‘The Walking Dead’ Episode 4.10 “Inmates” (10 out of 10) Starring Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Danai Gurira, Chandler Riggs, Steven Yeun, Lauren Cohan; Sundays on AMC.
Though I liked that the previous episode slowed things down by focusing on only three of the prison survivors, tonight’s episode kicked the storytelling and zombie-killing into high gear. The multiple trajectories of the rest of our heroes zigzag with each other throughout this episode, and some pretty substantial events take place—so if you haven’t seen it, be advised that spoilers will be present.
Beth and Daryl
It seems like the writers are getting a bit more inventive with their pre-credits sequences. The episode begins with Beth’s voice reading a diary entry that she had written during the more peaceful days at the prison. She writes about how she’s just starting to let go of the constant fear that comes with living under these horrific circumstances. The irony of this voiceover is that it provides the soundtrack to Beth’s current situation, in which she and Daryl barely escape from a pack of walkers while crows circle them overhead.
Beth mentions the advice that Hershel (may he rest in peace) had given her, which was to never lose hope. It’s a contrast to how she was portrayed during the first half of the season, but she’s the one who keeps reminding Daryl that their friends might still be alive. It’s very necessary, because Daryl appears to be in survival mode, only speaking to deliver a barb about how faith didn’t seem to do much for Hershel, because, you know, the Governor chopped of Hershel’s head and all.
Tyreese, Lizzie, Mika, and…
Apparently still grateful for the fact that Lizzie and Mika saved his bacon during the prison attack, Tyreese has shepherded the two young girls into the wilderness with him. In an extremely well-shot scene, we see Tyreese with his back to the girls. When he turns around, he’s carrying Li’l Ass-kicker! And she’s alive! After emitting a small but masculine shriek of joy at the fact that Judith Grimes made it out of the prison, I immediately felt a surge of sympathy for Tyreese. Keeping three little girls safe while wandering through a zombie-infested wilderness would be incredibly hard. It turns out that babies tend to cry a lot when they’re uncomfortable, and we know that in their world, uncomfortable is a way of life.
Before getting to the next big reveal involving this group of survivors, we need to talk about Lizzie. She kills small animals and nearly smothers Judith to keep her from crying and attracting the undead. She seems to understand the zombies better than she understands her own sister. I don’t know whether she’s becoming more in tune to the violence around her, which could be a good thing, or if she’s becoming a potential serial murderer. Based on the way she almost killed a baby, however, I’m leaning towards the latter.
Right. The big reveal. Tyreese hears screaming and leaves the three girls alone for a moment while he investigates. Next to a railroad, Tyreese witnesses two survivors getting eaten, and manages to kill everything before things get too out of control. He turns to go back to his young companions only to see Carol! She’s found them! Again, I had a moment of uncontrollable excitement until I remembered that Carol kinda killed Tyreese’s girlfriend and burned her remains. Tyreese doesn’t know this just yet, however, and he’s just happy to see a friendly face. That’s going to be an extremely awkward conversation, but I hope Tyreese and Carol can sort things out while trying to figure out how to stop Lizzie from becoming a psychopath. We leave this bittersweet reunion with a sign that’s posted next to the railroad—apparently there’s a sanctuary called Terminus at the end of the line. But can it be trusted?
Maggie, Sasha, and Bob
Maggie’s priority is to find Glen, who she last saw boarding a bus full of survivors that took to the hills. During a pause in their wandering, Maggie announces that she’s going to look for Glen. Surprisingly, Bob agrees to help, once again citing Hershel’s advice to keep hope alive. As with Beth’s character, Bob seems to have become more optimistic than I remember—after all, he’s the one who craves alcohol so he can drown out the terrors that he had been subjected to.
Upon reaching the bus, the group sees that it’s packed with walkers. Maggie insists that they put them all down because she needs to see if Glen has been killed, and much zombie slaying ensues. After she puts the last walker down, Maggie descends into a fit of crying/laughter, which makes me think that she’s starting to come unglued.
Glen and…
Poor Glen. Everyone thinks he got on the bus and skedaddled, but no. He’s been unconscious in one of the prison’s blown-out towers. He has a moment where he figures that there’s no hope in finding anyone, but before he gives up completely, a picture of Maggie fills him with the will to survive. He dons some riot gear and plows his way through the zombie horde. On his way out, he spots Tara, who has walled herself off in a chain-link cage and is surveying the carnage that she helped create. Glen makes the decision to save her, though it seems like it’s more out of necessity than pity.
Tara, obviously penitent for her role in the attack, appears to want to make amends by helping Glen out. That’s gonna be another awkward moment when Maggie sees Glen and one of the Governor’s henchmen in cahoots.
The episode closes with the arrival of three canonical characters, Abraham, Eugene, and Rosita. Pretty cool considering the direction that the comics take after these three show up.
Verdict
This was one of the best episodes of the series. I loved how the episode was structured to show how each group’s paths intersect; like how Daryl finds the grapes that Lizzie, Mika, and Tyreese drop when they run off, or Beth finding the slaughter at the railroad. This was a nice touch, as it showed how close each of them was to finding one another. There was also a healthy amount of zombie slaying action to appease folks who complain about the show’s slow pace. Overall, this episode shows how strong each cast member is. Even when we’re seeing Norman Reedus and Emily Kinney barely speak to one another, the mixture of tragedy and survival hangs heavy in each of their scenes. The mixture of characters that make up each group is going to create all kinds of lovely problems in the future, and I’m looking forward to seeing how everything shakes out once everyone shows their cards. And isn’t it about time for the Grimes boys to have a bit of good news? It will be the source of much rejoicing when they’re finally reunited with Judith—that is, supposing the writers don’t decide to kill her off in the next episode. I know there are some haters out there, but ‘The Walking Dead’ is still managing to be original and gut-wrenching at the same time, which is more than I can say for most of the stuff that’s on TV today.