The Walking Dead 913 – Chokepoint
The trade fair’s success faces some serious challenges in the opening moments of Chokepoint. Lydia’s escape and the Whisperer’s desire to get her back threatens the Hilltop and the Kingdom and a new threat, the Highwaymen also looms on the horizon. While Ezekiel, Carol, Jerry and Dianne try to figure out how to deal with the Highwaymen, Daryl, Connie, Lydia and Henry try to find a way to evade Alpha’s forces as they come looking for her daughter.
Daryl and his crew find refuge in an abandoned building, which ironically was the former hideout of Connie and her crew. As they wait for the Whisperer’s to arrive, Lydia is faced with a moral dilemma: kill her people to remain free or fall into their clutches again. Also tugging at her heart is her blossoming feelings for Henry. Puppy love is the last thing Daryl needs, especially given Henry’s penchant for making sketchy decisions in the best of situations.
Ezekiel and Carol meet with Ozzy, leader of the Highwaymen and things go off the rails from the start. The Highwaymen want to charge people for using their roads and eye the Kingdom’s resources as payment. After gaining the upper hand on the situation, Ezekiel makes them an offer to diffuse the situation but is quickly rebuffed. It’s then up to Carol, with an offer that calls back to last week’s episode, to seal the deal.
A game of cat and mouse begins once Beta and his squad of Whisperers storm the building where Lydia is hiding. Henry’s training comes to the fore during the attack and Beta proves himself to be a formidable foe, much to Daryl’s chagrin, even though he ends up getting shafted in the end. Lydia though promises to be more trouble than expected and her continued presence only complicates matters for everyone moving forward.
Chokepoint introduces some new characters, shines the spotlight on others who’ve played secondary roles until now and advances the trade fair’s importance to establishing a new order to society. Ozzy and his merry band of Highwaymen prove to be useful and Beta’s importance as Alpha’s right hand man and main muscle evokes memories of Jaws from Roger Moore’s James Bond movies. Even Henry elevates himself from his former depths to make himself useful. Here’s hoping his character has turned a corner, but with Lydia in tow that remains to be seen.
