Tag Archives: Kyla Kennedy

Review: The Walking Dead S5E09 “What Happened and What’s Going On”

Posted on by Arleigh

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“Paying the high cost of living.” — Tyreese

[spoilers within]

The Walking Dead returns tonight after taking a weeks-long hiatus. We left the group as down as we’ve ever seen them after having lost another one of their people. This particular loss seem to have hit the group even harder than their previous losses. Beth Greene had become a symbol of hope for the group and, to a degree, for the audience who needed someone else other than the hardened killers most of the survivors have become.

If the show has been consistent about one thing it is that good-natured people tend to not last long in the zombie apocalypse. It’s a new world where one’s humanity will forever be at war with one’s will to survive at all cost. There are no more police or military to protect you from harm. No more hospitals to treat one’s wounds and sickness. No firefighters to call on in case of emergency. It’s a world where one must learn to do what goes against one’s nature if one is to survive.

We saw Dale as one of the first of those “good people” to die. His stubborn need to remain civilized and stick to his principles of always doing the right and moral thing made him unable to cope of what Rick and the rest of the group were willing to do to keep on going. Next to go was Hershel last season. While he finally was able to understand that the necessity of doing awful things to survive doesn’t really mean abandoning one’s true nature, but he never truly got the chance to put that into practice as he was soon dispatched by the Governor.

Then there’s Beth Greene. Sweet, innocent Beth who many saw as a sort of singing albatross that could only lead to getting some of the more capable members of the group killed by her very lack of survival skills. The show was able to redeem Beth’s character by having her spend some quality time with one of it’s ultimate survivors in Daryl Dixon. This showed in her growth as a character and a survivor. Yet, just like her father Hershel, what she’s learned became too little too late as her need to stick up for those seen as weak led to her own demise.

Tonight saw the exit of one of the last few principled and moral centers of the show. Tyreese has always been a sort of mystery. He’s this big, hulking man who could escape a mob of zombies with just a hammer and come out of it unscathed. Yet, this is also a man who hesitates in killing another human even if it means doing so was the logical and safest thing to do. We saw this in full detail when he refused to kill Martin from Terminus who had threatened to kill baby Judith in this season’s premiere episode. Killing Martin would’ve mean tying up a loose end that might’ve kept the group safer from Gareth and his hunters. It wasn’t in Tyreese to kill another person even one who would’ve killed him and those he cared for without hesitation.

Tonight’s episode saw Rick and a handpicked group taking Noah back to the gated community that he had called home in hopes of reuniting the young man with his people and also finding a new place to call home. This wouldn’t be the Walking Dead if everything turned out peaches and cream. During Noah’s internment with Dawn at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, his home at Shirewilt Estates (a nice shout out to the Wiltshire Estates from the comic book) had fallen to the zombies due to some unknown group of raiders that had breached their walls.

It’s during Noah’s attempt to learn the fate of his family that Tyreese would meet his inevitable end. Some would say that Tyreese’s character wasn’t as well-established and well-written to elicit sympathy the way Hershel’s and Merle’s death meant so much to the show. Yet, his very death symbolized the death of hope and optimism the group began to have once they had gotten back together after Terminus. His death meant another person who could’ve kept Rick and the rest of the group from tipping over into the darkside. He was the symbol of forgiveness for the group which has begun to show lack of empathy.

Chad Coleman was always a welcome addition to the cast. Maybe the problems previous showrunners had in creating fully-realized characters had limited his character’s growth, but it’s to the new-found focus of current showrunner Scott M. Gimple that we finally get to know Tyreese and what made him tick. It’s just a shame that just when we’re really getting to know the character he was taken away in a heartbreaking manner.

The series hasn’t even dealt with the after-effect of Beth’s death to the group and now they will have to find a way to cope with the death of Tyreese as well. If the group truly does go on forward just trying to survive towards the next day will all these important deaths wear away on their humanity.

Will some in the group just give up and let it all end? Or will it spur them even more to try and find a new safe place to call home? We have seven more episodes left in this season and if Washington really is the goal then we may just get both.

Notes

  • Tonight’s episode, “What Happened and What’s Going On”, was directed by Greg Nicotero and written by series showrunner Scott M. Gimple.
  • Glenn picking up the baseball bat could either be a throwaway moment or an ominous foreshadowing of things to come. Readers of the comics will understand.
  • I was half-expecting to see every character who died to show up during Tyreese’s hallucination.
  • There was almost a sense that Tyreese might pull through and take the place of Rick as the one-handed man (which Rick was in the comics), but the way the episode unfolded it was inevitable that he wasn’t going to live.
  • The radio reports (BBC Radio, I think) that Tyreese was hearing during his hallucination made for a nice parallel to the events that Tyreese had seen during his time on the series.
  • The song being sung by Ghost Beth is “Struggling Man” by Jimmy Cliff. A song about a man struggling with grief and the need to move on. Very appropriate for what became Tyreese’s swan song episode.
  • It seems like Tyler James Williams’ character Noah going to get a rep as being the grim reaper of the group. He’s already been the cause for the death of two of Rick’s group: Beth and Tyreese.
  • Talking Dead returns with guests series producer/director Greg Nicotero and Tyreese’s own Chad Coleman (in a way to keep viewers from thinking a cast member was leaving the show due to character death it was announced that Ron Perlman of Pacific Rim and Hellboy fame was going to be one of the guests)

Season 5

Review: The Walking Dead S4E14 “The Grove”

Posted on by Arleigh

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“Just look at the flowers, Lizzie. Just look at the flowers.” — Carol Peletier

The Walking Dead tv series has always diverged from the comic book source to keep fans of the books guessing. Some fans of the comic books have complained about this since it would mean discarding certain subplots and characters that they love but were really non-essential to the overall story being told for the tv series version. Yet, the writers of the show, through the comic book’s creator Robert Kirkman, have mined the comic book source for material that remains important to the show’s narrative.

The latest episode, “The Grove”, takes a disturbing but very important subplot from the comics and manages to adapt it for the tv series in a way that made it one of the series’ best.

A cold opening that manages to be both quaint, idyllic and disturbing which sets the tone for the rest of the episode sees the return of the group led by Carol. It’s a group that could almost be seen as a makeshift family unit. There’s Carol the loving, yet stern mother who wants to make sure her daughters learn how to survive in this dangerous, new world while Tyreese remains te compassionate and protective father. Lizzie, Mika and Rick’s baby daughter Judith make up the children who must now adapt to this new world or perish.

First off, Judith remains the blank slate in the show. She’s the first baby born after the world went to hell and thus will have to grow up in it’s new environs and new set of morals and principles. The old civilization is gone and while people try to hold onto what made that civilization tick only those willing to adapt to this new world seem to survive. Now, Lizzie and Mika were already forming their own personalities and sets of morals when the zombie apocalypse hit. We see the two Samuels girl go in differing paths in how they cope with this new world.

While seeing these two girls’ inability to adapt to the world post-zombie apocalypse was a nice theme to explore the episode really focused on the group’s maternal unit. This latest episode was a culmination of the new Carol Peletier that season 4 unleashed on an unsuspecting audience.

This was a character that we saw as being the meek victim of spousal abuse even before the zombies arrived. Her emotional trauma would continue with the loss of her young daughter Sophia in season 2 and almost dying during break in prison security in season 3. Yet, by the time season 4 rolled around we see her become a hardened survivor who has turned the corner and decided she will not remain a victim anymore and make sure those people see as being helpless (the young children in the group) learn how to defend themselves from zombies and humans alike.

The titular grove the group stumbles upon early in the episode has an almost mystical quality to it. An idyllic locale in the middle of literal hell on earth. There’s untainted well water to be had, a pecan grove for food and even a solitary deer that seems to come by at the most opportune time for meat. Hell, the cabin even has a working gas stove (probably a propane tank fed one) and a secure enough fence of barbed wire to fend off the random zombies that may wander by. It’s almost paradise in comparison to the different place Carol, Tyreese and the girls have had to call shelter.

It is no wonder that both Tyreese and Carol entertain the idea of maybe staying at the grove and making a life for themselves with the girls instead of continuing onto the unknown potential haven that is Terminus. But one thing this show has been consistent about when it comes to it’s characters seeming to find peace and tranquility is that it will pull the rug from under them to reveal that things are not ideal and that it’s just a veneer over the ugliness and brutality this new world has turned into.

The rug gets pulled out gradually from beneath Carol’s feet as both Mika and Lizzie continue to fail in heeding her teachings about survival. Mike remains adamant about not ever wanting to hurt anyone alive (she makes some headway in killing off some zombies during the episode) which Carol sees as dangerously naive of the young girl. Lizzie on the other hand begins to reveal an even more dangerous quality which would turn tragic by episode’s end.

By this time many will have written and discussed the events involving Lizzie and Mika that would add another emotional stone on Carol’s back. It’s a sequence that’s as disturbing as anything this show has put on the air in the last four years. It’s not often that children get killed in tv shows (well except for Law and Order: SVU) and yet The Walking Dead manages to do it twice in one night and both times it’s not gratuitous or meant to be entertaining. both Mika and Lizzie’s death become a sort of crucible Carol must go through to find a sort of equilibrium between the nurturing mother she was before season 4 and the cold, pragmatic survivor she has become this season. She still remains conscious to the fact that hard decisions need to be made for the greater good and she makes it ones again when Lizzie murders her younger sister Mika. It’s a murder not done in spite or malice. Lizzie truly believes that Mika will return and remember not to attack her friends and family.

In the end, the grove ceases to be the ideal haven Carol and Tyreese saw it as in the beginning and realize it’s just another place to leave behind with bad memories. It’s become another haunted place for the next people to find and wonder what happened to the previous inhabitants and what caused them to leave behind three small graves in the flower and pecan grove.

Notes

  • Tonight’s episode was written by showrunner Scott M. Gimple and directed by Michael Satrazemis.
  • The cold opening sequence was a nice touch using The Ink Spot’s “Maybe” song that was also used in the Bethesda post-apocalyptic game, Fallout 3.
  • Mika definitely came off as being the more intelligent of the two sisters. Though as many would probably point out, just as Carol did, her inability to hurt other people who will want to hurt her will get her killed sooner or later.
  • Lizzie’s personality matches very closely that of the comic book Carol who began to see the zombies as more her friends than a danger. I’m sure Kirkman had a hand in helping Gimple round out the character of the elder Samuels girl.
  • I noticed that the pistol that Mika carried with her was a Smith & Wesson M&P 9 (full-size one even) just for the fact that I also own one so it was very recognizable.
  • The different subplots involving the scattered groups of prison survivors seem to be following an uneven timeline within this midseason narrative. The fire and smoke seen by Carol, Tyreese and the girls would mean that they’re at least a day behind Daryl and Beth.
  • Gimple must’ve been a fan of Steinbeck because tonight’s episode had a very Of Mice and Men feel to it right up to the sequence with Carol and Lizzie in the end.
  • Talking Dead Guests: Melissa McBride of The Walking Dead, Yvette Nicole Brown from Community and WWE’s CM Punk.

Season 4

 

Review: The Walking Dead S4E13 “Alone”

Posted on by Arleigh

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“Why hurt yourself when you can hurt other people.” — Joe

The Walking Dead has taken on a new narrative path since it’s return after this season’s mid-season break. One of the biggest complaints that some fans and critics have had about the show has been the lack of character development for many of the roles in the show. We’re not talking about people who show up for a scene or an episode or two. It’s for those who have become regulars through the show’s many season.

Well, it looks like from the show’s writers will be trying to rectify that flaw this second half of season 4.

Since the show’s return from it’s mid-season break it’s taken on an almost zealous attempt to show the audience more of who these people truly are. Each new episode in this second half has been more about exploring each surviving character’s backstory either through some sort of flashback (like we saw tonight with the cold opening showing Bob’s lonely existence before being found by Daryl and Glenn pre-prison attack) or some of the quieter moments of exposition between characters (last week’s episode between Daryl and Beth was a prime example of this). We’ve gotten to learn more about our favorite zombie apocalypse survivors. They’ve shown themselves to be more than what the previous seasons have made us to think of them.

Tonight’s episode continued to explore the growing relationship (whether romantic or platonic) between resident badass Daryl Dixon and bright-eyed optimist Beth Greene. We see him trying to teach the younger Greene girl how to become a better with the crossbow and be a better tracker. Throughout their section of tonight’s episoode we see Daryl become more protective of young Beth Greene. The false front he’s put up in the past to avoid getting closer to people has started to come down. In past season fans and writers have looked at Daryl Dixon as someone who probably would be better off being alone instead of trying to deal with a dysfunctional “family” unit of survivors. He’s the only one who seems to be ready-made for this zombie apocalypse.

Yet, as we’ve seen in the second half of this season being alone is something that he doesn’t want to ever return to. He may remain gruff and surly, but his need to be around those who care about him and people who he wants to belong with has made him a more well-rounded badass. The way the Daryl and Beth half of the episode ended it’s going to be interesting if his need to belong with a group will cause him to forget the humanity he has found while being with Rick’s group.

The theme of being alone continues, and actually began, with the Bob, Sasha and Maggie half of tonight’s episode which was aptly titled, “Alone”. Bob’s time being alone in the wilderness was the cold opening for tonight’s episode and revealed much about the enigmatic Bob. This was all done with Bob not speaking a line of dialogue in the first few minutes. He seemed able enough to survive on his own, but the moment Glenn and Daryl arrive and offers him sanctuary back in the prison he accepts with no questions asked.

It’s a theme that runs throughout tonight’s episode. Being alone may make it easier to survive. No one to worry about. Only have to keep one person alive. But for these survivors it’s the comfort of having others looking out for you which makes it all worth the headaches and drama that comes with being involved with other people. These lone wolf survivors may be great at surviving on their own, but they also want to be doing more than just survive. They want to live and being with others. It makes them feel more human and gives them a higher purpose than just trying to survive day to day.

Some fans may not be liking this more introspective turn of The Walking Dead this second half of the season. There’s still some gruesome scees to be had, but there’s also many more quiet scenes of just characters interacting with each other minus the violence and brutality inherent in a show about the zombie apocalypse.

Notes

  • Tonight’s episode was written by Curtis Gwinn and directed by Ernest Dickerson.
  • Some great genuinely scary moments in tonight’s episode: the fog sequence with the zombies involving Bob, Maggie and Sasha was shot and directed well by veteran director Ernest Dickerson (who has directed some of the best episodes in the series). Another was Daryl finding himself stuck in a room filling up with zombies and the only way out was going through them.
  • Tonight’s episode was the strongest of this season’s second half. We just didn’t get to learn about some of the things which motivates Bob, but also what made Sasha and Maggie such good survivors. Larry Gilliard, Jr. hasn’t been given enough chances to stretch his acting skills this season, but tonight he was allowed to do just that and he passed with flying colors.
  • Beth is really thirsting for some of Daryl and was really apparent in tonight’s episode. This should make Daryl/Carol shippers not very happy at all.
  • For Dead Rising fans tonight’s episode should bring a smile to their faces as we see Maggie become an expert in zombie killing just using a street sign pole and it’s very sharp squared steel sign.
  • The episode opened and ended with the song “Blackbird Song” by Lee DeWyze.
  • Jeff Kober returns as the leader of the small band of raiders we saw in the episode “Claimed”. His return may mean he’s the big baddie for this second half as the different groups make their way to Terminus.
  • Talking Dead Guests: Sonequa Martin-Green and Lauren Cohan, Sasha and Maggie of The Walking Dead.

Season 4

Review: The Walking Dead S4E10 “Inmates”

Posted on by Arleigh

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“Things aren’t over.” — Glenn Rhee

The ratings numbers for the mid-season premiere of The Walking Dead was again shocking critics and fans both. Ratings for the show just stupefies critics of the show who can’t seem to get a handle on why this show has gone beyond popular and into pop icon status. By now we can honestly say that the show’s writing will never reach the status of other current popular shows like True Detective, Game of Thrones or that of Breaking Bad. Yet, the show continues to appeal to millions of fans not just in the US but worldwide.

The Walking Dead is basically a horror soap opera that’s airs on a basic cable network. But each and every week the show airs a new episode it beats everything put up against and more than holds its own with NBC’s Sunday Night Football. It’s a show that has had and continues to have issues with it’s writing and some of its characters, but for some reason the whole affair resonates with the millions who wait with anticipation for each new episode and news to appear.

Even detractors and strong critics of the show (some of who, vehemently hate the whole thing’s success and popularity) manage to still watch the show if just to poke fun and tear it down. It’s almost as if by doing so they can find that secret ingredient as to why the show remains so popular and successful.

Tonight’s episode focuses on the rest of the prison group who fled their sanctuary after the battle with the Governor’s forces. Last week it was more on the fleeing Rick, Carl and Michonne and their journey from the brink of despair to at least a semblance of hope and acceptance. We begin with the duo of Daryl and Beth who fled the prison on foot.

It’s an odd pairing that puts together one of the show’s most badass and pragmatic characters with one of it’s most hopeful (at least now with Hershel Dead). It’s a cold opening and section of the episode which includes diary readings by Beth of her renewed faith and need to continue to live after the group arrives at the prison. Once again we see the ghost of Hershel looming over all the survivors like a shade trying to give them hope to live for the next day despite the travails and horrors they’ve just left behind and still looking forward to.

The same goes for pretty much all the little groups who made it out of the prison. We see each and everyone of them not just fleeing for their lives, but also trying to get find a reason to continue on. With Tyreese and his group of Lizzie, Mika and Baby Judith it’s to continue on if just for the sake of keeping the girls alive. His road seems to be the toughest with three little girls to keep safe which makes his reaction to seeing Carol alive (at this time Rick hadn’t told Tyreese about Carol’s confession in regards to Karen’s death) was one of relief.

With Sasha, Bob and Maggie we see a trio dealing with the events they’ve just fled in their own ways. Sasha seems to be the most pragmatic with wanting to keep moving forward, scavenge for food and find a shelter. On the opposite end of the spectrum we see Maggie still dealing with the murder of her father (Hershel) and not knowing if her younger sister is still alive and, worst yet, if her husband (Glenn) made it out. It falls to Bob to find a middle ground between the two women’s agendas. Ironic considering that Bob, in the first half of the season, who was always unsure whether he truly belonged in the group and if his own personal demons meant he was a liability (yes and, to a degree, yes also). When they come across the prison bus that Maggie thought Glenn was in full of zombies and its passengers either turned or devoured one could almost see the light of hope fading from Maggie’s eyes. So, it was such a relief (again finding relief of any kind seems to be one of tonight’s theme) when Glenn wasn’t on the bus in one form or another.

Then there’s the final section of the episode where we find out that Glenn definitely survived the attack on the prison, but was left behind (due to the fact he left the bus to try and find Maggie during the battle) all alone in the ruins of their former sanctuary. He doesn’t know whether anyone else made it out and if his wife was amongst them. For a moment when back in their cell room he breaks down and seems to want to just shutdown and not deal with this new world anymore, but once again his time spent with Hershel brings him back from the brink.

Even new to the gang, Tara Chalmers, looks like she’ll fit in with Rick and his gang. She seems to survive when everyone else around her dies. Tara also harbors her own demons with the biggest being her participation in attacking the prison and getting pretty much everyone in her group killed. She’s troubled and hurting emotionally which makes her a perfect fit for Rick’s group.

Yet, the episode tonight all ended it’s three different sections with a sense of hope. The biggest being news that a new sanctuary might just be close enough for them to find shelter and safety once more. The biggest reveal of all in tonight’s episode is the arrival and introduction of three new characters whose impact on Rick’s people may just be as important and game-changing on the show as it was in the comics.

With the group slowly finding their bearings it looks like the apocalyptic battle that sent them all in different directions wasn’t the end. Things are definitely not over for Rick and his people. Will this new sanctuary hinted at in tonight’s episode become a new Woodbury or will it be something that Rick and his people can turn into something even better than the prison. The prison was sanctuary but was never an ideal place to restart whatever form of civilized society the survivors were hoping for. Maybe this new place they’re headed to will be that place.

Notes

  • Tonight’s episode was written by Matthew Negrete & Channing Powell and directed by Tricia Brock.
  • At least now the question of what happened to baby Judith has now been answered.
  • Lizzy looks like she’s turning out to be the very proper sociopath.
  • We get some resolution as to what happened to Tara’s sister, but only through Tara’s recollection of her being swamped by zombies after killing the Governor.
  • Some very fine work by Greg Nicotero’s wizards over at KNB EFX with the zombie kills and flesh-eating (I think these two things are part of why people continue to return to this show despite detractors and critics yelling to everyone and no one why it’s stupid to do so).
  • Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce to you all Sgt. Abraham Ford, Rosita Espinosa and Eugene Powell played respectively by Michael Cudlitz, Christian Serratos and Josh McDermitt.
  • Talking Dead Guests: Alanna Masterson of The Walking Dead, Joe Kernen of CNBC Squawk Box and Jim Gaffigan

Season 4

Review: The Walking Dead S4E05 “Internment”

Posted on by Arleigh

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“If you’re not ready to lose one, then you’ll lose them all.” — Dr. Caleb Subramanian

[some spoilers]

As this season’s of The Walking Dead gets closer and closer to it’s mid-season finale it’s time to take stock on what  has happened, so far. There human-on-human conflict w hich dominated season 3 has now been replaced by a new and more insidious danger: disease outbreak. It’s a concept rarely explored in apocalyptic stories and barely even mentioned in zombie fiction. We’ve seen how the progression of the disease going through the population of the prison community has become an even bigger danger to everyone. Glenn said it best in episode 2. Zombies and raiders they can take on and succeed, but this disease is something that they can’t see until it’s too late. With the state of medical healthcare in the zombie apocalypse being horrendous at best and non-existent for the most part, this new wrinkle in this group’s survival since the world went to hell was a good move and start for new showrunner Scott M. Gimple.

We’ve seen characters we;ve grown to love in the first four episode grow in surprising and, at times, disturbing ways. Carol has become a hardened survivor who will do what it takes to protect the group from dangers both outside and inside the fences. We’ve seen Rick deal with trying to shed the mantle of leadership for the sake of his children, but quickly realizing (with some help from Carol) that it’s what he’s good at and something he needs to rediscover once again to help the group survive.

Even Carl has shown that he’s not just marching straight into sociopathy in this new world order. He’s realized what his father has sacrificed to try and bring him back from the brink of losing his humanity. So far, it has worked and we see more and more of his father in how he’s handling situations  that in the past he would’ve used violence as a solution.

Tonight’s episode, “Internment”, we get to see the opposite image of what Carol has turned into by focusing on the group’s spiritual leader. Hershel Greene has taken over the spiritual and calming guidance that Dale used to provide. Where Dale seemed too entrenched in trying to live life as if the world still operated under the old rules and morality, Hershel has been more flexible. He doesn’t let his idealism get in the way of doing what’s necessary in the end. Yet, he still believes that saving everyone should still be a goal they as a community need to do. He’s willing to sacrifice his own well-being if it means keeping the sick from dying even if it means just providing that calming presence. He’s not just trying to save their lives but give their soul a semblance of hope that things will work out for the best in the end.

The episode played out like a calm before the storm. Some would say that it was unfolding like a throwaway episode that’s trying to give it’s viewers a breather before moving on to the next couple episodes with something more meaty and considerable. But like all slow burns this one exploded into action when we least expected it even though the writers dropped crumbs throughout that something big was about to happen.

Followers of the show won’t be disappointed when that slow-burning fuse finally leads to that gathering explosion. An explosion that once again saw the prison community become smaller and smaller with loses both to the disease that’s overtaken it and the zombies who have awoken inside the prison walls because of it. Showrunner and series writer Scott M. Gimple promised to make the zombies scary once again and in tonight’s episode we finally get the payoff the first four episodes have been working on achieving. Yes, they’re the faceless horde that has made killing them become more a chore than an act of survival, but the way the episode used them tonight made them scary once again. Their numbers will always be legion and this season has shown just how that still remains the scariest part of this show. Human enemies and even diseases are scary as well, but the zombies have once a gain returned as that patient, ever-encroaching symbol for the inevitability of death.

“Internment” has seen one of the more quieter members of the group who was becoming Dale 2.0, but tonight saw Hershel was just as much a badass survivor as Rick, Carl, Carol, Daryl and, his own daughter, Maggie. His faith in whatever plan God has in testing them might have taken a blow, but he still looks to his faith to get him and his friends and family through it all. He hasn’t let his physical handicap slow him and down. He’s even come through the crucible of tonight’s episode with his eyes much more open to the new realities of this new world, but still keeping his faith.

Time to see what the final reveal of tonight’s episode will now mean to the survival of what remains of the prison community.

Notes

  • Tonight’s episode was written and directed by Channing Powell and David Boyd respectively.
  • Interesting opening shot of Rick driving back to the prison with a very serious look on his face. Rick almost looked as if he’s steeling himself for the reaction on the news of what Carol did to Karen and David.
  • Looks like we now know that zombie flesh and blood is not toxic to animals. The two feral dogs feeding on the immobile zombie by the shoulder of the road was a nice detail.
  • Give Scott Wilson the first star for his incredible performance as Hershel tonight. He pretty much carried the episode from start to finish and there wasn’t a fake or boring section with him in it.
  • Great to see Rick finally see Carl as someone who is not just willing to provide help and protection for the group, but one who is more than capable of doing so. Carl looked more capable than Rick tonight.
  • Maggie has been pretty absent this season, but great to see her rush into the teeth of danger just like her father to try and save Glenn and the rest.
  • This is the second episode this week where half the cast doesn’t get any airtime which more than helps the episode’s pacing.
  • I still believe that Carol is protecting the real killer of Karen and David by confessing to Rick about it. My money is on scary-sister Lizzie who has taken on some very disturbing habits of treating zombies like pets and then using blood to make patterns on the floor with her shoe. The creepy-meter on this girl is reaching record levels.
  • Love the use of Ben Howard’s “Oats In The Water” during Hershel’s moment alone after taking down all the zombies in the cellblock and saving Glenn.
  • Talking Dead Guests: Adam Savage of Mythbusters.

Season 4

Review: The Walking Dead S4E04 “Indifference”

Posted on by Arleigh

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“You can’t be afraid to kill.” — Carol Peletier

This week the godfather of the zombie genre was interviewed and the question of The Walking Dead was brought up. Well, it would seem that George A. Romero turned down the offer to direct a couple of episodes of The Walking Dead. His answer was that the show was really just a soap opera with the occasional zombie. His answer hasn’t sit well with fans of the show while those who have been major critics and detractors of it feel content at hearing their argument validated. Yet, it’s those very words that probably just gave the best answer as to why The Walking Dead the show continues to get huge ratings and just gain more and more fans with each new season…with each new episode.

Yes, it is a soap opera with zombies and we all know just how ridiculously popular soap operas can be when it hits a particular button with the general public. I think the writers and producers of the show know this to be true.

“Indifference” marks the fourth episode of the new season and it focuses on that very soap opera-ish aspect of the show that Romero spoke about in his interview. Yet, as the show delves more on the character interactions and conflicts with this episode it does so minus the flaws from past attempts which led to nowhere and no growth for the characters involved. Tonight’s episode explores the theme of not just the indifference which has settled on some of the survivors but also the concept of entropy which the zombie apocalypse itself has ultimately brought to the world from it’s very onset.

We see the time spent between Carol and Rick during this episode a battle of wills between two characters who become integral part of the groups survival dynamics since season 1. Yet, we see only true growth with Carol in this season. She has come a long way from the meek, silent abused housewife from season 1 to a battle-hardened leader-type who’s willing to make the difficult decision in behalf of the group. This used to be Rick’s role in the past three season, but the burden of leadership seemed to have weighed too much on this father of two. His decision during the timeskip to stop being the group’s leader and just become a farmer looks more and more like the very indifference and entropy tonight’s episode has been exploring.

Does Carol’s actions in killing both Karen and David make her out to be villain or does it just goes to show that she’s learned not to be afraid to kill if it means saving the rest of the group. She knows that what she did many wouldn’t understand, but she also knows that Karen and David were already dead and a danger to everyone. Her decision to unilaterally kill the two might have been correct when thought through logically, but Rick doesn’t see it that way. His reaction and decision to exile Carol was Rick’s emotional and attempt to hold onto the concept of humanity for the sake of Carl and Judith. Even as he drives away he understand that his decision might be wrong, but his narrow vision on trying to protect his children from calculated and logical decisions was another form of Rick’s indifference at the world as it is now and not as he wants it to be.

There’s change coming on the show’s group dynamics and we just don’t see it between Carol and Rick, but just as important between Tyreese and the rest of the scavenging group, Bob and Daryl and between Daryl and Michonne. We see Tyreese’s continue his change from the compassionate survivor who confessed to not having the stomach to killing the zombies day in and day out. His inconsolable rage from losing Karen (to a certain extent one of his last grasps in keeping his humanity) has made him a liability as he loses focus in his rage. yet, it’s this very indifference to whether he lives or dies that could become Tyreese’s ultimate wake-up call to become a better survivor in the long-run. The same couldn’t be said for Bob who we find out has already seen two groups of survivors not make it through with him being the only survivor. Just like Rick he has retreated back from trying to make things work through the very bottle he himself confessed probably killed Zach in the season’s premiere episode.

The show has improved from season to season. Season 4 looks to be more focused than seasons past. It still has some problems with having too many characters who do nothing but act as cannon fodder and/or plot devices (example Ana and Sam just for tonight’s episode). But even with the show looking like it’s just about talking and more talking it still manages to move the story forward when in the past it led things in circles. Yes, it’s this very dialogue-heavy and interpersonal conflicts that gives the show it’s soap opera label, but this season it’s this very drama that has made it very interesting on top of entertaining.

While Romero’s decision to turn down directing episodes of the show was based on this very soap opera-ish part of the show one has to remember that zombie fiction, even Romero’s very own classic films from Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead to Day of the Dead lived off of the very soap opera-like narrative and conflicts that The Waling Dead just happens to use and mine with each new episode. I don’t think the show will ever shed this part of it’s storytelling style. It’s a major appeal to the legion of fans who love and follow the show. It’s both a pro and con for the series. The question that continues to be explored with each new episode is whether Scott M. Gimple as the series’ new showrunner will be able to sustain this pace and not lose it in the end the way Mazzara did in season 3.

Notes

  • Tonight’s episode, “Indifference”, was directed by Tricia Brock and written by Matt Negrete.
  • A great cold opening with Carol doing her best warrior-mom role to make sure Lizzie doesn’t fear what needs to be done to survive. All the while this is happening we see Rick walking through the crime scene of Karen and David’s death and imagining just exactly how Carol did the deed.
  • Tyreese is really raging in tonight’s episode and doesn’t bode well for his long-term well-being if he continues to put the rest of the group in danger.
  • It looks like tonight’s episode will only use a small part of the cast which should keep irrelevant interactions to a bare minimum.
  • Bob confesses to having to bear witness to two previous groups of survivors he’s been a part of lose their fight against the zombies (and maybe other humans). I know that there’s been no sign of the Governor since the final episode of last season, but could Bob be talking of having been part of the Woodbury group.
  • We get two new redshirts in tonight’s episode with the very happy and wanting to help to a fault Ana and Sam. The story they told Rick and Carol about how they’ve survived in the housing community for so long sounds credible enough, but one could see Rick and Carol (especially Rick) not believing most of what’s being told to them.
  • It will be interesting to see how Rick will explain to the group in the prison (and to Daryl) just exactly what happened to Carol and whether he will tell them the truth of why she’s not with them anymore.
  • Talking Dead Guests: WWE wrestler Chris Jericho and Community‘s own Britta, Gillian Jacobs.

Season 4

Horror Review: The Walking Dead S4E03 “Isolation”

Posted on by Arleigh

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“You step outside. You risk your life.” — Hershel Greene

The first two episode of The Walking Dead for season 4 has been all about upending the sense of normalcy and serenity that Rick and his group of survivors have fought and worked to create within the safety of the prison. We saw a timeskip of many months from the time Rick brought the survivors of Woodbury back to the prison to show them that they weren’t the monsters the Governor had made them up to be and from there started up this community that the audience was dropped into in season 4.

As we saw with last week’s episode, “Infected”, that sense of civilization and safety was nothing but an illusion. The zombies got into the prison and attacked a major chunk of the survivors and now a new threat has reared it’s viral head to make the lives of Rick and the gang that much more difficult, if not, hopeless. Zombies, even herds of them, and other people this group could handle as Glenn commented to his father-in-law, but the disease which struck Patrick and looks to be burning through those who were in the compromised Cell Block D was one thing they couldn’t fight.

“Isolation” marks another forward step for a show that has had a difficult time trying to stay on course when it comes to it’s overarching story arcs for the season. New showrunner Scott M. Gimple promised a season that was going to avoid standing pat, but reintroduce a sense of mystery and unknown dangers to a group that’s as battle-hardened as any military unit after three seasons of constant fighting. Now we know that one of these new dangers is a disease (maybe a particularly strong strain of the flu or maybe even the plague itself) which has used the cramped living spaces of the prison and a shortage in proper medicines to incubate and spread itself amongst the survivors.

The entire episode works almost like an isolation ward for the main characters and some of the newer ones. They’ve come such a long way to survive this hellish new world and partly due to isolating themselves from the problems inherent in a zombie apocalyptic world, but also in a community that’s one step removed from the disease-ridden refugee camps we see televised on TV on a daily basis. This was a group that had fooled itself into thinking that isolating their little piece of “heaven” from the outside would keep them safe. It has to a certain degree but it also made them complacent. Yes, they’ve become more compassionate (though smarter) about letting new people into the community, but they’ve stopped trying to venture farther out into the wilderness to find other communities who could share resources and help rebuild the very civilization Rick and the council has been working so hard to accomplish.

Now, their isolation will need to end as they must find new sources of medicines to help combat the disease that’s burning through the prison. Their mission has become much more dire in that it’s not just the new additions to the group who have now become infected but one of their in Glenn has succumbed to it as well. And for all the hardcore survival instincts and skills Daryl, Michonne and the rest have honed to a deadly degree the world outside still remains one that could kill them all without hesitation no matter their skills. The pan of the camera to show the oncoming herd (much bigger than past shown herds) on the group of Daryl, Michonne, Tyreese and Bob was something we rarely see in zombie flicks and tv (though World War Z did it through use of CG). This sequence just shows how easily people who’ve isolated themselves from this never-ending danger could easily lose hope as Tyreese looked to have at first glance.

This latest episode of The Walking Dead really didn’t have any of the action we saw in the first two episode of the new season, but it’s been one that avoided the past season mistakes of not moving the story forward. Yes, they’re still stuck in the prison, but the narrative has continued to propel forward. We find out who killed Karen and David (the burnt bodies that ended episode 2) instead of the writers stretching it out over several episodes. The answer to this mystery brings up new questions as to why this long-standing character decided to act unilaterally even if it was for the greater good of the community. The fact that their actions ultimately failed to keep the disease in check still doesn’t change the fact that even the meekest of the group has grown and change to adapt to a world where even something as simple as a common cold or the flu could kill just as quickly as the zombies gathering at the prison fences.

“Isolation” was written by comic book creator Robert Kirkman who has grown to become better in translating ideas he has written for the series’ comic book counterpart and ideas discarded along the way into something that helps the tv show distinguish itself from the original source material. The show has almost become a way for Kirkman to recreate the early days of the comic book source with new themes and characters. With the comic book itself already years ahead of the show it’s going to be interesting to see whether the tv show will skip some of the smaller story arcs that occur after the prison and move the group closer to the timeline comic book readers are currently at.

While short on action, “Isolation” brings to the fore new problems for the group both immediate and moral. Will the admission of one of their own to the culpability of Karen and David’s murder be told to the rest of the council or will Rick keep this secret to himself? Is the brief radio signal caught in the car radio as Daryl and his scavenging group drive down the road lead to the Governor or a truly safe haven?

One thing that’s been consistent with this new season so far has been that the writers have learned to not stand pat with the show’s narrative. Previous showrunner Glen Mazzara preached forward momentum with season 3 but ultimately failed as the season limped to it’s finale. Only time will tell whether new showrunner Scott M. Gimple will do the same or actually finish this season strong and actually stay around for a following season.

Notes

  • “Infected” was written by source material creator Robert Kirkman and veteran tv director Dan Sackheim.
  • The fight between Rick and Tyreese was one of several fandom moments which mirrors similar scenes in the comic book, but with the show arriving to the scene in a much different manner. In the comic book, this fight occurred after Tyreese found out about her daughter’s death as part of a suicide pact with her boyfriend and Tyreese murdering the boyfriend and then shooting her daughter after she turned.
  • The other moment being Tyreese’s hammer rampage on the zombies that surrounded their car on the way to the veterinary college. In the comic book, this scene happened in the prison indoor gym.
  • We learn more about just how virulent the disease that took Patrick really is as survivors of Cell Block D and some of those who fought to save it succumb less than a day from Patrick dying from it.
  • I know it’s become a joke when it comes to Carl and his trusty gun, but it’s good that the writers saw fit to not prolong this particular storyline. Rick, more than anyone else, understands that Carl is one of the better fighters in the community and he’s come to regret trying to hamper the boy and in return make the group less effective.
  • Carl actually listening to Hershel about not having to kill every zombie they come across was a surprise. We’ve seen how leaving a zombie still standing and operating led to disastrous results for season 2. Will Carl practicing restraint come to bite the group again or does it mean Carl has edged back away from becoming a sociopath and into something more like his father and less like Shane. With each passing episode Carl looks to be emulating Daryl more and more and that could be a good thing in the long run seeing how Rick is not what one would call mentally stable.
  • Nice to see the writers actually giving one of the new characters, Larry Gilliard, Jr’s Bob Stookey, some character growth moments where in the past such new faces were relegated to becoming either zombie chow or cannon fodder. His reaction to finding out that they will be taking Zack’s car (Beth short-lived boyfriend from the season premiere) to their scavenge run to the local veterinary college 40 miles away shows how much guilt he feels at having caused the young man’s death.
  • One of the best reveals of the season so far has been that massive herd that looks to be in the thousands bearing down the highway and Daryl, Michonne, Tyreese and Bob stuck in their car. A question that rises up from this sequence is to whether this herd is heading towards the prison or will it just bypass their haven altogether.
  • Carol, Carol, Carol has become the new lightning rod for this season. Some have enjoyed the characters growth into a bonafide survivor in more than one sense. Some don’t like the fact that she’s become too cold and calculating even if it’s for the greater good of the group. Some just can’t get behind the fact that a woman on the show has actually become one of it’s more level-headed characters. I, for one, hope she sticks around past this season. This Carol has become the show’s comic book version of Andrea and that should be celebrated instead of denigrated.
  • Talking Dead Guests: Series executive producer Gale Anne Hurd, Jack Osborne and Marilyn Manson. Manson definitely made for a unique guest on the post-episode show. To say that he made show host Chris Hardwick more than just a tad uncomfortable would be an understatement.

Season 4

Horror Review: The Walking Dead S4E02 “Infected”

Posted on by Arleigh

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“I see when the shit hits you’re standing there with a shovel.” — Daryl Dixon

[some spoilers]

Last week saw the return of AMC’s wildly popular horror tv series, The Walking Dead. The show ran huge ratings numbers which seems to still confound it’s critics. These are numbers that rivals Sunday Night Football ratings numbers. Yes, the show has had issues with character development and acting, but it continues to bring in more and more viewers. Could it be that the show is satisfying a jaded public’s appetite for bloodlust? If that’s the case then gory horror films should be doing much better in the theaters, but that’s definitely not the case.

With the show’s return we get to see what sort of long-running arc new showrunner Scott M. Gimple has planned for the series. With the first truncated season it was all about Rick adapting to this new dangerous world and reconnecting with his lost family. The second season saw a change in showrunners with series creator Frank Darabont fired and replaced by veteran producer Glen Mazzara and we saw the change in the show’s pacing and storytelling. What was a much more deliberate pacing under Darabont became much more about forward momentum. This worked for the most part and complaints about the show going in circles and nowhere died down, but Mazzara was soon replaced by the end of season 3.

So, the Scott M. Gimple era has begun and with last week’s premiere we found a season the started off full of hope and normalcy, but since this is a horror series that peaceful serenity ended just as fast as it was introduced.

“Infected” takes up very quickly after the cliffhanger of the season premiere which saw one of the new cast members die of some disease (I’m guessing a strong strain of the flu) in the showers and left unattended. If we’ve learned through the three seasons of this show that any death will cause the body of the deceased to reanimate and go looking for living flesh. So, that rule hasn’t changed and we see Harry Potter, I mean Patrick, get up from where he died in the showers and into a cell block full of sleeping people.

Tonight’s episode played out almost like a sort of crucible that Rick had to go through once more to find his true self. Last week’s episode showed us how Rick has turned his back on being the group’s leader. He’s stopped carrying his revolver when stepping beyond the prison’s fences. He’s trying to be a better role model for his son Carl who we saw last season become much colder and murderously pragmatic. Tonight we saw Rick having to face that decision to stop being a fighter and leader to become a farmer instead.

From the very beginning of the episode we see the seeds of doubt being planted in Rick’s mind that while his decision to forgo being a leader and fighter may save his son Carl from lsoing his childhood innocence he must believe deep in his heart that it’s a fool’s task. Rick is trying to regain a semblance of pre-zombie apocalypse world by being a better father to Carl, yet in doing so the group lost a person who had protected them from Atlanta and through Woodbury. It takes and outbreak within Cell Block D and the sorry state of the prison fences to finally wake Rick up from his utopian dream. By sacrificing the piglets Rick was dropping the act of being a farmer and going back to what he was good at doing and that’s protecting the group and killing zombies.

We see the opposite happening with the once meek and victimized Carol who has taken all the personal loss she’s had to go through the last three seasons and allowing that crucible to forge her into a survivor of this new world. She might’ve sounded harsh when dealing with the young girls and how they must learn to defend themselves even if it means killing a dying loved one, but nothing she said tonight was in the wrong. She’s adapted and accepted her new role as protector of the group even if it means she might alienate some. Rick was like this but could never find the balance between ruthless efficiency and empathy towards other survivors. It’ll be interesting to see what sort of pay off Carol’s character growth will mean not just for the group as a whole, but for Daryl who has formed a close relationship with the former victim.

Tonight’s episode was much stronger than last week’s by a wide margin. Where last week’s season premiere seemed like a new showrunner playing it safe with tonight’s episode we see a stronger and more focused narrative that looks to dominate at least the first half of this new season. So far, the new season had promised a new danger to harry the group and now we see what it is and we still haven’t seen the absent Governor. Scott Gimple promised that the show was going to go back to making the zombies a true danger once again after the human-on-human carnage from last season and if the first two episodes for season 4 were any indication he’s keeping his promise.

Notes

  • “Infected” was written and directed by series veterans Angela Kang and Guy Ferland.
  • Just when I thought Greg Nicotero and his make-up effects wizards at KNB EFX couldn’t top themselves they come up with several gory gags in just the first 20 minutes of the episode.
  • While some think it unbelievable that no one heard Patrick chowing down in the next cell one has to think that these people thought they were safe. The way the dead just geometrically expanded from Patrick to suddenly many in less than a morning was a nice touch.
  • It looks like we now have two new medical professionals with unnamed dude with the beard and Bob “On the Wagon” Stookey.
  • Carol has definitely grown as a character from the damaged housewife from season 1 to growing badass in Season 4. She’s even dressing up to look like one to match the new survival mindset.
  • The show has never been gun shy of putting children in danger but it was a tough scene to watch the one young mother carrying the small, bloody bundle out of Cell Black D to be buried.
  • I was very surprised at the event which finally looks to bring out the badass locked inside bug teddy bear Tyreese. I was thinking that it was something terrible happening to his younger sister, but definitely did not see Karen’s death at the hands of an unknown assailant as being the catalyst.
  • One the best gags in tonight’s episode was a nice homage to George A. Romero’s Day of the Dead were Greg Nicotero apprenticed with FX master Tom Savini and also appeared as one of the soldiers tasked with protecting the scientists. Here’s the scene in question from that film…
  • Tonight’s episode will definitely not amuse PETA. Not one bit.
  • Talking Dead Guests: Series exec. producer Greg Nicotero, comedian Doug Benson and Paramore singer Hayley Williams.

Season 4