The Walking Dead 1013 – What We Become
What We Become opens with a blast from the past in the form of a familiar face and one who has been absent far too much this season. The flashback features Michonne in the woods with two armless walkers when she notices a woman in the distance running away from a small hoard. A closer look reveals that it’s Andrea (welcome back Laurie Holden) and Michonne turns her back on the situation as the walkers get closer and Andrea lets out a scream.
Fast forward to the present and Michonne and Virgil are getting off a boat after reaching the island where he said there were some weapons that could be used to fight the Whisperers. Virgil’s promise turns out to be an empty one when he reveals the true nature of his promise to Michonne. His family has succumbed to the ravages of the apocalypse, but they are yet to be buried. They are walkers and Virgil needs Michonne’s help to put them in their final resting place. This doesn’t sit well with her, particularly when she learns that the promised cache of weapons isn’t even a certainty. The search for Virgil’s family leads the duo into a building filled with walkers. After a brief sword filled edition of Where’s Waldo? walker edition Virgil finds his family, turned and hanging from the ceiling.
Just when it looks like things are all systems go to procure the weapons, Virgil drops another last minute shift on Michonne and tells her that they will have to stay the night as the tides have receded making travel by boat a dicey option. Going against her better judgement Michonne decides to stay and later finds herself locked in a room unable to escape. She soon realizes that she’s not alone and that Virgil has laced her food with some sort of psychedelic drug. What follows is a montage of several what could have been scenarios, alternate realities and even more familiar faces.
What We Become features a strong performance by Danai Gurira. The episode begins with Michonne turning her back on someone in need and demonstrates how far the character has come in her willingness to put her life on the line for others. Gurira deftly flips between the many facets of Michonne’s personality demonstrating her strength one minute and her vulnerability the next. Perhaps the highlight of her performance is in the episode’s final moments. The twist discovering Rick’s belongings and her conversation with Judith show the depth of the character Gurira has breathed life into over the years. In the end things come full circle for one of the Walking Dead’s heartbeats putting her on a new path with many stories yet to be told. If and how soon those tales come to light remain to be seen but the storytelling possibilities are intriguing and endless.
