It was always going to be difficult to keep up the momentum and intensity of last week’s part-season premiere, so The Walking Dead’s showrunners instead opt to slam on the breaks and lighten the mood in a world-building episode set entirely within the confines of The Commonwealth.
The result is only partially successful, and some of the on-screen conceits strain the limits of credibility. But while New Haunts offers little in the way of zombie peril, it does provide the fullest picture yet of life and culture within the Commonwealth. It also exposes the tensions, rivalries, and the competition for status unfolding in the highest ranks of the settlement’s ruling strata. Even more significantly, it also hints at the kind of trouble that may be brewing just beneath the surface of the superficially benign enclave.
Weeks after most of the remaining residents of Alexandria have moved in, following Eugene’s encouragement, the Commonwealth is enjoying a relaxed Halloween celebration. Complete with fairground rides (including one very questionable attraction), a fancy dress competition for the kids, and games and treats of all kinds, the mood is relaxed and distracted. Everywhere there’s evidence of how quickly many of the new arrivals have integrated into the settlement’s ‘work hard, play hard’ lifestyle. But not everyone can adjust to the ‘new normal’ so easily, especially as Mercer and his militia insist all new inductees prioritise teamwork and order-taking over individual free will.
What the script for New Haunts makes clear (albeit in none too subtle way) is how far the Commonwealth is built on sharp distinctions of wealth, power, and privilege. That’s brought to life through a grand evening ball, at which the elite enjoy canapes and fine wines while the workforce of chefs, waiters and bouncers busy themselves in service – until an uninvited guest punctures the illusion. Yet despite the conscription into wage labour, and the poor quality accommodation assigned to newcomers, it’s understandable why the war-weary refugees from Alexandria might welcome the respite, plentiful food and strong defences of the Commonwealth.
Carol and Daryl try different methods to secure leverage over influential members of the elite – Carol to expedite surgery for the ailing Ezekiel; Daryl to better protect Judith and to win Mercer’s trust. Lance Hornsby is revealed to be a much more insecure figure (and the leader’s son even more feckless and louche) than viewers have seen before. But lording over them all is the redoubtable Governor Pamela Milton. While she might currently seem to be secure and untouchable, the episode closes to the stirring sounds of Motörhead’s Eat the Rich: a potent warning that open class warfare (or insatiable walkers) could soon be disrupting the comfortable contentment of the Commonwealth’s bosses.
New episodes of THE WALKING DEAD – SEASON 11 premiere Mondays in the UK on DISNEY+/STAR
Read our previous reviews of THE WALKING DEAD below:
Season 11, Episode 1, ACHERON: PART I
Season 11, Episode 2, ACHERON: PART II
Season 11, Episode 4, RENDITION
Season 11, Episode 5, OUT OF THE ASHES
Season 11, Episode 6, ON THE INSIDE
Season 11, Episode 7, PROMISES BROKEN
