5 Things You Might Have Missed in The Walking Dead "Forget"
Last night's episode of The Walking Dead was another episode that was light on gruesome deaths but heavy on character development. It also signaled the beginning of the build up for what will, no doubt, be an amazing season finale.
In episode 13, "Forget" we saw some characters like Rick, Daryl and Michonne, able to begin leaving their past behind, while others like Sasha really struggled to adjust. Despite "Forget" being more focused on character than action, there was still some pretty awesome and subtle stuff (and thangs) in this episode, so strap in and take a look at the five things you may have missed from episode 13:
1. The big red A
At the welcome party we met a few new characters including Jessie's son Sam, who stamped a big red 'A' on Rick's hand while Jessie proclaimed that Rick was now "one of us." The use of an 'A' was very interesting, especially given the show's history, and also the title of the episode. Firstly, the 'A' most obviously stands for Alexandria, there is no question about that, though there was another settlement that also used an 'A' symbol to brand groups of people - Terminus.
The railway carriage that Rick and the group were trapped in was marked with an 'A' (which was also the title of the 16th episode of Season 4), and when the group was stuck inside the church with the Termites-turned-Hunters outside, they painted the side of Father Gabriel's church with the same letter. Personally, I think this episode was all about Rick seeing the letter being used as a positive way of branding a group, and letting go of the past a little bit, which also fits in with the title of the episode, "Forget."
The last thing that the 'A' could potential be a reference to is the Nathaniel Hawthorne book, The Scarlet Letter. In The Scarlet Letter the main character is branded an adulteress and forced to wear a scarlet 'A' on all of her clothing to shame her. Could Rick and Jessie's 'A's' be signs of a potential new romance to bloom, despite Jessie's husband, Peter? The kiss on the cheek at the party certainly was suggestive, so who knows
2. It was heavy on the callbacks
In addition to the 'A' callback to Season 4 and Terminus, "Forget" certainly recalled a few other memories from the show, particularly associated with dead members of the group.
We were reminded of Rick, Michonne and Maggie's horses when Buttons the horse also met its end at the hand of some hungry walkers, despite Daryl and Aaron's best attempts.
Herschel had his moment when Daryl, Eric and Aaron also ate a spaghetti dinner, reminiscent of Herschel's Spaghetti Tuesdays.
Merle was referenced when Aaron gave Daryl a new motorcycle.
Tyreese was alluded to when Michonne also used a hammer to hang up her katana.
Bob was brought to mind with a particularly badly worded request from Olivia who asked Sasha to bring her back a leg...of a wild boar for her to cure.
And finally, Morgan was also referenced at the very end as Rick walked pastMorgan Street, (but more on that to come!)
All of these were quite poignant for an episode titled "Forget," with many dead characters seeming to be laid to rest for good. Did you notice any more obscure references to past characters being left behind?
3. The marked walkers returned
In the mid-season premier we saw some very interesting walkers who had been reduced to only torsos and heads, and the heads were also carved with what looked to be a 'W' symbol. The same episode also had a some spray painted signs which mentioned the Wolves, and personally I thought that the Wolves and the branded walkers must all part of the same deal. Now I'm not so sure.
In "Forget" Rick, Daryl and Carol are talking in the woods when they kill a lone walker, and when they walk past the body Daryl notices the walker has a 'W' carved on its forehead. However, as the three of them walk off, mystified over these branded walkers, the camera lingers on the body, and from this new angle the 'W' now certainly looks like an 'M.'
This seems, to me, like a very strange to do after a character has just remarked that the symbol looked like a 'W' to then go out of your way to make it look like an 'M'. Was this done by the Wolves, or by someone with an M initial, perhaps even someone like Morgan?
4. Can Pete be trusted?
Last episode we very briefly saw Jessie's husband Pete as he hung back in the shadows on their porch. He cast a pretty sinister shadow, not even bothering to introduce himself to Rick, and opting to puff away in the darkness. However, this week in "Forget" he seemed to be the polar opposite, dressed in his light-colored clothing, thanking Rick for being town Constable and offering to give him a physical. It all seemed quite light hearted until he offered to go and refill drinks, when Jessie offered to do it instead and he rather harshly rebuffed her by saying "I'm on it." As many comic readers will know, despite Pete's status as town doctor he isn't all he appears to be, and by the looks of it we might see that very soon. By the way, he never came back with Rick's drink refill, the bastard.
5. There were more wolf and pig references
We've had a wolf reference in all or almost all of the episode since Season 5B has started, and this episode was no exception with showing the full moon and making a reference to wild boars when Olivia asks Sasha to bring her back a leg to cure (ouch, way to hit Sasha right in the Bob, by the way).
The hot money for the group known as the Wolves is that they are a beefed up version of a group named the Scavengers from the comic series, who were led by a man named Derek. Derek famously used the phrase "little pig, little pig...let me in" when he reached the gates of Alexandria. The same phrase was also used by another villain in the comic series, a seriously crazy dude by the name of Negan. Personally I think it's a bit too early to be seeing Negan (but make no mistake, he is coming), but I think Derek and the Scavengers will be making their way to Alexandria very soon and these ongoing references to wolves and pigs seem to echo that.