"After" picks up immediately after the fall of the prison, with the group scattered and struggling to survive. The episode focuses primarily on Rick and Carl as they navigate the devastated landscape. Rick is severely injured from the battle, and Carl must step up to protect and care for his father. The episode delves deep into their strained relationship, showing Carl's struggle with his father's leadership and his own coming-of-age as a survivor in the brutal world they inhabit. The episode also explores themes of family and resilience, as Rick and Carl lean on each other to survive.
In many ways "After" trusted the audience to draw their own conclusions. Yes, we can assume that Michonne's lover, and what looks to be his friend, made the decision to kill themselves and exit the living nightmare that their lives had become. We can guess that they chose to take her son with them, which in Michonne's eyes rendered them sub-human and worthy of being reduced to her zombie repellent "pets."
The loss of a child is bad enough, the loss of a child by his own father's hands...Well, that would turn most people into a near-catatonic mute for a time, but what I like is that there's room for other interpretations. When Michonne says that she knows "why" it's worth living, Kirkman leaves it to us to decide what she means.
It's about the tiny victories, the little moments where they feel connected or "win", it's about finding the boy she's looking for so that life can be, ever so briefly, sweet again. For Michonne, for now, the "why" is Carl, the man-child who just may stand in for the son she lost. It's about making the best of what you've got, no matter how hard that may be. The shot of Carl sitting on that roof, eating a troth of pudding with a walker growling in the background was the picture of the exact balance between what is, and what should be.
In many ways "After" trusted the audience to draw their own conclusions. Yes, we can assume that Michonne's lover, and what looks to be his friend, made the decision to kill themselves and exit the living nightmare that their lives had become. We can guess that they chose to take her son with them, which in Michonne's eyes rendered them sub-human and worthy of being reduced to her zombie repellent "pets."
The loss of a child is bad enough, the loss of a child by his own father's hands...Well, that would turn most people into a near-catatonic mute for a time, but what I like is that there's room for other interpretations. When Michonne says that she knows "why" it's worth living, Kirkman leaves it to us to decide what she means.
It's about the tiny victories, the little moments where they feel connected or "win", it's about finding the boy she's looking for so that life can be, ever so briefly, sweet again. For Michonne, for now, the "why" is Carl, the man-child who just may stand in for the son she lost. It's about making the best of what you've got, no matter how hard that may be. The shot of Carl sitting on that roof, eating a troth of pudding with a walker growling in the background was the picture of the exact balance between what is, and what should be.