‘The Walking Dead’ Episode 4.11 “Claimed” (7 out of 10) Starring Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Danai Gurira, Chandler Riggs, Steven Yeun, Lauren Cohan; Sundays on AMC.
So far, the second half of season four has kicked off four separate storylines that are being pursued by the fractured group of survivors. We’ve got Abraham’s canonical mission to Washington D.C., the mysterious location at the end of the railroad known as Terminus, Maggie and Glen reuniting, and whatever the hell Daryl and Beth are doing. Tonight’s episode was focused on the former two storylines as Maggie, Daryl and Beth get zero screen time. Though tonight’s episode fills in a few blanks, it feels like there’s still a lot of ground to cover between now and the end of the season. As usual, there be spoilers ahead.
Abraham’s Mission
The fact that Abraham, Rosita, and Eugene look exactly like their comic book counterparts makes it a pretty safe bet that their involvement in this season of “The Walking Dead” mirrors their storyarc in the comics. Abraham and Rosita are escorting Eugene to Washington D.C. because Abraham knows (or just believes?) that Eugene has information that could potentially save the human race. They’ve picked up Glen and Tara out of utility—Abraham believes that the key to survival is having a group of capable people and watching each other’s backs. What he doesn’t consider, however, is that Glen doesn’t really care about the whole human race—he just cares about finding Maggie.
This philosophical disagreement results in some pretty impressive fisticuffs between Glen and Abraham. While they’re fighting, Eugene shoots up their ride when a herd of walkers emerges from the adjacent cornfield, thus earning him the title “dumbest smart guy ever.” Since they can’t fix their truck, they saunter off with Glen and Tara to search for Maggie.
Glen’s resolve to find Maggie is impressive—if you’ve been watching, you know that Abraham isn’t somebody you’d willingly pick a fight with. The dude’s ex-military, huge, and sports a handlebar mustache, which is the manliest of all mustaches. When he tries to convince Glen that Maggie’s probably dead, Glen straight up decks him.
Though I’m glad Glen has more help searching for Maggie, I felt like Eugene’s decision to choose that particular moment to learn how to handle an assault rifle was a bit hard to swallow. A smart guy like that knows his limitations. Plus, it wouldn’t have been overly difficult to just yell, “Uh, guys? There’s Zombies. A little help?”
Houseguests
Michonne’s arrival has been a good thing for Rick and Carl, whose relationship was getting strained to say the least. The relationship that has developed between Michonne and Carl has been interesting to watch. They’ve forged a unique bond, and throughout the course of the episode, they’re able to use that relationship to come to terms with the loss of their former lives. While they head out on a supply run, we learn a little bit more about Michonne’s past, and Carl vents about losing Judith at the prison (psst. Carl? She’s still alive! Oh, but she’s also in close proximity to a possibly psychotic little girl, sooo we’ll just hope for the best.)
Rick, on the other hand, gets more excitement than a man recovering from a full-scale war ought to have. He gets woken up by some violent-sounding marauders with designs on claiming this house as their own. It’s a terrifying position to be in—Rick’s in no condition to fight, there are an unknown number of crazies downstairs, and Carl and Michonne are due back any minute.
After a few episodes of Rick recovering, it’s good to see him coming back to his old self. He sneaks out of the house after killing one of his unwelcome guests, who inevitably attacks the others when he comes back to life. The episode concludes with Rick, Carl, and Michonne coming upon a familiar looking railroad with signs directing them to the mysterious location known as Terminus.
Verdict
I’ve noticed that “The Walking Dead” has scaled things back over the last few episodes. Though the war with the Governor was epic, the huge scale of that conflict didn’t leave much time to get into our characters’ heads. So far, that’s exactly what we’ve been seeing. Michonne’s backstory is unfolding slowly, but it’s made her character amazingly complex. The relationship between Rick and Carl has also been strained, which was a good thing for their evolution. This downsizing has also allowed the showrunners to recreate some of the old-school, atmospheric horror that the first season had—there have been lots of moments that I tense up, waiting for the inevitable scare, and I’ve missed that. Tonight’s episode had all of these things going for it, but it did feel like it was one of those episodes used to bridge a gap between major events. These episodes are necessary, and “The Walking Dead” does them as well as could be expected, but I can’t help but compare them to what I know the show is capable of.