Title: The Walking Dead “The Same Boat”
Air Date: March 13th, 2016
Network: AMC
Genre: Serial Drama, Horror
The Walking Dead “The Same Boat” picks up right after the cliffhanger ending from Rick’s assault on the Savior compound. Carol and Maggie have been taken hostage by four Saviors while waiting outside the compound during the assault. The entire episode focuses mainly on the four Saviors along with the captive Carol and Maggie. Melissa McBride provides a fantastic performance along with Alicia Witt who plays Paula, one of the Saviors who has captured them. While this episode is nowhere near as action packed as the assault on the compound, it will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout. With only three remaining episodes left in Season Six of The Walking Dead, things are getting tense.
When Carol and Maggie are taken captive, Carol manages to get a shot off on one of the Saviors which hits his arm. At such a close range I was certain Carol could have killed him but she didn’t. In the episode “Knots Untie” we saw Carol tallying up the people she’s killed and not liking the number. Throughout The Walking Dead, we have seen Carol undergo quite a change from a defenseless housewife to an efficient killer. Carol is the one that pretty much single-handedly took down Terminus when the rest of the group was waiting to be bled and eaten. Seeing her veer so hard from killing, especially when it could mean the death of her or Maggie was a little frustrating. Then again I’ve never had to deal with killing multiple people and having those deaths weigh on my conscience, so my frustration may be misplaced.
Covers are placed over Carol and Maggie and they are moved to an undisclosed location. This is where we begin to get the idea (if you haven’t had it already), that the Saviors are much more than that one compound in which Rick assaulted. Just hearing the radio chatter and protocols the Saviors begin to follow after the attack suggest a very tactical, organized group. An interesting little fact for this episode comes from the camera work during the time Carol and Maggie are moved to the undisclosed location. The camera gives the perspective of Carol’s view looking down at the ground while she’s being moved by the Saviors. The camera work is actually being done by Melissa McBride as she is holding a handheld camera for these shots.
Carol and Maggie end up in a building that seems to be some sort former of a slaughter house. Immediately we begin to see the survival instinct of Carol kick in by how she begins to portray herself to her Savior captors. This is where Melissa McBride really shines in her performance. Even though we know Carol is trying to act weak, helpless and terrified to her Savior captors, we get the impression that there is much more behind these feelings. These feelings seep out more and more, in particular when she begins to have a dialogue with Paula. In many ways, Carol and Paula are very much alike in who they were before the dead roamed the earth, with Paula now being a reflection of who Carol could have and still could become. Paula will kill and it doesn’t affect her one bit, even saying at one point she could kill her lover in his sleep without a care in the world. She had a family just like Carol and was under appreciated in the same way in her life before. Paula explains after she began getting into the double digits of killing actual people she just stopped counting and feeling bad about it. Carol has killed when she absolutely needed to for the protection of the group – not because she liked it but for protection. The growing body count Carol has racked up is clearly weighing on her mind and even begins to frighten her, envisioning how she could herself turn into Paula.
One more interesting fact about this Walking Dead episode comes from the room in the slaughter house where Carol and Maggie are being held. If it looks familiar to you, it’s because chances are you’ve seen it in a film before. That same room was used on the first“Saw” film, which held a captive Dr. Gordon and Adam. Carol eventually escapes her restraints while the Saviors are waiting for a backup road crew to pick them up. She finds Maggie, who has been moved to an alternate room to be questioned about her group and where they might be staying. After a little action and a few tense moments Carol and Maggie are left standing with an injured Paula. The role reversal here is interesting because it’s Carol who doesn’t want to kill Paula, instead telling her to just run and get away, whereas Maggie is dead set on just killing her showing no mercy. Paula, in a rage with how the events have gone, tries fighting Carol and it does not end well for Paula. The backup Savior crew arrives and are fooled into the “killing floor” room in the slaughterhouse where a trap has been set by Maggie and Carol. They end up being burned alive and you can see the effect it’s having on Maggie and Carol as the Saviors scream.
Rick and the others from Alexandria were waiting outside, by this time having tracked the Saviors to the abandoned building. Maggie and Carol are clearly shaken up by what has transpired during their time held captive. The Saviors are now 0 – 3 against the residents of Alexandria but I expect when the Savior hit back…it’s going to be hard. Season Six of The Walking Dead only has three more episodes to go. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with Carol moving forward here in regards to the Saviors. She has been such a huge asset to the group in times of need but with her clearly troubled emotions with killing, who knows what may happen.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s–j-rasWXw[/embedyt]
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What did you think about this episode of The Walking Dead? How do you feel about Carol being hit hard by all the emotions and the transformation she seems to be taking? Be sure to let us know in the comments below and check back for next week’s review.
- Acting/Actors: Great performances from Melissa McBride and Alicia Witt
- Story: This one is all about Carol and Maggie along with the Saviors who captured them
- Cinematography: Melissa McBride helps with filming and that room looks so familiar
- Organization: Keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish
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