Editorials
[Editorial] Did “The Walking Dead” Just Set the Stage for a Huge Villain Twist?
They’re all Negan. But Simon may be the most Negan of them all.
This past Sunday’s episode of “The Walking Dead” was a pretty damn interesting one, setting the stage for some potentially compelling storylines going forward. For starters, Pollyanna McIntosh’s Jadis, leader of the Scavengers, had her off-putting weirdness stripped away in the wake of literally *all* of her people being killed, making her feel like a real human being for the very first time. But the most interesting aspect of “The Lost and the Plunderers” was a big character moment for Simon, Negan’s right-hand man.
We first met Simon, played by Steven Ogg, back in Season 6, and it quickly became clear that he was Negan’s most trusted foot soldier. Simon has for quite some time now been the man Negan sends to deal with the various communities under his rule, tasked with flashing his sinister shit-eating grin and essentially threatening community leaders so they continue to give Negan what he needs from them. Simon has essentially been Negan’s mini Negan, so to speak, but that dynamic changed this past Sunday night.
Throughout Season 8, Simon has been questioning Negan’s way of dealing with Alexandria, Hilltop and the Kingdom; while Negan prefers to keep those groups alive and well so that they can continue to provide resources to the Saviors, it’s become clear to Simon that they’re never going to fall in line. Simon, if he had his way, would literally kill them all, start fresh, and look for new communities to take over. During “The Lost and the Plunderers,” Simon finally took matters into his own hands, directly disobeying his leader.
Negan sent Simon on a mission to intimidate and threaten the Scavengers, giving him specific orders to only kill *one* member of the group to get the necessary message across. Simon agreed to the terms, but enacted his own plan behind Negan’s back. Rather than killing one member of the Scavengers, Simon had *all* of them executed, leaving only Jadis behind to deal with their reanimated corpses – and boy did she ever, in an EPIC zombie meat grinder sequence that even impressed Stephen King.
As brutal as we’ve come to know Negan to be, even he would never wipe out an entire community, and so Simon’s actions this past Sunday night seemed to suggest that he’s perhaps going to become the true villain of Season 8’s back half. Whereas Negan has strict policies that dictate who he kills, Simon is on a warpath with a simple “kill them all” policy, which puts him at odds even with the madman he has vowed his allegiance to. And while Simon becomes more like the Negan that comic book readers hoped to see on the small screen, Negan himself is becoming less and less the villain of the series.
“The Lost and the Plunderers” ended with a very interesting conversation between Rick and Negan, wherein Negan broke down in tears when he learned of Carl’s death. Rick was the aggressor of the conversation, vowing to kill Negan, while Negan calmly urged Rick to put aside his anger and stop making decisions that are gonna get more of his loved ones killed – dare I say, Negan seemed to be more like the Negan of Carl’s “happy ending” vision from the end of the mid-season premiere than the Negan we first met in Season 6.
So we can’t help but wonder. Has Steven Ogg, with his Simon, become so good at playing Negan that he’s becoming… the new Negan? Simon was created for the AMC series, so we can’t reference Robert Kirkman’s comic books to paint any sort of picture in regards to where Simon is headed at this point. But with the comic book version of Negan eventually becoming something of an ally to our heroes, it’s not so hard to imagine that the TV version of Negan will join forces with Rick to contend with an even more villainous force than any we’ve seen so far on the show: his good friend, Simon.
And Simon says, everyone dies.
No conversation about cartoons based on live-action movies is ever complete without mentioning The Real Ghostbusters.
This animated continuation is, warts and all, a notable example of turning a hit movie into a hit series. And although the new target demographic skewed a little younger, even kids-at-heart could partake in the further adventures of Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, Winston Zeddemore and Egon Spengler.
For a good part of its run, the show required fans to wait at least a week for more Ghostbustin’. That’s torture for a kiddo. Luckily, though, the entire series, or at least most of it, is now available for streaming.
So, as you revisit The Real Ghostbusters on Tubi—for now it’s just the first five seasons there—use this guide to help prioritize some must-see episodes.
The Boogieman Cometh
“The Boogieman Cometh” (Season 1)
Season One’s “The Boogieman Cometh” is a classic episode featuring one of the show’s more iconic villains. It’s hard to forget the unique character design used for the Boogieman (whose creepy voice was provided by Ray and Slimer’s actor, Frank Welker). In this story, Egon is reunited with that bump-in-the-night entity who haunted his own childhood, all while trying to keep him away from his latest targets: the brother and sister claiming to have the Boogieman in their closet. Although the Ghostbusters do save the day here, the Boogieman eventually returns (“The Bogeyman Is Back“). That same episode also features the love-’em-or-hate-’em Junior Ghostbusters.
Mr. Sandman, Dream Me a Dream
“Mr. Sandman, Dream Me a Dream” (Season 1)
You could say the namesake of “Mr. Sandman, Dream Me a Dream” had good intentions for putting mankind to sleep for the next few centuries—he wanted to end war and keep everyone dreaming. Sounds nice until you remember that whole free will business. But when it seems like the Ghostbusters have lost to their latest foe, the last one standing, Winston, gains a sudden ally. Janine’s dream of becoming a Ghostbuster is manifested, and she helps put this rogue spirit to bed.
When Halloween Was Forever
“When Halloween Was Forever” (Season 1)
Before the show’s execs capitalized on Slimer’s popularity by making him the focus of later episodes, early stories like “When Halloween Was Forever” better utilized that gooey ghost. Here, the spirit of Halloween itself, Samhain, hopes to make the holiday a permanent thing by stopping time. And who does the embodiment of All Hallows’ Eve use in his nefarious plot? Slimer, of course. Thankfully, the lil’ green bud knows where he really belongs, and Samhain is banished (at least until Season 3’s “Halloween II 1/2“).
Night Game
“Night Game” (Season 2)
Because Season Two was rather long, in comparison to other seasons, it accumulated quite a few solid episodes. One of the most beloved, though, is that ultimate good-versus-evil story, “Night Game“. Winston gets to shine here as he participates in a battle that was 500 years in the making. Except this time, the fighting is done on the baseball field. The other-dimensional settings in The Real Ghostbusters are always great, but the one here is particularly memorable.
Drool, the Dog-Faced Goblin
“Drool, the Dog-Faced Goblin” (Season 2)
Not all ghosts and whatnot were bad in The Real Ghostbusters. As “Drool, the Dog-Faced Goblin” showed, some were actually benevolent. Sadly, it took a lot of convincing, and one very heroic act, for Peter and the others to see past this goblin’s grotesque appearance. The heroes find more than one shapeshifter at a sideshow carnival in the Poconos; a sinister Class-4er called the Metamorph does a swell job of menacing the Ghostbusters before they finally realize Drool’s not their culprit. The good guys indeed win here, but that victory is a bittersweet one.
The Collect Call of Cathulhu
“The Collect Call of Cathulhu” (Season 2)
While “The Collect Call of Cathulhu” does misspell “Cthulhu” in the title (probably to avoid legal issues), it is clearly the Old One in this Lovecraft-inspired episode. The story kicks off with the Necronomicon being stolen by the deity’s modern-day cult, who then raise their ancient god at Coney Island. From there, the Ghostbusters’ typical methods don’t work on the big guy, so they seek advice from an old issue of Weird Tales (or “Wierd Tales”, as it’s spelled on screen). That build-up to the finale comes with a decent amount of dread before the Ghostbusters, as well as a scholar named Alice, face off with one of the show’s most powerful entities.
Knock, Knock
“Knock, Knock” (Season 2)
A number of Real Ghostbusters episodes could be reworked into big-screen features, but perhaps “Knock, Knock” is the most hopeful. It helps that this story feels in step with the first two movies. Here, some ignorant construction workers accidentally uncover and open an ancient door in the subway. What’s behind said door is none other than those unspeakable evils that only the Ghostbusters can quell. A good deal of the imagery here is prime for adaptation.
The Grundel
“The Grundel” (Season 3)
One of the darker episodes, which was written by the prominent J. Michael Straczynski, is “The Grundel“. Here, a boy is being influenced by the titular entity, a type of ghost who ultimately turns his targets into new Grundels. The episode does have something of an after-school special quality to it, but that doesn’t take away from the eerier moments. For more Grundel lore, be sure to check out the episode “Grundelesque” from the sequel series, Extreme Ghostbusters.
Standing Room Only
“Standing Room Only” (Season 4)
It’s no secret that The Real Ghostbusters experienced multiple changes after the second season. Out of all of them, though, retooling the show so that Slimer would get more of the spotlight is maybe the most egregious. Thankfully, Season Four (the first to be called Slimer! and the Real Ghostbusters) didn’t completely obey that new directive; episodes like “Standing Room Only” felt more like the old days. The focus here was on the well-being of the city and its people, rather than on the series’ green mascot (or the Junior Ghostbusters). In the episode, Peter’s new ghost attractor isn’t to blame for the ensuing chaos; the ghost-eating Mee-Krah is what’s really imperiling everyone. And the Ghostbusters must dish out everything they have to avoid a doomsday situation.
The Halloween Door
“The Halloween Door” (Season 5)
While many fans will skip the later seasons in their rewatches, episodes like “The Halloween Door” are still worth checking out. This colorful helping of Halloween pandemonium premiered on primetime, so the animation is better than usual. And save for a random musical moment, it’s an enjoyable event. Here, a group of anti-Halloweeners tries to cancel the holiday, but they only end up making things worse by unleashing a baddie named Boogaloo.
The first five seasons of The Real Ghostbusters are available on Tubi, starting on July 15.
You must be logged in to post a comment.