‘The Walking Dead 7×14: The Other Side’ Review
Stars: Andrew Lincoln, Chandler Riggs, Melissa McBride, Chad Coleman, Norman Reedus, Lauren Cohan, Danai Gurira, Lennie James, Sonequa Martin-Green, Alanna Masterson, Christian Serratos, Jeffrey Dean Morgan | Created by Robert Kirkman
The war is nearing and tensions are running high in The Walking Dead, so now is the time for people to do stupid things. This means of course it is time for Rosita (Christian Serratos) and Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) to visit the Saviours. With Rosita and Sash on their way to try to take down Negan, this is also perfect time for the Saviours to pay a visit to the Hilltop. With Gregory (Xander Berkeley) looking to get rid of some of the annoyances in his little domain, this may put Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Daryl (Norman Reedus) in danger.
What Rosita and Sasha’s little vendetta has had so far is any real interest. It is easy to assume that it will fail, and somebody will end up dead. What we see in The Walking Dead this week though is the fleshing out of Rosita’s character as we learn of her past. This helps the two women to bond and actually show some friendship, instead of the animosity that they have shown for each other.
When they do finally get to the Saviours compound and have a chance to kill Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) it is rather telling that it is Eugene (Josh McDermitt) that gets in their way. Apparently fully “Negan” now, he even refuses to leave the Saviours when he has the chance to flee. While this may seem the downfall for his character, I tend to think it is his chameleon nature in full effect, and of course the fact he is a coward. Better to stay as a Saviour in relative safety than to be hunted down and killed as a deserter.
It will be interesting to see what his fate will be, but for now it seems that he is fully on the side of the Saviours. We’ll see his final alignment when the war finally starts.
What we also see this week is some bonding between the Hilltop characters. We finally see Daryl and Maggie talk about Glen, and for the to share their grief over their mutual loss. Daryl is having some of the best scenes this season, showing just how important a character he is to the show as a whole.
In respect to the other members of Hilltop, Jesus (Tom Payne) has a coming out of sorts which I’m sure will please those wanting to ‘ship’ him and Daryl. It is nice, like with Rosita that we get to hear about his past. He also has an important moment with Gregory where we get to see an attempt to force authority over Jesus. This is the kind of scene Xander Berkeley does well as his character does his best to hide his vulnerability behind being a total asshole. His desire to suck up to the Saviours and use them as a tool to get what he wants will surely be his downfall.
While this week’s episode of The Walking Dead isn’t the strongest by any means it does its job well. It is the catalyst which will push Negan to try to exact some vengeance on the people believes he has under control, and it is going to push Rick to finally have to make his move. It also creates a few lines in the sand which are changing the allegiances within the groups. While it may be too soon to go to war, we also know they never run to schedule.
It will be interesting to see where The Walking Dead goes in the final two episodes, especially after this weeks. The teaser for next week does give a few hints, but there are a lot of story strands open just waiting to be tied together to form the conclusion of the season. Whether the season will end how fans want it to is another matter entirely.
**** 4/5
The Walking Dead airs in the UK on Fox, Mondays 9pm.