Two for two. The Walking Dead has come out swinging with another tension-filled hour of action riding a brilliantly simple through line.
This week is the flip side of last week. We see what was going on in the Alexandria Safe Zone while the gang was out trying to lure that immense horde of Walkers away. And yes, we do find out how that deadly horn sounded.
The real Walking Dead is back. Just in time to make to demonstrate why "Fear the Walking Dead" pales in comparison. Things like scope, pacing, tension, deftly drawn characters with economy of scene. etc. You know, writing that allows spectacle to achieve its full effect.
The Dead was mediocre tonight. Simply put, this episode was too obviously just arranging pieces for next week's finale, yielding too many storylines that felt brief and forced. No one will care, however, if next week is good. Bridging episodes are, after all, kind of written to be forgotten.
Turnabout is fair play. The last couple weeks we've been pondering the danger of Rick and Co. having been out there too long, of whether they're damaged goods. This week we ponder the danger of the Alexandrians having been safe too long. Are they cowards?
I guess this is a red letter day for Republibot as well. Could a group of Washington functionaries left pampered and privileged turn out to be less than stellar at getting anything done? Honestly. Is there a more soft ball Republican question than that?
"Just because we're good people doesn't mean we won't kill you." That line gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "it's the thought that counts," now doesn't it?
"It went the way it had to, the way it was always going to." That thought succinctly sums up this entire series. They're rubbing it in our face tonight, but this is one of the most beautifully filmed episodes the show has ever seen.
Well that was odd. The half-season finale is entertaining, and in one sense works. But in another, it's hollow and abrupt. I suspect a fair amount of the audience is somewhat disappointed given how good so much of these last eight episodes have been. The chief sinner here is the abruptness of the last five minutes.
You read that right. Meet Exhibit A as to why, no matter how hardened you are to this show, they keep topping themselves. What they do with that is a new low, or high I suppose, depending on whether you think your vomit bag is half full or half empty.
This week is a character vignette. That's a welcome throwback to the type of isolated episodes that formed the last half of Season 4. In this case, Carol and Darryl are a pleasure to watch together, their obvious familiarity with one another adding depth to moments of alternating compassion and cynicism.
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