The Walking Dead
“Time for After”
December 3, 2017
Dr. Mullet begins the episode by figuring out that Dwight is the traitor and confronting him about it, to which Dwight is like, “I mean, yeah? But let’s just let this play out, because Negan is done for, and it’s just a matter of time. Also, too, Negan is a BAD MAN, so let’s not get too choked up over it.” But Dr. Mullet is not convinced to turn Team Rick and warns Dwight to not do anything else that might compromise the Saviors.
On his way out of Dwight’s room, Dr. Mullet notices the walkers banging on an exterior door and asks one of the Saviors how long they have. A day, maybe two?
Dr. Mullet is then called into the infirmary by Dr. Carson who informs him that Father Gabriel’s condition is worsening and he is experiencing organ failure. While Dr. Mullet doesn’t want him to die, exactly, he’s also unmoved by the situation, referring to him as merely a “traveling companion.”
Dr. Carson leaves Dr. Mullet in charge of looking after Father Gabe while he goes looking for some medicine — for as much good as a bunch of herbs is going to do. There, Dr. Mullet and Father Gabe have a philosophical argument about “doing the right thing,” with Dr. Mullet arguing that doing good for one person might mean harming another, and Father Gabe insisting that one must have faith in one’s ability to the right thing when called to do so, and in God having a plan. Father Gabriel knows this talk of “faith” means little to a man of science like Dr. Mullet, but not that long ago, he might have thought the idea of the dead reanimating preposterous, too. Anyway, what Gabe is getting at is that Dr. Mullet will do the right thing when the time comes. Dr. Mullet is all, “UHHHHHH….”
Later, one of the wives swings by Dr. Mullet’s room wondering when he’s going to finish fixing her boombox and he’s like, “REALLY? THAT’S THE MOST PRESSING THING ON YOUR MIND RIGHT NOW?” She points out that this whole surrounded-by-zombies thing does not markedly change her situation: she was already trapped before this happened. Dr. Mullet asks for the second bottle of wine she promised in exchange for the boombox work, noting that he can’t sleep, and she’s like “O RLY? BECAUSE I HAVEN’T BEEN ABLE TO SLEEP EVER SINCE YOU REFUSED TO HELP US KILL MY CAPTOR. BUT WHATEVER.”
Negan then calls Dr. Mullet in for a meeting where he expresses how worried he is if things don’t get fixed SOON, before offering his hand to Dr. Mullet. Dr. Mullet goes to kiss it, to which Negan is like, “No, dummy, I was trying to shake your hand because I respect you as a sorta-equal-but-not-really. But that was really funny.”
Dr. Mullet returns to fixing the boombox when he comes up with an idea. He heads down to a storage room where he finds Sasha’s coffin and iPod. Using a tape recorder to make notes about his plan, Dr. Mullet then attaches the iPod to a drone, with the intention of using the music to draw the walkers away from the building: sorta like Plan Speakertruck, but on a much much smaller scale.
However, Dwight arrives just as Dr. Mullet is about to launch it, and pulling a gun on him, orders him to stop. Dwight insists that if they just give it time the people at the Sanctuary will be safe, he only wants to take down Negan. But if Dr. Mullet helps Negan, it will mean the deaths of Team Rick. Dr. Mullet don’t care and launches the drone.
MEANWHILE. While all of this was going on, Daryl, Michonne, Tara, and Rosita have driven towards the Sanctuary in the garbage truck where they meet up with Morgan who has stationed himself as a lookout in a sniper’s nest.
The group discusses their plan to throw away Rick’s plan and just attack the Sanctuary now without looking back, but Rosita and Michonne are all, “Yeahhhhh … I don’t know guys … ” Tara is all, “blah blah blah, I waited too long to tell everyone about the Oceanside guns and I regret it,” but Rosita is all, “well, blah blah blah, Sasha and I rushed ahead with our own plans and it ended with Sasha being turned into an iPod walker, so.” With that, Rosita leaves, takes her leave, but Michonne stays on.
Until she doesn’t. Upon actually arriving at the Sanctuary, Michonne is like, “Changed my mind,” and hops out of the truck.
And so, just as Daryl begins driving towards the Sanctuary, Dwight shoots at Dr. Mullet’s drone, and Tara and Morgan, thinking they are being fired upon, begin shooting at the Sanctuary. Daryl flings himself out of the truck moments before it hits the building, opening up a hole that the walkers promptly begin pouring through.
Chaos.
The Saviors eventually manage to get to the second floor and to safety, and Dr. Mullet storms into the infirmary where he marches up to Father Gabriel and is like, “I’M GOING TO DO THE SHITTY THING AND NOT THE GOOD THING AND YOU CAN EAT IT,” except with a whole lot of gobbledygook that is almost impossible to understand.
Dr. Mullet then goes to Negan who assures him that he’s going to unload a shitstorm on Rick for this, and Dr. Mullet’s all, “I’m cool with that.” Dr. Mullet then informs Negan that he has solved another urgent item and Negan is all, “Well look at you!” But before Dr. Mullet can reveal that Dwight needs some Lucille therapy, Dwight and some other Saviors walk in to report that things are bad downstairs. Negan announces that it’s fine because Dr. Mullet has a plan in mind. Dr. Mullet, staring at Dwight, announces to the group that he’s going to repair the intercom system so that they can better communicate, and Negan is all, “Wait, that’s it? Huh.”
Then Dr. Mullet retires to his room and drinks the entire bottle of wine because sometimes it’s just that kind of night. DON’T JUDGE.
Meanwhile, over in Garbagetown, Rick is dragged out of his boxcar wearing nothing but his dirty panties, and he’s all, “It’s not too late for you to be our new BFFs!” But Haircut is all, “Nah, thanks though,” before having one of her people bring out a new walker in another of those forged masks to eat Rick. Rick being Rick, he breaks free of his bonds, wrestles the rod holding the walker away from one of the Trash people, snaps the walker’s head off and then manages to wrestle Haircut down to the ground right in front of the walker’s disembodied head which is still growling even though it has no source of air to do so. “HOW ABOUT NOW? HOW ABOUT WE BE FRIENDS NOW?” Rick yells at the Trash People who could have shot him with their many many guns at any point but chose not to because I don’t know why.
And so, after Rick and Haircut negotiate a bit, Rick leads the Trash People to the Sanctuary, where he discovers the courtyard empty of walkers and the Saviors nowhere to be seen.
Alright, not much time until our mid-season finale begins, so a couple of points:
- Fuck Dr. Mullet.
- Although maybe not? He had an opportunity to squeal on Dwight and didn’t, so maybe Father G. wasn’t wrong about him after all?
- But wait, did Dr. Mullet record his entire fight with Dwight about the drone in which Dwight implicates himself and will this be used against Dwight?
- Also, what the hell, Daryl? Seriously, though, when did you become so dumb?
- I’m a little tired of Rick’s Mary Sue act, y’all. You mean to tell me that up against an armored walker and a trash heap full of people with guns, stripped to nothing but his panties, Rick is not just only to get out of this mess alive, but that he is going to gain the upper hand?
- Who is going to die tonight? Everyone? I am going to go ahead and place my bet on “everyone.”
The Walking Dead airs on AMC on Sundays at 8/9 p.m.
Can’t wait for your recap of the mid-season finale. Some in the Sorensen household were piiiiiiiised at that one.