An eye-opening episode of The Walking Dead saw Daryl reluctantly return Lydia (Cassady McClincy) to abusive mother and Whisperer leader Alpha (Samantha Morton), while Carol (Melissa McBride) and King Ezekiel (Khary Payton) embarked on a dangerous — but sometimes fun — "side mission."
"When we're writing the show, I always want that balance between this really, really serious storyline with our people dealing with life and death issues. But humor is a way that people cope with the world, and even in dark circumstances, there are people who find a way to find joy and light," showrunner Angela Kang told EW of the episode's opposing tones.
"I've always felt that with the Kingdom, that's one of the groups where their entire philosophy is to find a way to live in the moment and find the joy. They have an acapella choir at the Kingdom. I thought it just was really fun and we were just trying to grapple with what is it that's important in this world, and what is important to preserve."
Kang admits there was an internal debate over pairing the heaviness of the Hilltop storyline with the goings-on at a dilapidated movie theater in search of a projector bulb, which Ezekiel hoped could help unite the splintered communities through the magic of shared entertainment.
"There was even debate internally, about with everything that's going on with the Whisperers, isn't this going to feel too light? But there's a reason why entertainment moves people. There's a reason why the Olympics exist, and even in times of people being split apart, there are ways that people want to come together, and that's important because it helps us preserve community," Kang said.
"That's the thing that all of our people are grappling with. It's the importance of community. How do we draw together? What are the things that draw us together? Or the things that draw the next generation together?
"It's something that seems like a frivolous mission and actually is really important to the idea of the human condition. So, that was just a new logic for the story, and I think the sudden parts of it like the tonal shift, it's not something that we do very often on the show. But it's also the thing that I think makes the episode unique and memorable."
The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9/8c on AMC.
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