Finally, Rick Grimes!
Finally. Finally, finally, finally. Is it wrong that I’m this gleeful over Rick
going HAM, killing a dude by biting (very zombie-like of you, former farmer
Rick), and then stabbing another guy repeatedly in front of his son? OK, maybe
I’m a terrible human! But after a season of dragging its feet, it feels like The
Walking Dead finally reached an appropriate level of brutality last night.
Although the last few weeks of this show have been rough—and you may have
noticed we’ve skipped on recaps for a while, because there seemed like very
little to say—it feels like maybe this season finale was finally a reset for
season five. A more insane, violent, and realistic season five.
So what went down last
night in episode “A”? Let’s go through it with five quick notes. It’s Monday;
ain’t nobody got time for more than that.
+ Good: So right, Rick
embraced his role as leader (again, for what feels like the millionth time)
after meeting up with Joe’s gang (the bad guy who broke into the house where
he, Carl, and Michonne were staying; then Rick killed some of their guys; then
Joe was tracking him; then Joe forcibly adopted Daryl and was trying to make
him part of his marauding crew), who were far more bloodthirsty and ruthless
than anyone Rick has faced so far. Yes, the Governor was threatening—his sexual
assault of Maggie remains chilling, obviously—but Maggie is not Carl. And some
man trying to rape Carl? Taking Michonne hostage? Trying to kill Rick? That
shit wasn’t going to go down. So Rick basically killed them all, answering Carl’s
earlier question in the episode of, “Who are we?” Well, they’re survivors. And
they’ll do anything to survive. And if that means losing their humanity in the process
to other people who already have in far worse ways, well, then, so be it.
+ Also good: Terminus
being a low-budget version of Carcosa from True Detective. Well, Michonne had
the understatement of the season with the suggestion that maybe Terminus, the
safe haven all of our Walking Dead friends have been traveling to find, may not
be “legit.” And heyo, of course it isn’t! It’s basically an insane-o den in the
middle of nowhere, where people are trapped, killed, eaten, and then skinned
(or maybe skinned and then eaten; I’m not exactly sure on the finer details of
cannibalism). Eventually this was going to happen in this world, right? If food
is running low, and if every human could turn into a zombie at a moment’s
notice, why not preemptively cut down on that problem by eating your friends?
Way to raise the stakes, Walking Dead writers. I mean, season 5 will probably
resolve this story arc in two episodes or something, but at least you went to
this place. (Although, as my fellow PDC-er Julian Lytle pointed out on this
week’s PDC podcast, if you didn’t know where the zombie sickness was coming
from, wouldn’t you be afraid that eating humans—all of whom are supposedly
infected already—would spark the infection in you? Just saying.)
+ Meh: Michonne
backstory. It’s not that I don’t like Michonne backstory. Ultimately, I am fine
with this show doing anything to try and fill out these characters, many of
whom still remain gloriously underwritten (looking at you, Maggie and Glenn,
only defined by your love for each other). But that nightmare sequence we had a
few episodes ago that filled us in on Michonne’s very-nice lifestyle with her
boyfriend and child, before everything went to shit, was a start that gets
somewhat underwhelmed here. So her child was eaten because her boyfriend was
high in a refugee camp when the zombies attacked? I don’t know, that didn’t
seem to sync up with the life Michonne had before the zombie apocalypse went
down. Attempts at Michonne and Carl further bonding, I’m into. But I don’t know
if this particular aspect of her past needed to be spelled out so succinctly—it
felt ho-hum.
+ Also ho-hum: OK, so
Carol, Tyreese, Judith, and Beth are still missing. Was Beth maybe kidnapped by
these cannibals? I’m not sure, since it seems like Terminus is more of a
come-to-us operation than a grab-you-off-the-street deal. But ultimately Carol
and Tyreese at least will help free our currently trapped friends, no? That has
to be the first arc of next season.
+ And your happiest
moment of the night: Rick telling Daryl, “You’re my brother.” Oh, Daryl, Rick is
so much better than your racist older brother who basically abandoned you for
the Governor. So much better! Accept Rick’s love! And murder everyone in
Terminus together.
Do I have some overall
thoughts on season four as a whole? Yeah, I do, but they’re not particularly
positive. Most of this season felt like treading water, and I’m not sure the
multi-plot structure works for this show. Perhaps the break in between the
halves of the season were too long, but the first half seemed to spend too much
time on the sickness sweeping through the survivors before finally returning to
a Governor storyline that had already worn out its welcome.
And this second half,
although it tried to give everyone more character development by splitting the
survivors into smaller groups, didn’t feel like it accomplished much besides
telling us what we already knew: Daryl had a traumatic childhood, Beth remains
hopeful in spite of everything else, that little girl Lizzie was going to be
unhinged no matter what, Glenn and Maggie love each other, etc.
Was season four a step
forward for The Walking Dead? In some ways, yes. I do think experimenting with
story structure and how various characters work or interact together was a good
move, even if it wasn’t always successful, and hopefully the show can take more
similar risks next season. And maybe “they’re screwing with the wrong people”
will live up to its promise. Prove doubters like me wrong, Walking Dead
writers. Please!
