“You can’t kill all of them, Dad. There’s gotta be something after. For you. For them.”
This week's episode of The Walking Dead opens with a scene in the dreamlike world that has become a recurring element this season, where Rick has grown old and lives a peaceful life with the people he cares about. This is brutally contrasted when the scene cuts to Rick and Michonne digging what we can assume is Carl’s grave.
In a melancholy but sweet montage, we then see Carl slowly make peace with his impending death. He spends time with Judith, shares a candy bar with Siddiq, and tries to enjoy the last few moments of his life.
The recurring flashes to Rick’s dreamworld make the realities of this current situation even bleaker. Throughout the season, these snippets have shown the hope that has kept the fight against the Saviors going.
One of the complaints about The Walking Dead is why its characters would want to keep on living in a world so bleak, but the hope for a future like the one Rick imagines is the biggest reason for these characters keep on fighting.
This episode showed us that Rick’s dreamworld isn’t actually taking place in Rick’s imagination, at least not yet. In fact, this is the future that Carl hopes his father will one day live, making the episode even more heartbreaking.
The only solace in this devastating episode is Rick’s promise to Carl. Rick says that he’ll make sure the peaceful life that his son imagines a reality, but as we get a closer look at this vision, the chances of it becoming real get even slimmer.
Carl said there has to be something after all this for everyone, and we see that he truly means this when a very friendly Negan pops up at the end of the episode, smiling at Judith. Given that the season has been leading up to a big fight between Rick and Negan, we can probably assume this happy ending won’t be happening.
Rick isn’t the only one who wants to honor Carl, as Siddiq pledges to be of use to the group. Siddiq should be an interesting character going forward, as while his medical knowledge will be helpful, it's possible Rick and Michonne feel that he is responsible for Carl's death. There wasn't a lot of hostility between the characters in this episode, but perhaps different feelings will come to the surface in the coming weeks.
The episode did take some surprising turns, with Carl's actual death not being shown on-screen being the biggest one. However, the episode's final shot is also a pretty big headscratcher. Why is Rick leaning against a tree with a gunshot wound in his gut? In typical The Walking Dead fashion, we'll likely have to wait a while to find out.
However, some of the weird decisions in Honor didn't manage to spoil an emotionally satisfying episode that leaves me cautiously optimistic about the rest of the season.
What did you think about this week's show? Comment below!