The Walking Dead - Forget - Review - "Dedicated to Buttons"

The Walking Dead, “Forget,” was written by Corey Reed and was directed by David Boyd. This was another powerful episode as the group adjusts to life in Alexandria. Once again the title connects us back to last week’s episode, “Remember,” as the other side of that coin. The group try to fit in, but it’s hard to forget what they’ve been through. This episode feels like the calm before the storm. This review is dedicated to Buttons.

The episode begins with Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) taking the family photos from the house for target practice. I thought this was particularly interesting as last week’s episode featured a long shot on empty picture frames left by the door of the house as Carl (Chandler Riggs) and Rick (Andrew Lincoln) enter it. It seemed to be then, that the people of Alexandria were attempting to erase the former inhabitants to make it easier for new ones to move into their house. Sasha may be trying to exorcise her own ghosts by shooting the pictures of people who have clearly died – as Bob and Tyreese have. It’s haunting, however, when after she’s shot all the pictures, she says, “Come and get me,” as if she too is ready to die. Or perhaps it’s simply a challenge.

Carol (Melissa McBride), Daryl (Norman Reedus), and Rick continue to look out for the interests of their group, not trusting the Alexandrians. The episode is bookended by the three meeting outside the walls. Rick remarks that they’re the luckiest people he’s ever seen, and that they’re now lucky because Rick and the group are here – presumably to protect them.

        They agree that the others should try to fit in – just the three of them will remain vigilant. Reedus is great in this scene as he keeps prowling around, keeping one eye on the single walker wandering about. I loved the scene of Carol taking out the walker with a number of body shots before nailing it in the head – after all, they were supposed to be outside the walls for target practice. The walker has a “W” carved in its forehead and fans of the graphic novels will know that is going to be significant.

McBride continues to be outstanding in this episode. She tells Rick that she’s very much enjoying being invisible again. No one pays any attention to her as a threat, and that’s how she plans to be able to sneak in and take the guns. I love Carol playing the housewife and swapping recipes with the other women. Like all survivors, they are concerned with food. Olivia (Ann Mahoney) is fascinated with Carol’s swapping apple sauce for eggs and asks Sasha to bring her a boar’s leg, so she can make prosciutto. Sasha is set off in the party by the woman (Maia Moss-Fife) who wants to make her favorite dinner and wants to make sure she doesn’t give her something she doesn’t like. The Alexandrians may be preoccupied with food, but it’s in a very mundane way, not a life or death way.

The other scene that is hysterical is when Tobin (Jason Douglas) asks Carol if she’s afraid of guns and then offers to teach her! I’m pretty sure she could teach him a thing or two. We get a good reminder of just how scary Carol can be when she goes back to take the guns. First she takes an extra piece of chocolate from the freezer. Is this simply because she wants it, or is her cover that she’s making more cookies?

Of course, she turns around from packing up the guns to discover young Sam (Major Dodson) has followed her. I have to admit that for a moment or two, I really thought that Carol would kill Sam to protect her own group. However, what she does is almost as scary. Her first tactic is simply bribery. Cookies in exchange for silence. Sam, however, tells his mother everything. Carol slowly moves to loom over the boy using her body and words to intimidate him. She tells him that if he doesn’t keep her secret, he will wake up one morning, not in his bed, but tied to a tree far away from his home. No one will be able to hear him except the monsters and they will come and eat him alive. No one will ever know what happened to him. Dodson is excellent as the wide-eyed and innocent Sam. To add further insult to injury, not only is he honest – he can’t lie to his mother – he’s also polite, correcting himself when he doesn’t say please. Carol tells him that if he simply promises not to tell, he’ll get cookies. Lots of cookies. There’s that food again…

Michonne (Danai Gurira) seems eager to try to embrace this new opportunity. Rick says to her that he’s not sure why they are handing power to strangers, but Michonne points out that it’s smart. It will make the distinction of us versus them disappear. Let’s not forget that we’ve already had episodes entitled “Us” and “Them.” Rick wants to know if Deanna (Tovah Feldshuh) is smart for “then” or for “now.” Michonne insists there is only now. They are living in the now.

Deanna briefs Rick and Michonne on how she’s like them to patrol. We find out that Maggie (Lauren Cohan) is going to be Deanna’s new assistant. Another smart move on Deanna’s part to integrate the groups. Maggie and Michonne are quick to agree that Deanna’s vision of industry, commerce, and civilization is a good one.

When Rick wants to talk about security, he points out some of the faults with the walls. He tells Deanna that the real threat now is people.  Sasha turns up and volunteers to be a lookout in the watchtower. Rick, Sasha, and Michonne are shocked to find out there isn’t anyone actually watching the perimeter. Sasha wants as many shifts as possible and Deanna wants to know why. Maggie quickly steps in and says that Sasha is one of their best shots. She may be going to work for Deanna, but she’s still part of the group. Deanna says she’ll think about putting Sasha in the watchtower, but she wants something in return. She wants Sasha to come to the party.

Maggie also proves she’s still part of the group when she and Glenn (Steven Yuen) find Noah (Tyler James Williams) standing uncomfortably alone at the party. Noah is about to leave, but Glenn tells him he’s not bailing. They assure him he’s not alone, they’re all in it together because they are all family. It feels very right for Maggie in particular, as Beth’s (Emily Kinney) sister, to make sure that Noah does feel he’s one of them.

Deanna makes numerous overtures to ease Sasha into the community, but Sasha is clearly dealing with some fairly significant PTSD. This builds to a head at the party. She’s met at the door by Deanna’s other son, Spencer (Austin Nichols) who seems a lot nicer than Aiden (Daniel Bonjour), but she blows him off rudely anyway. Her resentment and claustrophobia erupt as she lashes out at the other women of Alexandria. Their mundane concerns over what to serve, book club, and so on are interspersed with Sasha’s flashbacks – the first of which is to the feast they had in the church right before Bob wandered off to be taken by the termites. Sasha clearly resents that they’ve had to go through none of the trauma that she has. Martin-Green does some outstanding work in the episode.

Deanna goes to Sasha staring out of the gates – it’s a beautiful shot to emphasize her almost being a wild animal. Sasha tells Deanna that their community isn’t real. Deanna tells her that that’s bullshit. Neither is wrong, however. Sasha doesn’t want to believe in the community. She doesn’t want to lose it again. But Deanna is fooling herself to believe that they are secure and the life can ever really be as it was before.

Michonne and Abe (Michael Cudlitz) share an interesting moment at the party. Abe and Rosita (Christian Serratos) arrive together. I’m sure I’m not the only one to take a minute to even recognize Rosita, right? She points to the fact that they have beer, and Abe says that he’s going to try to fit in. Abe comes across Michonne playing with a plastic sword. Abe’s had a few beers by this point, but he identifies with a fellow soldier. He knows how hard it is to stand down. He tells her “live by it. Die by it. Eat potato puffs by it. Pray to God you don’t have to use it again. Pray you don’t forget how to use it. On your back even when it’s off your back.” Abe tells her things have worked out pretty well for him, but asks her what she’s done.

        In other words, how has she tried to fit in. She tells him she’s put on the dress she’s wearing. The final scene, however, show her hanging the katana over the fireplace. This may terrify me more than anything else in the episode. Will she be able to get to it when she truly needs it again – and that may be soon.

Rick meets several people at the party. We finally meet Reg (Steve Coulter), Deanna’s husband. He is immediately in awe of Rick, telling him he’s watched all of the tapes – anybody else find that kind of creepy? He tells Rick that the way the others speak of him and what he did for them… Rick admires the wall that Reg built, but Reg maintains that the 14 lives that Rick protected are worth more. Rick also meets Pete (Corey Brill), Jessie’s (Alexandra Breckenridge) husband who is a doctor. He seems nice enough, but there is some obvious tension between Jessie and Pete over getting refills for drinks. This ties into the food references and contrasts to Reg insisting that Rick join him for a drink, but assuring Rick that it’s ok if he’s not at ease yet.

Jessie and Rick discuss Alexandria. Jessie admits that they’ve all lost a lot. But as the society was stripped away so was a lot of bullshit. Jessie tells him that they all lost things but they also got things back. Rick’s eyes are drawn to Carl (Chandler Riggs) hanging out with Ron (Austin Abrams) and just really being an actual kid – who would have thought we’d ever see that again? Later, as Jessie gives Judith back to Rick, he kisses her on the cheek. It’s much more than a simple peck on the cheek, and she doesn’t push him away but rather, seems to welcome it. Before he kisses her, he tells her Judith “and Carl, they’re why I’m still here. And I get what you you’ve been trying to tell me. Here ain’t that bad.”

Sam insists that Rick should have a stamp on his hand like his parents have – an “A” for Alexandria. Of course, “A” was also the title of the season finale last season. In that episode the group was trapped in the cattle car marked “A” – waiting to become food for the Termites. Here the group is once again surrounded by an iron barrier – a slightly nicer, bigger one to be sure, but are they just as trapped and waiting to be picked off by an outside force?

Daryl meanwhile has been out hunting. Daryl hears Aaron (Ross Marquand) following him. Aaron is impressed that Daryl can distinguish between walkers and humans by the sound of how they move. He asks if he can tell the difference between good guys and bad guys as easily. Aaron doesn’t think Rick is very good at it – and he might not be wrong. The two come upon Buttons the horse.

        When Aaron tells Daryl he’s tried to catch the horse several times with no luck, Daryl takes the rope from him. He gets very close before walkers scare the horse away. Daryl tells Aaron, “The longer they’re out there, the more they become what they really are.” It’s something that can easily be applied to the entire group and resonates with Glenn’s remark to Deanna last week that the group had nearly been out there too long. It’s easy to revert to a state of nature, and it’s what Sasha may be struggling with the most.

Aaron tells Daryl that he and Eric (Jordan Woods-Robinson) are also still considered outsiders by most of the group. He tells Daryl that the community fears them for different reasons. He says, “Fear shrinks the brain.” He also tells Daryl that they fear him less because they’ve gotten to know him, so he encourages Daryl to let them know him.

Unfortunately, in tracking Buttons, they trap the horse in an old fenced pasture. Aaron is tripped and almost bitten, but Daryl saves him only to have Aaron save him. Buttons does not fare so well – and I’m pretty pissed at the show for killing yet another horse! Daryl and Aaron unite in exacting revenge on the walkers who have mortally wounded the poor animal. Aaron puts Buttons out of his misery. Aaron tells Daryl, “He always ran,” feeling responsible for the horse’s death. Daryl tries to make Aaron feel a bit better by telling him that he was only trying to help the horse. This is also a nice throw back to the second season when Daryl kept seeing horses mixed up with visions of Merle. Can we see a brotherly bond forming between Aaron and Daryl?

Daryl almost goes to the party but ultimately can’t force himself to go in. Aaron stops him as he’s walking by, telling him he’d never intended to go to the party himself but giving Daryl points for trying. He invites Daryl in for spaghetti with he and Eric. The scene with Daryl slurping spaghetti is hysterical! I love the looks over Daryl’s complete lack of table manners between Eric and Aaron. I also love the look that Aaron gives Eric when he asks Daryl to look out for the pasta maker.

Aaron takes Daryl to the garage to show him the bike parts, telling Daryl that he’ll need a bike. Aaron tells him that he told Deanna not to give him a job because he has one for him. It’s clear at first that Daryl thinks he may be being tossed out, but in fact, it’s quite the opposite. Aaron wants Daryl to take Eric’s place as the second recruiter. Again, Daryl’s knee-jerk reaction is that Aaron thinks his life isn’t as valuable. In fact, Aaron simply knows that Daryl will be better at it in every possible way.

        He tells Daryl, “You’re good out there, but you don’t belong out there.” He also tells Daryl, “the main reason I want you to help me recruit is you do know the difference between a good person and a bad person.” Reedus is simply spectacular in this scene. You can see that Daryl is touched. He’s really never had anyone express confidence in him that openly. He shyly responds, “I ain’t got nothing else to do. Thanks.” Daryl had to work a lot harder to win Rick’s trust after all. To seal the deal, Daryl tells Aaron, “I’ll get you some rabbits.” We’re back to food, and we know that’s Daryl’s go to way to fit in – and rabbits are much nicer than either squirrels or possums!

We then circle back to Carol, Daryl, and Rick at the house outside the walls. Daryl refuses to take one of the guns, saying you wanted me to try. “I’m good.” Rick hesitates but takes a gun. Is Carol going to be the last one standing again? The three move back into Alexandria and split up. Rick passes Jessie and Pete on the street, and Jessie and Rick exchange waves with the “A’s” on their hands. Rick then suddenly makes his way to the perimeter having apparently heard something. This entire final scene is overlaid with a happy little song reminiscent of something from Herman’s Hermitt’s of the 1960s. The last shot is of Rick on one side of the wall with his hand with the “A” on it laid against the barrier and on the other side is a walker.

It’s hard not to want this to be a safe sanctuary for the characters. My feeling is that with the exception of a few bad apples like Aiden and Pete, most of the Alexandrians are well meaning but naïve. The danger is people, and it will come from without. The question is whether Rick will be too distracted by his interest in Jessie to act quickly enough. Will Michonne, Abe, and the others be too lulled by their apparent safety? Will they forget and lose their edge? I think that Aaron and Daryl retain an edge simply by being outsiders even within the community. What did you think of the episode? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

About the Author - Lisa Macklem

I do interviews and write articles for the site in addition to reviewing a number of shows, including Supernatural, Arrow, Agents of Shield, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Forever, Defiance, Bitten, Glee, and a few others! Highlights of this past year include covering San Diego Comic Con as press and a set visit to Bitten. When I'm not writing about television shows, I'm often writing about entertainment and media law in my capacity as a legal scholar. I also work in theatre when the opportunity arises. I'm an avid runner and rider, currently training in dressage.