and Rick. For the record, don’t. Lousy decision. Not everyone has to end in couple mode.
The story with Denise, new doctor about town and just in time for the chaos and mayhem, along with Tara and Eugene wasn’t bad. I like that Denise is forced into this role but fails the first time. Not because I wanted her to suffer, but because it’s more realistic this way. She will either break or be made a stronger person and the doctor they need. Oh, and Eugene telling her not to become like him (ok, he says not to become a coward, but we know what he was saying).
Aaron’s moment discovering that one of the Wolves had the picture packet that he shows to the potential citizens is heart wrenching. He isn’t guilty of it, and hopefully he knows that. The fact that he’s involved in even the slightest can’t be a nice feeling.
Who’s moving the strings? Is Enid a traitor, a spy, all of the above… Why don’t the Wolves have guns? Are the Wolves basically the lowest rank of foot soldiers of this invading force? Is there something worse than the Wolves? Am I reading too far into this? Yes, I’m reading too far into it. Let’s wait and see what happens. My money is on the people that are led away in chains coming back as Wolves, although I can’t quite explain this one.
Hey, we still have a horde of roaming Walkers headed this way. Hope your walls are up.

That will do for now.