A Review of The Walking Dead, Season 5, Episode 10: "Them" (Mild Spoilers)

written by Heather Bellson

directed by Julius Ramsay

After last week's infuriating mid-season debut, last night's episode of the top-rating zombie apocalypse series The Walking Dead slowed things down a bit with an episode that, for the first time in a long time, had the group dealing with issues like hunger, thirst and lack of shelter, as they are forced to walk after their vehicles break down. Still reeling from a succession of shocking deaths, namely those of Bob (Laurence Gilliard Jr.), Beth (Emily Kinney) and Tyreese (Chad Coleman), the group of survivors, in particular Tyreese's sister and Bob's girlfriend Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green), Beth's sister Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Daryl (Norman Reedus) who spent much of season four wandering around with Beth, begin to feel the emotional burden of their collective physical and emotional ordeal, and the ties that bind them become increasingly strained. Suddenly, they are no longer just threatened by walkers or rival humans but by the lack of basic needs for survival, and later, by the elements. 

I made no secret of how I felt about last week's episode, which, for all its artsy-fartsy trappings, was basically a sloppily-written kill-off episode. While this new episode is far from my favorite work from the series' creators, for me it improves over the last one in terms of writing, by pitting the characters against the elements and lack of supplies for the first time since, well, possibly, ever. Rick and his group have always been able to find supplies, shelter and provisions with relative ease, even in the tumultuous post-prison episodes that saw the group scattered. Even the late Gareth (Andrew J. West), of the Terminus cannibals, pointedly said to Rick, just before the latter hacked him to death, that he looked like he had never been hungry. Well, this episode changes that, although the writers bail the characters out at the last minute. 

There are quite a few "talking dead" moments throughout the narrative, which threaten the overall pacing of the episode at some points, but the good news is that the episode is still chock-full of walkers, especially since the crew spends most of their time out in the open. It was fun to hear Andrew Lincoln's Rick finally say the title of the show after five long years.

All told, however, while the episode does have a few things to say about grief, optimism and the ties that bind (and what can weaken them), I couldn't shake the feeling that it was basically a placeholder of sorts, something to keep the characters busy while the writers set up the next big story arc which, as far as I can tell, officially begins at the very end of the episode. 

After the nail-biting cliffhanger of Season 4 led to a season that, to me, has been one disappointment after another, I truly hope this bodes well for my favorite crew of apocalypse survivors.

7/10

A Review of "What Happened and What's Going On" Episode 9 of "The Walking Dead" Season 5 (SPOILER ALERT)

written by Scott Gimple
directed by Greg Nicotero

How do you follow one truly pointless, gratuitous character killing? With another one, only this time, target the most predictable target for extinction, a narrative cliche so old it was a running joke in movies and television years even before they invented the internet meme.

Rick Grimes's (Andrew Lincoln) crew splits up with Rick, Tyreese, Michonne (Danai Gurira), and Glenn (Steven Yeun) taking Noah (Tyler James Williams), the nurse whom the late Beth (Emily Kinney) saved from captivity in the Atlanta hospital before her death, back to his community, which, they hope, could be a safe haven for them as well.  Unfortunately, it has been overrun, apparently by other humans, who have left a trail of death and destruction in their wake, leaving Noah despondent. Rick, Michonne and Glenn begin to forage for supplies, while Tyreese attempts to console Noah, who then runs to his house to see what has become of his family. Predictably, they find nothing but death. Curiously, Tyreese, after seeing the shadow of a walker in the house, suddenly and rather inexplicably finds himself transfixed by pictures of Noah's twin brothers, one of whom is lying dead and eviscerated on the bed.






(Spoiler alert)
































He then gets bitten by the other twin, just before Noah destroys what was once his brother. Tyreese gets sick, has visions/hallucinations of the ghosts of past characters, then dies.




Yup. They went and killed the black guy.


To be more accurate, they  killed off the show's longest running black guy, and the second one this season, after Bob (Lawrence Gilliard Jr.) died earlier this season. I'd be offended if I wasn't so amused.  It feels particularly insulting that they killed them almost right after they introduced two new black characters, namely the aforementioned Noah, and an Episcopalian priest named Fr. Gabriel (Seth Gilliam)...almost as if they were replaced. It's like some guy wrote on Twitter: lose a n***a, gain a n***a.

Tyreese was at the heart of some very interesting story threads in this show. His arc, in which he forgave Carol (Melissa McBride) for having killed his girlfriend in the prison back in season 3, was incredibly moving, and the moment he forgave her was the lone bright spot of the unrelentingly dark episode "The Grove" back in season 4. For me, "The Grove" will go down as one of the series' best-written episodes ever, and while Tyreese's death does nothing to change that, I really feel that a character who participated in an episode that important deserved a far better sendoff than this poor excuse for an episode.  It would have made more sense had he been killed in a melee with a rival group of humans, especially considering that he wasn't willing to kill any.

Instead, in defiance of all character logic, he allows himself to be distracted in a house where he's ALREADY spotted a walker's shadow, and as a result gets bitten. This is a veteran of two and a half seasons; such carelessness on his part is unforgivably sloppy by the writers.  The idiocy of his carelessness is highlighted by the fact that he tells Noah that he will enter the house first, and exercises utmost caution. He lets his guard down for...what? A picture of two kids he's never even met? Was it because they were black? Could this episode have been written any worse?

Considering my last post was about the only death that would really matter to this show, I find myself highly disappointed that the show's writers went for one of the easiest, most obvious targets imaginable, namely the black guy who refused to kill people (humans, that is, not walkers).

I don't care how many dead characters made cameo appearances to "welcome" Tyreese into the afterlife. In fact, I'm even pissed that the writers didn't even think of bringing back Tyreese's dead girlfriend Karen (Melissa Ponzio) for this gratuitous cameo sequence. I don't care if the governor (David Morrissey) showed up again. I don't care if Tyreese's ticket was long overdue for punching. This episode still felt like some shockingly lazy, perfunctory writing, and conjures up images of white guys in suits making the creative decisions.


















(End spoiler alert)













There's nice, artsy shot selection and some pleasant, wistful, rustic music playing throughout the episode, which gives it a bittersweet tone. The actors involved pretty much give this episode everything they've got. There are generous helpings of walkers.

I normally appreciate little touches like this. However, this time, none of these things could prevent this episode from leaving a truly terrible taste in my mouth.





4/10

Two-For-One: A Review of Daredevil #11 and #12

written by Mark Waid
drawn by Chris Samnee

My favorite creative team working in comics today does it again.

After tangling with a more "classic" villain in the last story arc, Daredevil finds himself dealing with a somewhat different threat in this two-issue story: a motorcycle-riding showboat named Stuntmaster. The problem arises when the original Stuntmaster, George Smith, approaches Matt Murdock and asks him to sue the man currently wearing the costume, who has the backing of a wealthy pharmaceutical company. The problem is that George has no cause of action, given that he sold the rights to the Stuntmaster character several years before. Matt has no choice but to tell George the truth, until he hears that George has killed himself. Matt, as Daredevil, then decides to take the fight to Stuntmaster, who has called him out to perform a very dangerous stunt on the Golden Gate bridge. Things, however, are not quite what they seem...

These two issues weren't quite the home-run for me that the Purple Man storyline was, but they still hit the spot. The first issue is mainly spent setting up the big confrontation for the second, but the payoff is pretty handsome as we get to see Daredevil engaging in quite a few feats of derring-do, like jumping off a bridge and even driving a convertible with his billy clubs while standing up.  I think it was Chris Samnee who made a cameo as the driver of the Dodge Charger convertible that DD commandeers.

The story also feels like a bit of filler, given that Waid's already set up a pretty big storyline involving longtime DD villain the Owl, but it's a welcome break from what, if the promotional materials are any indication, looks to be yet another major shakeup for the character. Something to cleanse the palate, so to speak.

I confess, I'm a little worried about this whole impending "Marvel reboot" business because of the implications it might have for this title. Still, Waid and Samnee have had a good, long run on this book even prior to the renumbering, so if they decide to move on, I'm grateful for the exceptional stories they've given for the last three years.

I look forward with bated breath to DD's climactic confrontation with the now supercharged Owl!


8.1/10