Who's There?
- Episode aired Jun 22, 2023
- TV-MA
- 39m
Maggie and Negan encounter native New Yorkers; Armstrong revisits a trauma; Ginny attempts to adapt to change.Maggie and Negan encounter native New Yorkers; Armstrong revisits a trauma; Ginny attempts to adapt to change.Maggie and Negan encounter native New Yorkers; Armstrong revisits a trauma; Ginny attempts to adapt to change.
- The Croat
- (as Željko Ivanek)
- Neckbeard Buraz
- (as Alan J. Paratore)
- Tribesman
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaBuraz is Croat for brother, and burazi is the plural form of said word.
- GoofsNegan says "neckbeard" in an insult. The word came to prominence in the early-to-mid-2010s (2011-2015) due to online culture, after the zombie apocalypse occurred in the Walking Dead's universe (2010).
- Quotes
Negan Smith: [Negan mocks the Burazis by assuming both the role of Questioner and Respondent in the "Knock-Knock" joke refrain] Now, where the hell was I? Oh. Right. Knock, knock!...
[Mimicking response]
Negan Smith: Who's there?...
[Normal voice]
Negan Smith: Butter...
[Mimicking response]
Negan Smith: Butter who?...
[Normal voice]
Negan Smith: Well, you butter get out your umbrellas 'cause it is about to goddamn rain.
[People gagging]
Negan Smith: [Blood splattering] Now, I don't know if any of you have checked tonight's forecast, but if I see even one mole hair on one of your ugly ass faces, it won't be just a rainstorm. Hell, it won't be a thunderstorm. It'll be a goddamn hurricane!
Later, we are introduced to the new Hilltop from Ginny's point of view. What stands out in the scene is the more "urbanized" aspect of the community, which seems to be larger than the one shown in the main series. An interesting point in the sequence is Ginny being introduced as a resident of Oceanside, which doesn't make much sense since Negan told her story in the previous episode. Even with the information not matching, it is likely that the series will explain the discrepancy in information shown here. Immediately, we have a beautiful and poetic transition from a lonely Ginny in the room to a deep dialogue between Maggie and Hershel. Here, a more apathetic and melancholic Hershel is presented due to all the events involving his mother, and he carries part of her pain with him. This flashback scene showing the dialogue between the two characters is important because it fills in some gaps in the time that has passed, and we are gradually introduced to the information. This brings a lot of cohesion to Maggie, resulting in a deeper relationship with her son. It is interesting to note that the direction is trying to bring references to the main series to stir the most avid fans of the universe, and in this flashback scene, Maggie's visual aspect is identical to that of the farm era. Another important point of the episode was the fact that Armstrong revisited his past, returning to an old family apartment. From what is shown, it seems that the person who committed suicide is his brother. The point here is that this could become an additional factor to fuel the character's intentions.
The New York group presented here captures the two, which leads to a dialogue scene where Negan tells the truth about The Croat. He recounts that during the Savior's time, the villain was able to torture a child to obtain information he wanted - which clearly makes Maggie tense since he is in possession of her son. When Negan found out what had happened, he tried to kill him but the shot grazed him, and that's how The Croat lost his ear. This would be one of the plausible reasons for Negan to be in the sights of the new antagonist. After being attacked by armed people, Negan and Maggie are released to help in the fight, and when one of the enemies kills an important member of the group they are integrated with, Negan finds himself in a position to teach the enemies a big lesson.
In the sequence, we have what may be one of Negan's best scenes in his entire journey so far. The direction does a great job by starting the scene showing the character emerging from a shadow, which becomes even poetic, making him have to resort to old habits to take control of the situation. What he does to a member of the enemy group is similar to what he did to Spencer in Alexandria, aiming to send a message to the group. Only Jeffrey Dean Morgan is able to deliver a scene that is both funny and brutal at the same time, and that is certainly among the character's best scenes so far and it speaks to the genre of the series, bringing back the origins of The Walking Dead, since in the end of the series we didn't have much of that gore that was rescued in this sequence.
In the first episode, there was not so much evidence that the old Negan would return, he was behaving as at the end of the series. The awakening of his psychopathic side becomes very valuable and will be excellent for the development of the plot, because it shows that the character can solve complicated situations in a cold and brutal way. At this point, Maggie realized that this Negan she hates so much is necessary if she wants to rescue her son. It is important to note that the script makes it clear that Negan has something kept in his journey, his redemption, everything that happened to him during the main series, especially regarding his relationship with Maggie, and at the same time, when he is in extreme situations, he brings back his old psychopathic traits. In fact, we can see the maintenance of the character's development when he says that it is necessary to make exchanges with people and release information gradually, otherwise it is giving too much power to the enemy (this was clearly seen in the Commonwealth arc). A criticism of the episode is the underutilization of The Croat, who has the potential to be a great villain. In the two episodes shown so far, he appears only in the final scene of the episode to impose fear, which is enough to increase the viewers' expectations. However, if this formula is repeated for the rest of the episodes, it could become clichéd, and the series may be wasting time developing the character.
In narrative terms, "Who's There?" is full of intercalations between action and moments of exposition. The episode demands patience beyond what is necessary, but there is something to be appreciated in the conversation scenes. We can see the dialogue at a better level than what we had in the original series, with more mature approaches to drama and few moments of silence, an art that this franchise seemed to have forgotten. The bathroom scene is particularly interesting, with the script knowing how to bring The Croat's past context in a natural way, with a great speech by Negan. Him saying he is "a monster only absolutely when necessary" is the biggest lie of all, since he raped and tortured his own people, but showrunner Eli Jorné has done a good job of putting the sadistic character back on track. His cynicism mixed with sarcasm has returned, along with his survival techniques as a bloody showman. Although the construction of the scene where he beheads his enemy is not so well directed, the "show" created by Negan is a highlight in itself, with an interaction of just looks between the anti-hero and Maggie that speaks volumes. Jorné's text does not paint the character as a diabolical being, but it also does not force that redemption arc of the family man that the original series tried to shove down our throats, which is good. However, I would like to see more development for Maggie. Despite the occasional praise, Loren Yaconelli has proven to be an extremely limited director, despite the clear efforts of the production with setting and visual identity, and her poor work results in an episode with a terrible pace. The blame is also partially on Eli Jorné, who has been moving the story forward by dragging it more than he should, especially when we remember that we are watching a miniseries.
- fernandoschiavi
- May 15, 2024
Details
- Runtime39 minutes
- Color