Zeb Larson reviews The Walking Dead #138…
FACE TO FACE. Two issues this month!
Well, things don’t go pear-shaped in quite the way you might have expected from last issue, but they still go rather pear-shaped. This isn’t an arc-ending issue that ends in a lot of bloodshed or with a dramatically changed status quo, but it does present yet another long-term challenge to the political order that Rick has managed to create. I will be discussing spoilers in this review, so if you haven’t read the comic yet, you may want to stop reading.
Gregory’s gloating comes to a quick end when Jesus kneecaps Gregory and Maggie recovers, because Gregory didn’t give her the correct dose. His lame protests come to nothing, and he is unceremoniously jailed. Lydia and Carl talk to each other briefly and Lydia lets slip that she was raped by members of the Whisperers. The Whisperers also make their play, though it’s surprisingly peaceful: they want Lydia back in exchange for Dante and Ken, who are alive and unharmed. For Maggie, the choice is an easy one, but Carl now is torn between his feelings for Lydia and the Hilltop.
This was a good cap to the story arc. I like that Lydia’s feelings for Carl are genuine, if only because it would make her less interesting to read if we knew outright that she was a bad guy. I’ll admit it, I also seriously love the scorn that gets heaped on Gregory as an incompetent failure. The character is so unpleasant and grandiose while also being utterly inept, so much so that Maggie mocks him for not even being able to poison her correctly. Of all the possible burning insults, having the person you tried to kill ridicule your attempt at murder has really got to be a stinging insult.
However, Gregory was never the real problem, because Gregory is just an idiot who tried and failed to take advantage of a situation that is quickly growing worse. Maggie still has to deal with a lot of angry parents who are unhappy about what happened with Carl. If and when Carl’s relationship with Lydia comes to light, that will make the Hilltop that much more explosive and unstable.
Furthermore, how will Rick react to what’s going on in the Hilltop? How will Maggie look in Rick’s eyes after she let Carl get so close to Lydia? This is another weak point in this political system, one that will only get worse combined with the instability in the Hilltop itself. And while the Whisperers are claiming neutrality for now, how will they react if there’s instability in Alexandria? This was the most interesting twist in the issue. For the first time in the series, we’re presented with what is a major threat, but the group only appears to want isolation.
Hopefully, we get to spend some time with Rick in Alexandria next issue, if only because we haven’t seen that group of survivors in a few issues. For that matter, we could stand to see Ezekiel as well as the Saviors, who have been largely or entirely absent from the story since issue #127. With only two weeks until the next issue, we’ll find out soon enough.
Zeb Larson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&list=PL18yMRIfoszFLSgML6ddazw180SXMvMz5&v=ONsp_bmDYXc
Originally published March 12, 2015. Updated April 14, 2018.
