“Who’s got the marshmellows?”
Drama hits a high point in this episode of The Walking Dead as unsettling truths about Sgt. Abraham Ford and Dr. Eugene Porter are revealed.
Do these truths mean that Abraham and Eugene are bad? No, not at all. Will delving deeper into their characters piss you off? Maybe, just a little. Eugene’s confession will certainly piss a few characters off.
Maggie On Beth
But, before we get into the nitty gritty of “Self Help” let’s take a quick look at Maggie, who seems to be all smiles and full of positive light. So, in this episode she names of a bunch of people, such as Daryl and Carol possibly making it back to the church. Does she mention her sister, Beth? Hell to the no she doesn’t! She also says with hope that perhaps Rick and the rest are right behind them… but doesn’t she even want to look for Beth? What is wrong with this woman? Or, what is wrong with the writers? How could they have overlooked something so painfully obvious?
I am glad that Maggie talked about Samson, showing her religious understanding. In my review of “Four Walls and a Roof,” a kind reader brought up the fact that she doesn’t have religious convictions when I said that she might have lost her faith. I think in this episode she proves both of us right in that she might not have ever had faith, but she did have some schooling in Christianity.
“Self Help”
The title of this episode, “Self Help,” will help us understand its purpose in terms of Abraham and Eugene.
“Are you seriously leaving me with the bill?”
Through a series of flashbacks we get some insight into Abraham’s character, which catches up with him here. We know that he has a military background, but we may have assumed it was more recent than it is, which might explain his handlebar mustache.
At the onset of the outbreak of the infected it looks like he was in a VA hospital seeking treatment (i.e., self help) of some kind, probably for PTSD-related anger issues, while his wife and kids were in the waiting area. While under attack, and before knowing to kill the brain, he beat the piss out of some Walkers, using a can of soup to harden his fist. His family witnessed this and became terrified of him, subsequently leaving as soon as they could.
With no family and a world gone to shit, Abraham stuck a pistol in his mouth… until Eugene came running down the street crying for help as he was being pursued by three Walkers.
The self help that Eugene may be a little harder to see, but the writers left a bunch of breadcrumbs leading up to his confession at the end of the episode, the least of which was not the sabotage he did on the bus’ gasline.
“Since we’re bonding, and you’re a lesbian, do you think a threesome with this Walker is possible?”
The writers did try to gain the viewers’ sympathies and to show us how much the group cares for Eugene as one of their own through the gentle teasing about his mullet. Also, Eugene stepped up his Walker-killing game, showing that he’s able to stick ‘em in the skull and showing his resourcefulness through using a firetruck hose. But is it enough to forgive Eugene’s self-serving purposes? Can he be forgiven for the lost lives of those trying to get him to D.C.? Abraham couldn’t forgive him in the moment as he quit nearly put his fist through Eugene’s face, bringing to light the self help the sergeant needs to attend to.
“Look, ma, I’m a fireman!!! Whiiir-errr-whiiir-errr”
I’ve deliberately been vague with the outcome of this episode because it was so exciting to get there. However, please feel free to comment as you wish in the section below.
Rock Hard \m/
