Title: The Walking Dead: “Hostiles and Calamities”
Air Date: February 26th, 2017
Network: AMC
Genre: Serial Drama, Horror
The Walking Dead just aired its all new episode titled “Hostiles and Calamities.” Going back briefly in time, this episode focused entirely on Eugene and Dwight in the aftermath of Daryl’s escape from the Sanctuary. They both are facing very different situations. Last week’s episode of the Walking Dead “New Best Friends” remained tense throughout, while this week slowed down providing a more drawn out story. While I certainly enjoy a good story being told, I was hoping for a little bit more in terms of pacing. Still, we certainly saw a big change in Dwight and perhaps even Eugene.
I enjoyed seeing Dwight get some solid screen time here. For those that follow the comics, Dwight becomes a very key player in the war against Negan. In the comics, Dwight eventually switches sides, fighting for Alexandria. Dwight is obviously not happy at the Sanctuary. We knew that from way back in season six when he first encountered Daryl while trying to escape with Sherry. He’s simply there because he feels he has no other choice… and he wants to protect his wife. Now, we not only find out Sherry has left the Sanctuary but also that she is the one that let Daryl out. That’s not immediately revealed to us but all the signs were there well before Dwight finds her letter.
What really had me interested was… what was Dwight going to do if he found Sherry? As it turned out, he didn’t. Instead, when Dwight returned home looking for his wife, he found a letter instead. As the letter is read, I began to feel very sorry for Dwight. Despite the bad things Dwight has done since we’ve seen him again as Negan’s henchman, a part of me somewhat understands it now. Sherry takes responsibility for who Dwight has become. “I loved who you were. I’m sorry I made you into who you are.” That would be one pretty intense line to read from someone you deeply care about.
Another aspect of Sherry’s letter that I found interesting was the comment about the Sanctuary. Just a few weeks ago, I talked about the same topic with Julie over at the Aim for the Head podcast. Sherry wrote, “But you’re wrong, being there isn’t better than being dead. It’s worse.” Many of the residents of the Sanctuary are probably only there because they feel like they have no other choice. Many would no doubt love to see Negan go or be killed. After all, we find out later that the workers don’t even go by names but by numbers. In addition to that, we also see two of Negan’s wives trying to have Eugene assist in killing Negan. It really makes the Sanctuary appear as a hell on Earth.
As I mentioned before, outside of Dwight, this episode of the Walking Dead was focused on Eugene. Upon being brought to the Sanctuary, Eugene is obviously in fear for his life. However, he’s brought into the same room that Daryl was shown. The room has a stocked fridge, TV, electricity and even a boom box. It was an incredibly funny moment when Eugene turned on the boom box and “Easy Street” began playing. While Eugene wasn’t able to have lobster, it’s clear he’s in awe of what the Sanctuary has. I also found it amusing that when Eugene is trying to prove that he is, in fact, a “smarty pants” to Negan, he again brought up the human genome project.
The big question by the end of the episode is where does Eugene’s loyalty stand? In the comics, Eugene is still a very important part of Alexandria and was incredibly defiant to Negan when he was captured. Yet, in this episode, it almost appears that he’s rather comfortable living within the Sanctuary and knowing how valuable he is to Negan. I personally think it’s all an act for the time being. Eugene is doing what he has to for now to survive. Abraham kept Eugene alive and I, for one, don’t think Eugene is going to just let it go that Negan killed him. I do think his time at the Sanctuary will make him a little bit more of a hardened individual.
Dwight blaming the doctor and placing a note with Sherry’s writing on it in his desk is a sign of Dwight’s shift. He needed to get the blame off him. And at this point, Dwight seems to associate anyone with Negan as an enemy. I’m thinking that seeing Dwight and Eugene together at the end is a foreshadowing of them eventually working together against Negan. We’ll just have to wait and see how it plays out.
Did you catch this episode of the Walking Dead? If so, what did you think? Is Eugene just playing along with Negan for now or is he really all about the “we are Negan” business? Be sure to let us know in the comments below. Also, be sure to check out our news story on how Hugh Jackman knew it was time to move on from Logan.
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