'TS-19' - The Walking Dead, Season One

The Walking Dead

Season One

Episode Six

'TS-19' - 9.0

This is like a role call for the show, with all but six of the thirteen characters seen here no longer with us. 

You can tell from any specific episode of The Walking Dead that this show is not the cheeriest piece of popular culture. Every one of the last three parts of this season has featured the death of at least one of the group of survivors. In 'Vatos' we lost Amy and Ed, 'Wildfire' left Jim on the roadside and 'TS-19' sees another of the group bumped off, along with new character Dr. Jenner.

But death and misfortune aren't in the focus until the last twenty minutes of the season finale, with the rest being oddly optimistic and happy. This doesn't include the out-of-place flashback which opens the episode, focusing on Shane as he tries to rescue a still comatose Rick from the hospital. At the time the hospital was being overrun by soldiers and zombies, and Shane's determination and desperation to save his friend juxtapose nicely to what he is today. He even braves the military as they begin to massacre the people still located in the building, staying long enough to search for any vital signs of Rick's, only to come to the conclusion that he's already gone. Deciding to protect his friend, despite his apparent death, Shane places the gurney seen in 'Days Gone Bye' in front of his door, to prevent the walkers from getting in.

What a lot of shows like to do is redeem a character who is originally portrayed as a villain to main heroes, but while Shane's actions are commendable, in my view it highlights how far he has sunk because of his relationship with Lori. I'm not overly sure what the intention of the flashback was, whether we are supposed to like Shane now or if we are supposed to still despise him. I just don't know. Nonetheless, it is the most action packed location of any scene to that point, presenting a chaotic, foggy mess of blood and pain and death, and our first look at the world during the actual spread of the infection, rather than what happened immediately before or after it.

Once the credits have rolled and we get into the present day, we cut to the point immediately following last episode's ending; the group entering the CDC near Atlanta. Rick and the other survivors are slightly disconcerted by the lack of staff located at the facility, with Dr. Jenner revealed to be the only scientist remaining, though you could have assumed that from 'Wildfire'. Soon enough though, everyone decides to enjoy the food, the power and the hot water provided, but to the viewers it is implied that something is very much amiss.

As the survivors acclimatise to a normal existence of bathing, reading and sleeping for entire nights, we spend about fifteen minutes exploring who these characters are once the horrors of the outside world behind them. Dale comforts Andrea more as she continues to struggle with the death of Amy, as well as her assumption from Jenner's words and mannerisms that the whole of civilisation has crumpled in its entirety. I like Andrea, if only for Laurie Holden's gripping performance and delivery, and how easily she turns from strong to broken.

Andrew Lincoln gets to portray a different side of his generally strong character, as Rick admits to Dr. Jenner that he had begun to lose hope in his and the others' survival. It is the first time we have seen the weaker side of our protagonist, and this is something I am very eager to see more of. Unflappable, honourable heroes are seriously dull. Watch Terra Nova for an example of how not to do a main character. In fact, I've had minor issues with the stereotypical way in which Rick Grimes was presented earlier in this season, but he's improved on a deeper level to become a very multi-layered hero, with both potential for good and bad under the surface.

The most powerful pre-disaster development at the CDC belongs to Lori and Shane. Shane demonstrated last episode how he feels about Rick's return, coming very close to putting a bullet in the man he tried to rescue only a few months ago. His relationship with Lori, if I were to make a guess, is the only thing that Shane can accept as a benefit from the destruction of life-as-he-knows-it, and thus the only thing that needs to be held on to. Of course, I could be reading into something that is just supposed to be a point of conflict, with no great underlying meaning, but the way in which Shane confronts Lori in 'TS-19' is almost brutal. Finding her alone in the recreation room, the very drunk man begins trying to explain to her why he thought  Rick was dead. There's a possibility that the flashback at the start of the episode was only there to give this scene sense and a context. After Lori refuses to accept that Shane told her that her husband had died in order to get her out of their town, he resorts to telling her how much they are in love with one another, cause that always works in the movies right? Soon enough, it gets worse once Shane starts literally forcing himself on (and maybe in) a frightened Lori, who manages to give her former lover a nice big scrape with her fingernails, thus ending the conversation. It was intense for a show I had thought would be just an action-horror when I first tuned in, and a brave move by the writers. The attempted rape doesn't really lead to anything in the episode, since problems quickly arise that are more pressing matters for the pair, but I can tell this is going to end very badly for someone.

Eventually the survivors begin demanding answers about the disease, it is the CDC after all. Dr. Jenner shows the group a video of the death and reanimation of TS-19. It's difficult to describe without seeing it, but the entire sequence of the subject's transition is absolutely perfect. There is no sound from the video itself, but there is a terrific score and Jenner's narration is reflective and beautiful. Hell, the whole thing was beautiful, colours, acting (especially from Andrea), script, lighting, every damn thing is immaculate.

From the video we lead directly to the big problem of the episode - when the power in the facility runs out, the building blows itself up. It's a great plot twist, though it was an obvious next step to keep the characters running. It also gives them all a chance to make a choice - eventually Jenner gives them the option of staying or going, with everyone but Jenner himself, Jacqui and Andrea deciding to make a run for it. With Andrea staying, Dale refuses to leave as well, forcing her to choose between surviving or killing them both. Dale's lecture of her was a marvellous performance from Jeffery DeMunn, and hints at a possible romance between in the two characters in the future, even if it is a little creepy.

Luckily Andrea relents and the two make it out of the CDC, just as it goes up in a massive ball of orange fire and black smoke that rises above them all in a glorious mushroom cloud that sends out the first season of this impeccable drama.  Sure, the CGI was a little wonky, but it still looked good and was as spectacular as they intended for it to be. I did like how they seemed to decide not to end on a cliffhanger, choosing instead to have the group simply moving on from another tragedy, and back into the real world.

I guess that is the final notion of the Walking Dead; the horrors are inescapable, and the only options you have sometimes are to survive, or to not. So 'TS-19' continued the groups constant fleeing from the end of the world, and even if it had a bit of a slow start - or middle, the flashback cold-open was pretty awesome - the episode was as softly spoken yet loud and callous as the show loves to be. There was the lovely mix of characters and their gain and loss that will definitely not end, and it was a fine instalment to go out on, leaving any viewer fervent for the show's sophomore outing. 

'Hounded' - The Walking Dead, Season Three

The Walking Dead

Season Three

Episode Six

'Hounded' - 7.5

Whenever characters get coated in zombie blood, I remember the eye-contamination scene from '28 Days Later'. 

You know how characters in television shows seem to experience weird, grief-stricken moments of schizophrenic hallucinations, such as talking to the deceased person and such? Having never really lost anyone particularly close to me, I can’t attest to the realism of such occurrences, but for the most part TV manages to make them seem a tad trite and a little stupid, yet Rick's phone chat with some of those we've lost was surprisingly affecting.

Amy, Jeff and Jacqui join Lori in their cryptic messages to poor Rick, who is led to believe that the initially unknown voices are safe in some secure location. This I guess has two meanings: first, Rick needs to get a fucking grip. Second, the only real salvation IS real salvation. That's depressing, though Rick only seems to focus on the first conclusion.

I did wonder where Dale was, though I guess Rick had a few issues with the moral man shortly before his death, unlike the others he talked to. I certainly didn't expect to hear from Shane. Maybe Dale's voice would have been too recognisable early on? 

Michonne has a pretty good day, slicing and dicing her way to freedom from the Governor's hounds. It was pretty goddamn tense, as it was Merle - who I don't really mind too much - versus Michonne, and it was starting to look like they weren't both going to survive. However, they both manage to make it out of their predicaments, even if Merle loses two of his four-man crew, then puts a bullet in the other when he got too keen on capturing the escapee.

I didn't see Merle's meeting with Glen and Maggie coming, especially considering that Michonne was already there. It is interesting that the Woodbury and prison populations are about to start mixing, as Michonne actually turned up at Rick's fence, covered in blood and carrying the basket of baby formula that Glen and Maggie had been retrieving. So who will turn up at the other's door first? Best case scenario would be Rick making a pilgrimage of peace to the Governor, as if he has to come first then we know shit's going to hit the fan. However, with Michonne being the prison-folk's tourist guide to Woodbury, I can't see them rushing off to meet up with the evil militia.

Nonetheless, what the writers have done in one episode sets all our characters up for a hell of a battle that - unlike the Governor's barrage of the military convoy earlier this season - could be an even match. Not only has the Governor lost a handful of capable soldiers, but his targets now have their own able fighter, who knows a little inside information on them. At the same time, Andrea will end up being in the centre of it all, along with Glenn and Maggie. That's assuming all three of them survive to the confrontation, as presumably the latter two will be tortured until their give up their group's location. Andrea's pretty much guaranteed to make it to the fight, now that she's sharing the Governor's bed.

Oh yeah, Andrea fucked the Governor. And what do I say to that? Finally! The two have been ogling each other since they met (which was only three episodes ago), and this was clearly the direction we were heading in. Yeah, I'm sure the Governor has some fiendish plot in mind for the poor woman, and we can't really be sure what Andrea's getting out of it - she did sleep with Shane that one time as well - but I have no qualms with this relationship. Hopefully it will lead to some good quality horribleness.

As normal there was some jarring moments of flinch-worthy violence, such as Michonne slicing two of Merle's crew in half, then later spilling the insides of an attacking walker all over herself. She'll clearly need to throw that outfit away once she's in the confines of the prison. Daryl also got to pull an off-target knife from under the skin of a downed walker's chin, revealing it to be Carol's. This then lead to a remarkably pleasant scene which had Daryl rip open a door, his blade raised to kill whatever lay inside, only to find a weary and bloodstained Carol. Her disappearance had clearly been affecting the poor guy for a while, so more for his sake than hers I'm exceedingly happy to see the character back in the fold and presumably alive. 

The arrival of Michonne, the healing of Rick, the rescue of Carol. All these things seem like a happy ending, even if Michonne will only inform them that two of their group have been kidnapped. Of course, she might just end up being treated like the original prisoners and either being killed or being locked in a separate wing. Or maybe they'll just look at her loneliness, her knowledge and her baby formula and realise that she could be of use. She might have to lose the katana though. 

'Say The Word' - The Walking Dead, Season Three

The Walking Dead

Season Three

Episode Five

'Say The Word' - 6.0

Could this be the least attractive view of Laurie Holden ever?

The Walking Dead has always prided itself on its thorough and unabashed portrayal of humanity at its end - and rightfully so, fuck the haters - but tonight I just felt that the chance for some real drama was squandered in favour of an over-the-top revenge massacre that sees Andrew Lincoln working in complete silence as he tears through some unlucky walkers. 

Yes, the silence is a good move. Buffy's 'The Body' showed how much more powerful a silent glance or an action is than someone bursting into tears and screaming 'WHY ARE THEY GONE :( :( :(!!!', and 'Say the Word' clearly decided to show Rick's regression to animalistic fury non-verbally. The title itself is a tad ironic to that regard, though in retrospect the silence itself was largely unnoticeable and a tad pointless. In fact, I think the rampage itself was pointless, and it wasted time that could be spent getting the character somewhere; preferably that isn't the bloody plate of leftovers that used to be his wife's corpse.

Did I fail to mention that? Perhaps it was because Sarah Wayne Callies was unavailable to play a body, but when Rick finally runs out of zombies to unreanimate, he discovers that his wife has already been devoured, and all that remains are odd bits of clothing and ICKY THINGS, as well as one walker who has gorged himself to the point of immobility. I felt kind of sorry for the bulbous thing, especially considering it doesn't even have the ability to try and defend itself against a vengeful Rick, who gorily eviscerates the satiated creature in a fervour of stabs and slashes. 

I understand that Rick needs to have sunk as far as possible, and that for the coming battle with the Governor we need to believe that he might lose, but simply sitting in sullen silence would have accomplished that. Hell, he could have just killed a couple of walkers, then walked back to the group with Glenn. The whole thing seemed to last an entire night, and it was a bit much. 

Speaking of the Governor, Woodbury is becoming a stranger and stranger place. To be perfectly honest it had not yet clicked in my mind that no one was actually allowed to leave the town, although it kind of turned out that they are. See you later, Michonne. If I know my tropes though, soon enough a whole squadron of the Governor's men are gonna come down on our mysterious, katana-wielding brooder. 

Michonne finally gets a little more fleshing out tonight, after so long was spent watching her brood. She is clearly a bit put down when Andrea opts to stay in the town rather than leave with her, likewise Andrea is a tad sad to see her off. I'm pretty sure that Michonne won't get bumped off anytime soon, because I can only imagine the fan backlash that would cause - even if at the moment her character still sinks a little. Still, she's getting better, with 'Say the Word' showcasing her biggest leap forward so far. 

Daryl and Maggie's trek out into the world-beyond-the-prison-fence demonstrated that this show has pulled off one of its goals; last episode's carnage has reasserted the feeling that anyone can die at anytime. I just kept getting sense that something horrible was going to happen to one of the two, who both would rank among my top five Walking Dead characters of all time. Who are the others? Rick, Andrea and Lori. Yes, I liked Lori. Wanna fight about it? 

Anyway, back to the suspense! Sure, the opossum trick was a bit cliché and manipulative, but it did the job to freaky effects. I was more worried about Maggie than Daryl, as the latter is just awesome and difficult to kill. Nonetheless, one must also remember that this is television and whoever the writers want to kill WILL DIE. Doesn't matter how terrific they are at zombie-killing, when it is their time it is over for them. Sadly, plot-brought abilities don't count for much in fiction.

I know many people who watch this show but are certain that Daryl can't be killed. This isn't real life, people, everyone's in danger! Especially if they are popular! I wouldn't say Rick is on the outs, nor Michonne, but I think anyone else could die just as easy next episode as make it out of the season. People have to die in the war with the Governor, and the writers will often pick whoever will bring about the biggest emotional impact. It's almost needless to say to everyone, but we have to prepare for carnage, and I just love that I have to say that. 

I am still having issues with the coldness of this season, but the scenes at Woodbury are interesting me, even if the whole zombie-ring-of-death was a bit insane for my tastes. I want the Governor to get on with the evil though, and stop beating around the fucking bush. KILL EVERYONE!!!

'Wildfire' - The Walking Dead, Season One

The Walking Dead

Season One

Episode Five

'Wildfire' - 9.5

Best day to be an extra ever. 

The Walking Dead doesn't have main plots or subplots, instead it really is just documentary-like A-B storytelling. That is reductive, of course, because it is a complex show underneath, with some of the best characters on screen at the moment. What I find is best about them is that they aren't just likable or not, they have personalities with negative and positive attributes. Rick has detractors, and Daryl has benefits, for example.

After the horrors that drew 'Vatos' to a thrilling and distressing end, 'Wildfire' opens with a slow, reflective tone as the survivors deal with the zombie attack on the camp. Of course the most poignant of the characters right now is Andrea, who is mourning the death of Amy, who died of her bites in her sister's arms. As the episode begins, morning has broken on the camp and Andrea has knelt over the corpse for the entire night, without doing anything to prevent her from rising again. Lori, Rick and Dale all attempt to comfort the grieving woman, but the former two don't get any edgeways. Lori is entirely ignored as she tries to convince her to let Amy be disabled, while Rick gets a gun pointed at him before he could finish a sentence. Dale has more luck, relaying the sad tale of his wife's gradual passing to cancer, and he and Andrea have a sweetly written and very true - if a little trite - conversation about whether either is to blame for their respective loved one's deaths.

Something we learnt in the second episode 'Guts' was that Amy's birthday was coming up, and if you can remember Andrea took a small mermaid necklace as a present. Well of course, this very day is the poor girl's birthday, and Andrea chooses to be uber depressing by solemnly draping the pretty thing over her sister's blood-stained neck. It is touching, but I'm a bit tired of shows making sad events more tragic and cruel by ruining happy days.

Other characters get a little screen time to deal with the previous night's disaster as well. Carol says goodbye to her abusive husband the nicest way she can; by desecrating his remains repeatedly with a pickaxe. The onscreen destruction of the man's skull - a man we kind of met, no less - was incredibly gross, and even I have my limits. Sure, we aren't supposed to like this guy, but it is just plain disrespectful to anyone to show their brains exploding again and again all over the camera. DEAR GOD NOW IT WON'T GO OUT OF MY HEAD.

Things don't look good for our deranged psychic Jim either, who is discovered to have been bitten by some zombie in the attack. He seems OK at first, but it doesn't take him long to deteriorate, the effects of which are shown through sweat, retching and frightening Exorcist-like flashes of disturbing images. I don't know why this is, but flashes make scary scenes infinitely more frightening; i.e. the slow exploration of the abandoned space ship in the sci-fi Sunshine. And they were just flashes of pictures featuring the ship's original crew! Anyway, Jim's condition is a catalyst for Rick's idea to take the camp and go to the CDC, which is apparently near Atlanta. This sparks a debate amongst the entire group, with Shane and Rick both wanting to go completely separate ways from one another, but it is poor Lori who winds up in the middle of the alpha-dog humping match. Of course she ends up siding with her husband, but that isn't without a good talking-to for Rick. To be honest I don't really like Lori much, she seems a bit moralistic and pushy.

Rick and Shane's disagreement comes to a subtle head as they go to scour the woods for any lost zombies. With Rick up ahead, Shane spends a brief moment with his sights set literally on his former friend and colleague, and it is kind of tense for a second. While I never expected Rick to end up dead at this point, I wasn't sure if Shane would try or not, and it was pretty touch and go for second there. In the end Shane does come to his senses and lower the gun, but not before being spied by a very confused and concerned Dale, who doesn't really make a big deal or anything, but it does hint towards problems for Shane down the line. This short lapse of judgment is the first clear and explicit depiction of his growing anger towards Rick, and it looks like this is only going to get worse as things go on.

In my favourite scene of the show so far, Amy does finally rise from death. It is quiet, without music and scored only by the soft sounds of her body reanimating. I was infinitely impressed by the show's ability to turn such an iconic zombie-film trope into a scene of true cinematic beauty, and the shot of Amy's eyes slowly opening to reveal the pale, dead stare of a walker is absolutely stunning. This single event is what the episode had led up to, with most of the sequences involving Andrea keeping her dead sister just in frame, if only to make us tense while we wait for her to leap up and eat somebody, but her real rise from the dead is so anticlimactic, it's almost sweet. Laurie Holden is perfect, like really perfect, as she says goodbye to what her sister has become, before putting the gun to the side of Amy's head and pulling the trigger. I wish the zombie-genre did more amazing scenes like these, because it is a disturbing but oddly heartwarming  depiction of human emotion and love.

As the group finally agrees to head to the CDC (well, most do), we flash to the very place in question, where scientist Dr. Jenner gives a video diary about the spread and status of the disease. I don't know if he actually named it 'Wildfire', but 'Wildfire' was declared 194 days prior, but that would be like saying 'Cholera was just declared'. Do they say that? Anyway, what really interested me was that whatever-it's-called went global sixty-three days ago, which means it was contained for what, 131 days? You couldn't kill all the zombies in like four months? Seriously?

Jenner is a clearly disheartened individual, obviously stumped by the disease and unable to find a cure, or a reason to keep searching. His last specimens are destroyed when the lab goes into 'full contamination' and he is also left without a way of researching it further, and in presumably his last webcast he describes his desire to end his own life, maybe.

Meanwhile, Jim finds himself unable to take the voyage, and asks to be left on the side of the road to die. If there is one thing to love about this show, it's its characters. We only really met Jim last episode, but in just this one scene he makes his farewell from the group a memorable one, if not for shocks or twists, but for the emotion of it all. Most members of the group say a final, heartfelt goodbye to their friend and leave him under the shade of a tree as they drive into the distance. I did remember for a second that Jim was psychic last episode? Maybe he knows what's waiting for them at the CDC? I don't know.

Something that seems to prevail this episode is guilt. Rick is clearly guilty over his late arrival to the camp the night before, and he asks many other characters whether he did the right thing or not, and you could argue that guilt is fueling his need to try and save Jim. Jim himself notices Rick's tendency to blame himself for everything that goes wrong, and in a sweet piece of dialogue attempts to absolve him, explaining that he is being left behind according to his own wishes. Andrea is also incredibly guilty, describing to Dale how she had never been there when her sister needed her, and as Amy rises again all she says 'I'm here now' repeatedly before putting her down. Even Jenner seems a bit of a slave to guilt, and there are implications - not that he caused the disease, mind you - but that he at least feels like he could have done more to slow the spread of the pandemic. I don't normally like themes, unless they are as seamlessly integrated as they are in 'Wildfire'. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was always good at burying its themes and messages deep enough so that you could ignore them if you wish, and 'Wildfire' manages that type of thematic content immaculately, and it ends up adding to the story rather than detracting from it.

In the final scene Rick and the survivors arrive at the CDC, which is pretty dead. There is a brilliant performance from Andrew Lincoln, as Rick bangs on the doors of the building as a horde of walkers begins to move in while darkness begins to fall. Jenner watches from his security cameras, but for whatever reason is reluctant to allow them in. It is very tense, and for a while it begins to look like there might be another massacre on the cards, but we wouldn't have met Jenner unless he was going to be a little important. In the end he opens the doors for the screaming Rick and the crew, bathing them in a brilliant and poetic white light as the episode draws to a close.

I think a two and a half page review indicates my feelings towards this fantastic, touching episode that manages to mix action, emotion, a great script and some perfect performances effortlessly and subtlety. My  only concern is small, in that I found the pick-axe brain fuck of Ed by his wife very cathartic, but also entirely too long and disgusting. It was important for Carol, but the extent of the violence was too much, and rids 'Wildfire' of the perfect ten the episode should deserve. 

'Killer Within' - The Walking Dead, Season Three

The Walking Dead

Season Three

Episode Four

'Killer Within' - 10.0

Hello doors. I love you doors. And Carol's apparently indicative head scarf. 

Well, where can I possibly begin?

How about a simile?

Watching 'Killer Within' was akin to walking through a pleasant, flowery field full of butterflies and chirping birds who flutter gracefully atop the tree line which frames the sun as it slowly descends beyond the green horizon. Possibly with some relaxing classical music playing all the while as well.

Then, when darkness falls a few seconds later, you fall down a three storey mine shaft into the decrepit lair of a six-legged, conjoined horror of a fuck-monster who wants nothing more than to repeatedly violate your paralysed corpse with its seventeen penises, before throwing you back into the cold, wet world outside (it's been raining during the rape) to painfully drag yourself home to find that your mother's DVR'd your experience so you can't tell what happens until after she's watched it for herself.

FUCK YOU MUM. THIS IS WHY YOU EXIST, SO I CAN TALK TO YOU INSTEAD OF GETTING A FUCKING THERAPIST.

Anyway, 'Killer Within' was unbelievably amazing. Like, seriously. Ten out of ten, simply for audacity and extreme - and deservedly titled - horror. One main character gets torn apart by hungry zombies quite explicitly and disturbingly, and another (three guesses who) is sliced open and has a TINY HUMAN RIPPED OUT OF THEM. And maybe Carol died, I don't know.

I took a half-hour break before writing this review simply because my hands were shaking too much to type. I checked twitter, looked up Sarah Wayne Callies to see if she was as traumatised as I was (only to find her death scene was her suggestion YOU SADISTIC BITCH), sat in extended dramatic pause mode and then stroked my dog for a few minutes. Emotionally draining? I FEEL PHYSICAL PAIN. THIS CANNOT BE LEGAL. I THINK I'M IN THE EARLY STAGES OF GRIEF, POSSIBLY NEARING CATATONIA.

OH GOD THE CAPS LOCK. IT JUST MAKES MY STATE OF MIND CLEARER, I.E. I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON ANYMORE.

Ok, was there anything bad about this episode? I mean, if I get my mind off the OHGODWHY parts I think I can clear my head. And no, there probably wasn't anything negative worth mentioning, unless the gory deaths of characters you like is a negative. In fact, it might be so negative it's a positive, as in so-bad-it's-good, like KFC. If you know me you'd probably expect me to call out the Woodbury-based scenes as significantly slower than the prison-set scenes, and while that's true I admit that when we flashed over to Andrea, Michonne, Merle and/or the Governor I was overcome with relief. It was like break-time at the office, and it felt long awaited and just as refreshing. Thank you, drama! It's a nice break from the horror. 

After Sophia last season, Lori's death by caesarean-section will go down as a defining moment of this boundless show, not just for it's almost cruel, tortuous outing but because it was actually fucking beautiful. Lori knew the second Maggie showed her that she was bleeding she wasn't going to make it out of this, and so rescuing the baby was the only real option left open. Imagine if Rick had to put down his own (well, maybe) child? His own (well, maybe) INFANT child? Thankfully this show isn't so intense that it lead to that, but we still lost the mother in the birthing process. 

I know Lori isn't (wasn't) the most popular character of all time, but she was amazing tonight, and her parting words to her grieving - but very composed - son were things of glory, with Callies and Chandler Riggs being wonderful in the undeniably overwhelming sequence. Lauren Cohen too, even if she didn't get to say too much at this point. There was almost peace in Lori though, and she was willing and happy to die to save her child's life, although I probably rather go out that way than like T-Dog. 

For him, he's at first bitten when he goes with Carol to close the gate that some inconsiderate soul has left carelessly open, allowing the walkers to leave their compound for a nice feast. It doesn't give him too much pause as it's just a nip on the shoulder, but it's immediately clear that time is nearly up for him. He decides to go on one last mission, with the aim of leading Carol back to the others and to safety. In the end though, since she runs out of ammo he has to sacrifice himself to get her past the final hurdle. We get the poor woman's point of view as she quickly turns back to watch her saviour having bits of his flesh being pulled from his body. ICK. JUST, ICK. HELLO, YET MORE ZOMBIE NIGHTMARES. Did you know that this is the ONLY FUCKING SHOW OR MOVIE that gives me nightmares? One time I did have a dream about Freddy Krueger, but I've never actually seen a Nightmare on Elm Street film so I can't put much stock in it. Anyway, I'm not overly frightened during the whole experience, nor does it keep me awake, but sometimes my brain likes to FUCK WITH the memories of the show and TURN THEM INTO MONSTROSITIES. THIS WILL NOT BE HARD TONIGHT.

T-Dog's fate is definitively confirmed - not that it was a mystery or anything - when the group, fresh from ending the life of the miscreant who caused all the trouble finds his bloodied and bare corpse seeping across the FLOOR OH GOD MY MIND IS DYING AGAIN.

Daryl also decides from a head scarf that Carol's dead as well, though that just may be optimism on his part. 

However, what was the best single moment of the episode came about at the very end, as the surviving group (sans Carol) reconvenes back in their yard, with Rick seeing Carl, Maggie and the baby emerging from the depths of the prison, no Lori in sight. Considering it had come down to the stoic and surprisingly strong Carl to deal the double-tap blow to his mother, Rick was disturbingly weak. I'm satisfied that he realised what had gone down pretty quickly, but in the end he says 'No' a lot then collapses on the ground. I'm not calling out Andrew Lincoln's performance... OK, maybe I am, but because it was FORMIDABLE. It was epic, and what would normally be over-the-top anguish was presented realistically because Lincoln FUCKING SOLD IT, and it was heart-breaking. He didn't even look at his new child, who a traumatised Maggie holds against Glenn's chest, and I can't blame him. There was just so much riding on Lori, and you know he feels somewhat responsible for them not reconciling, and now she's dead and he couldn't be there to help. 

There is something almost cathartic about death on this show. Perhaps the creators realised this, and are aware of the constant feeling of lingering doom which surrounds every character, because so far all the major deaths have been spine-tinglingly good; Amy, Sophia, Dale, Shane and now Lori and T-Dog. They understand that they need to step the death up a notch to help it transcend the death that already exists in the show, so whether it be horrifyingly violent and painful like T-Dog, or beautiful and emotional (if still horrifyingly violent) like Lori, they get how to do it right and have managed to do so consistently. 'Killer Within' is The Walking Dead at its absolute best, showing us that there really are casualties in this universe, and that the viewers can't watch this like any other show. Yeah, 24 or Lost or any other serial shit could theoretically pull off an 'anyone can die' routine, but their characters don't exist in a world where nearly everyone already has. This bleak, inevitable, unflattering end that awaits all our characters, beloved or not, is what makes this so difficult and so glorious to watch. We don't know what's going to happen. I didn't expect Lori to go out that way, and I didn't expect T-Dog to go out either. One moment changed everything from a normal episode which started with collecting firewood and bringing Hershel back out into the world into a violent and tearful goodbye to two, maybe three characters. Is there anything more that we can ask for? 

'Vatos' - The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead

Season One

Episode Four

'Vatos' - 9.0

At least he was decent enough to prepare.

Compared to the calm, character-based last episode, 'Vatos' is a cornucopia of chaos, destruction and so much plot it feels like it could have been its own season. A couple secondary players bite the dust in the final minutes, both of whom have direct connections to other members of the group, and that has little to do with all that went down in Atlantic City.

Before the Walking Dead's boring-as-hell title sequence rolls, we are showed a nice, serene moment between sisters on the lake in the quarry. It is a good scene, with the acting by both Emma Bell and Laurie Holden easily able to hold the realism and believability; we are supposed to believe that this is how we would live after the apocalypse. Amy and Andrea lament their missing parents, as well as come to realise that their father loved them both equally, catering to the different personalities of his incredibly dissimilar daughters with variations in his fishing methods. It sounds like a bizarre thing to spend a while discussing in a zombie show, but it is touching and wonderfully composed, and once you've seen the episode you know why it's there; Andrea and Amy are having their final sisterly conversation.

The opening credits now over, we switch to the four guys in Atlanta, where we pick up right where 'Tell it to the Frogs' left off; Merle has sawn off his own hand to escape the rooftop he was left on by Rick and T-Dog, and Daryl is understandably pissed. I'm surprised how effective Norman Reedus is as the agro redneck, and I'm just as surprised to find that I actually find him oddly likable. His character may be an over-the-top stereotype, but I respect his devotion to finding his brother, and I get why he's unhappy with how Merle was handled two episodes ago.

The group begins a slow, tense search through the department store following the trail of blood left by Merle. Of course, in this universe it would be hard to go anywhere without the trip being fraught with suspense, and part of the draw of the show lies in its constant threat of violence and/or zombification. Nonetheless the four of them encounter only of couple walkers, none of whom put up much of a fight against Daryl's crossbow, but in the end Merle is found to have escaped into the city and out of their reach. I didn't like Merle as much as Daryl, but with him out in the wild the show has obviously made it open for his return, but this being the Walking Dead, they could be smart enough to know that his survival is expected, and thus his death would be more of a surprise. However, assuming he is dead, how could anyone discover this?

There is a man back at the base camp named Jim. I hadn't really noticed him in the couple of episodes we've spent at the camp, but he certainly makes an impression tonight. Andrew Rothenberg plays the quiet, clearly depressed or manic man, who reveals not long into this episode that his survived a zombie attack due only to the zombie's preoccupation with devouring his family, i.e. his wife and children. It is a disturbing thought, but this show has never really shied away from making viewers uncomfortable. The gore and the silence see to that. Anyway, Jim spends the first part of the episode seemingly digging graves a little while away from the centre of camp, for reasons he can't remember after Shane forces him to stop. Seems his actions were scaring the other survivors, though to be honest I didn't really get this storyline. It has its eerie relevance at the conclusion of 'Vatos', but it still seems a tad too supernatural for the show's strict keepings to a sense of realism in its storytelling. Similarly, I had issues with the group's decision to actively prevent Jim from digging his holes, as it wasn't that freaky, was it?

In an attempt to salvage a rather fruitless trip to Atlanta the group plans to retrieve the guns Rick dropped in the overrun streets at the end of the first episode, but the plan goes awry when another group of survivors intervenes, failing to steal the guns but taking poor Glenn away. As anything with a brain would do, this new group - full of the titular 'Vatos' - promises to trade Glenn for everything in the bag, or die guns blazing. The 'Vatos' have more men, and apparently more thirst for blood, but looks are deceiving. Turns out after an effectively stereotypical Mexican stand-off situation this new group of annoyingly evil Latinos just... aren't. They are actually protecting an old folks home, and their leader Guillermo is the former janitor at the facility. I appreciate the contrast between our first impressions and the reality, but it did wrap up all the issues that arose with the bag of guns really nicely, maybe too nicely. It also managed to make Rick look more noble and kind, which is really annoying in a protagonist. We have enough noble protagonists, mate, be bad!

On the way back to the van they took to Atlanta, our four guys come across one more obstacle - someone has stolen the van. It's Rick who jumps to the conclusion that it was Merle, and for a brief moment we are anxious at the thought of an enraged Merle arriving at the survivor's camp and wreaking havoc on the innocents. It's a nice little red herring, although nothing really comes of it tonight except it slows Rick and his friends down significantly, forcing them to make for the camp on foot. Perhaps one day Merle will return and take his revenge.

Back at the camp, the delayed return of Rick with the new weapons has serious repercussions for some of the survivors. While for a while everything seems fine, we are waiting for Merle to emerge from the woods brandishing some deadly piece of hardware, or worse simply roar through the lot of them with the van. Alas, the show chooses to slow the worst down, having nice old guy Dale describe his habit of winding his watch. It is a well written little monologue, but it is only an entree compared to the main course.

Everything goes to hell quickly; a beaten and bruised Ed awakens alone in his tent to the sounds of rustling outside. Irritated as he usual is, he decides to zip open the door and confront whoever's there, only to be confronted himself by a very hungry zombie. Seconds later a whole hoard of the creatures are making their way into the tent for a meal.

Back at camp, little sister Amy comes out the RV after going to the toilet. Unlike Ed though, she is given no warning when a zombie appears from the darkness and bites into her arm. What follows next is the most muddled and bloody three or four minutes of a television show I've seen. Zombie's heads a blown clean off, their blood staining the camera lens, extras are torn limb from limb and Amy gets another, fatal bite to her neck and Andrea rushes to her side. It's over almost as quickly as it began, when Rick and the others finally return to the camp, their new guns hot in the arms, zombies falling left and right.

Once the worst is over, we exit the chaos and find ourselves back on Earth, and The Walking Dead reasserts its statement; Death matters. Andrea mourns her sister's fatal injuries while the rest of the group can only watch in a particularly bloody goodbye for Amy, who succumbs to her wounds without any sort of final words, only a meaningful touch to her sister's cheek. It really is beautiful, but the final words go to Jim, who states that he now remembers why he dug the graves.

The thought of a psychic is a bit much for me, but it depends on how they handle it over the rest of the show that matters. If they can make it similar to the mysterious River Tam of Firefly or Olivia Dunham of Fringe I'll be happy, but if they turn him into some sort of constant Deus Ex Machina like Bonnie of the Vampire Diaries I'll be pissed. That's if he really is psychic, he might just be nuts.

The end of 'Vatos' is dramatic and almost distressing, with how suddenly everything changes being the most affecting aspect of the entire experience. It will no doubt expand on the prevailing feeling of suspense and dread that we already felt, but here we have proof that it can happen at any time, presumably to anyone. In this world the zombie invasion is real, as are the people who won't survive it, and The Walking Dead wants us to always remember that.

'Walk With Me' - The Walking Dead, Season Three

The Walking Dead

Season Three

Episode Three

'Walk With Me' - 7.0

Slow, yes, but also a bit of an info dump. 

The third season's x-episode presented a whole new world for two of our heroes to play around with, as well as a possible new human villain with a thirst for... guns, or something. 

Anyone who reads about this show online has been eagerly awaiting the arrival of 'The Governor', a human antagonist who rules his little safe haven known as 'Woodbury' with a seemingly kind hand, only to be working a seedy agenda underneath it all. I'm not overly familiar with the comics, so I can't say how accurately David Morrissey plays the literary version, but the character we see tonight has a very admirable and threatening level of both sincerity (even if it is insincere) and malice. 

I don't think any viewer can be expected to see the Governor as a good guy when we meet; his method of bringing in Michonne (who is finally named tonight) and Andrea was less than comforting, even if he didn't actually choose how they were handled. Turns out it was actually a downed helicopter that saved the ailing Andrea, as it allowed the two girls converge with the Woodbury gang and be apprehended by the Governor's troops.

It would be remiss of me not to mention one particular plot point from 'Walk With Me': Merle's back. Yes, Daryl's brother who was handcuffed to a pipe on an Atlanta rooftop and forced to saw off his own hand comes across his old co-survivor hanging out in the wilderness. Turns out the redneck had been swept up the Governor's group and given shelter and medical care, much like what Andrea receives when she arrives in Woodbury. We learn that it may have come at a cost though; Merle appears entirely subordinate to, even frightened of, his new leader, even though this isn't really explored. He just does everything that is asked of him, which doesn't fit too well with the Merle we remember from season one. It has been like eight months of hell though.

Michonne didn't leave that big an impression on me, however her treatment of her two walkers was shocking. When they started making too much noise when the Governor's troops roll up at the crash, she grabs her katana and decapitates the two of them with no hesitation, though we see later that they aren't actually killed. They're just two heads now though, and that's just disturbing. Who is this Michonne though? She refuses to reveal who the walkers once were, she has absolute trust issues and she doesn't even seem to like Andrea that much. Hopefully she transcends the troubled, quiet and tough girl persona that the show has already carved out for her and becomes a real and relatable adaption of her illustrated counterpart.

The downed helicopter leaves an injured pilot in the hands of the Governor, and from his word they are able to locate a small military convoy, which our new villain approaches while waving a white flag. Once he's close enough and has their attention, he and his men storm the troops with a shower of machine gun bullets, taking the ammo and vehicles all for themselves, then informing the normal people back at Woodbury that the men had been dead by the time they arrived. 

He also has a scientist, for some reason. It's known that he is trying to rebuild 'civilisation', though what the implications of this are is beyond me. Why does that involve regressing to the basic instincts of everyone-for-themselves? Surely a group of cooperative soldiers would be highly useful in defending Woodbury from an inevitable zombie ambush. There is something else going on here and I can't quite discern what it is yet. Does it have something to do with his room full of re-animated heads in aquariums? What was that?

So many questions! But that's good! I love to be intrigued by television, it is one of the most useful emotions to evoke, as it forces us to return to the show to work out the truth. Think Lost, though we rarely tune into a show just for a mystery. Again, think Lost, which could count on a stellar ensemble cast playing beautifully realised characters, and then think ‘the Event’, which attempted to depend on its mystery without granting us any worthwhile players in the plot. The Walking Dead didn't have any great mysteries, and it still doesn't. All we have are the questions; Who is the Governor? What is his plan, and how does it involve Woodbury? Why does he have a scientist? Of course, this lucky show also has amazing characters to question with us, though I noted that the absences of all but two of the main characters was barely felt. I guess these people are wonderfully realistic, but so much so that they aren't entirely likeable. Doesn't matter though, as long as we want to know what happens to them we don't actually need to like them! That, in a nut shell, is why the Walking Dead is such a success. 

'Tell it to the Frogs' - The Walking Dead, Season One

The Walking Dead 

Season One

Episode Three

'Tell it to the Frogs' - 8.0

Along with zombies, there's also a serious sentimentality epidemic here. 

Despite sounding to the uninitiated like a dumb, shoot-'em-up zombie flick, but made a couple times longer and with commercial breaks, The Walking Dead continues to establish itself as something much more complicated; a character drama.

What is important to note about the premise here is that any single character can die at any point, because they effectively live in a world largely populated by danger. Unlike the universes of almost any other show there needs to be no motive or opportunity, rather death can happen whenever the writers want it to. Oddly that isn't that important in 'Tell it to the Frogs' since no one dies, but the constant threat does open the stage to an intriguing character study.

The cast of this post-apocalyptic tale is surprising extensive. Aside from Rick, his wife and son, Shane and the few Rick met in Atlanta, there are whole mess of people we meet at the survivor's camp outside the city, which our protagonist arrives at in the early scenes of the episode.

It is impressive how moving Rick, Lori and Carl's meeting was, considering we hadn't actually seen these people as a family yet, but it managed to be incredibly touching. I can't really give credit to the writers because the scene was largely dialogue-free, but the composers and actors clearly worked hard to make it relevant and realistic. Obviously Andrew Lincoln is especially good; his bewilderment and happiness are palpable and stirring, while Sarah Wayne Callies manages to appear conflicted in one of the few times I've seen an actor actually accomplish conflicted.

Laurie Holden is also a significant player as Andrea, who oozes the much needed feminine strength amidst an environment inhabited by male leaders and soldiers. I'm no feminist, but when a cast only has well developed male characters, people will notice; like me. It is something that is clear in the first few seasons of Lost as well, and you can often tell the target demographic through the number of strong women on the series. Before you ask though, Lori doesn't count. Anyhow, Andrea comes through the best during the clothes washing scene, which ironically deals explicitly with the role of women in this new society. She challenges misogyny itself when she gets between the prick Ed and his wife Carol, and even earlier breaks feminine convention by explicitly talking about her love for her long-lost vibrator. I like this woman, which undoubtedly means she won't last much longer - not a spoiler, FYI, I don't actually know if she survives.

Jon Bernthal does a terrific job playing a character who effectively falls from grace. In his first scene of the episode he is almost joyous to be inducted into his believed-to-be-dead best friend's family, a status that changes only a few minutes later when Rick arrives in his rescue vehicle. Just one moment destroys everything he had gained, and you can see it in his face then, but he really shines in the scenes at the quarry, first with Lori and then with Ed. Lori reveals that Shane had said her husband had died - an obvious move by the writer's to ensure that we don't dislike Lori for her actions - and makes it clear and plain that he can have nothing to do with her family. Bernthal is near silent during Lori's confrontation but his acting is effective enough to not need him to speak; we know how he feels about all this. Only a short while later, a frustrated Shane takes out his agitation on Ed in an incredibly brutal beat down that says to me that Shane probably won't live very long. It was a good scene, yeah, and very affecting, but in most television shows characters who severely assault anyone for no terrific reason, not a long time after doing the protagonist's wife aren’t particularly popular among audiences. It doesn't help that he isn't the most original creation, nor does he add anything to the group now that Rick can fill the role of former-policeman current-leader.

It might not make sense to you, but I watch way too much television and I'll be surprised if Shane makes it through too many more episodes. I won't really miss him if he dies, but I know my tropes and it isn't looking good.

'Tell it to the Frogs' only features a handful of zombies over the course of the episode, and none of them do anything except die and eat deer. Oddly enough however, it doesn't feel like it matters too much, and the characters of the show manage to hold it up without blood and guts with the help of terrific acting and a fine script.

'Sick' - The Walking Dead, Season Three

The Walking Dead

Season Three

Episode Two

'Sick' - 5.5

I'm still a teenager, so I can see the creepy Rule 34 shit here. 

'Sick' is a damn good name for this episode about consequence and retribution, as our heroes are left trying desperately to save Hershel after his walker attack last episode, while coping with the prisoners who want to claim the prison as their own.

In this case, the 'sick' party would actually be Rick, as well as the de facto leader of the prisoner group; Tomas. Oh and Hershel too, I guess. The reason the first two aren't entirely well refers to their almost amoral killings of innocent people. For Tomas this isn't such a big deal, as we aren't overly familiar with any of this group just yet we are easily able to accept the violent criminal as evil.

Rick, on the other hand, is a tougher pill to swallow. In the first two seasons we came to know him as noble and trusting, only resorting to violence when it was absolutely required of him. We do see this Rick early on when he offers to let the prisoners stay in the a different cell block, even promising to help them, but this version of the character has clearly been largely lost, as later on he plants a machete in Tomas' skull. There was a reason, obviously, as Tomas had repeatedly disobeyed Rick's suggestions, brutally ended one of his own troupe after he was scratched by a walker and then literally thrown a living zombie at Rick in some stupid act of insubordination.

This was of course during the taking of the new cell block, and it was all too much for Rick. He and Tomas have a big long, alpha male staring contest once Daryl's come to the rescue, before Rick lets his anger get the better of him and divides the top of the inmate's skull in two. Gross. 

There's an even worse act of questionable morals shortly after, as one of the other prisoners absolutely freaks out and runs away, with Rick showing his former policeman status as he goes in pursuit. Eventually, the unfortunate man runs into a yard full of walkers, and Rick almost nonchalantly slides the barred door shut to prevent him from getting away. Yikes, man. There was a glimmer of remorse and hesitation in his eyes as he stepped away, the prisoner's desperate screams being heard through the door. 

What is with this new Rick? I'm not really complaining, an ambiguous protagonist is so rare that they are like sugar to the seasoned television viewer, but it was just such an abrupt change from the character we know. Luckily I can see exactly what has driven him to this level of immorality, and you get a glimpse into it in the final scene between him and Lori. Rather than simply tell her that he doesn't want to be with her anymore, he ignores her talk of their relationship, even failing to make any kind of eye contact, before thanking her for saving Hershel and walking away. You can tell that Shane's words last season had an effect on him, almost made him push his family away so that their safety can't affect his judgement, and clearly his separation from them has driven this regression into doing what's necessary rather than doing what's right.

For Hershel, his day is much more... unconscious. I was happy to find that he never displays signs of the zombie virus, and never picks up a fever at any point. He doesn't exactly look his best though, as he doesn't even get any dialogue or really open his eyes. Instead, he lies on a jail cell bed while Carol - whom he had taught some basic medical stuff to so that she could help deal with Lori - does her best to keep him alive.

And one point, it looked like we'd lost the old man, as his daughter Maggie saw his chest stop moving. It was even more poignant as she'd not long prior told Glenn that she actually think it'd be easier if he died, but she is still distraught when she thinks he’d passed. Lori rushes in to perform hasty CPR - never a good idea on a possible zombie-case - only to have him lurch up and grab her in an admittedly jump-out-of-your-seat moment, though he quickly falls back under, his breathing back to normal. I swore my spine hit the ceiling when that happened, as Lori actually had her mouth to his, and it was just terrifying. She could've had her face ripped off. Well done, show. Kudos to you.

By the end of the episode though, once everyone's back in the cell block, Hershel opens his eyes and takes Rick's hand, showing that perhaps there is hope and maybe it comes from the prison, of all places. I think that is what we need right now, especially now that Rick has become the new Shane. I do wonder though, perhaps Maggie will end up being right. How long can a one legged man escape walkers?

The glaring absence of Andrea and the black woman with the walker-pets was noted, though the show functions somewhat fine enough without them. I was waiting patiently for them to make another appearance, but in the end I'm quite happy to have to wait until next week to learn what's up with them. 

There is a gloom that perpetually sits on top of this show, and an almost unsettling sense of dread that continues even in the confines of the prison. Any noise, any movement could be a walker. At one point Carol collects one of the creatures from outside the fence so she can investigate her insides - she worries she may have to do a caesarean section on Lori - and the ease with which she undid the mended fence hints that a determined walker - or pack of walkers - could make its way in. 

I still wonder what can be done at a place like a prison. The farm from the second season got some negative reviews from viewers, even if I didn't have any issues with it. I guess the grounds of a jail a considerably larger and more labyrinthine than what we had last season, and with the prime gains there we could easily see a near war build over this compound. They will surely put Andrea back with her companions at some point, and to do that she'll have to meet up with them again, which could happen through battle for the prime real estate. We know that she's going to join up with some other group in order to get medicine for her sickness, right? Anyway, there is still a lot of potential within the impenetrable walls of the jail, but how long before it is exhausted, and we have to bring in threats from the outside? Clearly this episode, though an i­mprovement over the premiere, didn’t really answer any questions. ­­­