The Walking Dead "Remember" Review: Our Town

The Walking Dead S05E12: "Remember"

The Walking Dead has been quick to remind us that it's a show about survival, not zombies. Hell, Rick flat-out told us as much in "Them," when he looked into the camera and said, "We're the Walking Dead! On AMC and sponsored by Hyundai!" It was an admission aimed at the three remaining viewers who hadn't yet realized that the The Walking Dead's title has come to refer to the group, as opposed to, you know, the decaying dead people who are walking around.

And ever since Rick (finally) decided that farming isn't his thing, he's been headstrong about survival and not trusting others, worshipping the old adage of, "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me; fool me three times, and I'll hunt you down and wipe you off the face of the Earth." He and the rest of the group now display a necessary sense of cruelty that goes hand-in-hand with living to see tomorrow, as their humanity has been reduced to the bare minimum.

In "Remember," the survivors were faced with the prospect of returning to "real life,"—or rather, life that's as real as it can get in this hellish world. The result was one of The Walking Dead's best episodes in a while, and certainly the most successful hour of Season 5B.

Everyone was understandably cautious about moving into Alexandria, given that their previous experience with gated communities ended with Daryl fighting his brother for bloodsport. But Alexandria is no Woodbury, and that's a good thing, because we certainly don't need a repeat of that storyline. Not only Andrea is no longer around to screw things up with her love for bad boys, but overall, Alexandria appears to have its shit together much more than Woodbury ever did. That difference is important, because "Remember" approached the idea of joining a new civilization in a much better way, by focusing on the survivors' psyches after a hot shower rather than just presenting them with the mere prospect of safety.

"Remember" was a lot like that movie Greystoke, in which a feral man raised by apes was reintroduced to society. It also brought to mind that that dude from The Shawshank Redemption, who was released from prison after spending decades behind bars and ended up scared of cash registers and stuff. Rick's group was in the wild for so long that their survival gene became dominant. They evolved to live through the zombie apocalypse by devolving into nomadic hunter-gatherers and forming a small, manageable tribe. But Alexandria has running water, paper towels, and even free time for people to build dumb owl sculptures, and "Remember" did a fantastic job of combining culture shock and trust issues, and then looking at how different characters reacted.

With a couple kids in tow, Rick was surprisingly amenable to the idea of staying put in his new home—though I guess a hot shower, a shave, and a haircut after a year of acumulating caked-on grime will do that. I mean, Rick went from this:

To this:

Michonne was similarly charmed by Alexandria's big houses and friendly residents, though she's become a big softie in recent seasons and has recently been so eager to stop moving that she would probably settle down in a cardboard box if it had a decent view.

Meanwhile, Daryl didn't care for the community's modern conveniences and spent his first day in town refusing to take a shower and carving up a possum carcass on the front porch in symbolic protest against the physical representation of domestication. Daryl, a word of advice: You can be punk rock and still shower

Carol's reaction was the most interesting one, as she seemingly went all-in on participating in the Junior League, downplaying the kind of badass she became in the woods, and fondly remembering her abusive husband (yeah right) to Alexandria leader Deanna, while also warning Rick in private that the longer the group stayed in Alexandria, the weaker they would become. I love you, Carol, and I love your huge-ass guns.

Carol's sentiment was a running theme throughout "Remember," which explored the question of whether the group will retreat into the pudginess of zombie snacks if they don't continue practicing their hardened survival skills and opt to *gulp* get jobs and play house in Alexandria. At this point, no one knows the answer, but different folks showcased varying degrees of backlash toward Alexandria's society, with Daryl's body odor the most blatant and Carol's con game the most well-planned. But I definitely want to see more of Carl and Rick alone in the woods, stabbing zombies in the face with zeal and fervor. It was almost as if they couldn't help themselves, like spending a single night behind Alexandria's walls had left them itching for some danger. I guess you can take the man out of the zombie apocalypse, but you can't take the zombie apocalypse out of the man. However, I'm beginning to think that little exercise was about Rick staying sharp, because he clearly has a plan.

While trying to pitch Rick on serving as a town constable, Deanna said, "That's what you were, that's what you are," because in Deanna's mind, it's possible to go back to the life you lived before the world turned to shit. A return to normalcy is Alexandria's biggest selling point, and it's hard for Deanna to imagine anyone turning that down—Rick, you were a sheriff, so why not go back to being a sheriff?. But for Rick and most of the other survivors, their past lives are long gone. Glenn certainly isn't a pizza delivery boy anymore, Carol isn't a kowtowing housewife, Carl isn't a schoolboy. Who they are now is who they will always be. It's just that while they're in Alexandria, they'll smell nicer.

That idea punched us in the face when Rick closed out the episode by declaring, "We'll make it work, and if they can't make it, then we'll just take this place." If that didn't make your eyes pop out of your skull, then you have eye sockets of steel. Rick may be clean-shaven and a few pounds of dirt lighter, but those words indicate he's as hard as ever, and prepared to be the bad guy if he needs to be. Just as the title The Walking Dead refers to the survivors more than the zombies, the "people" in Rick's confessional speech to Deanna—"It's all about survival now, at any cost. People out there are always looking for an angle, looking to play on your weakness. They measure you by what they can take from you, by how they can use you to live"—wasn't about the bad guys in the wilderness, it was about the bad guys that Deanna had just invited into her gated community. Oh shit.

FESTERING BITEMARKS

– Wow, Aidan is a huge dick. However, I really would've preferred if we didn't see him acting out until the next episode, because it shattered the idyllic feel of Alexandria too soon. I think the ending of "Remember" would've been more effective if Rick had uttered that final line and we had no reason to want him to take over the town.

– Rick and Jessie sitting in a tree? Sure, why not?

– Those who've read the comics will note that the head of Alexandria is now a woman named Deanna instead of a man named Douglas. WHAT DOES IT MEAN!?!?!

– Also, Deanna must be a bit of a moron to put Noah and his limp on supply-run duty? The dude is a liability out there. He should be doing laundry or something.

– Daryl, holding a dead possum: "We brought dinner." Yum!

– Carol surrendering her guns was hilarious. She continues to be the absolute best.

– As if we needed another reason to not trust Deanna, she was a congressperson. Red flag!

– Is there something more to the people of Alexandria? It's almost as if Deanna was more interested in studying Rick and the gang than she was in accepting their help. Why is it so necessary to film all her interviews?

– Rick's blender gun is missing! What do you think happened to it?

– Of course Carl wandered into the woods after seeing Enid sneak out. Stay in the house, Carl!