Wait, WHO hooked up? The Walking Dead Season 6 Episode 10 recap The Next World

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Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes and Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon - The Walking Dead _ Season 6, Episode 10 - Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

Oh, fans of The Walking Dead … as if things weren’t weird enough already

So, faithful fans of the zombie soap opera, another week has come to pass … or several weeks, based on the amount of time it takes to develop an actual photograph of one-eyed Carl holding Judith. Seriously. Where’d I missed the Walgreens photo center — and when was the last time anyone loaded actual film into a camera to take a picture? Maybe Alexandria’s new plans included a dark room. I don’t know, but Boston’s playing as the episode opens, so maybe this all happened pre-digital.

So, yeah, Carl’s fine … and so is everyone else. A week has passed for us, but several have passed for our group. The episode begins with a breezy discussion about toothpaste. There is now time for grooming.

Daryl, who has not groomed — which is okay with me, because I like him filthy — and Rick are going on a run for supplies. It’s not the usual run of desperation to sustain life. It’s more of a light-hearted run … the kind of run we make to the store to satisfy cravings. Yeah, of course it’s out of necessity. People gotta eat. But the urgency to which we are so accustomed is just … well … absent.

Denise asks Daryl to find some “pop” for Tara, and he agrees. He asks what the hell pop is, and I giggle because I asked the same question of my relatives in Ohio … then Denise says she’s originally from there. Crazy coincidence.

As Daryl and Rick head out, Eugene stops them with some suggestions. He’s mapped out the places they might find loot, but he strongly suggests they visit the very underrated sorghum joint; it could change their “food situation from scary to hunky dunky.” If anything horrible happens to Eugene, I’ll sorely miss quoting the weird sh-t he says. I know a thing or two about tragedies and the importance of comic relief … no Eugene means no comic relief. We groundlings will resort to throwing hazelnuts at our televisions … if you know Shakespeare, you know what I’m talking about. If you don’t, look it up.

Daryl and Rick head off, and Rick mentions finding supplies and maybe some more people, but Daryl isn’t keen on the people thing. This is a turnaround. It wasn’t long ago that Daryl felt it was important to find people, but Rick shot him down.

Rick responds by throwing in a CD that Daryl hates. Daryl asks him to refrain. Once it starts cranking, I feel Daryl. Rick … “please don’t.” But the mood is happy, and a little happy in the apocalypse is good for the soul.

Roll the opening credits.

In the absence of our hard-asses, Michonne monitors the wall. She sees Spencer sneaking off into the woods and decides to follow. What the hell is he doing outside the walls? Inquiring minds wanna know.

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Katelyn Nacon as Enid – The Walking Dead _ Season 6, Episode 10 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

Meanwhile, Maggie finds a journaling Enid. I think this is good for teenagers. I make my students do it every day. If Enid is thinking enough to journal, she’s gonna be OK. Pop that zit on paper, girl!

Maggie acknowledges Enid’s part in saving her and offers to be a safe place for Enid to fall. I know it registers, even if Enid doesn’t let on. Maggie asks where Enid’s been during all of the rebuilding, but Enid is aloof in her response. We know she’s been venturing outside the walls because that’s what she does. Even in the apocalypse, teens will be teens. Maggie gives Enid her space.

Rick and Daryl find the sorghum depot. Inside, there’s a truck stocked with useful goods. They ditch their vehicle and hop in the truck. They now have a ton of edibles to take back to Alexandria. Bingo … until the stop for “pop.”

And this is where they find Jesus. Okay, they find Paul Rovia; Jesus is just a nickname.

He suddenly appears while Daryl and Rick are chaining the stubborn pop machine up to the truck. He seems okay, but there’s really no okay in the zombie apocalypse. They exchange words about camps to which neither belong … of course. Paul says there’s walkers headed in their direction and wishes them Godspeed as he trots off. Rick begins to holler out THE questions. “How many walkers have you killed?” Paul doesn’t skip a trot nor does he answer. He just advises they get going.

Rick and Daryl briefly discuss this strange fellow. Daryl smells a rat, but Rick is more forgiving. Paul might be a prospect for Alexandria … then gunfire. Which is actually firecrackers Paul tossed into a trashcan around the side of the gas station so he could steal the sorghum truck full of more sh-t than one guy needs.

I sense a set-up. Paul is well-groomed, as noted by Rick, and he’s stealing their truckload of goods. He’s got a somewhere, and I doubt he’s flying solo. He’s smarter than the blowhards that were blown up last week, so maybe the Grimey Alexandrians have more to worry about than Negan. Have I mentioned how much I hate Negan even though he has yet to materialize?

Anyway, Daryl and Rick watch Jesus drive off with their spoils.

Back at the ranch … or just outside of it … Spencer is summoning the fortitude to take on an approaching walker. Michonne, who has caught up with him, takes it on instead. Spencer is miffed. He could have handled it. This leads to conversation about Spencer’s shovel and Deanna’s advice to Michonne.

Carl and Enid are also wandering around the woods. Why is everyone wandering around in the woods after all that has happened? I don’t know about you, but stir crazy would take a back seat to possible death if I were in their situation. There has to be Yahtzee, dirty magazines, a bottle of nasty whiskey, or some such safer option within the walls of Alexandria.

Daryl and Rick run after their truck of sorghum sustenance. If only they had been smarter and taken their car … two people … two vehicles … double your pleasure …whatever. They didn’t because that would have made life easier, and this show is not about easy. We’d be bored if it was.

Luckily, the soda machine detached itself from the truck, so the two sweat covered gentlemen grab themselves a nice warm Orange Crush to quench their thirst along the way. Keeping with the difficult factor, instead of popping the top of the pop, a hole is punched through the can … WHY?

Additionally, why is Jesus driving so slowly that the two think they will actually catch up with him?

Back in the woods, Carl and Enid see Michonne and Spencer pass by.

There is some good to all of the nature hikes. Enid finally says she’s done with her escapades. She doesn’t want to be out there anymore. Carl is fine with leading the way home. On their way back, they encounter a walker, but it’s not just any walker. It’s Deanna.

Back to Daryl and Rick. They find Paul changing a tire. How convenient! They rush in to reclaim their truck, but Paul has some skills. He channels enough Bruce Lee to put Daryl aback for a second … but only a second. He’s quickly staring down the barrel of two guns.

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Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes and Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon – The Walking Dead _ Season 6, Episode 10 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

Paul finds himself tied up on the side of the road. Daryl is kind enough to shake up a can of Orange Crush and toss it to him. Paul wants to talk, but he’s snubbed. Our heroes drive off with confidence — Daryl puts his feet up on the dash and flips Paul the bird. But nothing is ever this simple. Paul unties himself and makes it up to the top of the truck in the few minutes it takes for their departure. Skills.

Paul’s found out rather quickly, and when Rick comes to an abrupt halt, he’s thrown off the roof of the truck. Daryl jumps out and the chase is on. Weird thing is there’s walkers tied to a car in the field where they stop. If all of this is orchestrated, Paul is the biggest maestro ever. He dodges Daryl and gets back into the truck. He grabs Daryl’s gun, points it at Daryl, but then says “duck.” He shoots one of the walkers who has gotten free … and dangerously close. Daryl thanks him with a punch to the face.

Paul falls backward, knocking the truck into neutral. It rolls into an inconveniently located pond. No loot for anyone. Before entering the pond, the truck also rolls over Paul. Is he dead? Nope. He’s just down for the count, and while Daryl suggests they haul him up into a tree and leave him there, Rick insists they haul him back to Alexandria. Sigh.

Michonne continues to follow Spencer. She’s trying to understand his motives, which he won’t reveal … until Carl leads Deanna their way. Michonne sees Carl run by, and Spencer sees his mother. Spencer puts her out of her misery and buries her with Michonne’s help. His treks into the woods now make sense. He feels he’s alone now that his family is gone, but Michonne reassures him that he still has family … blood or not. They go home.

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Austin Nichols as Spencer Monroe – The Walking Dead _ Season 6, Episode 10 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

Rick and Daryl drive back in a car they managed to find. Daryl sits in the back with an incapacitated Paul, who occasionally slumps onto Daryl’s shoulder. This is friggen hilarious to me. Daryl shoves him off like a big brother might do to his annoying little brother during the trek to a theme park. Rick tries to justify toting Paul back to Alexandria, but Daryl is so irritated Paul could be made of sorghum, and it wouldn’t matter.

Inside the safety (if there is such a thing) of Alexandria’s walls, Carl soothes Judith before bed. Michonne confronts him. She questions his trek into the woods and why he didn’t just kill Deanna when he had the chance. Carl tells her it wasn’t his place … that dying by the hand of someone who loved her was the right thing. He knows. He did it for his mother, and he’d do it for Michonne. Youch.

Upon their arrival home, Rick and Daryl have a talk. They’ve changed places. Daryl thinks maybe finding outsiders is bad, but Rick no longer does. Passed out Paul is taken to Denise for care and then placed in what looks like Morgan’s original “prison.”

Afterward, things get too weird for words. Rick hits the couch, exhausted. Michonne enters and tells him to move over. They watch Judith on some kind of visual baby monitor that I wouldn’t think they’d have in their situation, but whatever. They talk about Jesus … or Paul … and some other sh-t. Then … AND THEN … they start making out! What?

I don’t know why I’m so upset! But this is bad! I know this is bad! And it gets even worse when the scene changes to them naked in bed! I like Michonne — and so far, Rick’s love interests end up dead! I’d be more okay with Rick and Daryl cozying up … I know Daryl’s not going anywhere. He’s a goldmine, for f’s sake! Plus, we all love him.

I will ditch the show if Daryl bites it … Word.

As the episode ends, Paul still wants to talk. He’s made his way out of the brownstone to the foot of the bed in which Rick and Michonne lie NAKED. Jesus!

Alrighty then. Comments, Puh-leeeeeez!

  • No one died, but part of me did when I witnessed the Rick/Michonne thing. WTF? Is it just me?!
  • Is Enid snapping out of being a weirdo?
  • Is Jesus a good egg or a bad one?
  • Is Carl going to lose his sh-t when he finds out about the sh-t that is making me lose my sh-t?
  • Who is gonna die next week to make up for the limited body count this week?

Speak!

New episodes of The Walking Dead Season 6 premiere Sunday nights at 9/8CT on AMC.

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