Zeb Larson reviews The Walking Dead #135…
Face to face.
It’s almost a trope for reviews of The Walking Dead to talk about fractures forming in the group. When in the book’s publication history has that not been true? Well, things are back to normal among the survivors after last issue’s attack by Carl on the two boys. That dominates this issue, which is surprising given what Jesus has just discovered about the hostile group living in their midst. I will discuss some spoilers in this review, so read on at your own discretion.
In the aftermath of Carl’s attack on the two boys, both of whom barely survived the beating, the Hilltop Colony is in turmoil. Maggie sees that the boys were victimizing Sophia and Carl, and clearly sympathizes with Carl. At the same time, she has to deal with the fact that Carl tried to kill somebody, in a community that has expressly tried to forbid killing human beings. As all of this is unfolding, Jesus is trying to get some answers from the one prisoner that he managed to take: Lydia. It seems that Lydia’s group has a sort of relationship with the zombies, one that is only briefly mentioned here. Now the colony must deal with two threats: anger at Maggie over Carl’s actions, and a group of survivors who wear the skins of zombies and try to protect them.
We’ve never really seen anybody who tried to cooperate with zombies. Sure, Hershel wanted to see if they would get better and regrow their festering wounds, and the Governor used them for sport, but the Whisperers have a modus vivendi with the zombies. I suppose it makes sense. A species survives by adapting to its environment, and the Whisperers have adapted by mimicking the most successful species around them: zombies. Or, to remove it from the realm of science, it’s a form of Stockholm Syndrome.
Maggie shows a strong side as a leader in this issue, which we haven’t been exposed to before. It balances well with Carl’s issues, which have been building to a boiling point for nearly a hundred issues by now. Carl’s whole world is the zombie apocalypse and the fall of civilization, and we’ve seen for a long time that he’s much more comfortable with violence than his fellow survivors. Is there a place for somebody like Carl in the society Rick has built? Or is he too damaged?
Still, I can’t help but be frustrated that the subplot with the Whisperers is receiving less attention. Perhaps this is going to be the moment where the two intersect. If Carl can’t be a part of one community, is he destined to be a part of something else? Are the Whisperers the society he should really be a part of? Or is all this going to be worked out over time?
Zeb Larson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszFJHnpNzqHh6gswQ0Srpi5E&v=zzYUW1bfw34&feature=player_embedded
Originally published December 14, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
