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The Walking Dead Review: “Remember” (Season 5, Episode 12)

Throughout The Walking Dead there's been an undercurrent of nihilism, the idea that everything good ends up destroyed either because it's false, it becomes coveted by others, or because it was never really good to begin with. Every safe haven ends up being a mirage, or a wolf in sheep's clothing, and even it is the real thing, the other wolves end up descending on it and taking it apart anyway. It's understandable then that as the gates of the Alexandria Safe Zone opened, and Rick and the other survivors start to settle there, both we and they start looking for the cracks.

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We also meet Deanna’s son, Aidan, who runs the Alexandria reconnaissance team that goes out into the surrounding area to find supplies. It’s here that the perfectly serene life of the ASZ hits its first snag, as Aidan and his friend go to show Glen, Tara and Noah a walker they had strung up after it attacked and killed one of their friends. Of course, Glen and friends know that it’s pretty stupid to leave a zombie just hanging around, and as viewers, we also understand how foolish this is. That being said, Aidan’s actions would make sense for someone who didn’t have to be assured of his own survival every minute of every day. Life is very different on one side of the wall than the other.

We don’t get to see how everyone in the group gets to react to their new surroundings, but we do get to see the most interesting ones. Daryl, it seems, is having the most difficulty adjusting. One gets the feeling that he didn’t fit in well in the world before the zombies, so how can he cope in a place that seeks to emulate that world? Carol, meanwhile, seems to be fitting in well, or at least putting on the right face to fit in. She may be able to dress up like Martha Stewart, but all they really have in common is a ruthless streak. Still, it provided a nice laugh when Carol threatened to hose Daryl down if he didn’t take a shower and let her iron his vest.

It’s felt like we haven’t gotten to spend a lot of time with Carl this season, and “Remember” kind of addresses that. A few weeks ago, Rick remarked that he used to feel sorry for kids growing up in the post-zombie world until he realized that they would have the easiest time adjusting not knowing another world. That comment is reflected back this week as Carl is the first to vocalize that the downside to living in the ASZ is the chance that the comfortable living will make them all soft. Carl also relates better to Enid, a girl who also spent considerable time on the other side of the gate and is unable to deal with a life full of school work, hanging out, and having to choose between playing pool or video games.

Other than the incident with Aidan, there’s more for the group to be excited about than fearful, but is there something for the residents of Alexandria to be worried about? Rick, Carol and Daryl all see Carl’s point about how life in the ASZ can turn them weak, or at the very least not make them as reactive or shrewd as they were in “the wild.” Rick also knows that his world’s truly become about the makers and the takers (with the latter far outnumbering the former), and from the sounds of it, he’ll make sure that Alexandria deals with that reality whether they like it or not.