AMC’s The Walking Dead
10×09: “Squeeze”
Directed by Michael E. Satrazemis
Written by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick

* For a recap & review of the mid-season finale, “The World Before” – click here
* For a recap & review of 10×10, “Stalker” – click here
Carol and the others are trapped in that cave, at the mercy of Alpha and her Whisperers. Daryl, as he does so often, pulls a bad ass move and leads the way forward. He hops across to a rock in the middle of the swarming undead around them, then Carol starts following behind him. Of course there are zombie heads that get stabbed on the way, too. It’s no walk in the park. Big Jer, Kelly, Connie, and the others begin moving their way through the cave. But when Kelly rushes to jump, she almost slips into the hungry horde. Thankfully she’s able to stay out of there, as is Carol with a little helping hand from Daryl. Everyone regroups in a narrow passage, using a walker arm for a torch to guide them. Magna’s angry at Carol, blaming her. But they have no time to argue while they’re on the run.

Back at the Whisperers camp, Alpha tells Beta and Gamma about what’s happened with the group. She’s sure they’ve been “sending spies across the border.” She tells Gamma to send a message to their eyes at the border, displeased with their failure. In the midst of the Whisperers remains Negan. What’s his ultimate plan? He’s again attempting to go to Alpha— barging in while she’s finishing a shit— looking to put himself in her good favour. He wants to tell her about a traitor in her camp, dropping Gamma’s name. His smugness doesn’t last for long when the leader of the Whisperers puts a knife to his balls and then kicks him into the latrine. Later, she decides to send Beta looking for Gamma, letting him know she may be a spy for the other side. Could get ugly.
At another rest stop in the caves, Daryl confronts Carol about what’s going on in her head. He isn’t happy. He wants to be there for her, yet she keeps him at arm’s length nowadays. Problem is, Carol is wrapped up in trauma. I mean, she’s spent the better part of her life that way. The thing with Alpha has damaged Carol in ways she never thought possible. Revenge deep within Carol has now crossed over from putting her in danger to putting others in danger. So maybe she realises, through Daryl, it’s time to open up more.

And then, an attack.
The survivors fend off Whisperers from all angles of the caves, rushing from the darkness. Means it’s time to move again, taking them through a series of increasingly smaller passages. That doesn’t bode well for poor Carol, whose claustrophobia nearly gets the better of her while she’s squeezing through a slim tunnel. Worse still, there’s a semi-homage to The Descent, when Jerry sees there are a bunch of zombies in the tunnel ahead in the dark, squirming their way towards the group. And eventually, Jerry gets stuck in a spot too tight for him to get out of, leaving him exposed to walkers that chomp and chomp. LUCKY FOR HIM, his friends get him out— Jer’s left unbitten through his boots. Once the group catches their breath, they find themselves on the edge of a cliff, at the bottom of which is a dark chasm filled with zombies.

“We fight for our future,
we don’t fight for revenge.”

Alpha gets Negan and they take a walk in the woods. He believes he’s in trouble with mom. She doesn’t make it easy on him, forcing him to keep his back to her as they walk. Then she tells him to strip. Negan’s sure he’s about to be murdered naked in the forest. He goes on a rant about what “the world needed” and why he became a “monster.” Alpha asks him to turn around and she’s naked, too. Well, she’s still wearing the mask. She’s giving a “crass man” a “crass reward” for the info about Gamma. This is the most strangely sexual scene in the history of The Walking Dead. Hot / yikes!

In the caves, the survivors are looking for a way out. Kelly finds dynamite, but Jerry urges her to put it back where she found it. And then what does Carol do, while a similar bit of music to 28 Days Later plays in the background? She goes off on her own, carrying a stick of dynamite with her. She’s about to light it when she slips, nearly falling into the horde below. She hangs on, and Daryl finds her, pulling her up to him.
Perfect time for a cave-in to happen. The others scramble to try and keep the place from falling on top of them, holding up a support. They all try to race for an opening to get free as Jerry holds the place up. Above ground, Kelly and Aaron fend off Whisperers. Everyone’s able to get out, aside from Connie and Magna who wind up trapped below ground. There’s no telling if they’ve been killed, or if they managed to escape back into the tunnels. Right now, Daryl and the others assume the worst. And the only thing they can do at the moment is leave before more Whisperers and walkers turn up. Although Daryl won’t stop, one way or the other.
An intense return for Season 10. Some strange and emotional stuff happening.

“Stalker” is next time.