Editorials
“The Walking Dead” Tackled Domestic Abuse and Introduced Scary New Villain in the Excellent ‘Omega’
“So this whole time, Lydia’s mom made her think it was her fault her dad died? Why would a mom do that to a kid?” – Henry
“Some people ain’t meant to be parents.” – Daryl
Over the years, “The Walking Dead” has established a pretty clear formula when it comes to the show’s main villains. Both the Governor and Negan started out as ruthless madmen and then evolved into characters with backstories that let us know they weren’t *always* bad, which made for complex villains who probably would’ve spent their lives being halfway decent men had the world not gone to shit. The Governor and Negan, essentially, were turned bad by the state of the world, but new villain Alpha doesn’t quite fit that familiar bill.
Last night’s ‘Omega’ served as a flashback-heavy origin story for Samantha Morton‘s Alpha, the leader of the creepy Whisperers. Smartly, her backstory was told through the memories of her daughter Lydia, who has found herself locked up by the good guys on the grounds of Hilltop. Lydia dished the dirt on her mom to both Henry and Daryl, initially recalling a childhood torn between an abusive father and a protective, loving mother; we see this dynamic in the episode’s early flashback scenes, but soon realize what we’re seeing isn’t quite the truth.
Unbeknownst even to herself, Lydia has been lying to Henry and Daryl, as the true story of her childhood was that her father was the protective and loving one, and her mother was the abusive monster. On top of the physical abuse (disguised as “love”), Lydia had been emotionally manipulated over the years into thinking her mother was the “good guy” and her father was the “bad guy,” but getting a little distance from mom (and some actual, genuine kindness from both Henry and Daryl) made her realize that her mom (her dad’s killer) doesn’t exactly have her best interests in mind. And she never had, not even before the dead walked the earth.
The incredibly well-written ‘Omega’ smartly chooses Henry and Daryl as the two characters who bond with Lydia down in the Hilltop’s makeshift basement prison, rather cleverly weaving their own experiences with domestic abuse into the storyline of Lydia and her abusive mother. Daryl, as we’ve known for a long time now, was abused by his father as a child, and while Henry has found himself loving parents in Carol and Ezekiel, he has a keen understanding of domestic abuse given the stories he has been told by his “second mom.”
Out of all the characters on “The Walking Dead,” Carol’s arc has been perhaps the most compelling over the years. When we first met Carol, she was the wife of a man named Ed, who regularly abused her. Eventually, of course, Carol took back her own power in the post-apocalypse, becoming one of the most fiercely independent and badass warriors we’ve ever seen on the small screen. Like many characters on the show, Carol has also visually evolved quite a bit over the years; her head was practically shaved when we first met her, but she’s now got a full head of hair. And ‘Omega’ brought a powerful context to that evolution, with Henry explaining to Daryl that his (second) mom had cut off all her hair in the first place because Ed used to pull her around by it when he was beating her up. If she cut it off, she felt, he’d no longer be able to do that. But with Ezekiel, a loving husband, by her side, Carol now feels comfortable enough to grow her hair out. Finally, she’s no longer scared.
Both Carol and Daryl are forever scarred by the domestic abuse they’ve managed to triumph over, and ‘Omega’ essentially puts Daryl and Henry in the position of helping Lydia to do the same. Whereas Daryl no doubt sees a whole lot of himself in the abuse-scarred Lydia, Henry sees his mom’s tortured past in Alpha’s daughter. And while Henry’s actions in the episode may seem foolish at first – at one point, he lets Lydia out of her prison cell and takes her on a midnight stroll – they make complete sense within the context they’re wrapped up in. Through his mother’s relationship with Ezekiel, Henry understands the healing powers of kindness and love, and he essentially dedicates himself to being that support system for Lydia.
In one of the episode’s most emotional moments, young Henry tells Daryl, “I’m glad you and my mom are friends.” It’s in this moment that Henry acknowledges the importance of Carol’s relationship with Daryl, recognizing through his own experiences with Lydia that Daryl must have been a very important force in making his mom who she is today. And if Carol and Daryl came out of their past darkness and into the light, maybe all hope is not lost for Lydia.
As for Alpha, she’s clearly choosing to remain in the darkness for the long haul, and her own evolution relayed through ‘Omega’ is quite something. Similar to Carol, but motivated by far different things, we’re shown the moment Lydia’s mom decided to hack off her hair and transform into someone else entirely during the early days of the apocalypse, and her arrival back on the scene as the fully transformed “Alpha” in the episode’s final moments all but ensures that we’ve got one hell of a villain on our hands with her. It doesn’t hurt that Alpha is played by the great Samantha Morton who tends to elevate everything she’s part of. How many TV shows, deep into their ninth season, manage to nab a two time Oscar nominee?!
Diving deep into two interesting new characters, while also expanding upon the storylines of three existing characters – Carol, despite not even appearing in the episode, is an even more rich character because of it – ‘Omega’ is a wonderful example of how good “The Walking Dead” can be when it wants to be. And it’s another reminder that as the series’ new showrunner, Angela Kang’s influence is perhaps just what the show needed to remain TV worth watching.
In just one episode, Alpha is already a must-watch small screen villain.
Having grown up in a religious family, Christian movie night was something that happened a lot more often than I care to admit. However, back when I was a teenager, my parents showed up one night with an unusually cool-looking DVD of a movie that had been recommended to them by a church leader. Curious to see what new kind of evangelical propaganda my parents had rented this time, I proceeded to watch the film with them expecting a heavy-handed snoozefest.
To my surprise, I was a few minutes in when Denzel Washington proceeded to dismember a band of cannibal raiders when I realized that this was in fact a real movie. My mom was horrified by the flick’s extreme violence and dark subject matter, but I instantly became a fan of the Hughes Brothers’ faith-based 2010 thriller, The Book of Eli. And with the film’s atomic apocalypse having apparently taken place in 2024, I think this is the perfect time to dive into why this grim parable might also be entertaining for horror fans.
Originally penned by gaming journalist and The Walking Dead: The Game co-writer Gary Whitta, the spec script for The Book of Eli was already making waves back in 2007 when it appeared on the coveted Blacklist. It wasn’t long before Columbia and Warner Bros. snatched up the rights to the project, hiring From Hell directors Albert and Allen Hughes while also garnering attention from industry heavyweights like Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman.
After a series of revisions by Anthony Peckham meant to make the story more consumer-friendly, the picture was finally released in January of 2010, with the finished film following Denzel as a mysterious wanderer making his way across a post-apocalyptic America while protecting a sacred book. Along the way, he encounters a run-down settlement controlled by Bill Carnegie (Gary Oldman), a man desperate to get his hands on Eli’s book so he can motivate his underlings to expand his empire. Unwilling to let this power fall into the wrong hands, Eli embarks on a dangerous journey that will test the limits of his faith.
SO WHY IS IT WORTH WATCHING?
Judging by the film’s box-office success, mainstream audiences appear to have enjoyed the Hughes’ bleak vision of a future where everything went wrong, but critics were left divided by the flick’s trope-heavy narrative and unapologetic religious elements. And while I’ll be the first to admit that The Book of Eli isn’t particularly subtle or original, I appreciate the film’s earnest execution of familiar ideas.
For starters, I’d like to address the religious elephant in the room, as I understand the hesitation that some folks (myself included) might have about watching something that sounds like Christian propaganda. Faith does indeed play a huge part in the narrative here, but I’d argue that the film is more about the power of stories than a specific religion. The entire point of Oldman’s character is that he needs a unifying narrative that he can take advantage of in order to manipulate others, while Eli ultimately chooses to deliver his gift to a community of scholars. In fact, the movie even makes a point of placing the Bible in between equally culturally important books like the Torah and Quran, which I think is pretty poignant for a flick inspired by exploitation cinema.
Sure, the film has its fair share of logical inconsistencies (ranging from the extent of Eli’s Daredevil superpowers to his impossibly small Braille Bible), but I think the film more than makes up for these nitpicks with a genuine passion for classic post-apocalyptic cinema. Several critics accused the film of being a knockoff of superior productions, but I’d argue that both Whitta and the Hughes knowingly crafted a loving pastiche of genre influences like Mad Max and A Boy and His Dog.
Lastly, it’s no surprise that the cast here absolutely kicks ass. Denzel plays the title role of a stoic badass perfectly (going so far as to train with Bruce Lee’s protégée in order to perform his own stunts) while Oldman effortlessly assumes a surprisingly subdued yet incredibly intimidating persona. Even Mila Kunis is remarkably charming here, though I wish the script had taken the time to develop these secondary characters a little further. And hey, did I mention that Tom Waits is in this?
AND WHAT MAKES IT HORROR ADJACENT?
Denzel’s very first interaction with another human being in this movie results in a gory fight scene culminating in a face-off against a masked brute wielding a chainsaw (which he presumably uses to butcher travelers before eating them), so I think it’s safe to say that this dog-eat-dog vision of America will likely appeal to horror fans.
From diseased cannibals to hyper-violent motorcycle gangs roaming the wasteland, there’s plenty of disturbing R-rated material here – which is even more impressive when you remember that this story revolves around the bible. And while there are a few too many references to sexual assault for my taste, even if it does make sense in-universe, the flick does a great job of immersing you in this post-nuclear nightmare.
The excessively depressing color palette and obvious green screen effects may take some viewers out of the experience, but the beat-up and lived-in sets and costume design do their best to bring this dead world to life – which might just be the scariest part of the experience.
Ultimately, I believe your enjoyment of The Book of Eli will largely depend on how willing you are to overlook some ham-fisted biblical references in order to enjoy some brutal post-apocalyptic shenanigans. And while I can’t really blame folks who’d rather not deal with that, I think it would be a shame to miss out on a genuinely engaging thrill-ride because of one minor detail.
With that in mind, I’m incredibly curious to see what Whitta and the Hughes Brothers have planned for the upcoming prequel series starring John Boyega…
There’s no understating the importance of a balanced media diet, and since bloody and disgusting entertainment isn’t exclusive to the horror genre, we’ve come up with Horror Adjacent – a recurring column where we recommend non-horror movies that horror fans might enjoy.
Looking for New Episodes of “Chucky” on Peacock? Here’s What Changed
‘Mountain Man’ – Joe Manganiello Will Battle Zombies in Upcoming Horror Movie
‘The Blair Witch Project’ – Original Stars Release a Statement Asking Lionsgate for Residuals & Recognition
‘Trap’ – Official Trailer Previews a Wild New Horror Experience from M. Night Shyamalan
‘Longlegs’ – New Teaser Video for NEON Horror Movie Is Soaked in Cryptic Eeriness
You must be logged in to post a comment.