Caution – There are spoilers in The Walking Dead – Hostiles And Calamities Review
Hostiles and Calamities is the 11th episode of the 7th season of The Walking Dead and this episode is for the most part, focused on the character of Eugene (Josh McDermitt) and his experience as he is brought to Negan’s base where he must do what he can to survive.
Eugene is a character that has been present in the show for quite some time now, however unlike many of the other major characters in the show, he’s never really had his own big episode. This episode is all for him really and it’s actually one of the better episodes of the season. The reason I think it’s one of the better episodes was because we got quite a lot to see with the Eugene character, but also got to have a further glimpse into the world of Negan.
Eugene as many characters in the past have been, gets pushed early on in the episode and is absolutely terrified of Negan. But unlike most characters in the show, Eugene has a different set of skills, he’s smart and knows how to make things and it’s something that Negan sees as valuable. Eugene quickly realises this is a fact and starts playing along with it, he even tells the story of his job as a researcher and the big projects he used to work on.
Interestingly as the episode develops though, Eugene is quickly accepted into Negan’s group. At the end of the episode he’s seen saying “I am Negan” and it ends with him on duty. At this point, I’m not really sure if he’s just playing along with the act of it all which helps him survive, or if he actually wants to be in Negan’s group. Either way, as a character, things are pretty good for Eugene.
We also get to see quite a bit from Dwight (Austin Amelio) in this episode, it’s not as a big of a focus as Eugene got. But we do see him take some time for himself, he looks to his wedding rings and seems to be remembering his wife. At this point, I feel Dwight is contemplating his situation with Negan. Could it be that at some point in a few episodes time that it might be Dwight who betrays Negan? I don’t really know, but I feel someone in that group has to in order for Rick and his group to get a chance to get in there and it’s Dwight it seems that Negan pushes the hardest of his people. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
Overall, this was a pretty good episode for the show. Eugene isn’t a character that gets much attention, but I’m glad he got an episode to himself. I like the Eugene character a lot more than I did before and I feel I know a lot more about him from seeing how he behaves in isolation from the other cast. Developments with Dwight look interesting as well. Hopefully next week’s episode continues the show on to an even higher level.
