Zeb Larson reviews The Walking Dead #136…
The ugly undersides of the Alexandria community are showing themselves in this issue, as some members of Maggie’s colony are openly plotting rebellion. It was inevitable that the fragile peace that Rick had created would be tested, and it seems that the fissures are widening. As those cracks grow, the Whisperers are waiting in the wings for the correct moment to strike. I will be discussing spoilers ahead, so read on at your own discretion.
Gregory’s plan to kill Maggie meets with some resistance from the parents, though he’s not dismissed out of hand either. Carl and the Whisperer girl Lydia talk for a while in the jail cell, and she tells him where she came from and a little bit about the group that she’s a part of. In her telling, their group is wary of other survivors and prefers to be safe rather than sorry, painting them in a rather sympathetic light. Sophia wakes up and tells Maggie what happens, and when Maggie visits the still-unconscious boys, angrily stares at them, and mutters that “she can’t wait for them to wake up.” A group of Whisperers camps out outside the Hilltop Colony, and some of the parents revisit Gregory, wanting to add Carl to their hit list.
Is Lydia manipulating Carl to try and gain her freedom, or is what she tells him genuine? It’s hard to say, though it seems her fellow group members have a fair amount of confidence in her. The Whisperers aren’t the real threat for the moment, though, even if Carl is getting weirdly close to Lydia. No, the real threat is what’s going on inside the colony, which really has been true for most of this series’ run. Regardless of what happens with Gregory, even if it doesn’t end in bloodshed, it will likely weaken the group as a whole.
Now here’s the part where I have to say we “wait and see” where this will go, and part of that will have to involve Rick. He only marginally figures into this issue when he returns to Andrea, and his distance from the Hilltop will likely only make the situation worse. I’m sensing a shift in The Walking Dead, and the next few issues may confirm the direction of that shift. In the meantime, we’re waiting for Issue #137.
Zeb Larson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2vq4CudKRk&feature=player_embedded&list=PL18yMRIfoszFJHnpNzqHh6gswQ0Srpi5E
Originally published January 16, 2015. Updated April 13, 2018.
