AMC's The Walking Dead

This. One thousand times this.
And considering the mass amount of zombie porn we've gotten the past couple of weeks, not to mention the end of tonight's episode, I think a slower episode was needed.

 

A friend of mine -- and Schie probably has seen the posts by this guy -- always complains about episodes like this. It's all he's done this season, even after the good ones. I asked him why he keeps watching when all he does is complain about it, and he couldn't give me a good answer.

I don't understand folks who keep watching it if they don't like it.

 

Some stupid tornado stopped me from watching last night...
WOW! What an episode. NOTHING in how I thought it would go, especially since they tipped their cap to the novel by introducing Lizzy and Tara with their dad. And him using the name Brian...had me going "Oh shit!" at the start.
What a great swerve. I still don't think he'll saddle up to the prison, knock and ask to help take out zombies for a shift, but I like where it's going.

 

I have a feeling the family he's become part of is going to end up dead before too long. Bad guy like this can't be kept happy too long.

 

I'm guessing you were like me and thought he took the name Brian because that was his brother's name in the novels.

But if you remember, he walks by a barn with a note to a guy named Brian, telling him to go to a different address or some such thing.

 

That's how the actor explained it on Talking Dead, but it is possible that the novels are what inspired that choice of name by the writers.

 

I liked it. I was a bit confused by it, thinking the whole time "When does he turn on those people and kill them all?" Then I thought, hey, he's going to protect them. Now with his old henchman showing up I want to see if "Brian" stays or "the Governor" comes back.

And I wait for the inevitable conversation: Woman: "Who are these people Brian?" Henchman: "Brian? Who's Brian?"

 

Yeah, I bet they used the novel for the names, but had to introduce it it different.
Those names for especially for the novel readers though...had to be.

 

That's Zombie Freedom Rock, man!

 

The problem is this show isn't as intellectual as its writers seem to think. Usually, the zombie porn episodes actually are the best. I am not saying the show should be what your idiot friends want or even change at all. But the whole premise that the show is best at its most low-key is more what they wish were the case than actual.

It's a good, entertaining show. But it's not some philosophic masterwork.

 

I think some of that comes from the Source Material That Must Not Be Named, which can go pages with very few words at times. Sometimes it feels like it's trying to be deeper than it is, too, but often it manages to give a great look at what might happen with society when all of its trappings are torn away -- you get a combination of people who turn into monsters, others who try to maintain their humanity, and others (like Rick and Co.) who are forced to tread the line to survive against zombies and other people who have thrust off the rules of civilized life.

And some of the best moments are ones where you get the emotion and thoughts of the characters through their actions or just a few words, a tribute to the artists on the Unmentionable Source as much as Kirkman, really. I think you see that philosophy bleed over into the series somewhat, as well.

So really, it's not trying to be artsy like Mad Men or Breaking Bad. It's trying to be artsy like The Walking Dead.

 

Maybe I wasn't paying close enough attention, but why did that woman ask the Gov. to go get the O2 tank from the old folks home? Why couldn't she do it? Or her wannabe-cop sister? They both seem perfectly capable.

To me, that felt like the writers trying too hard to give the Gov. a chance to redeem himself. It felt forced. "By the way, random stranger, if you don't mind, could you go risk your life for us? We don't want to. We are too scared."

To be honest, the whole episode felt forced. The Gov. had no stakes, nothing left, so here is a ready-made family complete with adorable daughter about his daughter's age. How convenient. And then when the mom declared they were going with him, you just knew that was going to end up in uncomfortable trailer sex.

So in one episode, which as far as I can tell lasts about 3-4 days at most, the Gov. goes from murderous psycho to redeemed family man. Sorry, but I just don't buy it. The writers have done better with other character arches that lasted longer than a single episode and were more believable (Rick's up and down battle with sanity, Glenn's growth into a badass, Daryl turning his back on his brother, Michonne relaxing and joining the group). Maybe if they had spread the Gov.'s redemption over several episodes, I may have bought it. Doing it in 48 minutes - no way.