My Non-Spoiler Preview of The Walking Dead Episodes 10×09 and 10×10

Last fall, the mid-season finale of the tenth season of The Walking Dead ended with some of our fan favorite characters stuck in a cave as Alpha lured the group into a deadly trap. The mid-season premiere of The Walking Dead is in a matter of a few weeks away and I got a chance to watch the first two episodes of the second half. Here are my non-spoiler thoughts of The Walking Dead season 10, episode 9 titled “Squeeze” and the following episode “Stalker.”

10×09: “Squeeze”

The Daryl and Carol scenes on this episode were done really well and I am glad that the writers acknowledge that Carol is claustrophobic which was first mentioned a long time ago in the earlier seasons. Now that Carol is in a life and death situation, she had to overcome her fear of it during this episode. The scenes of everyone going through the tight spaces of the cave made me claustrophobic myself just by watching it. Daryl was the lead of the escape of the cave, but everyone played a good part of coming up with ideas on how to escape while they were trapped down there.

There were also times where two characters got into a near death experience in this episode and one of them happened at the middle of the episode. I was convinced that this person was going to be gone due to the very tight space. However, not everyone makes it out of the cave as the fate of some characters were left unknown after the escape. I wish I can say who it is, but I cannot so you will have to wait until the episode airs. Also to note, there is a head-shaking (and also tense) moment involving Carol in this episode that would make you question why would she do that in the first place. I have praised Melissa McBride in my past reviews with Carol’s mental state following how much Alpha put her through. But this time, I just hope that the payoff would be worth all the questionable decisions she has done so far this season. I know that previous characters were put in thye same situation as her and I called it out, but it is frustrating to see it happen with Carol episode after episode.

The Negan and Alpha scenes were very good and some of the dialouge were straight from the source materiel (Issues #155 and #156). There is one moment however that will be talked about through The Walking Dead community after this controversail scene will be shown to the world. In fact, I believe it will be the most memorable scene of the entire season as far as shock value it will be. I will also warn everyone to not watch this scene with your children too. I will give it a slight praise since it fits who Alpha is as a person and as the leader of The Whisperers.

Overall, “Squeeze” is a great episode and it does not waste any time to get back to where it left off. And Kudos to Beta for just being there towering over everyone.

10×10: “Stalker”

I have to get this out of the way right now, Beta in this episode is fantastic! Not only does he stalks from within like he is Michael Myers, but he also does brutal killings in this episode. Also, he is involved with two of the three fights on this episode. Also, I noted on my review of 9×13 that Beta has armor under his clothes during his fight with Daryl which is a detail that mostly everyone missed at the time, but it will be useful again in this episode too (Side note, my review of 9×13 is shorter due to me traveling that week). Gabriel will also get high praise from me on this episode too as his advice from Negan earlier this season is starting to really showcase for him especially his conversations with Gamma. Speaking of Gamma, you will all love it when Rosita does what Rick did to Aaron when he first meet him.

Daryl has a fight in this episode with Alpha and I not only loved that scene, I love how the VFX team used the blood on the cameras for Daryl’s eyesight during that fight. Alpha also has a great scene later in the episode as she is finally able to accept what she could not earlier this season. There are also spooky moments that happen at night on this episode too that I cannot give away, but the theme of paranormia returns on this episode too and Rosita will experience that on this episode. I wish I can say more of the episode, but it will be more spoilery than the last episode, but I liked this episode over “Squeeze” and it felt like the first half of the season was the buildup like a bomb fuse being light up and the beginning of the second half is the explosion.

Be sure to check out my full review of “Squeeze” on Feburary 23rd after the episode airs.

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content. Contact me at julian@alternativemindz.com

Interview: Kelley Mack on her Time on The Walking Dead, Growing up With Her Family, and Producing Film.

Kelley Mack is known on The Walking Dead as Adeline who was a resident at The Hiltop. Adeline meet her demise back in season 9 as part of Alpha’s pike border victims. But before she was on the hit AMC series, she has directed and produced films such as A Knock at the Door, The Printer, and The Perfect One. She also has won awards for her roles including winning the award for the best leading actress on Simón, at the Madrid International Film Festival, the Student Visionary Award and Best Actress for her role on The Elephant Garden at the Tribeca Film Festival and the First Run Festival. With all of those accomplishments to her name plus more, Kelley Mack’s future is very bright. I recently got the chance to interview Kelley Mack as we go over her time on The Walking Dead and much more on this exclusive interview!

I would like to get to know more about you. What was it like for you to grow up in Ohio and what drew you into acting?

KM: “I was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and most of my extended family lives in the Midwest. But I actually moved around a lot because of my dad’s jobs, so I grew up in several different states around the country! I think that upbringing caused me to be really adaptable to new situations and people, which translates really well to acting/constantly playing different characters and always working in different locations/environments. My mom was a theater minor in college, and she was the one who got my brother, sister and I into acting and taking us to auditions. Since I was so young, I didn’t totally understand what was happening, just that it was tons of fun and I got to meet a wide variety of people, which I absolutely loved and still do. Learning about different types of people, cultures, places, etc. (the research) is probably my favorite part of the acting process now.”

After you won your award from Tisch School of the Arts, you decided to step away from acting for a while and started to study film production. Was it because you found another passion, or was it for another reason that you stepped away for a while?

KM: “I think part of it was rebellion against my mom, who really wanted me to pursue acting because she thought I had a talent for it. But I also loved playing with cameras around that time. I was the one with video camera off to the side at family holidays and get togethers, just loving being a fly on the wall and capturing candid moments. So I went on to study film production & cinematography in college, where I realized a passion for cameras and pulling focus, but not so much for lighting. It’s such a challenging, important position on set (like every role), and it just didn’t click with me. I also did several internships at production companies and talent agencies, which by process of elimination, really, revealed to me that acting was my main true passion.”

What were some new things that you had to adjust to when you started producing films compared to acting at the time?

KM: “I started producing and taking my first official acting classes right around the same time, so I was really adjusting to both. Spending hours & hours preparing auditions, coordinating a film from beginning to end as a producer all while being a freelancer jumping from gig to gig to pay the bills. I have produced four shorts mostly so I could have more footage for my acting reel, but I discovered how much I enjoy producing and am quite good at it. Producing is definitely more of a left-brain job, which actually makes sense for me since I’m kind of type A. I love filling out paperwork, scheduling, spreadsheets, the whole thing… haha. So in that regard, it’s different from acting, which is way less concrete and of course doesn’t deal as much (at least in auditioning) with all the other areas of production. I’m still adjusting to both & learning every day, which is my favorite!”

How did you get your role as Adeline (Addy) on The Walking Dead?

Jackson Pace as Gage, Joe Ando-Hirsh as Rodney, Kelly Mack as Addy – The Walking Dead _ Season 9, Episode 8 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

KM: “My agent sent me a self tape audition email, I read for a character different than Addy, and then didn’t hear anything for a few weeks. I then got another self tape request, with the same lines, but the character description was a bit different. So I re-taped the same scene with the differences in mind (Addy was described as a bit more bookish and good-hearted than the previous character), then sent it in. My agent called me about a week later on a Monday morning saying that I was the pick for the role, then they asked for my demo reel, which we immediately sent over to the TWD team. A few hours later, they said I was booked and to fly to Atlanta for my fitting the very next day – which happened to be my birthday!”

What are some of your favorite memories being at The Hilltop and did you see any of the other communities during your time on the show?

KM: “The clearest memory is when Jackson Pace and I were driven to Hilltop for the first time – the crops leading up to the big fence and smelling all the food cooking and hearing all the animals – it just felt like woah, I’m home! It was really cool – such a spectacular set. I also of course loved my scenes with Norman Reedus – he’s a cool guy, and so kind. And other than working with people from the Kingdom and the Whisperer communities, we (Jackson, Joe Andi-Hirsh and I) also shot a short scene with the Highwaymen. Our shots when the Hilltop community meets them on the road were cut but it was really cool working with them & the horses that episode.”

You have any stories working with Alanna Masterson and Matt Lintz?

KM: “I don’t really have any crazy stories, but if I had to describe Alanna in a few words, I’d say she’s a chill badass. Matt is really sweet and kinda quiet & shy. He is in a family of actors, and because he was a minor, his parents were closeby on set most of the time. It was cool getting to know them more and seeing their unconditional support of him and his siblings’ careers.”

When did you know that Addy was going to be one of Alpha’s pike victims?

KM: “I found out via a phone call from one of the SFX makeup people while I was on set filming episode 913. It was pretty last minute! I was only supposed to be in 2 episodes originally, so I was grateful to have been able to work on five of them and hadn’t anticipated that I’d stay on the show for too long.”

How did you prepare for the scene at the barn where the tragedy took place over there?

KM: “I just did my normal script work preparation for the scene emotionally, and the stunt choreography all just happened right before we shot it, so there was nothing to really prepare in that regard. I mostly prepped myself for shooting my last episode of the show! The barn scene was actually the very last scene I shot and wrap was really emotional. Even though it was FREEZING that night, everyone waited until the very end of all the coverage so that all the characters killed off could say their goodbyes in a big circle; some people who have been involved in the show for a long time gave speeches… it was really intense and so sad!”

I have spoken to Avi Nash (Siddiq) recently about having Dante forcing Siddiq to watch his friends getting killed by Alpha. How did it feel for you when you seen that play out on television this season?

KM: “Well it was heartbreaking, of course! I get completely wrapped up in character stories, and when one is killed off in such a brutal and unimaginable way, it hits you. And also, from an acting perspective, the actors I admire & respect are truly feeling the emotions the character is going through on screen (in one way or another), so seeing someone experience loss, pain, etc. really reveals parts of that actor as a human-being. And that’s just so touching to be let into that person’s psyche a little bit and be able to connect with them on an emotional level, even if it’s via a television screen.”

Another film you have been part of is Profile and being that I am into the horror genre of that movie type (Other examples such as The Den, Unfriended, etc), I am intrigued to see it. Do you know when it will be available here in the United States?

KM: “I actually don’t! I know it has done quite well overseas in various festivals, but I haven’t even seen it myself yet!”

What are your upcoming projects that you would like to share?

KM: “I recently shot a film in Chicago called Broadcast Signal Intrusion, with Harry Shum Jr. and Chris Sullivan. I was hooked on the story and my character from the moment I got the audition. It could be described as a technological conspiracy thriller, and was inspired by actual broadcast signal hijackings in 1980s Chicago (the Max Headroom Incidents), which were never solved by the FBI. My character Alice is kind of a lost soul on a string of terrible luck, all while being a total street-smart badass. It was a super fun & challenging character to play, and I’m excited for the movie to come out, probably in late 2020!”

What are some of your hobbies that you enjoy outside of acting and producing film?

KM: “I played tennis competitively from age 8 through college, and now, I enjoy playing for fun when I can find someone to hit with. I also play piano and have a keyboard in my bedroom. I mostly play 90’s pop ballads and classical music haha, with some movie scores mixed in there. And of course reading, watching tv & movies, and I love hiking!”

What are some goals that you would like to accomplish within the next few years?

KM: “I would love to be part of producing a feature in the next few years. I’ve produced several shorts, but want to find the right script that I’m passionate about to make the jump to full-length film. Also, personally, I have a pretty long bucket list, so I’m planning to cross more of those off – hopefully several of the ones that involve traveling!”

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content. Contact me at julian@alternativemindz.com

The Walking Dead Season 10, Episode 8 “The World Before” Recap

Danai Gurira as Michonne, Cailey Fleming as Judith Grimes – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 8 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AM8

The first half of the current season is coming to an end tonight and with that end, we see that some of our favorite characters are caught in a very life or death situation at the end of the episode. With that, we got major developments with Michonne, Gabriel, and Aaron. Here is my recap and review of “The World Before.”

The episode opens with a flashback showing us how Dante infiltrated Alexandria shortly after the barn slayings. Alpha and Dante were at the border and it is noted that he recently became a Whisperer at the time. Dante also does not know Lydia and Dante was the one spray painting “Silence The Whisperers” all over Alexandria. He also left Alpha messages for her to recieve inside a tree and after that, we are shown that he acted like a survivor in trouble and that is when he was rescued by Connie and the rest. We also find out that Dante is the one pulling all of the water switches to undrinkable so that way, Gamma could poison the water. Dante is also the person that killed Cheryl in the previous episode as well. Flashforward to the current time and Dante closed Siddiq’s eyes after he killed him. He was about to put him down incase if he turns, but Rosita with Coco opens the door. They talk about Coco needing more rest and Dante tries to buy enough time for him to get back to what he was about to do. Siddiq then turned and Dante pulls out a knife and tried to attack Rosita. While this was going on, Siddiq who is now a walker, was about to devour Coco. Rosita got the upperhand and attacked him back and even stabs him. Rosita puts down walker Siddiq.

Aaron has a conversation with Gamma and she asks about her nephew. Aaron told Gamma that they named him Adam and he will not allow her to see him because her sister left him behind. Gamma purposes a trade. Adam, for information. Aaron told her that she will have to give him information first before he decides to go with the trade. Gamma takes off her mask and told Aaron that her birth name was Mary. Daryl begins to interrogate Dante and he punches him until he gets an answer. Rosita, Carol, and Gabriel are watching this happen and they all ask why he killed Siddiq. Dante said that he wanted a chance to be heard and also brings up the the heads on pikes which then caused for Rosita to kick him until he fell. Aaron arrives and tells them that Gamma told Aaron where the location of the horde is. Daryl told Aaron that they will go to Hiltop to get Adam and then they will look for Lydia. Michonne, Judith, Luke, and Scott are heading to Oceanside. While they are going there, Luke makes a whistle and Judith wanted to know what it was. Judith was also writing in her book and what she is writing is the story of the group. Luke mentioned that there is a library not too far and that they can also get history books there too. Michonne also told Judith that they have to be as quiet as possible and they decide to make a pit stop at the library. At the library, Judith finds a book about a satellite and she told Michonne that Eugene would love it. Rosita also calls Michonne over the radio. Luke goes off on his own to observe the area and he finds a sheet music book. A walker grabs him by the leg, and another grabs his shoulder. A survivor (we learn later in the episode that his name is Virgil) saves Luke by killing the behind walker and leaves the library. Luke killed the walker that grabbed his leg and told Michonne of what happened. Michonne informs everyone that Siddiq is dead and that they must go to Oceanside now.

Cooper Andrews as Jerry, Ross Marquand as Aaron, Lauren Ridloff as Connie, Angel Theory as Kelly, Nadia Hilker as Magna – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 8 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AM8

The funeral of Siddiq takes place at Alexandria and Gabriel is the one to hold it. After Gabriel gives his euliogy, Carol and Ezekiel speak and he could not believe that Siddiq is gone. Ezekiel was convinced that Siddiq would survive forever. Ezekiel then asked Carol if she needed help with taking down Alpha’s herd and she told him that she could handle it. Ezekiel told her “good luck” as they parted ways. Rosita was by herself until she heard walkers banging on the wall. She killed two of them, but she had a hard time taking down the walker with the helmet because she is still hurt from losing Siddiq. Eugene helps her take that walker down and gives his condolences too. Gabriel is watching Dante’s arrival interview and Rosita and him get into a heated argument. On Rosita’s side, she is angry that he is not listening to her vent about her being used to taking down walkers and that she could have died. On Gabriel’s side, he has more important things to deal with at the moment and that her venting, added more uneeded stress as her feelings cannot predict the future. Rosita thinks that Dante was right about everyone at Alexandria right now that they are very weak in the inside. Aaron is with his daughter Gracie and she wanted to hear him talk about California. He told her a story of his boyfriend and where they used to travel along with the village that they were in before he went to Alexandria. I think that I want to see these two interract more. Michonne and the rest arrive at Oceanside and she asks Jules and Rachel how long has it been since they had new people there and they said since before the fire. Michonne wanted them to be on high alert. A few members of Oceanside captured Virgil and Michonne wanted to know where he is from and if he was a Whisperer. Luke told Michonne that he saved him, but Jules also told Michonne that he was trying to steal a boat. Virgil told them all that he was just trying to go home. Michonne told him that he will tell her everything. Before they could continue, walkers are approaching and they begin to take them down and Michonne is yelling Judith’s name.

Thora Birch as Gamma- The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 8 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AM8

Gabriel enters the cell area to question Why Dante killed Siddiq and if the stories that he told him on the interview were true. Dante told him why, but Gabriel asked him if he think that people could get a second chance. He also says that he loved Siddiq as a brother. Gabriel then stabbed Dante to death until he died. Rosita with Coco did however see Gabriel leave the cell area through the window. Virgil tried to run while everyone else is killing walkers and Judith stopped him by cutting his leg. She called for Michonne and she arrives as they captured him. Daryl, Carol, and Aaron meets up with Jerry, Connie, Kelly, and Magna. Daryl thanks Connie and she told him via a message “anything for us.” At night, they cross one of Alpha’s borders and Carol almost got caught in a bear trap. Daryl saved her and Daryl was concerned for her mental state as he told her that it felt like he was talking to a ghost ever since she got off the boat. Carol told him that she is doing the best that she can and Daryl told her that he is the one that she tells. The both hug after this as he understands why she is the way she is right now and told her that Alpha is not worth risking her life over. Gabriel is burning Dante’s corpse and Rosita watches it too by coming to his side. Virgil wakes up and told Judith to not go through his belongings. He tried to grab it back, but he fell and Judith told him that his stitches would get affected if he keeps doing that. Michonne finally speaks with Virgil and we learn that he is there for supplies and does not want to hurt anyone.He even says that mercy’s in short supplies these days and Michonne told him that it reminded her of what Rick Grimes used to say (“my mercy previails over my wrath”). Virgil does not want to tell her where he lives to protect his family, but Michonne assured him that he will get back safe and that he should not make his family suffer while he is away. Virgil told her that he lives in a naval base on an island. Virgil thinks that he can help Michonne out in exchange of him getting home in which that he has weapons big enough to take out Alpha’s horde. Michonne tells Judith this and that she has to do this mission alone. In the morning, Daryl and everyone are at the location of Alpha’s horde but there are no walkers there. Aaron and Daryl argue if what Gamma said was true or not and Daryl decides that it is time to look for Lydia. Michonne told Virgil that the offer is accepted and that the weapons will pay his debt in order for him to go home. Michonne says her goodbyes to everyone and told them and Judith to radio her every hour and every day if she wants as she is only a few days away. While Daryl and the rest are looking for Lydia, Carol sees Alpha. Alpha runs away and Carol chases her. Daryl, Jerry, Magna, Kelly, and Aaron runs to get Carol back and they killed a few walkers away. Alpha is luring them into a cave and they all followed. Daryl was by himself for a few moments inside the cave until he fell through a trap that Alpha set (I assume that everyone fell as well) and they are all trapped at the bottom of the cave to see Alpha’s mega horde which consists of thousands and thousands of walkers and there is no way out. The noises of the walkers are so loud, that you cannot even hear the ending music as the episode ends.

Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Nadia Hilker as Magna, Lauren Ridloff as Connie, Melissa McBride as Carol, Angel Theory as Kelly – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 8 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AM8

I like what they are building here as it reminded me of 6×08 and 6×09 as it is setting up for a huge payoff for the next episode and for the rest of the season. Gabriel and Michonne are my two favorites of this episode and I believe that they are setting up Michonne’s exit within the next few episodes. I also did not expect to see Dante die this quick at all. Carol is still hurt and suffering from the loss of Henry and Melissa McBribe is doing an excellent job of showcasing the pain and damage one person can go through for losing your own children. I also like how all of my questions about Dante was answered within the first three minutes of the episode too. The giant horde that Carol wanted to see is now infront of her so lets see how in the hell everyone will get out of this when The Walking Dead returns in a few months.

This first half of the tenth season has been great despite it’s hiccups and my favorite episodes are the fifth, second, and the first episode of the season. I am loving this season as a whole and to me, the breakout performances this season so far goes to Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Seth Gilliam, Norman Reedus, Samantha Morton, Thora Birch, Ryan Hurst, Avi Nash, Khary Payton, and Ross Marquand. I like the entire cast, but these performances stood out for me.

My weekly recaps of The Walking Dead will return in three more months and next week, I will count down the top The Walking Dead comic book moments of 2019. My lists for 2017 and 2018 are below too along with my interviews I have done this season.

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content. Contact me at julian@alternativemindz.com.

Interview: Avi Nash on That Big Plot Twist, Carl Grimes, PTSD, and Much More

Avi Nash as Siddiq – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 7 – Photo Credit: Jace Downs/AMC

This week on The Walking Dead, we got a glimpse on what happened at the barn where Siddiq was forced to watch Alpha slay the pike victims. We also got to see a huge plot twist as it was revealed that Dante is a Whisperer the entire time he has been at Alexandria. Although there are many questions to how he got there, what is more important is that Siddiq has been killed. Avi Nash breaks down the shocking plot twist of that episode along with more topics on this exclusive interview!

How did you react when you seen the script of your death scene? And also, were there any hints that gave away that Dante was a Whisperer?

AN: “I knew from the top of the season because Angela Kang is an extremely gracious leader and she let me know prior to starting season 10 that this would Siddiq’s swan song. But I was actually very excited about it because we got into all the complexities of what he was going to go through with PTSD and survivor’s guilt and having a new child. And I was really excited because I’ve played a character who’s been instrumental to the storytelling and the arc of the season as a whole. So for me, the chance to serve that story in such a significant way was very exciting. And it gave me a lot of work to look forward to the day that I finally got the script for the episode. If anything it was just like ‘oh shit, I’m in a lot of scenes I’ve got to get to work’. And yes, There are hints that was right in everyone’s faces on the earlier episodes of the season. I think Siddiq was slowly piecing it together and that is sort of a dual-tragedy for him in this because, I think on one hand, it was the first person he’s sort of able to open back up to about what he’s going through because he’s a brother in arms of a fellow medical professional that has been through PTSD himself and reached out to Siddiq. And I think truthfully, they’re were forming a friendship now from Dante’s point of view. Maybe that’s all fake or maybe based on some of the language that he uses, he had romantic feelings for Siddiq. I’m not sure what the tragedy being that Siddiq is starting to open up to this guy, while meanwhile in his subconscious, something about this guy is off to him. And you see that starts to affect him you know whether it’s in the first episode when he focuses on his mouth or in the later episode when they’re performing surgery on Carol and Dante sort of makes that verbal tick-tick sound and Siddiq then has a bit of a flashback. He’s not quite able to realize that he is causing those flashbacks, But it’s definitely happening and it’s only at that final moment when Dante is in the same physical space behind Siddiq, he put it all together because that’s also a great layer of the tragedy for Siddiq which is that he’s carrying around the guilt that after they all fought back a little, but it was not enough. Alpha lined them up and started to decapitate them and he was actually unable to move when in fact because of Dante holding him down as a whisperer. He was trying to move and scream and shout and get up and fight back again. But they were all held down by Whisperers and his eyes were forced to open by Dante to see how these other people he cares about decapitated. And so all those pieces of memory coming together I think are there in the season but he is only able to put it together too late.”

Will we see an explaniation on how Dante came into Alexandria?

AM: “Angela and her team of writers are great and they know how to craft good storytelling without sort of sacrificing character development and without sacrificing suspense, terror, and the comedy and all these things that make us fall in love with The Walking Dead and that have kept us tuned in for ten years. So I can’t tell you exactly what you may or may not see, but I can tell you that you will hopefully be satisfied when it does get revealed.”

What was it like to work with Samantha Morton on those PTSD scenes of the barn flashbacks?

Samantha Morton as Alpha – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 3 – Photo Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

AN: “You know, that woman should get nominated for an Emmy or Oscar. She is an incredible actress. When she gets into character and comes on the set, all the air is sucked out because she goes from being a lovely bubbly Sam to being cold and deadlyy Alpha for us. I remember in particular there was a night that we shot majority of those flashbacks where Siddiq in his mind, he thinks he’s sitting there on his own and it’s frozen. But in actuality, it’s Dante behind him holding him down and turning his head and ripping his eyes open the watch. And we shot both versions of me on my knees, on my own struggling just sort of with my mind not able to move and then a version where Dante was behind me literally ripping me forward and holding me down and stopping me from moving and screaming and shoving his hands all in my face. And during all of that, Samantha was on the other side scaring the shit out of me. And we were there probably four or five hours one evening and she is the most gracious actress. She might not be in every one of those shots, but she’s there giving a thousand percent. And I hope I tried to return the favor. There were takes were I wasn’t in the shot because I was just on her coverage and she was like ‘You know darling, you don’t need to do this. Like you’ve just you’ve just been through so much’ because I’m over there crying in my snot. And I was like ‘Samantha snot aside, I got to be there for you because that’s you how I was trained. You know, this is British theater and this is frankly a generous act’. You’re there for your partner. And so, we got to share a really nice moment together giving each other fear and terror and ultimately though compassion.”

If Carl Grimes was still alive, what do you think he would say to Siddiq?

AN: “I think if he was alive, he would have definitely been somebody that Siddiq would have tried to open up to. I feel like there was the beginning of a very beautiful friendship that would have kept developing. He was sort of adopted into that Grimes family and so, I think those two would have been brothers. Hopefully Saddiq has been a character with enough of a legacy and enough love on the show and enough powerful storytelling that he can stand along with Carl, Glenn, and Abraham shoulder to shoulder and look down on the rest of The Walking Dead survivors.”

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content. Contact me at julian@alternativemindz.com.

The Walking Dead Season 10, Episode 7 “Open Your Eyes” Recap

Avi Nash as Siddiq, Seth Gilliam as Father Gabriel Stokes, Juan Javier Cardenas as Dante, James Parks as Captured Whisperer – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 7 – Photo Credit: Jace Downs/AMC

The first half of the current season of The Walking Dead will conclude next weekend and after that, we will have to wait about three months for the next episode. But I do not want to talk about the end of the first half yet as this week, we finally get some insight on how Alpha slain the victims. Here is my review and recap of “Open Your Eyes.”

We first see a flashback to the barn where Alpha is about to slay the pike victims and then Siddiq wakes up and gives Sheryl water. Cheryl is getting more sicker as the time goes by and Siddiq also gives water to everyone at the infarmy. He also sees Alpha outside the door as an hallucination. At night, he was writing on his notebook and he fell asleep. He also has a dream of being chocked. We will get back to this.

In the morning, Daryl tells Lydia to get out of the cell so that way, they can place the one Whisperer in the cell that Carol captured the previous night. Carol asks Lydia if she seen him before and she told her that he watches over the mega herd which means that Lydia does know him. Gabriel thinks that it is a bad idea to have him in the cell as it will put everyone at risk. But Daryl and Caryl told him that Alpha’s herd needed to be found. Carol also thanked Daryl for having her back in that situation. Daryl takes off his shirt and many scars are visible on him including from the previous season. Dog runs up to him to greet him. Carol is on her investigative mode as she asks Lydia more about The Whisperers. Lydia says that she hates them and that her mom twists people to make them obey her because they have no choice but to do it. Dante and Siddiq checks on the Whisperer since he also has a stab wound. The Whisperer also says that he knows Siddiq indicating that he was there when he seen the pike victims got killed. Gabriel tells Siddiq to go and told him that Dante will watch over him. When Siddiq looks at the top of the gate that resembles the pikes, he has another flashback of Alpha decapitating DJ of The Highwaymen. At one of Alpha’s borders, Gamma and Aaron talk and she asked how do they have bread every day and he told her that they have a lot of flour. Aaron shows Gamma a piece of paper that has a drawing that his daughter made (I believe it is the one that he adopted during season 8). He asked her if she had any brothers or sisters or a family and Gamma told him that she is the only child.

Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier, Seth Gilliam as Father Gabriel Stokes – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 7 – Photo Credit: Jace Downs/AMC

At the cell, Carol, Daryl, and Siddiq begin their interrogation of that Whisperer. She brings a steel sheet covered and we are lead to believe that it is sharp objects, but it is bread with different types of jam and peanut butter. She asks him what does he prefer and he says “all of it.” He wanted to talk about what does she want and she says that they are having fish for lunch. After he took a bite of the sandwhich, she asks if it was good and then, he spits the food out right at her face and said “no.” Siddiq and Rosita talk about Eugene as she does not want Eugene to think that she is dissing him. She also did not think that she would be a mom, but they are proud parents. Right when they were about to kiss, she coughs and Siddiq gives her more water. Back at the cell, Carol asks him about the herd and placed the knife on his wound. He does not give an answer and then, she puts on her wedding ring and started to punch him. Daryl told her to stop, and then the Whisperer told them that they are all weak. Daryl then took out his knife and threatened to cut out his fingers and ears. He then displays his loyalty to Alpha and The Whisperer life as he is not going to say a word. He even thinks that Lydia is dead. Daryl and Carol then have a debate about using Lydia to get to him but Daryl is against this. Back to Gamma and Aaron as he lets her look at the drawing his daughter dew and he told a story about his brother. He does this to try to get her to open up but she walks away from him. The Whisperer at the cell is heating up and then he was bleeding from the mouth and died moments later. Daryl, Siddiq, Dante, and Gabriel tried to save him however, but Siddiq asked Dante how did this happen and Dante told Siddiq that he packed the hemlock which was the wrong medicine.

Thora Birch as Gamma, Ross Marquand as Aaron – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 7 – Photo Credit: Jace Downs/AMC

Gamma is by herself and she killed an approaching walker. Alpha is also there and she asked Gamma about the intel she gathered from Aaron. After Gamma told Alpha that he has a daughter, Alpha told her to remove her mask and she did that along with opening her sleeve. Alpha proceeded to whip her wrist with a small branch and Alpha told her to not lose her focus and to not give in to what Aaron is telling her. Alpha told Gamma that she believes in her. Carol and Lydia are on a horse and here is where you think that Carol did not listen to Daryl. Daryl and stabbed the Whisperer at the head so that way, he would not turn. Gabriel thinks that Alpha will find out, but Daryl assures him that she won’t. Siddiq enters Cheryl’s room to see that she is gone and he then goes outside to see that Dante is burying her dead body. Siddiq then had another barn flashback and he ran to jump in the water. Rosita saved him and they talk about what he is going through. Siddiq told Rosita that he misses Enid and that he blames himself for not stopping what Alpha did. He also says that many people died in front of him then and it still continues now. Rosita told him to not blame himself and that he is the smartest person she knows. Siddiq asked her why is everyone sick even when they do not live with each other. He realizes that it is the water that is making everyone sick.

He checks the plumbing and notices that they are all switched to undrinkable. He then has a breakdown (poor Siddiq). At night, Gamma told Aaron to never come near her ever again. She then holds him hostage until Carol and Lydia show up. Gamma sees Lydia and runs away and Lydia not only argued with Carol about her being used, but also hits her with the stick. Lydia crosses over Alpha’s border. Siddiq is looking through the window and Dante walks in and apologizes to Siddiq about earlier. He says that he is a friend to him, but Siddiq does not want to hear it. Dante then said something that triggered Siddiq’s barn flashback and this is where we find out that not only that Dante is a Whisperer that has been planted there, but he also was there at the barn slayings and also made Siddiq watch the slayings. Siddiq realizes this and had a scuffle with Dante. Dante proceeded to choke him out until he dies as the episode ends.

The pacing of this episode was all over the place and there are a few dialogue choices that I have mixed feelings about. The Carol and Lydia dynamic does not fit for me as the Daryl and Lydia dynamic. It seems like she was the reverse Alpha in this episode in some ways and it just did not work. That is my only harsh criticism of the episode. I like the plot twist of Dante being a Whisperer as I did not see it coming at all since he was a completely different character in the comic book series. Avi Nash stole the entire show in this episode as this is the best episode of the series that I have seen him play as Siddiq. My only thing is that how will they explain how he got to Alexandria and when did he tell Alpha that they crossed the border during the winter (since Alpha planted him there). Hopefully, this will be explained in another episode. Also, being that I used to watch 24, the interrogation scene at the cell was great and once that Whisperer spit her food at Carol, it was all over for him. Another solid episode!

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter@julianexcalibur for more content. Contact me at julian@alternativemindz.com.

INTERVIEW: Josh McDermitt on His Radio Conversation, Eugene’s Friendship With Rosita, Improvised Lines, and Everything With Coco!

Josh McDermitt as Dr. Eugene Porter – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 6 – Photo Credit: Jace Downs/AMC

Eugene has finally made contact with someone over the radio that is not conected with their communities and that is a big development. Here to talk about that big moment of the episode and much more is Josh McDermitt.

We seen that Eugene has taken much interest in the satellite ever since it crashed down. Will some of the parts of the satellite be put to great use for the rest of the season?

JM: “Other than what he’s already used for the radio, Yes. It kind of got mangled you know, and a lot of it is on fire. He was trying to salvage as much of it as he could. And he probably had a singular mindset thinking he could just use it for radio parts. I imagine Eugene’s got like some sort of junkyard set up somewhere with parts that he doesn’t need right now but could need in the future. And anytime people are out scavenging are like ‘hey, I found an old radiator’ and he’s like, ‘go just put it out with the junk’. I kind of imagine him doing that. I think it’s really cool that we were able to kind of start the season with that satellite crashing to Earth because if you think about it, how many satellites are in outer space? I would venture to say hundreds, if not thousands. And it would be completely plausible that one of whom would just fall to earth. And I just thought it was just cool way to open the field. And so I hope that aside from the radio, we could see more of it.”

What do you believe is Eugene’s biggest character evolution since his debut back in Season 4?

JM: “I think every season he’s had a nice arc and has done a 180 from where he started off at the top of that particular season. I think the fact that he was a coward, he was scared, he was lying, he was not an honest person. And he is 180 degrees opposite of that now. He is a guy who is completely capable. to handle himself. He’s got confidence. I think that’s kind of the biggest evolution for him, is that he is kind of content with living in this world where before it was just constant fear.”

Christian Serratos as Rosita Espinosa, Josh McDermitt as Dr. Eugene Porter, Baby Coco – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 1 – Photo Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

You also had great scenes with Christian Serratos and as well as Coco so far this season. Do you have any great stories on how the both of you developed those scenes together along with bonding with Coco?

JM: I love babies, man! And these kids were super sweet. And i’m not fussy at all. And it’s like I just wanted to do more stuff with them, you know? And it’s fun seeing Christian, who has a daughter of her own, take on the role of mother as Rosita and to really bring things from her own life to this character. We had a good time with that. I think everybody was always, all hands on deck, so to speak. Just trying to make sure that these these kids playing Coco were cared for and that sort of thing. We did use the dolls a couple of times. So I think we had more fun probably with the dolls than with the kids because you never want to get wild and crazy with with babies around because you want to keep their temperament kind of chill. Otherwise, it ends up being a really long day of trying to get them to stop crying. There’s certainly a science to when we bring them in like they’re fed, they’re changed. They’ve had a nap, like they’re ready to go. So we certainly cut loose more when the babies weren’t on set.”

Would you like to run down on how you went from yourself loving babies to now being in character to learn how to take care of a baby all over again?

JM: “He approached it with mathematical precision, you know, in science. That’s how he kind of approaches every situation and analyzes it. He has to completely wrap his head around it and understand it and do the math in the air with it. You know, count on his fingers if he has to. There’s not to say that he wouldn’t be a great father, its just seeing how well he handles the kid and he’s trying to burp Coco and he’s counting the times he pats Coco’s back to burp and it is around 21 times. So it was fun to kind of throw everything away that I know about children and babies and to be able to kind of approach it in a new way, like how Eugene would do it in a more mathematical, scientific, religious way. That was just fun. It was fun to kind of play with that. That part of his character.”

Eugene and Nabila (Nadine Marissa) talked about the radio supplies before you turned the radio on and she said that she was happy to be part of The Hiltop A.V club. How did Nadine react to seeing you do your lines the way Eugene does it?

JM: “We had fun doing that scene and Nadine is a great person to work with. I think she’s excited to do something different in Hiltop that doesn’t involve gardening or fixing a fence or like all the things around Hilltop that that kind of need attention. I think she was excited and she was like ‘oh, this is fun. This is exciting’. But, you know, at the same time, once he starts explaining everything that’s going on, she may have realized like ‘oh, I’m in over my head and so I’m going to have to do this test run another time and I got kids’. So that was fun to play with that. You see, it was funny because Eugene says, ‘you don’t parlay any Russian by any chance’. I was also coaching her for a brief time on how to say one line in Russian and it was just hysterical. We are all just trying to figure out how to say this this fairly simple Russian word that even if you don’t speak a lick of Russian, you probably know how to say.”

Seth Gilliam as Father Gabriel Stokes, Josh McDermitt as Dr. Eugene Porter, Avi Nash as Siddiq, Christian Serratos as Rosita Espinosa – The Walking Dead _ Season 10 – Photo Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

Eugene finally makes contact with someone on the open channel over the radio. Being that I am also a comic reader of The Walking Dead, I am excited for what is to come. Do you believe that Eugene is also happy with this development?

JM: “Right now, he’s kind of a lonely and depressed place after having a sad realization that things would never work out with Rosita. He was trying to figure out what he’s going to do with his life. And so he’s just buried himself in this work. Working with the radio and doing duties around Hilltop. But I also think that he wasn’t necessarily expecting a voice to come out at that moment. I mean, he was trying and certainly down the road. He was probably wanting to reach out further than the communities that he’s already in contact with and just see what else is out there. But, you know, it was basically just Rosita standing him up. You know, obviously for good reason. She’s sick and had to go to the infirmary, but he doesn’t know that. So he was just kind of like ‘I’m alone, This is not a fun place to be so let’s just see what else was out there’. So I think he’s extremely happy and extremely surprised that this voice came on the radio and he was also able to share some personal details about himself that we’ve never really seen that out of him. We don’t really know too much about his life pre-apocalypse and he was able to kind of talk about that with someone.”

Will we see Eugene interract with other characters he has not interract with yet for the rest of the season?

JM: “I think there’s a great possibility of that. At the start of every season, we have a conversation with the show runner and this year, I did speak with Angela and said ‘you know, maybe there’s some people that I would like to work with if we can make that happen’ because there’s people like Lenny James (Morgan) and I never interracted with him. And both Lenny and I talked about that. And it was kind of disappointing because obviously, our storylines didn’t intersect as much. I mean, we were in scenes together, but we never did a scene. And obviously Rick left and I didn’t really do a scene with Andrew Lincoln until Season 9. And so this year, I said, ‘hey, you know, there’s some people that if the opportunity comes, I would love to work with them and come to find out these people said the same thing about me’. So I will say yes, There are some moments where I get to interact with other people, but we’ll just leave it at that and we’ll let the audience be surprised.”

Everyone has a signature weapon except for Eugene. Why is that?

JM: “I mean, he’s got his trusty knife, the big blade he got in the time jump between the front half of Season 9 and then in Episode 6, when the time jumps like six and a half years into the future. He has become proficient in knives and that’s kind of become his signature weapon. But he’s still not first person to jump out to the front lines unless you absolutely have to. And it’s not out of fear. It’s just, Eugene have other things that he is also doing and he will get out there if he is needed. But in the meantime, Eugene is just being here. I don’t know that he’s gonna have a another weapon.”

Eugene has had any memorable lines throuought the series. How many lines have you improvised for Eugene?

JM: “I do not improvise a lot. Eugene is a lot smarter than I am, and I think it would be really obvious if I improvised a line because it wouldn’t sound like you. You know, in the end, I give credit to the writers. You know, Corey Reed always writes for Eugene really well. Scott Campbell was amazing at writing for Eugene. And, you know, it’s kind of fun to see the writers get to come throw out their knowledge because I’m having to look up half of what they say or what he’s saying because they don’t necessarily understand it on the first read. But in terms of me improvising anything, the percentage is so small. I think I improvised one line where I was fighting alongside Rosita this season with the horde and she says something to the effect of like, ‘you know, you want to give up or do you want to call it a night?’ And he says, ‘I can go all night’. I improvised that line. But, you know, I don’t even remember what the original line was. You don’t ever want to improvise. This isn’t a sitcom or anything. So you don’t want to just be throwing out lines. Most improvised lines are going to be funny though, but you want to make sure you stick with the tone. So there’s really not a lot of room for improvisation. But I remember talking to Jim Barnes and he had said ‘hey, you know, if you have something else you want to say, go for it’. But yeah, I did improvise that line for sure!”

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content. Contact me at julian@alternativemindz.com.

The Walking Dead Season 10, Episode 6, “Bonds” Recap

Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier, Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon; group – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 6 – Photo Credit: Jace Downs/AMC

Bonds are made to be held together no matter if the road to that bond is sweet or rocky. We see that on this episode in many ways and it shows how strong they are, and how it could be challenged. Here is my recap for the latest episode of The Walking Dead titled “Bonds”.

The episode starts with Carol waking up early in the morning to prepare coffee and she even looks at her gun too. Daryl and Dog is also outside observing and catches Carol leaving Alexandria. Carol told him that she is looking for Negan and Daryl accompanies her. Once they enter the woods, Daryl figured out that she lied to him and she told him that she is really there to look for Alpha’s mega herd to destroy it. Dante is also taking care of an ederly woman due to her being sick and he even makes a joke about wanting to date her. Siddiq arrives with Coco and told Dante that Rosita still has the stomach bug. More on that in a bit as we go back to Carol and Daryl. They both check the map to try to track where The Whisperers were going. Carol admitted that she lied to him because she did not want him to worry about her due to what happened last time when they meet Alpha at the border. Negan is blindfolded when Beta and a few Whisperers are taking him to their camp. Negan jokingly tells them that he wants to join them and Beta shuts him up by having his knives close to his neck. Negan also demanded Beta to take him to Alpha so that way, he can spill every secret he knows about Alexandria.

At Hiltop, Eugene and Nabila are talking about the supplies for the radio transmission update and she is glad to be a bigger help at Hiltop now. She leaves as she has to get back to her kids and Eugene turns on the radio. Rosita calls in and she wanted to see what he was up to. She also has a fever of over 100 degrees and Eugene is not sure if he can ever return back to Alexandria. There was a malfunction on the radio that stopped the conversation and Eugene went straight to fixing it. While Daryl and Carol were tossing acorns at a can to see who can knock it over, she asks him about Hiltop and also about Connie. Carol wants Daryl to open up to the idea of finding love with her (Donnie fans, keep your fingers crossed). They both then see walkers from a distance along with a few Whisperers. Beta tells Alpha that Negan cannot be trusted at all and Alpha feels that he could and if she then feels like she cannot, then she will kill him. Alpha then asks Beta “Is it time for Beta to become the Alpha?” and then Beta bows down to Alpha and told her that will not happen. Negan sees this happen. Negan asked Beta how long they have been with eachother and even says “If it is Beta with benefits” before Beta cuts him off and told him to respect Alpha or else he will die where he stands.

Josh McDermitt as Dr. Eugene Porter – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 6 – Photo Credit: Jace Downs/AMC

Siddiq returns to his house with Coco to see that Rosita is getting worse than she already is. He helps her up to walk to the infarmy. Eugene calls to Alexandria, but he got no response. He then opened the channels and called anyone, and still did not get a response. Daryl and Carol notices that the herd is getting bigger as The Whisperers are directing the walkers around with them. They make a plan to strike at nightt and Carol walked away for a few minutes and Daryl looked through her bag. When she returns, she asks Daryl if he found what he was looking for as she knew that he went through her bag. She also told him that she did not bring the bag. Back to Negan and Beta as Negan asked him how does one become a Whisperer. Beta gives him a shovel and told him to dig. Then we get a montage of Beta watching Negan do different things such as skinning a walker, digging some more, helping Beta dragging dead walkers, and even stabbed a boar to death after a Whisperer shot it with an arrow. The montage ends when they bured the bodies.

Siddiq and Rosita arrive to the infarmy and this is when I realized that Gamma poisoning the water on the last episode affected everyone that is currently ill. Dante says that the illness is spreading and Siddiq argued his reasons on why he did not want to leave the infarmy in the first place and told him what to do to help. At night, Carol and Daryl made a safepoint incase of they get lost. At The Whisperer camp, Beta knocks down Negan because Negan asked for some bacon to eat and Beta feels that he did not deserve it. Alpha watches this happen and Negan stands down and sit next to another Whisperer and that Whisperer gave Negan some food to eat. While Eugene is still on the open channel, someone finally responds.

Daryl and Carol are observing the walkers while they are hiding and some were approaching them. Daryl killed one walker and smeared its blood on his own face after cutting open its stomach so that way, no walkers would notice. They approached them because a few Whisperers heard Carol’s footstep and directed the walkers to them. One of The Whisperers even said “over here” after that happened but did not find him. Eugene and the woman on the radio introduced eachother although she did not give her name or location. They tell eachother stories of where they were before the apoclapse begun and memories of a train event at Landcaster, ice cream, and much more. Siddiq also apologized to Dante for snapping at him earlier and after he checks on Rosita, he falls asleep and wakes up to a PTSD dream but this time, he hears Alpha’s voice and it near the windmill. Beta makes it very clear to Negan that he is not part of them and that he is took weak but Negan wants to hear none of that as he is there for Alpha. Beta kills a Whisperer and told Negan that they can agree on one thing and that he is going nowhere as walkers begin to surround Negan.

Daryl and Carol has a Whisperer hostage and that he will make sure to tell them everything. The woman over the radio told Eugene that she will only talk to him and that if she hears another voice, she will not talk to him no more. In the morning , Beta and Alpha talk about Negan and then, Negan says “I’m ready for my god damn skin suit” as he is covered in blood and walks straight to Alpha. He introduces himself to her and bows down infront of her. Alpha stares at him and he told her that he is all hers. She continued staring and did the “shhhh” as the episode ends.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan, Ryan Hurst as Beta – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 6 – Photo Credit: Jace Downs/AMC

The title of this episode has more meaning than just the title and that is, to showcase the bonds that are current, questioned, and building. The current is Daryl and Carol as their bond is getting tighter, but she wants him to be fully happy. The bond that is questioned is Alpha and Beta as these two continue to question her leadership decisions and his role of The Whisperers now especially that Negan is in the picture. also, I would watch an Negan and Beta episode anyday. And the bond that is building is between Eugene and the woman over the radio and comic book readers have an idea of who she is and I believe I know who she is too. I also liked that Gamma poisioning the water in the last episode affected this episode. Alpha is very strategic and her plan of wearing the group out is so far, working. Another solid episode of the season!

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content. Contact me at julian@alternativemindz.com.

The Walking Dead Season 10, Episode 5 “What It Always Is” Recap

Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 5 – Photo Credit: Jace Downs/AMC

The big bad wolf himself Negan has escaped the cell on last week’s episode and this week, he goes on a little adventure with Brandon. What could possibly go wrong as you are reading this? Well, you will find out right now as I give my recap to the fifth episode of the tenth season of The Walking Dead titled “What It Always Is.”

The episode opens as Kelly is in the woods observing her surroundings as she also sees a lonely pig. I also want to add that her vision and hearing is going low and we see it happen from her perspective during this opening. She kills the pig using her slingshot weapon and she did not know that a walker was approaching behind her. But she killed a few walkers and the ones that were left devoured the pig. She runs through the forest to return back to Hiltop and she gets injured. As she is laying down, a walker grabs her head and then we cut to the opening credits. Negan is by himself washing his face and Brandon approaches him. He first pointed a knife towards his direction, but he said that he was just joking (Brandon is also a fan of Negan). Brandon also told Negan that it took him forever to catch up with him. He gives Negan water to drink and Negan smiles. Yumiko and a few Hiltop residents are finishing up clearing walkers at the gate. Earl still believes that it was The Whisperers that cut the tree down. When another Hiltop resident tells Yumiko about fish being stolen at the middle of the night, she asks who was on watch and then goes inside and talks to Magna who is also listening to music. They both talked about why Magna was not at watch and that she should do her job. Magna ignores her and turns back on the music. Daryl, Dog, and Siddiq arrive at Hiltop and they talk to Ezekiel about Negan. Ezekiel also says that they need more help due to the damage of the tree fall. Ezekiel also does not want to talk to Carol. Oscar and a few soldiers also return and Connie asks him about Kelly’s whereabouts.

Brandon is practicing Negan’s Savior whistle and he even asked Negan how did he get out of the cell. Negan told him that he is looking for a new place and Brandon says that they need a new Sanctuary. Brandon even brings up a rumor about Negan killing Carl Grimes and Negan shuts that conversation down real quick. Brandon also says that “we are Negan.” As they were both looking at a house, a walker attacks Negan and he killed the walker bny using the barbed wire attached to it to rip the head off followed by smashing it’s head. Brandon did not help because he was making Lucille 2.0 for Negan. He even showed him his jacket and Negan told him to put it away so that way, he could not be reconized.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan, Blaine Kern III as Brandon – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 5 – Photo Credit: Jace Downs/AMC

Aaron is by himself and he hears a walker and seen that Gamma killed the walker and cut open its stomach to drain its blood into the water stream. Back to Brandon and Negan as they talk about what The Saviors used to do to kill time. Then, they hear a woman screaming in the bus and Negan not only saved the woman and her son, he killed those walkers in that bus in gruesome fashion. Brandon even yells out “damn, classic Negan!” While Daryl and Connie were alone looking for Kelly, Daryl tells a good fishing story about Merle. Dog alerts them both and they see blood and the corpse of that pig from earlier. Magna appears moments later and Daryl drew his crossbow at her thinking it was someone else. Siddiq and Ezekiel are looking through the cabinents and they noticed that some of the medical supplies are missing. He also begins coughing and Siddiq tries to care for him and Ezekiel refused at first. Something is clearly wrong with him and Ezekiel revealed that there is a lump on his neck and that he has had it for a month. Siddiq thinks that it could be an infection, but Ezekiel knows that it is thyroid cancer because his grandmother and father had it too. They fought it and beat the cancer and he thinks that the odds are very slim for himself. Siddiq also revealed to Ezekiel that he had to leave Alexandria because hje cannot stand how everyone looks at him and even brings up his PTSD from the barn.

Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 5 – Photo Credit: Jace Downs/AMC

Back to Negan and Brandon as Negan is talking to the woman as she told him how they got to where they are now. When she and her son exited the bus for a minute, Brandon tells Negan that they might have weapons and supplies but Negan not only does not care to find out, but he told Brandon to go back to Alexandria and tell everyone where he is. Also to note, Negan stopped Brandon from attempting to kill them with his metal pipe. At The Whisperer camp, Alpha talks with a Whisperer and then Gamma and Beta about the walkers they are sacrificing. The unnamed Whisperer speaks up about not wanting to take down any more walkers. Beta was about to attack him, but Alpha lets him finish speaking. Alpha wanted to take a vote with everyone to see if they agree with him in which nobody did. She then leaned over, smiled, and said “that’s democracy for you” and slashed his leg. He tried to fight back and she slashed his arm. He is completely immobilized and Alpha gives Beta a knife to kill that Whisperer and he did exactly that. Negan has a talk with Milo as he was playing with a toy airplane. Negan tells him what it was like to be on an airplane before everything changed and even makes a joke about nut smacking. Funny bonding time. Negan then told him that he and his mom should come to Alexandria. Gamma is walking with the walker who was that Whisperer that Beta killed. She does the same thing to that walker that she did earlier to and that is, contaminate the water. While she was stabbing the walker, she cuts her hand and Aaron introduced himself and gives her bandages. Gamma runs away after this. Dogh finds Kelly and Magna, Daryl, and Connie rescued her. She could not hear at the moment and this is when we find out that they show them the stolen fish and medical supplies that we now know that Magna stolen. Connie was unaware that this was going on and Magna had a dumb reason explaining why she took it which was because she did not trust them.

When Negan returned with the logs to burn fire, he sees that Brandon killed Amelia and Milo and he even got that Savior whistle correct. But that did not last as Brandon attempted to have a Tony Stark moment and say “I am Negan” before Negan himself killed him by bashing his head with a heavy stone. Negan takes his jacket and Lucille 2.0 with him and left. While Siddiq and Aaron are on the radio, it was mentioned that Rosita is sick and that Siddiq is leaving at night. Ezekiel also does not want to speak to Carol. Magna and Yumiko had a falling out and she brings up that they known each other for thirteen years. We also find out here that the reason Yumiko was her lawyer is because it was during the trial of when Magna killed a guy for hurting her cousin who was very young at the time. Gamma and Alpha talk about Aaron giving her the bandages and about her sacrificing her sister. Later at night, Everyone at Hiltop says their goodbyes. Elsewhere, Negan crossed one of Alpha’s borders. He killed a few walkers and called them out and one of The Whisperers knocked him down and Beta and Negan had a stare down and Negan challenged him to a fight as the episode ends.

This episode is awesome and the comic moments from Issues 153 and 154 were done really well on screen. Jeffrey Dean Morgan gets a high praise for me on this episode as not only that he (Negan) did not want to go back to who he was years ago, but he showed that he can be very human to unknown survivors who are in need of help. Also, killing Brandon and having him being a “fanboy” of Negan was the best fan service I have seen this season so far. Ezekiel revealing that he has thyroid cancer made me sad and it also adds to everything that Khary Payton said about Ezekiel’s state of mind last week. I also love Daryl’s interractions with Connie, Magna and Yumiko’s falling out, the opening with Kelly, Alpha showing who is the head boss in charge, and the graphic gore on those walker kills and even Brandon’s death too. My only criticism is the reasoning of Magna stealing the fish and medical supplies. I did not want to roll my eyes after I heard that, but I just had to because Judith saved her in the first place back in season 9 and she is still up to her old nonsense that she brought into the community. I cannot wait for Negan and Beta’s scenes on the next episode!


Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content. Contact me at julian@alternativemindz.com.

The Walking Dead Season 10, Episode 4 “Silence The Whisperers” Recap

Lauren Ridloff as Connie, Angel Theory as Kelly – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 4 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

The Whisperers has dug under the skin of each community and we are starting to see some of the members taking it out on other members. Lydia is also getting the worst treatment from some of the members, but she is not letting them get the best of her at all. Meanwhile, there is a bad situation going on over at Hiltop and I will go over it all on my recap of this week’s episode of The Walking Dead titled “Silence The Whisperers.”

The episode opens with music as Michonne has dinner with Judith, RJ, and Daryl. Daryl even left food for Carol, but she is getting a new bandage from Dante. We also see Magna and Yumiko together in a heavy love scene too. As soon as Ezekiel gets up from his bed, he goes outside and then a giant tree falls down and breaks one of the side walls of The Hiltop as walkers are also approaching. Alden and Earl come up with a plan to get rid of the tree and Connie and Kelly talked about it too. Earl thinks that The Whisperers did it since he believes that they are in war with them now. At Alexandria, Aaron is training members of Alexandria on how to fight with a knife and then Gage, Margo, and Alfred makes fun of Lydia by putting on a mask and making a joke towards her. Michonne and Judith and a few others are heading to Hiltop and on their way, Judith told Michonne that she looks worried and also mentioned Carol’s bandages. Michonne asserted her that she is okay and Judith told her that she will be her fresh eyes and ears. Michonne also talks about what happened at Alpha’s border and Judith believes that Alpha wants to have the entire group fight until they are tired. Michonne suddenly stops to see Ezekiel with himself.

When she searched for him deeper in the woods, she noticed that he was by himself at the edge of a high point. Michonne talked Ezekiel into not jumping and he listened. After that, he kissed her and said that he was sorry. Lydia then finds a worm and Negan approached her and they talked about the people that bullied her earlier that day. While Negan was still giving her advice, Daryl interrupted and told her to get away from Negan. Negan told Daryl that she was just trying to fit in with everyone else there and Daryl told him that she cannot do that while he is around her. After Daryl walked away from Negan, he and Lydia talk and then, a “Silence The Whisperers” grafitti was seen by the both of them. Ezekiel and Michonne talk about what just happened and they both even admitted that they would never work as a couple, but maybe in another universe. He talks about everything and everyone that he lost that includes The Kingdom, Benjamin, Henry, Shiva, and even Carol as they divorced. He even says that he does not know how to talk to Carol anymore too and he was not sure what he was going to do when he came out there. Michonne relates to him and tells him about her dark past and that it felt like she was wearing a mask at that time and could not face reality. She also misses Rick Grimes too and she also said that he is not a bad kisser. Ezekiel made sure that he will not make the same mistake again.

Cassady McClincy as Lydia, Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 4 – Photo Credit: Eliza Morse/AMC

Members of The Hiltop are trying to barricade the wall so that way, walkers would not break through. At Alexandria, they are eating dinner and Lydia cuts open a squirrel in front of Margo, Gage, and Alfred and when the blood splattered on Gage, he was disgusted. Daryl questioned if she wanted to live there and they also talked about the grafitti on the doors too. At night, Lydia walks outside of the house and Margo, Gage, and Alfred circle around her. Lydia told them that she was not there the night Alpha made the pikes. They all assualt her and Negan saved her life and not only stopped the fight, but accidentally killed Margo too. Members of Alexandria finds this out and Daryl told Brandon to take Negan back to his cell and helped Lydia get up. Also, Siddiq has another PTSD moment and ran away from everyone and washed his face and dumped his head in the sink water to calm down. Dante is doing his best to heal Lydia’s wounds and Daryl checks in on her. She talks about her dad for a few moments as he protected her. Daryl asked her about what happened and she told him that Negan saved her life.

Daryl then visits Negan at the cell and Negan first asked about Lydia, and then he told Daryl his side of what happened and why Margo was killed as she should have not beaten Lydia up. Daryl told him that he has never been in the same room as him and that since Rick is not here, everyone wants him dead. Negan pokes fun at Daryl for not killing him when they had the chance and questions why he is still alive following their rules. Daryl leaves the cell and speaks to Carol as she mentioned to him that it is the same cycle again as everyone is talking about Negan and not focusing on The Whisperers. Back at Hiltop, everyone is clearing the incoming walkers outside of the wall and it got to a point where they were starting to get overwhelmed. Magna wanted to stay out and finish, but Yumiko told her that there were too many and that they should go behind the gate. They did that, and another part of the wall falls down as walkers started to arrive on that side. Michonne, Judith, Ezekiel and the rest arrived in time to help and we got a cool walker kill sequence with everyone including at one point with Michonne and Judith doing this together.

The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 4 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

Michonne and Daryl speak over the radio about what is going on at Alexandria and why they think that Alpha did not kill them at the border and it is all because Lydia is alive and Daryl needs to protect her. Michonne told Daryl to be her proxy when it comes to the vote at the council meeting. At the meeting, they bring up whether if Negan should be alive or not and Siddiq told them that The Whisperers should be the main focus, but Gabriel told him that this meeting is not a discussion about them. Daryl told them that his vote is to not kill Negan since Lydia told him that he saved her life. The vote is now at a stalemate as Gabriel told everyone to rethink their votes in the morning. In the morning, Michonne, Eugene, Yumiko, Luke, and the rest have a meeting at Hiltop about fixing the wall. Eugene told Michonne that he will stay to fix it, Michonne will leave with Judith. After the meeting, Magna tells Yumiko to not watch over her anymore because of what happened last night and Yumiko told her that she could have died if she continued with those walkers the previous night. At Alexandria, Gabriel goes to Negan’s cell to see that he is gone. He alerted Daryl and Aaron and Lydia told Gabriel and Aaron that she let him out while she was walking herself into the cell. Daryl does not believe that she did it, but she told him that she did. She also told him that Alpha was right about what she told her about Alexandria puts on masks to make things seem like they are okay, but it is not. The episode ends as the same song from the opening plays again while we get a montage of both communities getting their things ready to leave while some stay back. Also, the “Silence The Whisperers” grafitti is everywhere now in Alexandria.

This episode is fantastic and I have to give high praise to Khary Payton and Danai for their performance. That conversation was very dark and and it also exposes the mentality of what people go through when they are in that dark mode. I also like how some of the scenes of the comic series was remixed to fit the overall narrative of the scene with Negan saving Lydia. I also like the walker kill sequence at Hiltop and I am curious to know why the tree fell in the first place. Plus, double points for Daryl and Michonne talking about RJ over the radio.

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content. Contact me at julian@alternativemindz.com.

The Walking Dead Season 10, Episode 3 “Ghosts” Recap

Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier, Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Danai Gurira as Michonne – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 3 – Photo Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

One thing that I love about the horror genre is how it is used to affect the viewer and the characters. We have seen that on this episode as it slowly progressed from the start to the finish. Gear up as I recap this week’s episode of The Walking Dead titled “Ghosts”.

The first few minutes of the episode showcases what has happened in a two day montage. From morning to night, everyone at Alexandria cleared walkers that were approcahing the gates in different waves. It started small, and then it got bigger hours later. While this is going on, Carol is taking pills, and Aaron thinks that The Whisperers are sending those waves of walkers to Alexandria. After Michonne gets some breathing time to relax for a few minutes, her and Judith talk about the walkers. After the second day, it started to calm down. Gamma arrives to Alexandria and told them to come to Alpha’s border. Daryl also asks her if she is sending those walkers and Gamma says that they are not. A counsel meeting takes place before they go as Michonne, Siddiq, Eugene, and Aaron are the ones who hold the meeting. Lydia brings up that Alpha has never done this before and if she wanted them dead, she would have done it herself. During the meeting, Eugene brings up the satellite again as he believe that caused the walkers to arrive, but a few of the Highway Women had enough of hearing about it and bring up the idea of killing The Whisperers head on and Michonne went against the idea for now as Daryl also brings up the mega herd Alpha showed him. Michonne wanted to do this the smart way of handling The Whisperers so she comes up with a plan to tightnen the security. Carol also gets her gun as well.

Samantha Morton as Alpha – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 3 – Photo Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

While out of his cell, Negan helps clearing up the walkers that were already killed and he does not want to go out on the mission with the rest so Gabriel teams him up with Aaron to clear more walkers in the area. Negan also made a comment about Aaron’s mace too. While they were killing walkers, Negan finds a crowbar and Aaron told him to put it down. Negtan made a joke about why he should not use the broom and why he should use the crowbar instead and Aaron was not having it at all. Three more walkers were behind Negan and he took them down. The group arrives at The Whisperer’s border at night and Carol had a moment at Henry’s pike to remember him. Also at night, another wave of walkers are arriving at Alexandria and Eugene, Rosita, and the rest are doing their best to clear the walkers and Eugene thinks that he can go all night. Daryl, Michonne, Carol, and the rest are waiting for Alpha to arrive and she did with a number of Whisperers. She told them that she did not send those walkers over there. She also told them that they crossed her border three times. Michonne said two, but Alpha knew when they crossed over the winter storm too and that they are always watching. She also told Michonne that there will be no bloodshead this time at all since they want more land. Carol said that will cause for the hunting ground to be cut short. She also says that she does not have to listen to the rest of this and Michonne wanted to calm her down, but Alpha lets her speak more. The rest of The Whisperers pointed their guns at the group and Alpha stares down Carol and made fun of Henry. Even saying about his last moments when he was alive screaming Carol’s name. Carol shoots at Alpha, but misses when Daryl got in the way to take the gun off her hand. Alpha forgives her “mother to mother” and picks up one of the pikes and said that this is their land now and that they better run.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan, Ross Marquand as Aaron – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 3 – Photo Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

Michonne and Carol talk about what happened and Carol told her flat out that “bitch has to die”. Carol then sees a few Whisperers and alerted the group as they started chasing them, only to realize that she is hallucinating. Negan is clearing more walkers and even used the crowbar to kill the remaining ones too. The walkers had poison ivy attached to them so it affected Aaron’s eyesight. Aaron and Negan talk about why Eric is not alive and Negan goes on to talk about protecting what belongs to you. Aaron replied back saying that if he failed Eric, then he (Negan) failed his wife. Negan sees right through of his tactic and a walker was about to bite Aaron, but Negan helps him. Michonne, Carol, Daryl, and the rest enter an abandonded school. Carol examines one of the rooms of the school and she picked up a book with a family on the cover. She then has a hallucination when she looks at the cover to see herself, Sophia, Lizzie, Mika, and Henry. Aaron is also looking for Negan and his eyesight is getting worse. He enters a shed and Negan was sitting on a chair and Aaron walked pass him. Back to Daryl and Carol as Daryl told her a story about his dad being a truck driver. After the story, Carol takes more of the pills. Back to Negan and Aaron as Negan killed a few walkers and Aaron thinks that he would be next. But Negan is not going to kill him as he gives him water and helps him up. Carol then walks to the hallway after she heard a scream. She seen a girl through the broken glass. She then hears Henry’s voice and sees him on a window calling for her. Once she turned around, he is not there. She did it again, and a shadow figure was about to stab her until she wakes up (This jumpscare got me good as I did not see this coming). We also find out here that Daryl’s story was an hallucination as Carol dreamed it the entire time.

When Carol walked into the gym, she is caught in a leg trap that was set up by a Whisperer. She then proceeded to kill some of the walkers while she was upside down and managed to break the rope trap and fell into glass and killed the rest of the walkers. Her arm got cut from the glass and Siddiq and Dante were there to take care of the wound. Siddiq also had PTSD flashbacks again of when he was at the barn with the pike victims. In the morning, Aaron wakes up to see that Negan has kept watch over Aaron all night. Rosita and Eugene are also exhausted from the night before and finally has some downtime to talk. Eugene brings up Coco and Rosita makes it clear that they will never be together but also apologized for screaming at him since she is very tired. Eugene then began to question their friendship as he left the room.

Avi Nash as Siddiq – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 3 – Photo Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

Michonne checks up on Siddiq and wants to know how he is doing and after this, him and Dante have a drink and Dante brings up his backstory as he was a field medic while he was in Iraq. Carol also wakes up and goes downstairs to see Daryl cooking breakfast and he even gives her money to go to the store. Henry was also there and asks her a question and then Carol wakes up realizing it was another dream. She then talks to Michonne about her arm and about The Whisperers she seen the night before and Michonne told her that she only seen them, but they did not. She meets Daryl outside and asks him if he believed her from what she seen and he told her that he did. Then back at the school, we see the killed walkers on the ground and one of them in the pile was also a Whisperer as its eyes opened to close the show.

This episode was very great and further explored the mental state of Carol much ever than before. And I believe that the jumpscare that happened during the episode willl catch everyone off guard like it did for me. Also, the scenes with Negan and Aaron were great and it shows that Negan is seriously a different person than what he once was. There are pacing issues that I noticed on the second half as I believe it did not had to jump back and forth with Carol’s and Negan’s scenes back and forth every few minutes like it did since it broke the tension in my opinion. Other than that, this episode is more horror themed than the other two episodes and I love it. It is also another reason why The Walking Dead is the best show on television.

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content. Contact me at julian@alternativemindz.com.