Small Screen Reviews: The Walking Dead Season 7 Episode 13

The Walking Dead's seventh season has faced a variety of issues since the highly anticipated premiere--chief among them being the sluggish, disjointed, and downright insulting rate at which the story has progressed. Fortunately, I can say with some certainty that "Bury Me Here" is the best episode the show has done in recent memory.

Although it is (somewhat frustratingly) yet another episode where only one story line is focused on at the expense of the rest of the cast, it helps that the Kingdom is that specific story line this time around. Khary Phaton's charismatic performance as King Ezekiel has been one of the best parts of the season, and Karl Makinen has also shined as supporting character Richard. They both do a great job here, but the true star this time around is Lennie James, who portrays Morgan. His intense, tragic storyline in this episode showcases the actor's significant range, something we haven't really gotten to see since his early appearances. Carol (Melissa McBride) is at the center of some powerful scenes as well, though she doesn't get as much to do as Morgan.

But the highest praise I can give to "Bury Me Here" is that it feels like progress is finally being made. After episodes of filler and repetition, the wheels are finally beginning to turn and setting into motion what could be an exciting next phase of the story. Granted, this is something that should have happened much earlier in the season, but it's good to know that things are finally picking up, at least on the Kingdom front, as we head into the season finale. I would award this episode a score of 4.5/5; it was exciting, emotional, and unpredictable, everything that a great Walking Dead episode should be. Let's hope this level of quality can be maintained throughout the last three episodes of the season.