AMC's The Walking Dead

Who are the Andrea likers?

 

Andrea's mom and dad probably went running into the teeth of walkers to get away from that whore pore.

 

The problem with this episode was that there was no way they were going to kill Andrea or the Governor in it.

It was one of the most technically sound episodes the show has ever put together, with a solid beginning, middle and end, decent character development, good writing and plot movement. (Aside: How can anyone say this was filler? Four major characters turned away from the Governor in it.) But the stakes were very low, as they tend to be when the handful of major characters are the one put in the line of danger. We know that at any moment Carol or Martinez or Merle or Tyreese's sister or maybe even Hershel might die. When those types of characters are put in dangerous situations, there is real tension. But instead we get so many scenes like this week's crucial ones, where characters we know will make it are put in the line of danger.

Andrea will be around long enough to change sides. The Governor will be around long enough to face off with Rick. Milton was the only character I thought might die at any point during this episode, and having the Governor shoot him in his final scene, after the zombie pit fire, would have been very surprising but a bold and interesting move. Tyreese wasn't going to feed his completely nondescript friend Allen to the zombie pit immediately after saying he wouldn't feed people to zombies. That would make us dislike Tyreese, and we're obviously supposed to like Tyreese, who obviously will be around for next season.

Everything is so telegraphed with primary characters that the stakes seem minimal. The only death to surprise me at all has been Dale's. They need to drop a major character unexpectedly to boost the tension. That means Carl or Glenn or Daryl (or Rick, but let's be a little realistic here).

 

I don't tend to think that for the show to be good it has to be unpredictable. If it can tell a good story, who cares if old plot devices are used? I don't need a "gotcha" moment every episode for me to walk away feeling satisfied.

 

If that's the case, then I stand corrected. I replayed it once because the geometry of it puzzled me, and it didn't appear to me that the door opened into the warehouse. But I then erased the show from the DVR, so cannot check.

Versatile, I've got to say I was most surprised by Lori's death. Hadn't given it much thought in advance, that giving birth would leave her so vulnerable, just never figured they'd off her at that point.

Another reason Dale didn't surprise me so much is, that actor is a pretty busy guy, so maybe he couldn't commit long-term to TWD. That's the one reason I think we might see Herschel (Scott Wilson) or Merle (Michael Rooker) getting killed off. They might have other projects to get busy with.

 

You like her?

 

Are you kidding me? Aside from the "Clear" episode, which has to be one of the series' best, almost this whole second half of the season of TWD has been filling airspace building up to the grand finale. The only suspense in Sunday's episode was hoping Andrea would die, though we knew that was unlikely. The Governor wasn't going to die two episodes before the end. And you consider Tyreese and Milton and Martinez for gosh sakes as major characters? Even Carol isn't a "major" character (her name isn't listed among the first credits -- though DEAD LORI STILL IS! -- but in the "also starring" with guest stars. Nothing is going to happen in this next episode, except maybe in the last 10 minutes to set up the last episode I guarantee you.

 

If you don't like it, why are you watching? I have at least a couple hundred options on my television. You should get better cable or satellite. Must suck to be forced to watch.

 

It was the seond episode in a row that was good until the end. Each week's arc has become the opposite of The Following.

 

That's not what I'm saying at all. I'm saying a show like this, a show about a zombie apocalypse, really hurts when it lacks stakes, when the characters seem so safe.

Even predictable developments need to, you know, develop. That's what that episode was. And while Martinez and Milton aren't major characters on our show, they are hugely important people in The Walking Dead world. They're the second and third in command at Woodbury. They are big deals. Tyreese, on the other hand, clearly is being tailored for a huge role in the next season. I'm interested to see if his sister makes it.

 

I like her more now than I did prior to Sunday. Her loosing the zombies on the Governor was awesome, even if it was predictable. And there have been worse characters on the show.

I watched the episode again last night. The more I think about it, the more I fall in with Verse's line of thinking that the episode was a good one -- not just filler.