The Walking Dead Season 9 Episode 14: Scars Review

For our review of last episode of The Walking Dead, click here.

Synopsis: An outsider’s arrival forces Alexandria to rehash devastating old wounds; eye-opening secrets from the past are revealed. (IMDB)

Writers: Corey Reed and Vivian Tse

Director: Millicent Shelton

Rating: TV-MA

Running Time: 45mins

Airs: Sundays at 9pm on AMC (Canada/United States)

This season was due for a good episode.

The episode started with a flashback of a pregnant Michonne back at the scene where Rick supposedly died (which we know didn’t happen). She found his revolver in the dirt. She and Daryl caught up. He was going to stay in the woods until he found something. Michonne put the revolver back in Judith’s box and we were brought back to the present where Daryl and the others showed up at the gate.

Back in the past, Michonne was surprised to see her old friend Jocelyn (Rutina Wesley) show up in Alexandria. In the present, Henry was being tended to but Michonne did not trust Lydia. In the past, Jocelyn appeared to be obsessed with something which would be a group of kids which Michonne and a group found hiding in a basement. In the present, Michonne wanted to speak to Lydia alone to brood.

Daryl and Judith talked about how Rick would handle their current predicament which of course would be defeating the whispers as they did the saviors. In the past, all of Jocelyn’s kids were hanging out around a campfire. None of the other adults in Jocelyn’s group made it. Jocelyn encouraged Michonne to continue trying to find Rick. In the present, Daryl and the others were leaving Alexandria for the Kingdom.

In the past, Michonne discovered that Jocelyn, Judith, and all the other kids were gone along with Alexandria’s supplies. In the present, Judith was upset after Daryl left. She asked to go to her room but when Michonne went up to speak to her, she was gone. Michonne went to Negan who didn’t know where Judith was. Negan shared what they talked about and she got upset with how much closer she seemed to be with Negan than with herself (which was kind of true). He would of course sense what was going on.

In the past, Michonne and Daryl set out for Jocelyn. They would have to get used to the fact that since Michonne was pregnant, they would have to slow down. Michonne felt betrayed (the lack of character development would lessen the impact of the betrayal) and was mostly upset for having let her guard down. They eventually found where Jocelyn and the kids were hiding but would find themselves taken hostage (their scars came from brands they receive while being held captive).

In the present, Michonne set out after Judith (almost oblivious to walkers) while she and Daryl freed themselves in the past. Still in the past, Michonne had to fight kids (once sliced her pregnant stomach) while Judith and the other kids got away. She would eventually run into Jocelyn who she killed. Jocelyn’s other kids were still ready to fight and as she was fighting them in the past, Michonne would fight walkers in the present. The episode would weave back and forth in a way that would sort of mask the fact that she was killing kids. She would talked one into not killing Judith before they ran away while a few other remained. Just like in the past, she would be reunited with Judith once again.

Michonne and Judith talked about their time in the past. Judith remembered everything and stayed silent the following year because it made Michonne sad. She helped Michonne see the error in her recent questionable behavior. In the past, Michonne returned to Alexandria with Judith and the other remaining kids. In the present, Michonne explained that she did not want her past traumatic experience to happen again. From that point, she was going to refocus on protecting the people she loved.

The episode ended with Michonne and Judith picking up Daryl and the others while on their way to The Kingdom all while a few whispers were watching.

Overall, Scars was an excellent episode of The Walking Dead that would finally provide some answers to fill some of the gap during the time jump. Granted, the child killing was arguably too far but it would only accentuate the sheer emotion that Michonne felt over her compelling character arc over the backhalf of the season in what would be a great sequence. Though it may be too little too late to a certain degree to have as much of the impact as it should have. Nevertheless, Danai Gurira’s excellent performance as Michonne make this one of the best episodes in a very long time and perhaps one of the best of the series. Things are going to go down at the fair.

Score: 8/10

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.