I’ll be honest. I’m not sure what it is people do or don’t expect out of this show. After every episode this season I hear about half of the people collectively on the Internet scream and moan that not enough happened in a given episode, that there weren’t enough zombies, that the characters were acting in frustrating ways, or that no one died.
The other half praises the show for being fantastic.
There doesn’t seem to be a middle ground.
I would have thought the mid-season finale had laid to rest any uncertainty about the abilities of the showrunners. The final moment of the mid-season finale was built to with such delicate, dramatic care that even thinking about it gets me a little teary eyed. Thinking about what the aftermath of Shane’s actions and the fate of the girl would be has turned my stomach in knots over the winter. Every time I think about it, I want to shake my fist in the air and shout “Kirkman!” as I’m wont to do while I’m ingesting stories he’s written or had a hand in.
This episode delivered on the goods as far as I’m concerned.
I’m watching this because of the characters, not for zombies, or gore, or death. I want to see these people grope in the dark for answers to their survival and try to survive in the long term. Thanks to Shane’s actions there are very definite stress fractures in the group. Because of the heightened tension of the situation, cooler heads simply aren’t prevailing. Laurie in particular seems to have simply lost it, taking actions that don’t make sense out of a maternal helplessness.
Carl seems to have the most level head of all the characters. This is his world. This is the world his generation is inheriting.
And the scene in the bar?
Worth every minute of this episode. First, the final philosophical debate between Rick and Hershel was well-played and well-acted. Then, when the newcomers arrive, it has all the feeling of a Tarantino film. It reminded me of the bar scene in Inglorious Basterds and had the same uneasy rise of tension, making it one of the best scenes of television I’ve witnessed.
Did “a lot happen” in this episode? Maybe not in the traditional sense, but the dynamic of the group is changing, and the circumstances are ever evolving, providing nuance to a show that could easily beat us over the head with a zombie every twenty seconds.
I’m on the record as admiring their restraint and this episode worked very well for me.
For those interested in next week’s episode, be sure to join us at Brewvies Cinema Pub every Sunday night to watch it on the big screen! Arrive early. Full details here.