It always appears that reunions and troubles go hand and hand. Michonne, due to Governor Pamela Milton’s generosity, has been allowed to immediately see her daughter, Elodie, for the first time in 4 years. At the same time Pamela’s son is angry with his personal bodyguard, Mercer, for ruining his ability to get laid. As a result, Mercer, after speaking to another patrolman, begins to suggest that they should begin to make moves to overturn the current regime.
The Good:
Michonne is finally reunited with her daughter after 4 years. Throughout their interaction we begin to understand more about who Michonne is. As she makes it clear that she gave up custody of her daughter as she thought it was for the best, considering her job and lifestyle. This provides a reason as to why Michonne acts a certain way in the relationships she has had with men. Her emotions are associated with the regret she has by giving up custody of her children. Furthermore, her interaction with Elodie leads to Michonne asking about Colette (her other daughter) to only find out that she was killed. A group was protecting both of them in exchange for sex and Colette did not want to participate and was killed. In retaliation, Elodie killed all the members of that group before discovering the Commonwealth. In revealing this to Michonne we begin to understand the hardships that she faced in surviving. Even with these hardships, and if her mother did not give up custody, she does not resent or have any ill will towards her. Rather Elodie is grateful to be reunited with her mother after all this time and the events that have occurred. At the same time, this is occurring Pamela Milton’s son, Sebastian, is prevented from having sex as his body guard, Mercer, saves him from 2 roamers. Due to this he is complaining to his mom about how Mercer put him in harm’s way and invaded his privacy. In turn, this gets Mercer in trouble with his boss, which prompts him to talk about how they just have to wait for leaders to make a move and allow them to die. This is over heard by Sidqued, which eludes to the fact that everything is not ok in the Commonwealth and things are about to get worse as the leadership is going to be clashing with the patrolmen.
The Bad:
The comic fails to properly introduced the character Mercer who eludes to the possibility of a coup occurring. The comic does not state why he was chosen to be Sebastian’s personal body guard, why his armor is red, or what his relationship is to the Governor. This is all important information to understand his motive and what has changed his mind in his job to even contemplate the thought of turning against somebody who trusted him. Without this explanation, there is a disconnect between his statement and actions. Furthermore, the issue briefly touches upon the Alexandria Safezone, as Rick is talking with Mikey who is dealing with his loss through writing. In their conversation, Mikey suggests that Rick do some writing about Andrea and before Rick can answer the comic moves away from this point and leaves it hanging unanswered. This seems a bit odd as it suggests that Rick is still healing but is left open ended for the reader to draw their own conclusion. At the same time at the Hilltop, Dante and Maggie are caught having sex. While this was hinted at for several issues, it was a letdown, as it was done an anti-climatic way, as if it was the norm rather than a big deal.
The Verdict:
A lot is going on in The Walking Dead in the last several issues as the world has expanded. Several issues have come up for various characters including Michonne, Rick, and Maggie as they are dealing with their lives moving forward. Yet all is not as it seems as troubling is brewing around the corner as a possible coup might take place that directly involves Michonne’s group that could have consequences for the 4 Communities. This issue begins to set the table for that possibility to occur in The Walking Dead.
