Editorials
“The Walking Dead” Just Killed These 10 Characters in One Harrowing, Horrifying Episode
Spoilers. Obviously.
Not since Negan bashed out Glenn’s eyeball has “The Walking Dead” been quite so harrowing as it was last night, as ‘The Calm Before’ went full “Red Wedding” and left us with our jaws open and our hearts shattered. We knew it was coming. But we definitely were not prepared. Season 9’s penultimate episode was titled ‘The Calm Before.’ Yeah. So much for that.
Setting the tone right off the bat, ‘The Calm Before’ kicked off with two lovebirds from Hilltop traveling to the Kingdom’s fair on their anniversary, armed with big smiles and bigger hopes. But that happy, bright future was cruelly shattered by Alpha and her Whisperers, who massacred the couple en route to Kingdom; to create her own disguise and slip into the fair undetected, the bald Alpha scalped the young woman and turned her hair into a flowing blonde wig. Mind you, even those who haven’t read the comics probably knew that the fair wasn’t going to be a very joyous experience, but the opening sequence of ‘The Calm Before’ ensured that a dark cloud was hanging over the fun proceedings before they even began.
There were some happy moments during the fair, at least, which included everything from a dunk tank to a movie. Reunions between Carol and Judith, as well as Connie and Kelly, were incredibly emotional, and it was nice to see some of the characters cut loose and have a good time for a change. The leaders of each community even managed to sign a bill into law that ensured their unity going forward: if someone wrongs one community, they’re wronging *all* communities. And, well, let’s just say that Alpha had no problem forcing that into effect.
Alpha snuck into the inter-community fair to take back Lydia, but she quickly realized that her daughter isn’t quite her daughter anymore. Lydia finally stood up to her mom and severed the ties that bind, sending Alpha on an emotional and devastating warpath. But Alpha’s goal wasn’t to kill the major players involved with taking her daughter from her. Not yet, at least. Wanting to cut even deeper, Alpha targeted their own friends, family and loved ones.
The episode was capped off with a definitive statement from Alpha and the Whisperers, in the form of TEN human heads on pikes. Members of Alexandria, Hilltop, Kingdom and even the leader of the Highwaymen were attacked and brutally beheaded by the Whisperers, their heads cut off – brains still in tact – and stuck onto individual pikes as the ultimate threat from Alpha. It was a brutal display of dominance that would make even Negan shake in his boots.
The lives lost in ‘The Calm Before’? Some big names were among the fallen:
Henry (Matt Lintz)
Enid (Katelyn Nacon)
Tara Chamblers (Alanna Masterson)
Ozzy (Angus Sampson)
Tammy Rose (Brett Butler)
Alek (Jason Kirkpatrick)
D.J. (Matt Mangum)
Frankie (Elyse Nicole DuFour)
Rodney (Joe Ando Hirsh) & Adeline (Kelley Mack)
The most gut-wrenching loss was Henry, the son of King Ezekiel and Queen Carol. Not just because Henry was so young, but also because we had to endure seeing his mom’s reaction to Alpha’s disturbing display. For Carol, who had finally found happiness with a loving husband and son, it was a devastating return to the dark days when her daughter Sophia had to be put down after turning into a zombie. No character on the show has been put through the wringer quite like Carol has, and for her, losing Henry was arguably more heartbreaking than if the events had played out like they did in the comics, where Ezekiel’s head ended up on a pike.
For us, as viewers, we had spent even more time with two other characters who didn’t make it out of ‘The Calm Before’ alive, with Tara having arrived in Season 4 and Enid coming onto the scene back in Season 5. We didn’t actually *see* any of these characters die, but seeing their heads up on pikes – and subsequently being told the story through Siddiq’s eyes, wherein he revealed how heroic they each were in their final moments – made for some of the most genuinely devastating losses in the show’s history. And with 10 characters being killed off in one shot, ‘The Calm Before’ simply had to be the single most gut-wrenching episode to date.
If this was ‘The Calm Before,’ we shudder to imagine what’s coming in next Sunday’s ‘The Storm.’ Needless to say, it promises to be one of the most must-watch finales of them all.
Season 9 isn’t messing around, you guys. We hope you’ve been watching.
Editorials
‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel
The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.
The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.
Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.
With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).
It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.
The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.
The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.
Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.
Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.
Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.
The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.
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