The Walking Dead’s dialogue driven episodes that expands on character development can be a hit or miss sometimes. This is one of those episodes where I feel that it is a hit.
After going around circles trying to adjust to The Commonwealth’s way of life, Eugene is struggling with the harsh reality in which he has no control of what he can do. This escalated further towards the second half of the episode when it is revealed that Eugene has been lied to. There was never a Stephanie by name when they talked over the radio. Just a decoy and a pawn. With that pawn being Max, who was supposed to be the real Stephanie.
Eugene went in a mode where he was unhinged for a brief period of time. The Walking Dead star Josh McDermitt had memorable performances in the series. But I believe this episode had his best performance on the series. The tone shift from him believing who Stephanie is to what the truth is really showcased the masterful acting Josh McDermitt displayed. If I was in his situation, I would have reacted the same way.
I also want to bring up that awesome walker kill by Mercer. It looked cool and also expensive from a production standpoint. And his intense scenes with Connie and Kelly added an extra flavor to the ongoing investigation conducted by them two. Who would have also thought that Mercer and Max would be family related? That is an interesting twist from the source material.
The theme of this episode of The Walking Dead is the consequences of finding out the bad core of The Commonwealth. Eugene, Princess, Connie, and Kelly tried to test the water with these findings for them to not get further with their findings. Well, Eugene did and look at where it got him. The episode may not be for everyone’s taste, but I believe it will age well in the years to come.
