S01E04
Thus far in the series, we have seen a good number of zombies (mostly in the first episode) but little zombie violence as necks and arteries are severed from the living buffet for the undead. I like this approach as the ending of this episode mostly came out of nowhere in what was otherwise another leisurely adventure in the apocalypse.
After discovering that Merle had obviously watched Saw too much (or he didn’t think about cutting off only his thumb), Rick and company discover that he is wily enough to cauterize his stump, yet stupid enough to go empty-handed (too soon?) into the urban jungle filled with the walkers. While trying to retrieve Rick’s bag o’ guns, some no-good gang-like fellows pummel Daryl and kidnap Glen before Rick and T-Bone can come to the rescue. As they initiate a trade with the rapscallions, our hero group discover that these hoodlums really have hearts of gold as they fortify and protect a nursing home and its elderly denizens. Meanwhile back at camp, a weird guy Jim is scaring people by digging holes and thus Shane decides he must be taken into custody and restrained. How dare he dig those holes…
I must say, I didn’t find this episode as good as the preceeding three. It seemed more written in the sense of a traditional zombie tale than the well-rounded and restrained episodes we’ve had so far. The most irritating aspect here was of the gang-like guardians of the elderly. We know in an end-of-the-world scenario, there are going to be assholes who take and hoard for themselves and this show has not had a problem with creating douche-bag characters with Merle, Ed, and Shane to an extent. But apparently it would have been too much to have a gaggle of young-ins holding people hostage and threatening bloodbaths for fun or their own amusement so they were given a sympathetic motive that Rick could relate to and give up his firearms for.
***SPOILERS BE HERE***
Meanwhile, the writing was on the wall when Andrea revealed she has a special gift for Amy’s birthday as I cannot think of a happy birthday/special occasion in a zombie story. I would expect in a more casually written series that the cute girl would meet a sad demise just before her whatever-th birthday but having cute little Emma Bell (who I knew was only in a handful of episodes anyway) step out of an RV into the arms of a hungry zombie almost seems out of place. Also, dumbass Ed yelling at his wife and kid to leave him alone as something stumbles around pawing at his tent was just stupid. Goodbye Ed.
***END SPOILERS***
The cinematography is still excellent, mostly surpassing similar stories left and right, and the acting is still wonderful with the standout again here with Laurie Holden but all of the depth and heart of the series was mostly absent here with an affair that is just a paint-by-numbers zombie attack.
BONUS: Zombie Kill of the Week
With more zombies comes more headshots (and still the ever impressive special effects) but the only standout I could recall was Mr. Baseball-bat-to-the-head-equals-gratuitious-splatter zombie.
Thus far in the series, we have seen a good number of zombies (mostly in the first episode) but little zombie violence as necks and arteries are severed from the living buffet for the undead. I like this approach as the ending of this episode mostly came out of nowhere in what was otherwise another leisurely adventure in the apocalypse.
After discovering that Merle had obviously watched Saw too much (or he didn’t think about cutting off only his thumb), Rick and company discover that he is wily enough to cauterize his stump, yet stupid enough to go empty-handed (too soon?) into the urban jungle filled with the walkers. While trying to retrieve Rick’s bag o’ guns, some no-good gang-like fellows pummel Daryl and kidnap Glen before Rick and T-Bone can come to the rescue. As they initiate a trade with the rapscallions, our hero group discover that these hoodlums really have hearts of gold as they fortify and protect a nursing home and its elderly denizens. Meanwhile back at camp, a weird guy Jim is scaring people by digging holes and thus Shane decides he must be taken into custody and restrained. How dare he dig those holes…
I must say, I didn’t find this episode as good as the preceeding three. It seemed more written in the sense of a traditional zombie tale than the well-rounded and restrained episodes we’ve had so far. The most irritating aspect here was of the gang-like guardians of the elderly. We know in an end-of-the-world scenario, there are going to be assholes who take and hoard for themselves and this show has not had a problem with creating douche-bag characters with Merle, Ed, and Shane to an extent. But apparently it would have been too much to have a gaggle of young-ins holding people hostage and threatening bloodbaths for fun or their own amusement so they were given a sympathetic motive that Rick could relate to and give up his firearms for.
***SPOILERS BE HERE***
Meanwhile, the writing was on the wall when Andrea revealed she has a special gift for Amy’s birthday as I cannot think of a happy birthday/special occasion in a zombie story. I would expect in a more casually written series that the cute girl would meet a sad demise just before her whatever-th birthday but having cute little Emma Bell (who I knew was only in a handful of episodes anyway) step out of an RV into the arms of a hungry zombie almost seems out of place. Also, dumbass Ed yelling at his wife and kid to leave him alone as something stumbles around pawing at his tent was just stupid. Goodbye Ed.
***END SPOILERS***
The cinematography is still excellent, mostly surpassing similar stories left and right, and the acting is still wonderful with the standout again here with Laurie Holden but all of the depth and heart of the series was mostly absent here with an affair that is just a paint-by-numbers zombie attack.
BONUS: Zombie Kill of the Week
With more zombies comes more headshots (and still the ever impressive special effects) but the only standout I could recall was Mr. Baseball-bat-to-the-head-equals-gratuitious-splatter zombie.
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