Comic Review: The Walking Dead #186

The Walking Dead #186

Image Comics

Writer: Robert Kirkman

Artist: Charlie Adlard

‘Wig?

Right, this is a big important issue of TWD which mostly revolves around one big spoiler-y plot point, so I’ll start off this review by talking about all the stuff which isn’t really a big spoiler in some way.

• I’m really enjoying these little scenes with Sophia & Carl, they’re a nice little break from the main story to remind us readers that these characters are still children and have to go through all the awkwardness of puberty even in this new world.
  It’s especially funny as Sophia quite rightly notes that her options are severely limited by that pesky old apocalypse that killed most people.
• Over at Alexandria, it’s good that Magna is getting more time in the spotlight and stepping into a bigger leadership role. Though it seriously worries me as this usually means someone else will die to leave a spot open for her, I’m hoping it’s just a natural progression for her character.
• Eugene & Stephanie are cute together. One of them is certain to die soon.

So that’s about it for non-spoilers, I hope those of you who haven’t read the issue yet had fun.

[CAUTION: BIG SPOILERS FOR #186 PAST THIS POINT]

‘The Powder Keg’

Obviously, the big thing here is that Dwight dies so let’s get that out of the way. Dwight dies. Rick shoots him. It’s kind of Michonne’s fault.

Dwight has had a very bumpy story in TWD and lets’s not forget that the same character THAT we’re mourning now shot Abraham through the head with a crossbow. That makes it abundantly clear just how much development he had; going from right-hand man to Negan, to uneasy collaborator with Rick, to full-fledged leader of the Saviors, to leader of the militia, to Rick’s right-hand man is more change than a lot of other characters in TWD gets.

Honestly, I should have seen this coming as Rick’s #2 has the highest casualty rate in the post-apocalypse, but this still managed to shock me when the time finally came. Rick having to kill a man he trusted with his life is no small thing, and the fact that it came about due to Michonne can only make it worse.

Though I’m sad to see Dwight go, this should go some way to hardening Rick’s stance towards the Commonwealth. What’s less clear is whether Michonne will come around to Rick’s way or end up on the wrong side and stay that way, after her incredibly naïve decision to invite the Governor to have a chat with those conspiring against her. Is she getting a little too comfortable in the Commonwealth and becoming more like the person she was before everyone got eaten?

(I’m also convinced now that Michonne will be the big death before or during #200, everything has been going too well for her and that’s unacceptable by TWD standards, so she’s going off to that big law firm in the sky if you ask me.)

‘The Commonwealth is past due for a change’

Even with Dwight dying, I’m excited by how this will impact the story going forward. I’m hoping that Michonne is right and we’ve avoided another war. There’s only so many times that Rick can meet a new group, disagree with them and then a bunch of characters die.

Overall, I’m a big fan of these recent arcs with the Commonwealth as they feel like a natural progression of how the story should develop. After a long enough time big power structures would form and the walkers would become a much more manageable threat; you can’t expect people not to go back to hurting and killing each other, can you?

On a side note, I hope that either Rick somehow runs in an election against the Governor and wins an ideological battle rather than a physical one, or the fighting is kept quite limited and doesn’t involve the wider populace.
I think the second is a bit more likely but I’d love to see election posters with Rick doing a big thumbs up on his left hand, after a different Governor cut off his right. A man can dream, right?