Stories We Tell Ourselves
- Episode aired Jul 13, 2023
- TV-MA
- 47m
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
2.6K
YOUR RATING
Truths are unearthed and motives are revealed as Maggie, Negan and the others travel further into the city's depths.Truths are unearthed and motives are revealed as Maggie, Negan and the others travel further into the city's depths.Truths are unearthed and motives are revealed as Maggie, Negan and the others travel further into the city's depths.
Zeljko Ivanek
- The Croat
- (as Željko Ivanek)
Matt Bruzzio
- Burazi
- (uncredited)
Patrick Klein
- Walker
- (uncredited)
Daniela Rosario
- Burazi
- (uncredited)
Genoveva Rossi
- Walker
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn Here's Negan (2021), it was revealed that Negan was a Gym Teacher before the Apocalypse.
- GoofsWhen Croat enters the opera and the camera faces him with the door into the street on his background, there are cars in the street visible going back and forward.
- ConnectionsReferences Theater of Blood (1973)
Featured review
The plot twist with Maggie is interesting, shaking up the already tumultuous relationship between the co-leads and giving purpose to Ginny in the series
Since Maggie (Lauren Cohan) rescued Ginny (Mahina Napoleon) from the arena in the previous episode, the script has been working with Ginny's distrust of Maggie, both because of what Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) must have told her and the way they were approached by Maggie back in the first episode. It's interesting how this unfolds throughout this episode and how it culminates in the revelation of the plot twist at the end.
With the help Negan gave Armstrong (Gaius Charles) in the previous episode, the relationship between the two characters has been developing in a friendly way, as one needs the other to get out of there. It is revealed here that Armstrong has knowledge about the dock and the boats, which must be used in the next episode. All this development leads us to believe that the Marshall will correspond to Negan, as the character has become increasingly less resistant.
Returning to the group in the sewer, there is the discovery that Tommaso (Jonathan Higginbotham) is a traitor and was informing The Croat (Zeljko Ivanek) that the group was coming to rescue Hershel (Logan Kim). This didn't make much sense since there was no previous construction about his true motivation for acting this way. It seemed like all this justification served only to lead to his and Amaia's (Karina Ortiz) death. The death scene of the two was a bit strange, with walkers waking up in a coordinated manner, which seemed forced so that they would die quickly. Although they were two completely wasted characters, I see this from the perspective that focusing on Negan and Maggie in the final episode will be more interesting.
As for The Croat's presence in this episode, we see that he doesn't have total control. Upon arriving at that theater, we see that he is not very respected there and seems to answer to a woman (who also seems to be already familiar with Negan). We don't know if she already knew him before or if she only knows him from what The Croat said. Either way, with only one episode left in the season, we don't know if his presence will be irrelevant or if it will have a greater weight in a possible second season. Another very well-addressed point in the episode is The Croat's frustration seeing that Negan is not the same as during the Savior's time, and his "idol" seemed to really be focused on the mission and ignored everything the character built within that arena. Seeing The Croat hopeless, who had placed a lot of expectation on Negan after suffering the loss of his family, puts him disillusioned. Finally, in this episode, the moment that all fans were waiting for arrives, the fight with the fused walker. Obviously, the characterization was perfect (as always in The Walking Dead Universe), but the fight was too fast. The concept of the walker being trapped in the sewers for a long time and ending up joining with others due to the action of nature is phenomenal and could have been better exploited here. It's epic to see Maggie fighting and trying to hit each head to knock down the "King Walker."
The series' plot twist is revealed in this episode. The whole story told by Maggie is a lie. From the first episode, the series implied that Negan's wanted poster was given by the Marshalls, when in fact The Croat himself gave it to Maggie. The story of Hershel being a guarantee for New Hilltop to deliver their grains is a lie, as we are reminded of flashbacks of when Ginny was escaping from there and observed the silo full of grains. With Ginny firing the flare to get Negan's attention, Maggie is no longer just worried about saving Hershel, but also about not letting Ginny get to Negan. Inevitably, this must happen and put the two in antagonistic positions again.
The strongest point of the episode was definitely the excellent direction in the sewer scenes. The scenes convey discomfort, which shows that the direction was very effective in what it set out to do. Very immersive with the cameras shaking, focusing on the characters' breathing along with the sounds of the environment. "Stories We Tell Ourselves," despite making some questionable decisions regarding the script, is an episode that maintains the constructive line established by its predecessors. The story progresses by revealing Maggie's true intention, and this builds a climate of great curiosity to know how the season will end. Despite overdoing it with the plot twists (Tommaso's betrayal; The Croat's boss; and Maggie's lie), the plot has welcome surprises for a story that had been sounding boring in the last few episodes. We end up having a new antagonist at the 45th minute of the second half, also because I don't see the need for a second year, but the twist with Maggie is interesting, shaking up the already tumultuous relationship between the co-leads and giving purpose to Ginny in the series, now that Maggie has to save Hershel while hiding her lie. Even so, we could have seen less talk and more horror.
With the help Negan gave Armstrong (Gaius Charles) in the previous episode, the relationship between the two characters has been developing in a friendly way, as one needs the other to get out of there. It is revealed here that Armstrong has knowledge about the dock and the boats, which must be used in the next episode. All this development leads us to believe that the Marshall will correspond to Negan, as the character has become increasingly less resistant.
Returning to the group in the sewer, there is the discovery that Tommaso (Jonathan Higginbotham) is a traitor and was informing The Croat (Zeljko Ivanek) that the group was coming to rescue Hershel (Logan Kim). This didn't make much sense since there was no previous construction about his true motivation for acting this way. It seemed like all this justification served only to lead to his and Amaia's (Karina Ortiz) death. The death scene of the two was a bit strange, with walkers waking up in a coordinated manner, which seemed forced so that they would die quickly. Although they were two completely wasted characters, I see this from the perspective that focusing on Negan and Maggie in the final episode will be more interesting.
As for The Croat's presence in this episode, we see that he doesn't have total control. Upon arriving at that theater, we see that he is not very respected there and seems to answer to a woman (who also seems to be already familiar with Negan). We don't know if she already knew him before or if she only knows him from what The Croat said. Either way, with only one episode left in the season, we don't know if his presence will be irrelevant or if it will have a greater weight in a possible second season. Another very well-addressed point in the episode is The Croat's frustration seeing that Negan is not the same as during the Savior's time, and his "idol" seemed to really be focused on the mission and ignored everything the character built within that arena. Seeing The Croat hopeless, who had placed a lot of expectation on Negan after suffering the loss of his family, puts him disillusioned. Finally, in this episode, the moment that all fans were waiting for arrives, the fight with the fused walker. Obviously, the characterization was perfect (as always in The Walking Dead Universe), but the fight was too fast. The concept of the walker being trapped in the sewers for a long time and ending up joining with others due to the action of nature is phenomenal and could have been better exploited here. It's epic to see Maggie fighting and trying to hit each head to knock down the "King Walker."
The series' plot twist is revealed in this episode. The whole story told by Maggie is a lie. From the first episode, the series implied that Negan's wanted poster was given by the Marshalls, when in fact The Croat himself gave it to Maggie. The story of Hershel being a guarantee for New Hilltop to deliver their grains is a lie, as we are reminded of flashbacks of when Ginny was escaping from there and observed the silo full of grains. With Ginny firing the flare to get Negan's attention, Maggie is no longer just worried about saving Hershel, but also about not letting Ginny get to Negan. Inevitably, this must happen and put the two in antagonistic positions again.
The strongest point of the episode was definitely the excellent direction in the sewer scenes. The scenes convey discomfort, which shows that the direction was very effective in what it set out to do. Very immersive with the cameras shaking, focusing on the characters' breathing along with the sounds of the environment. "Stories We Tell Ourselves," despite making some questionable decisions regarding the script, is an episode that maintains the constructive line established by its predecessors. The story progresses by revealing Maggie's true intention, and this builds a climate of great curiosity to know how the season will end. Despite overdoing it with the plot twists (Tommaso's betrayal; The Croat's boss; and Maggie's lie), the plot has welcome surprises for a story that had been sounding boring in the last few episodes. We end up having a new antagonist at the 45th minute of the second half, also because I don't see the need for a second year, but the twist with Maggie is interesting, shaking up the already tumultuous relationship between the co-leads and giving purpose to Ginny in the series, now that Maggie has to save Hershel while hiding her lie. Even so, we could have seen less talk and more horror.
helpful•00
- fernandoschiavi
- May 16, 2024
Details
- Runtime47 minutes
- Color
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