Dwight and Al take advantage of a break in Virginia’s demands and try to make a break of their own. Also, rats.

Our tour of the FTWD cast’s current circumstances continues. We stop in with Morgan and it’s made very clear he has Plans. Also a snazzy new haircut and beard trim. But the lion’s share of the episode is spent with Al and Dwight and the result is surprising. Not just because Maggie Grace and Austin Amelio are two of the strongest members of a very strong cast but because the episode is actually oddly fun and sweet. Which, given Dwight briefly contracts bubonic plague, is something of a surprise.

The plot is simple. Tired of confirming how every walker nearby died for Virginia, Al admits she’s been monitoring communications with Isabelle ever since they met last season and she’s about to land nearby. So, sick as they are of working for Ginnie, the world’s most amiable husband and the last journalist left alive set off to meet her.

There’s something whimsical about the friendship between these two. Amelio’s Dwight is so utterly likeable, and cheerfully aware of the fact he’s not as smart as some of the other characters, that you’d watch the dude read the phone book. Grace’s Al has mellowed too, the fiercely intense journalist replaced by a woman who wants to live, on her terms, and no one else’s. Together they have a relaxed, affectionate friendship which has none of the intensity of the other pairings of the show but is a hell of a lot more fun. As a result, you buy completely when they set off to do this.

More importantly, you buy completely when Al chooses to let Isabelle go. Colman Domingo’s direction is excellent throughout but the nightmarish journey up the office building Isabelle will land on top of is beautifully claustrophobic. It also focuses in on the one thing the two truly have in common; they’re friends. Sometimes that means you put their needs first and that’s what Al does here.

There’s a lot of speculation as to whether or not this is the end of the Isabelle plot and I don’t believe for a second it is. Instead, this is a look at a very different friendship in the FTWD cast and another perspective on life under Ginnie’s reign. Plus, with the final scene, it changes everything for Dwight, as he and Sherry are reunited seasons, and an entire TV show, away from where they first met.

Verdict: Gentle, eccentric and involving this is another great episode off the strongest season this show has had to date. 9/10

Alasdair Stuart