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THE WALKING DEAD |
Rick Grimes - Andrew Lincoln Lori Grimes - Sarah Wayne Callies Shane - Jon Bernthal Daryl Dixon - Norman Reedus Carl Grimes - Chandler Riggs Andrea - Laurie Holden Dale - Jeffrey DeMunn 
OTHER WALKING DEAD SEASONS Season 1 Season 3 Season 4 OTHER SCARY TALES Dead Set Medium Ghost Whisperer Afterlife Haunted 
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What Lies AheadAfter the trip to Center for Disease Control failed to provide succour, the group decide to head for Fort Bannion, but they find trouble on the road, and off it. Sofia is missing, zombies are setting traps and the group itself is starting to unravel. After the searing first season it was probably unreasonable to expect that the zombie show would come back with the same quality as before, but this episode proves that everything we loved about the first season has come through intact. It begins with a zombie march on the freeway that is almost impossibly tense, but also utterly convincing. From there it goes into a desperate hunt for the missing girl, throws in an ambush situation that raises some questions about zombie intelligence and even comes up with a cliffhanger shock ending that is absolutely stunning. As an opening episode, it's nigh on perfect. The focus, though, remains upon the characters and the interplay between them. There are all kinds of new stresses in the group and they threaten to cause it to splinter or implode at any second, but it's so well written and acted that it never once comes across as melodrama. There is, of course, much blood and zombie slaying going on in full graphic detail and the scene where the two trackers try to decide is a zombie has eaten the little girl goes well beyond the point of 'They're not really going to do that are they?'. The standard for the new season has been set and it has been set high. TopBloodlettingCarl is dying from his gunshot wound. The only hope for him is a doctor who has no supplies. Those supplies are available, but only from an emergency centre that is overrun with zombies. This episode deals with the fallout from last week's cliffhanger and is a step down from that searing opening, but it has its moments to make you wince, moments of humour and a lot of good acting as parents deal with what has happened to their children. It's a bit quieter than the show usually is, but that just makes the moments with the zombies all the more dramatic and scary. TopSave The Last OneCarl needs urgent medical supplies and Shane takes Otis, the man who accidentally shot Carl, to get them. They find themselves trapped by zombies and action needs to be taken. There is a single act that stands out above the rest of the show and it is the shock of that raises the episode higher than the surprisingly mediocre one that it had been before. Prior to that there is a sequence involving a man who had hanged himself and then become a zombie, still suspended that is a bit gruesome, but otherwise it is all down to the action in the school. This, at least, has the zombies as a credible threat and the action is fast and furious, but does rely a bit too heavily on people leaning against chainlink fencing and then being grabbed through it. Look behind you, people. TopCherokee RoseThere's a zombie in the well to be taken care of and evidence that Sophia might still be alive. Aside from that, the survivors manage to enjoy a little quiet time and company. The word 'filler' comes to mind when referring to this episode, the very first time that it can be ascribed to the show and hopefully the last. There is plenty of quality interaction between the characters, but none of it actually means all that much. There are also some silly moments like one of the men not knowing what a pregnancy testing kit was and the long lecture on the meaning of the Cherokee Rose which is far clumsier than the show has yet been. The zombie in the well incident seems to have been shoehorned in simply to ensure that a zombie got into the episode and it was played for laughs, something that is very dangerous since it undermines the threat that the zombies play. TopChupacabraThe search for Sofia continues and Daryl is injured. On his own, he is faced with death until his lost brother shows up to help. Rick tries to persuade Hershel to let the group stay at the farm and Glenn makes a worrying discovery in the barn. There is plenty going on between the various members of the group, but it is the struggle that Daryl has to get back to safety that is the heart of this episode, giving Norman Reedus the opportunity to take centre stage for a change, an opportunity that he grabs with both hands. What happens upon his return is a direct homage to the original zombie masterpiece NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. The actors continue to give the good script their best efforts, but there is a sense that this is turning into a soap opera with zombies rather than the closely controlled searing drama of the first season. TopSecretsGlenn is struggling with keeping the secrets of the zombies in the barn and Lori's pregnancy. The group starts gun practice and Shanes takes drastic action to break through Andrea's issues. Apart from one single, and rather predictable zombie attack, there are no shuffling dead in this episode and once again matters centre on the struggling relationships between the survivors. Fortunately, these tensions are strong enough and delivered with performances that are strong enough to keep things afloat. The ongoing storyline of the missing girl is being overstretched and the oncoming conflict between the farm community and the travelling group is being heavily previewed, but is taking it's time in arriving. TopPretty Much Dead AlreadyThe secret of the walkers in the barn is finally revealed to the group and there are a variety of actions. Shane is becoming increasing angry and feral whilst Rick becomes ever more desperate to find a way to stay on the farm. Then carnage erupts. You could almost forget that there were any zombies at all in this show there is so much concentration on the interpersonal relationships and Shane is quite clearly a bomb waiting to go off. When he does finally explode, it is dramatic and shockingly violent. The final tragedy, though, whilst predictable is no less affecting. This is the mid-season break and it certainly goes out with a bang, but that can't hide the fact that this first half-season has been a bit flabby and certainly not up to the standard of the searing first season. TopNebraskaIn the aftermath of the terrible event at the barn, Hershel disappears, Beth goes into some sort of shock, Dale tells what he knows about Shane and a couple of shady characters want in on the farm. After the mid-season break, THE WALKING DEAD is back to something like its best as the characters continue to collide against the backdrop of the end of the world. Rick's trying to convince Hershel to go on smacks of too much familiarity, but the rest of the script is nicely underwritten and nicely underplayed. The currents below the surface continue to run in patterns not quite perceived. The men in the bar bring in some needed threat, the walkers having been more or less consigned to the background of the show, at least in this episode, but that doesn't matter. It's still one of the best quality dramas around. TopTriggerfingerRick and Glenn are under attack following their attempt to bring Hershel back to the farm. Lori is trapped in crashed car with the walkers trying to get in. Decisions are going to have to be made. The cliffhangers left over from the end of the last episode have to be dealt with first and they provide the better part of the episode. The struggle in the town harks back to the most exciting parts of the first season whilst Lori's fight for survival on the road is also exciting. The second part of the episode plays as the dramatic section for the actors to show their stuff and the plot to set up for the coming issues between the rival human factions and Shane's corrosive effect within the group. The more extended time with the zombies on screen doing what they do best returns the show a bit closer to its finer moments. Top18 Miles OutRick and Shane use a trip to release their hostage to get some things straight between them, but a horde of zombies get in the way. Back at the farm, Hershel's daughter makes a decision. Zombies, and lots of them, turn up in this episode, allowing for graphic bloodletting along with the dramatic interplay between the two. This is what the show does best, mixing the character drama with the zombie attacks and this is the best episode for a while as a result. The gore is gruesome, the violence unrepentantly graphic, but that just ramps up the threat and makes the drama all the more tense. The show is seriously picking up again. TopJudge, Jury, ExecutionerThe group have a prisoner who might be a threat to them. The majority feels that he should be killed, but Dale worries about their loss of humanity. For the most part this is a talky episode that examines the characters by their reactions to the choice that they are faced with. It's not a new dilemma. Anyone who remembers the original BBC post-apocalypse show SURVIVORS will be very familiar with this situation. There is, however, a trick up the story's sleeve, a shocking development that rocks the audience just before the credits roll. TopBetter AngelsShane takes the prisoner out into the forest as part of a plan to take over leadership of the group. The big shock of the last episode is barely dealt with as the group first rush to make the farm more secure and then have to deal with the supposed escape of the prisoner. This leads to another showdown, one that has been coming for a long time. The episode is more plot-driven than usual. There is some time for a few quiet moments along the way, but this is all about Shane's plan and how it is going to work out. It's pretty predictable, but is at least played pretty well. TopBeside The Dying FireA zombie horde descends upon the farm and the survivors are driven out in chaos, separated and in danger. The plotline was really finished in the last episode and this is all about giving the show a big bang finale full of all the zombie action that has been missing to this point. Exactly why the zombies descend on the house is pretty unbelievable in terms of coincidence, but from then on its all out zombie action with the requisite blood and zombie head splatters. There's also a lot of tension as everyone has close scrapes and until the end you can't be sure who's going to get out alive. Hints are given as to future directions and there's no doubting that the audience will be wanting more. Top |
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