The fourth season of The
Walking Dead has finally resumed, and this latest character-driven episode
demonstrates the consequences of all that has happened thus-far. In the
aftermath of the mini-war at the prison, the group are all scattered, coping
with their losses, and the feeling of hopelessness is really sinking in.
The opening scene has parallels with the ending to the very
first episode of the series (‘Days Gone
Bye’) with the image of a large group of Walkers swarming around a tank,
and a dead horse that has been gutted by the scavenging undead. Any wild speculation
that The Governor was still alive was completely laid to rest with the image of
his dead body with a bullet wound in his forehead. Michonne wandered amongst
the desolation, decapitating a few Walkers along the way, before luring a
couple of stragglers into being her new ‘pets’ (for want of a better word). She
is about to leave when she encounters the re-animated head of Hershel (I had
been afraid something like that might happen – it was a sad sight) which she
put down. There is no dialogue in this opening scene – which sets the tone for
the majority of the episode – allowing for the weight of all that has occurred
to be felt. The group had made an effort to re-establish some form of society,
but that’s all over now – everyone is now reduced to a primitive fight for
survival once more.
This intimate episode only follows three of the survivors: Carl,
Rick and Michonne. The relationship between Carl and his dad is in a very tense
state, with Rick in a very bad way, and Carl harbouring a great deal of pent-up
resentment towards him. Michonne meanwhile is finally given some backstory as
she has been something of a mystery since her first appearance.
With Rick barely able to stand, emotionally bereft, and
heavily battered and bruised after his near-fatal encounter with The Governor,
Carl decides that enough is enough, and begins to rebel against his father. Ignoring
his father’s commands, and disregarding his authority before really twisting
the knife with a mention of his temporary father-figure (and Rick’s former best
friend/old rival) Shane.
Rick’s breathing is choked and ragged, and during a scene in
which he looks into the mirror, he has even started to look a bit like a
corpse. He spends a large section of the episode completely unconscious. This allows
Carl to let-loose on his Dad, blaming him for all that has happened, and
everyone they’ve lost. He then declares that he feels that he is capable of
surviving on his own, and that he doesn’t care if Rick dies. It is a powerful
scene, for which Chandler Riggs deserves praise; the character has undergone
such a huge transformation since the start of the series, and the actor has
grown up alongside the role. With Carl at the centre of this episode, this
seems like the first proper chance to see just how much he has changed.
It takes a couple of close-call encounters with Walkers to
make Carl realise that going-it-alone is not the best course of action to take.
These scenes did a very good job of making it seem as though Carl was really in
danger, I was fairly sure he wasn’t going to die, but when the possibility of a
timely intervention is removed from the equation the tension-levels increase.
Carl then realised that he didn’t really want his father to die, when he found
himself incapable of pulling the trigger when he thought that Rick had turned.
Overall
it was a tough episode for Carl, although he did at least get to eat a whole
tin of chocolate pudding!
Michonne meanwhile is a more capable lone-survivor than
Carl, and she returns to the way she was when we first encountered her: leading
a pair of armless, toothless Walkers around, in order to hide amongst the
undead hordes undetected. Things have changed though, and in an eerie
dream-sequence we are offered brief glimpses into her previous life – in which
we learn that she had, not only a boyfriend, but also a son. This sequence was
unusual as it blended elements of flashback with elements of dream/nightmare
style. All taking place in a flashy apartment, but showing the gradual
breakdown of her friend and lover as the effects of the apocalypse wore on
them. The assumption is that these two much have been her original ‘pets’ from
when she first arrived in the season two finale.
She spent a large amount of this episode wandering along
with a small group of Walkers, until eventually flipping out and killing them
all – including her new ‘pets’, deciding that she’s not going to face this
world alone again. She then took a moment to herself when she cried over the
memory of her lover and her son. I don’t know if we’ll learn more about
Michonne’s past, but I would be interested in seeing more. Danai Gurira did an
excellent job in this episode; moments of heightened emotion have always been
used sparingly with her character, so they always feel significant when they
occur. With a glimpse into her past, and a visual sign of exactly what she has
lost, this episode brought us closer to Michonne on an emotional level, than
perhaps we’ve ever been.
The episode was deliberately paced, and did not contain much
dialogue – which really allowed for the characters and the world itself to
shine through. It was the right decision to follow up an episode like ‘Too Far Gone’ with one like this, as
the extent of damage done to these characters was really showcased, as well as
heightening the desperation of everyone’s situations now that their stronghold
has been destroyed. Next week the focus will be on the other survivors, and
while I doubt their characters will get as much individual focus as the ones in
this episode, I will be interested to see where they’ve ended up.
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