Picking up straight after the thrilling events of last week’s Warlords, episode fourteen peels back more of the layers of the deception disguising the true motivations of those in positions of power and privilege within the Commonwealth.
The action components of The Rotten Core are split between the battle for control raging at the Riverbend settlement and a dangerous retrieval raid close to the Commonwealth’s frontiers. With Aaron and Gabriel separated, Maggie, Elijah and Lydia have to make common cause with Negan and his new wife Annie to defend the inhabitants hiding within the building. The claustrophobic, cinder-block corridors of Riverbend make an excellent setting for two groups of combatants intent on hunting each other down.
Writers Erik Mountain and Jim Barnes (who also penned Warlords) extract maximum tension from the room-by-room, floor-by-floor close combat between Carlson’s troops and Riverbend’s defenders. Director Marcus Stokes makes impressive use of lighting and sound design to heighten the build-up to each explosion of violence.
Back at The Commonwealth, a petulant Sebastian Milton punishes Daryl for his disrespect by sending him and Rosita on a raid to a walker-infested ranch to retrieve a stash of dollar bills from the safe. Money that the selfish Sebastian wants for his own private slush fund, regardless of the human cost. While Daryl’s and Rosita’s mission is nowhere near as exciting as the unpredictable, high-stakes chaos unfolding at Riverbend, it does provide the catalyst for the critical about-turn Mercer makes in relation to his allegiances.
This is one of a series of switches in characters’ story arcs that add to the sense of increasing momentum. The plot drives home the full extent of Hornsby’s callous ruthlessness and the moral nihilism of the entitled Sebastian. While the audience does not yet know how far Governor Milton is complicit in their crimes, the extent to which their behaviour is corroding the fabric of The Commonwealth from within is no longer in doubt.
But most striking of all is the redefinition of the dynamic between Negan, Maggie and the young Hershel. Anyone paying close attention to The Walking Dead franchise will be aware of the proposed spin-off series focusing on the partnership of these two adult adversaries. But the shift in their relationship introduced here, which relies on Negan’s continuing rehabilitation and the reinvention of his own identity, feels convincing and plausible. That’s down to some well-crafted dialogue, as the pair are forced to converse over walkie-talkies to the background sound of gunfire, while Negan takes on the in loco parentis role. But it’s just as reliant on fantastic, emotionally-intelligent performances from Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Lauren Cohan.
Those rich character exchanges, combined with the brutal action sequences, make this an impactful story the reverberations of which will have finale-building consequences. And that’s before the stunning reveal in the episode’s closing flashback. The death toll at Riverbend might be a portent of something far more threatening to The Commonwealth’s rotten regime.
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
Season 11, Episode 8, FOR BLOOD
Season 11, Episode 9, NO OTHER WAY
Season 11, Episode 10, NEW HAUNTS
Season 11, Episode 11, ROGUE ELEMENT
