Warning – FULL SPOILERS for Tonight’s “Go Getters”:

I’m earnestly having trouble remembering the last time The Walking Dead felt like it was building to something other than Negan’s arrival. Now that he’s here, and the Savior way of life has been well-established, Season 7 seems completely absent any forward sense of momentum. Five episodes in, and we’re still catching up with those displaced by the events of the premiere! Maggie’s fine, by the way, and so is the baby. The more you know.

Apart from checking in on Maggie and Sasha’s emotional state, “Go Getters” at least had the benefit of returning to the Hilltop for the first time since Season 6, and not a moment too soon. Few characters from last year were as in need of fleshing out as Jesus, and it helped that Maggie and Sasha’s presence enabled him to finally stand up to Gregory, and decide on taking a more active role in the community. It didn’t hurt that the middle-of-the-night car attack made for one of the more interesting set pieces we’ve had in a while, between Jesus using his physical prowess to take on the walkers, or Maggie finally running over the car with a giant tractor.

The Walking Dead Go Getters Review
I mean, if anything needed some industrial farm equipment to manage.
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At best, “Go Getters” felt like a loose collection of some interesting moments, like Carl and Enid getting to enjoy their childhoods for a change and skate toward the Hilltop hand-in-hand, or that great visual of Maggie, Sasha and Enid around a dinner table in the aftermath of their respective losses. Steven Ogg’s Simon also brought a good amount of energy to scenes with Gregory after the Saviors finally arrived, as lord knows we don’t need to see Jeffrey Dean Morgan strutting around every single week.

The idea of Carl and Jesus stowing away to the Sanctuary at least sounds like a fun one for the weeks to come, especially given that we’re five episodes deep into Season 7, with no real sense of what the main characters intend to do about the Saviors, or what any actual goal toward the midseason finale might be. Don’t forget, we still haven’t even checked in on Tara or Heath, and no one appears to be raising a single red flag about Morgan and Carol’s continued absence.

Don’t get me wrong; I don’t mean to keep punishing The Walking Dead for the kind of meandering story structure it’s more or less always had. If anything, the Season 7 premiere might simply have been built up to an impossible degree, that everything thereafter was bound to suffer. It wouldn’t make sense for Rick to magically unite with the other communities and strike back overnight, but no other storyline; no real goal has stepped forward to keep things moving in the meantime. That’s a lull Season 7 can’t really afford, especially when the series wants so desperately to enter a new phase of its heightened brand of storytelling.

AND ANOTHER THING …

  • Aww, poor Carl and his depth perception.
  • Another lovely moment worth mentioning: Michonne pulling Rick in for that kiss on his way out the door. The two only found a few minutes of screentime this week, but they certainly put them to good use.
  • Did the Saviors custom-weld bars to seal up that car, including the middle finger latch? What dedication to their brand.
  • Tom Payne looks SO much better with a real beard.
  • Was that Carl and Enid’s first kiss? Could have sworn that happened last season.
  • Enid placing balloons on the wrong grave was another sweet moment of specificity in an otherwise uneventful hour.

The Walking Dead Season 7 will return November 27 with “Swear,” airing at 9:00 P.M. on AMC.

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