S01E05
Just as a quick recap of last week’s review, I didn’t like Vatos primarily because it was less about the great characters and more centered around silly, nonconsequential twists and standard zombie stuff you can see anywhere. Ironically, that episode was also written by the comic’s writer Robert Kirkman so I had expected much better. In fairness, it was not Flesh Freaks or Who’s Your Caddy bad but still kind of disappointing.
This week though had everything I expect, want, and salivate for in a Walking Dead episode. Primarily, it centers around the aftermath of the zombie attack last week as there are not only dead zombies and dead humans to deal with but also tree-hugging Jim as an in-betweener who was bitten in the mele. Rick decides the best course of action is to head back to Atlanta (haven’t we done this before?) in hopes to find a cure for Jim at the CDC. Shane however wants to trek to a military base under the assumption it is more heavily fortified and not overrun with the walkers. A great debate ensues between the alpha males of the group over their next destination as it is clearly not safe on top of the mountain any longer. The group decides to forge on with Rick back into the City of the Dead only to discover things outside the CDC are bleaker than they could possible imagine.
Right off the bat I loved this episode, primarily because of Laurie Holden and her amazing performance as she sits over her soon-to-be zombified sister’s body mourning the loss. We hope and pray and worry that Andrea is reasonable enough to know what to do when Amy inevitably awakens. When the act is finally done by Andrea’s hands, it is heartbreaking to say the least for both character’s accounts. Not to mention we also had the debate over what to do with Jim as Daryl is ready to put a pick-ax in his skull before he turns and Glen is adament about burying the normal dead instead of burning them like the … dead dead. This show thus far has worked the best, not necessarily with total zombie carnage (although that is enjoyable too if done well) but in the quiet areas of reflection. Here we have Rick looking for validation of his plan with Lori and as Rick and Shane get into family matters in the woods. Watching the pain and sorrow and sheer terror of these characters is something that was largely missing last week. While Shane is dubious at best (has good intentions but maybe a bit unstable and hard-headed), Rick’s presence I can see will become a sticking point with the group at some point (yea for the second season pickup!) as he has good skills and insticts but has perhaps not experienced enough terror in the zombie uprising to fully appreciate the danger that he wants to take on. Only time will tell.
I understand the need for some exposition on the zombie outbreak and the resulting apocalypse and I don’t dislike the introduction of CDC scientist Noah Emmerich for that purpose. But so far, any new knowledge has been shared with the audience as the characters are learning it, seldomly focusing on anything but our core group. When the research videos started playing, PBF and I were momentarily confused as it was not only pretty random but in the vein of an entirely different show for those few minutes. As the group is now in the hunkered-down CDC building, that would have been better saved for next week’s season finale which again looks like all hell will break loose.
BONUS: Zombie Kill of the Week
It’s a tough choice this week with a tie. One is not technically a zombie kill as Mrs. Ed takes out likely years of pent-up rage on Ed’s no-longer-functioning skull with a pick-ax. The other is the aforementioned single gunshot by Andrea as she holds her zombie kin close, apologizing for her extended absence in her life.
Just as a quick recap of last week’s review, I didn’t like Vatos primarily because it was less about the great characters and more centered around silly, nonconsequential twists and standard zombie stuff you can see anywhere. Ironically, that episode was also written by the comic’s writer Robert Kirkman so I had expected much better. In fairness, it was not Flesh Freaks or Who’s Your Caddy bad but still kind of disappointing.
This week though had everything I expect, want, and salivate for in a Walking Dead episode. Primarily, it centers around the aftermath of the zombie attack last week as there are not only dead zombies and dead humans to deal with but also tree-hugging Jim as an in-betweener who was bitten in the mele. Rick decides the best course of action is to head back to Atlanta (haven’t we done this before?) in hopes to find a cure for Jim at the CDC. Shane however wants to trek to a military base under the assumption it is more heavily fortified and not overrun with the walkers. A great debate ensues between the alpha males of the group over their next destination as it is clearly not safe on top of the mountain any longer. The group decides to forge on with Rick back into the City of the Dead only to discover things outside the CDC are bleaker than they could possible imagine.
Right off the bat I loved this episode, primarily because of Laurie Holden and her amazing performance as she sits over her soon-to-be zombified sister’s body mourning the loss. We hope and pray and worry that Andrea is reasonable enough to know what to do when Amy inevitably awakens. When the act is finally done by Andrea’s hands, it is heartbreaking to say the least for both character’s accounts. Not to mention we also had the debate over what to do with Jim as Daryl is ready to put a pick-ax in his skull before he turns and Glen is adament about burying the normal dead instead of burning them like the … dead dead. This show thus far has worked the best, not necessarily with total zombie carnage (although that is enjoyable too if done well) but in the quiet areas of reflection. Here we have Rick looking for validation of his plan with Lori and as Rick and Shane get into family matters in the woods. Watching the pain and sorrow and sheer terror of these characters is something that was largely missing last week. While Shane is dubious at best (has good intentions but maybe a bit unstable and hard-headed), Rick’s presence I can see will become a sticking point with the group at some point (yea for the second season pickup!) as he has good skills and insticts but has perhaps not experienced enough terror in the zombie uprising to fully appreciate the danger that he wants to take on. Only time will tell.
I understand the need for some exposition on the zombie outbreak and the resulting apocalypse and I don’t dislike the introduction of CDC scientist Noah Emmerich for that purpose. But so far, any new knowledge has been shared with the audience as the characters are learning it, seldomly focusing on anything but our core group. When the research videos started playing, PBF and I were momentarily confused as it was not only pretty random but in the vein of an entirely different show for those few minutes. As the group is now in the hunkered-down CDC building, that would have been better saved for next week’s season finale which again looks like all hell will break loose.
BONUS: Zombie Kill of the Week
It’s a tough choice this week with a tie. One is not technically a zombie kill as Mrs. Ed takes out likely years of pent-up rage on Ed’s no-longer-functioning skull with a pick-ax. The other is the aforementioned single gunshot by Andrea as she holds her zombie kin close, apologizing for her extended absence in her life.
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