Is Judith a good judge of character? Guess we’ll find out sooner or later. In the mean time, all we have to go on is this strange newcomer Aaron (Ross Marquand)’s word that he’s here to help.
In any walk of life, when something seems too good to be true it usually is. Rick (Andrew Lincoln) seemingly subscribes to the same view, judging by the force of the right hook he subsequently delivers to the unfortunate guy’s face. Harsh perhaps, but considering how many times they’ve been burned in the past, you can’t blame them for being suspicious.
That said, it does beg the question of who they are, and whether they can truly call themselves good guys anymore. It’s a sentiment expressed by Michonne (Danai Gurira), who in lieu of anything to do now seems to have replaced Tyreese as the group’s moral centre. Judging by the way the group follows her lead instead of Rick’s, she may well become its leader too.
In the last few weeks, The Walking Dead had become at risk of being too documentary-like, simply being a series of things that happen. There’s a degree of this in ‘The Distance’ too (there always seems to be an arbitrary car-breaks-down scene), but at least Aaron’s arrival has the effect of galvanising things and providing some sort of direction. Plus we get the show’s first LGBT relationship in the form of Aaron and Eric (Jordan Woods-Robinson).
Even better, there’s a sign that more is to come. Judging by the way Aaron visibly soils himself at the sight of the flare gun being fired, there are still bad people out there. I’m going to put forward the theory that Aaron is recruiting the gang as protectors against this unknown threat (who, let’s face it, will probably have Negan as their leader), but I’ve been wrong before, so we’ll see.
After last week’s pondersom piece of plodding, things look like they could be finally getting back on track. More of the same please.
