‘The Walking Dead’ season 7, episode 6 review: What Tara learned in ‘Swear’
Last time on “The Walking Dead” we saw Carl and Jesus riding in the back of one of Negan’s trucks. They each have their own agendas (Carl wants Negan dead, Jesus just wants to know exactly where he lives for Sasha), but maybe they can work together to complete both of their goals? It seems that while some of our group is ready to rollover for Negan, others want to find a way around this situation. The biggest thing standing in their way isn’t really Negan, it’s the numbers he has in his group. Even if Hilltop and Rick’s group banded together, they wouldn’t be close to Negan’s numbers.
For the time being, it doesn’t quite matter since much of Sunday’s “Swear” was geared around a character we hadn’t really seen much of at all in Tara. It all started with her character washing up on the beach, from there, we encountered a completely new, completely fascinating new world in which there was a compound consisting entirely of women. At first, we wondered if this move was done intentionally, but as it turns out, not so much. These were people who were simply survivors of some skirmishes, and were in a position where they no longer accept anyone new into their place. They kill almost everyone on sight, and were it not for Tara’s heroics in the early going, they also would’ve killed her.
Eventually, Tara worked to convince the group’s leader (after initially lying about who she was — hilariously so) that she could be trusted, and that eventually, she had to realize that there were some good people out there in the world. Unfortunately for her, what she didn’t quite realize is just what was going on around her in Alexandria / the surrounding world. She was blind to the news that Denise was dead, or that Negan had taken over the community and she’d be doing this new community more harm than good. She and her party (Beatrice and the ever-rebellious Cindy) began a journey back to Alexandria … or so she thought.
As Tara was clued in by Beatrice, who almost immediately turned on her, the Saviors were the people responsible for killing all of the men in the community, and they were still very much out there and her whole idea of a broader society was more of an illusion. It all made sense as to why Beatrice wanted her dead, given that she didn’t want to have anyone trying to track down the compound’s location. It was Cindy who saved her eventually, but made her promise that she would never tell anyone about what she found. Hey, this episode was entitled “Swear” for a reason.
So where was Heath in all of this? He was called by Jack Bauer to star in “24: Legacy” he was separated from her when she fell of the bridge in the middle of their run, and of course she wanted to find him once, with Cindy’s help, she managed to get back to the other side and on her way back home. She didn’t end up finding him, but she got a cool pair of shades! The story ended with her making it back home, but learning the devastating news about Denise not too long after. She was faced with a choice in the closing minutes to also rat out Cindy’s compound, but she opted against doing so. She kept her swear, even when faced with another option.
Overall – One thing we really do want to credit here is Alanna Masterson, who was brilliant most of the episode as she provided a great source of comedy through much of the hour. The same goes for how she handled some of the more-dangerous moments of the hour. While we’re sure that there were some out there who really didn’t care for spending this much time away from the group, we enjoyed this more than the majority of the “Walking Dead” one-shots we’ve had over the course of the series. Grade: A-.
What are your thoughts on tonight’s “Walking Dead” episode”? Leave us a comment below and tell us what you want to see happen this season. If you are looking for more news on “The Walking Dead” then head on over to the link here. (Photo: AMC)