The Walking Dead Season 7 Episode 10 Review: New Best Friends

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Getting surrounded, and most assuredly without any real leverage, and then managing to pull out a deal a new survivor group would agree to?

Talk about Rick pulling out a miracle play on The Walking Dead Season 7 Episode 10.

Looks like he’s got his army to help face off against Negan. At least a good start of it.

Rick and company are surroudned - The Walking Dead Season 7 Episode 10

Clearly, Rick getting help was the main movement of story in the episode, and while kudos to him for making the deal and getting out alive, it all felt a little contrived in getting there.

Firstly, this group of “takers” was just plain weird. They didn’t feel like real people. The dialogue felt so awkward and unnatural.

At least with the other groups that the Alexandria people have encountered, whatever their personalities, they have felt like people you would actually come across.

The takers felt like they had seen “Mad Max” or something and had never lived in the real world before the zombie apocalypse. Statements about taking Rick to the “Up, Up” or the surrounding extras who seemed permanently mute and without expression just felt off.

Rick takes a break - The Walking Dead Season 7 Episode 9

Granted, their spiked walker that Rick had to battle in the pit was pretty cool. But the show has always been fantastic with its walker effects and the various ways the survivors have had to deal with the zombies.

But it was hard to believe that Rick was in any danger when fighting the one walker in the garbage dump. Maybe another character might have increased the stakes on survival.

Someone like Tara? Aaron?

And then to have the group in the power position just suddenly switch gears and agree to help Rick because he passed their weird “test” seemed a little ridiculous.

Sure, Rick still has to get guns to give to the group, but they seem perfectly content to go to war with a group they haven’t met just so they can get some stuff from another group.

Clearly, Rick is getting the bargain end of the deal.

A Mysterious Collective - The Walking Dead

At least when it comes to the Kingdom and Ezekiel, even though he hasn’t agreed to help Rick yet, there’s still logic behind it all. There feels like a more realistic move for his decisions.

What’s more, I can’t say any of the new characters from the takers group I’m invested in wanting to know more, but I want to get to know the characters in the Kingdom.

Even a character like Richard, who made a really dumb decision during the hour, still has my interest.

There’s something about him trying to get Ezekiel to fight the Saviors, about trying to find a way to get out from under the Saviors’ rule, that feels like he should be hanging with Rick’s crew.

And he understands that eventually, the deal with the Saviors will break. He wants to be proactive.

Carol and Ezekiel - The Walking Dead Season 7 Episode 10

But his plan to lead them to Carol to start a war wasn’t well thought out. And it was obnoxious when Daryl had to ask him to say the woman’s name repeatedly and he wouldn’t answer.

It’s like the episode was trying to elevate some tension just for the sake of it. At least the plan didn’t go through and actually put Carol in danger.

Instead, there was a great reunion for Daryl and Carol. Seriously, those two characters are engaging to watch, so to see them getting together again was a treat.

But it was interesting that Daryl didn’t tell Carol about Negan’s kills and telling her that everything worked out alright.

Obviously, it would trigger her into going full-on Rambo, and even Morgan acknowledged that. But it was like he was trying to protect her. With all the emotional turmoil she’s been through, he was just trying to keep things OK.

Carol will soon find out, but I hope it doesn’t cause a rift in their relationship.

But really, the more scenes with Carol and Daryl the better.

Morgan and Daryl chat - The Walking Dead Season 7 Episode 10

I do wonder though if Daryl leaving with his cool new crossbow is going to be a good thing. Or will him heading back to the Hilltop cause more of a stir than anything.

A war is clearly on the horizon. But will it take place in the season finale or really get going before then?

So while it seemed a little ridiculous in how Rick got his part of the army, at least he was able to get the real recruiting of his numbers going. Though, hopefully, things pick up a bit more in the next episode.

What did you think of the new group? Of Rick's deal? Were you surprised Daryl didn't tell Carol the whole truth?

Sound off below, and be sure to watch The Walking Dead online at TV Fanatic.

New Best Friends Review

Editor Rating: 3.4 / 5.0
  • 3.4 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 4.1 / 5.0 (52 Votes)

Sean McKenna was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. He retired in May of 2017. Follow him on Twitter.

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