The Walking Dead 1011 – Morning Star
The Whisperers are on the march and headed for Hilltop. With the enemy on its way there are enough tremors of unrest in the community threatening to rip things apart without an imminent invasion on the horizon to complicate matters. Carol is in self exile still carrying the guilt of causing Magna and Connie to be trapped in the cave. Not even a visit from Ezekiel can shake her out of her doldrums. Connie and Magna’s disappearance has the rest of their Oceanside crew pretty antsy and eager to go out and find them. Lydia puts a pin in that idea when she warns that her mother’s march towards them makes leaving Hilltop too dangerous. Mary’s arrival with the rest of the injured Alexandrians causes some unrest, particularly for Earl Sutton who’s wife Tammy was beheaded by Alpha.
The situation becomes even more dire when the members of Hilltop realize that they are unable to retreat to safety or get any help from either Oceanside or Alexandria before Alpha and her hoard arrive. Until they do preparations are made and relationships are rekindled while others move to some measure of resolution. Eugene is caught up in a burgeoning long distance relationship with Stephanie. His feelings for her are so strong that he’s able to resist an offer to lock lips with Rosita. Lydia and Carol share some face time and come to a mutual understanding regarding their past and what lies ahead for Alpha. Even Daryl and Ezekiel have time for a heart to heart before the hoard arrives.
Some wounds take longer to heal though and Carol’s outreach to Daryl is particularly difficult to watch. Carol has buried any part of her that allows her to care for others. It’s the only way she can survive after all of the loss she’s faced. She looks to Daryl to reassure her that her choices haven’t driven too large of a wedge between them but his response is anything but comforting. Daryl’s response, when compared to how he interacted with Ezekiel and especially Judith demonstrates just how much her actions have hurt him.
Morning Star feels like The Walking Dead is putting things in place before the show moves onto another storyline. All of the hellos and goodbyes do help to create some narrative tension before Alpha’s grand assault on Hilltop. However, it feels like we’ve been here before. That alone gives the walk up to the Season 10 finale a bit of a challenge to keep the audience engaged. Hopefully the powers that be have learned from how All Out War ended and make the final three episodes something to remember.
