In Community terms, “Remember” is almost a repilot for The Walking Dead. There's a drastic change of setting, we meet a whole bunch of new characters and Rick even gets a new look. Yes, after all this time, it's bye-bye to his back woods murderer/folk singer thing and hello baby face.
Last week I wondered how this battle-hardened warrior would cope in the cosy confines of peace time. The answer, unsurprisingly, is “not well”. That goes for the group as a whole who can't quite shake the sense that something is wrong here, despite mounting evidence that this community is just fine. Carl is worried about becoming weak, Carol is wary of being honest when talking to the locals and Daryl flat out refuses to take a shower (yeah, he looks pretty, but he must absolutely honk by now). The physical manifestation of this anxiety is the fight between Glenn and irritating jeb-end Aiden – and wasn't that delightful?
It's an intriguing shift in dynamic. As Deanna – the leader of the community – interviews Rick, he warns her not to trust anyone. He's talking about himself as much as any of the other gangs of roaming survivors. Sure, there are already a few troublesome elements living in the camp (doesn't Jessie's husband have “dubious creep” written all over him?) but it's clear that the most dangerous people here are the ones we've been following for five seasons. By the end of the episode he's already making plans to take over the Safe Zone. You get the sense that, even if everything is on the level, he may just engineer a coup...
Transitioning the show from those endless woods to the surreal confines of suburbia is a smart way of refreshing things. The new characters seem fun too – although Jessie's introduction was a hilariously on the nose bit of "potential love interest" set up and I hope we don't hang out too much with Carl's new mates. Two questions though: Who were the three people that Deanna expelled? And did they survive?
The Walking Dead airs on AMC in the US on Sundays and Fox in the UK on Mondays.
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