I haven't done a review of anything specific yet and I thought today was as good a day as any to give one a shot. This is my first ever TV show review so I apologise in advance for any structural/syntactic weirdness you may come across.
FYI: I'll try to keep this as spoiler-free as I can, but I'll warn you if there's a semi-spoiler anywhere.
I've just come from watching the most recent episode of The Walking Dead, and it was one of my favourites so far this season (possibly in my top ten ever), but for no reason that I can specifically pinpoint. After the previous episode, this one proved to be a welcome return to the show I know and love. Occasionally TWD goes through bouts of having a few REALLY GOOD episodes and then peters out into producing a few not-so-good episodes - ones I feel are more there to act as story-filler than as a real stepping forward in the plot. The episode in question however provided a fascinating turn of events, however slow-paced it may have been, in comparison to others. In fact, a lot of TWD's best work comes in its slower-paced episodes. Gone are the days the survivors would be fighting with zombie herds every week. Now, the real tensions arise as a response to other humans the survivors encounter.
During the course of five seasons, it has become alarmingly apparent that the zombies (generally known as "walkers" in TWD jargon) are nowhere near the worst threat. It's got to the stage now that if one of the original crew were to be killed by a walker during one of their commonplace zombie encounters, it would be a death of the most pitiful disappointment. Humans are, and have been for a while now, the greatest threat of them all.
Over the years, we have watched Rick Grimes develop a misfit family and we've been fortunate enough to see their relationships tested but ultimately strengthened - to the point where I now feel their ties would be near impossible to break (though I have a sneaking suspicion the next few episodes are going to further test these relationships). This episode flipped our viewpoint on its head. We've seen Rick's crew fight off the influence of outsiders and escape from the prying hands of other humans, but we have never viewed the group itself as a threat. In this episode, we were introduced to the idea that, to others, Rick's group is intimidating and above all, potentially dangerous. They have a cut-throat attitude to survival, and anyone who threatens a member of the group's life is as good as dead. For the duration of the series, anyone who wants to be a part of the crew has to be psychoanalysed and scrutinised and deemed worthy (both in value and in trust) to succeed in their endeavour. Over five seasons, we've watched outsiders try to get in. In this episode, our group of survivors were the outsiders instead.
However, on a way more important note, the unanimously-decided most relevant feature of this episode was the death of Rick Grimes' beard. R.I.P. beard. You will (maybe) be missed. In all honesty, I had forgotten what Rick even looked like. When I saw his beardless face for the first time in a very long while I was, in a word, astonished.
**Potential spoilers I guess? But still, only tiny spoilers, so feel free to read on.**
- QUOTE OF THE EPISODE:
Right at the end, when Rick said, "We won't get weak. That's not in us anymore. We'll make it work. If they can't make it, then we'll just take this place."
This was exactly the I'll-do-anything-for-my-family Rick whom I've grown to view with equally immense levels of both respect and intimidation. He may have been clothed in his old police uniform in this scene, but he is a far cry from the uniform-clad man we met back in season one.
- FAVOURITE MOMENT:
Glenn punching Aidan in the face, after some goading.
It's been tough to see Glenn kind of lose his way so far this season (mostly he's been pretty much pushed to the back-burner, and the sarcastic Glenn I once loved seemed to have disappeared forever.) But, alas, last night's episode saw the return of the Glenn who got me hooked on the show in the first place. No one can resist a totally warranted punch in the face, and the fact that it was Glenn who provided it made it so much better.
- CUTENESS ALERT:
Lil' Carl Poppa. Coral. Rick Jr. Hat boy.
He's a tough kid but he's been through a heck of a lot with the adults in the show, and so seeing him interact with other kids his age was just as alien to him as it was to us viewers. It also seemed like he was developing a crush, which, HECK, he probably hasn't had since he first saw Beth back in season 2(?) I'm loving these 'normal teenagery' things with Carl, largely because I'm intrigued to see how he handles them, as for him they're not normal experiences at all.
- SUSPICION:
The guy on the terrace. Why did he seem so ominous? Plus, what is the reason Enid went all monkey-girl and scaled the defence walls to go on a little walk in the forest (with Rick's stolen gun perhaps)? There are definitely some unanswered questions from this episode, and I'm excited to get my answers.
Overall, the greatness of this episode was marked by the fact that we as viewers have become so engrained into the story and the characters' survival that we were all experiencing the emotions in line with the characters. I found myself always tense and automatically distrusting of the new characters, regardless of the fact that most of them seemed, on paper, pretty darn nice. It seems I have developed a paranoia to match theirs, as when I saw Rick, Carol and Daryl taking precautions against their new community, I felt satisfied that they had not yet discarded their rightful sense of suspicion that had kept them alive (and united) for so long. In The Walking Dead a HUGE part of the family dynamic is based upon trust, so to have multiple strangers walk into the midst is interesting, but unsettling to say the least.
Audiences and characters alike have so far learnt to stick to the mantra of "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is", but the characters are so very tired. They need rest and they need to be surrounded by something close to a society. Likewise, I need to loosen my ever-tense muscles. I need to be able to watch this show with a heart rate that isn't a cause for medical concern. I need to relax just as much as they do. (Perpetually struggling to stay alive amidst an apocalypse vs. lying in bed despairingly wondering how I'm ever going to organise this post into any kind of coherence...We're all distressed here.)
Much to the unease of everyone involved (myself included), the characters have chosen to tentatively step into a new world, and I am excited to see how it's all going to pan out. After all, three times' a charm, right? Woodbury...Terminus...Alexandria...?
I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the survivors; they need all the luck they can get.
See you next time!
Georgia
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