The Northern Border

"The crossing over the river may be gone but we rebuilt a bridge none the less." - Ezekiel, "The Walking Dead"

"The Walking Dead" returned for the second half of its ninth season on Feb. 10. Each week I'll be looking at the episode, the deeper themes, and the world.

"The Walking Dead" is nearly at the end of its ninth season. By now we've seen everything. Still, Sunday's episode was a reminder that the show is still capable of producing some surprises. That ending. That's one that would make David Fincher proud, and one that will stick with viewers for some time.

Naturally it's not as jarring as the season seven premier and what Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) did, but it's shocking just the same. And even moreso because it's an episode that, for the most part, felt beautiful and hopeful. By now, I should know that any time the show turns hopeful or peaceful it's just a ruse. But this was one I fell for early in the episode.

We began with Michonne (Danai Gurira), Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Henry (Matt Lintz) return to the Kingdom in time for the fair. And they bring with them Lydia (Cassady McClincy). And it's here that she learns what it means to be a family as Henry is welcomed home by Carol (Melissa McBride) and Ezekiel (Khary Payton).

I was struck watching her reaction. It reminded me of a moment from the movie "Precious," when the main character, Precious, is speaking with the one adult who has positively poured into her life, her teacher Ms. Rain. Precious had a rough childhood and didn't get the kind of parental support that should be provided to children, and as a result, she had a warped sense of love. She says:

"Love ain't done nothing for me... but beat me... rape me... call me an animal! Make me feel worthless! Make me sick!"

Ms. Rain rightly responds, "That wasn't love." And it wasn't. And for the first time, Precious starts to see the world, and what her family really was, differently. The same happens for Lydia. We have seen the way her mother treated her. Alpha (Samantha Morton) called it love, but it wasn't. And you can see the way she reacts when she sees Henry reunited with his parents. She sees what love is and what family is and can be. It's a beautiful moment, one that becomes more haunting by the end.

This was an episode full of beautiful moments. Ezekiel launching the fair, and finally bringing the four communities back together. Everyone signing the constitution. Tara (Alana Masterson) healing her rift with Michonne and Michonne coming back to the power of the combined communities.

That was hardly the only tender moment in an episode that, for 60 minutes, was full of them. But it was an 85 minute episode, and nothing is ever that smooth. Alpha doesn't forget, and as we saw he infiltrate the fair and get the lay of the land, we got a chance to enjoy the fantastic range of Morton the performer. And soon, the other shoe drops.

Throughout the episode it was impossible to miss that some characters seemed to get a bit of extra focus, and seemed to go missing. But this episode was a complete misdirect. As Carol, Daryl and Michonne are captured, your concern turns to them.

And yet, they were meant to be witnesses, to bear the warning from Alpha to the rest of the communities. And that warning is delivered in the form of 10 heads on spikes representing the northern border of her territory. She makes it clear to Daryl that if the communities veer into her territory again, there will be dire consequences. And to drive the point home, she leaves many of their friends' heads on spikes.

Among those lost were Enid (Katelyn Nacon), Tammy (Brett Butler), our new Highwaymen Friends, including Ozzy (Angus Sampson), Tara and, sadly, Henry. And though Daryl tries to shield Carol from seeing it, there she finds another of the children in her care claimed by a world gone mad. (In a spate of irony, Henry is the real life sibling of the actress who played Carol's daughter, Sophia, once upon a time.)

Left alive is Siddiq (Avi Nash), who was taken with the rest but left to bear witness to the horror Alpha wrought on the group. But in the closing moments of the hour, instead of dwelling on those lost, he tells a more hopeful vision of everyone fighting, together. While it wasn't a success, he urges that it's a lesson for those left to lean on each other and move forward.

We have just one episode left, and clearly this war between groups is just getting started. It was a brutal and jarring ending, one that left the characters (and audience) reeling. Next week we'll see how the story turns and get something we've never seen in "The Walking Dead," a blizzard.

Doubtless for those looking for a happy ending to carry them through the summer, it will be a long few months.