Last week, Frank Darabont, the man behind bringing The Walking Dead to television, announced that he had fired the entire show's writing staff, and was going to rely more on himself and on Robert Kirkman, the writer of the comic series on which the show is based, to write Season Two. Considering many of the show's flaws this year have been in flat out terrible dialogue (a problem that mostly disappeared in tonight's Darabont penned finale), this shake up could really bring the series to the next level and help it reach its considerable potential. I've said before that I hope the show moves more towards its emotional, insightful side and doesn't give in to fans who just want 45 minutes of zombie-killin' every Sunday night, and I think Darabont (the man behind The Shawshank Redemtpion) could very well take the show in that direction, trying to make it on par with Mad Men and Breaking Bad instead of just on par with any other zombie story out there. All that being said, I must confess that "TS-19" did not deliver, nor did it instill in me the great confidence I hoped it would.
Granted, Darabont fired the entire staff after the season had wrapped, and perhaps only realized the problems with the season as a whole in retrospect, but this still seems like a poorly thought out season finale. Any showrunner worth his salt knows that you end a season with a bang, not a whimper, especially in a show like this that thrives on thrills as much as it does on meditation. The actual end of this episode went off very well, as I'll discuss in a moment, but so much before it didn't work that its impossible to call the episode as a whole a success. The episode opens well, with a flashback that finds Shane rushing through the hospital to find Rick, dodging waves of the undead and a military force that is seemingly slaughtering everyone, infected or not. This scene provides necessary shading to Shane's character, showing him trying to save Rick, and honestly believing him dead before leaving him there, blocking the door with a gurney to at least keep his body intact. Its a fairly noble moment for the character, and a necessary one considering the terible things he will do later in the episode.
Back in the present, the survivors are welcomed into CDC by Dr. Edwin Jenner, who requires a blood test from everyone and clearly knows more than he's letting on. The group is so happy to be inside, however, that the barely notice his secrecy before indulging in booze and food and hot showers. Everyone gets a chance to relax, but the liquor brings out some true colors as well. Rick confesses to Jenner that he's losing hope, and that he thinks everyone he knows will soon be dead. Its a brazenly honest, communicative moment from our taciturn protagonist, who admits his biggest problem is refusing to talk about how he feels to his family. Meanwhile, Shane corners Lori and tries to explain his justifications for leaving Rick. He did the best he could at the time, honestly, and its hard to argue that he wasn't in the moral right at any point before Rick's return, that we know of. Sure, he started banging his best friend's wife pretty quickly after Rick "died (last week we learned the breakout happened around 63 days ago), but he really thought his friend was dead, and he seems to really love Lori. Unfortunately he quickly cedes his moral high ground, giving into his tendency to use violence to force cooperation, and attempting to rape Lori. She quickly fights him off, yet Shane has officially burnt through whatever little goodwill he had left for saving her life.
The next morning, Jenner treats thr group to a lecture on the disease that causes the dead to rise. We learn that the time before they reanimate varies, and that only the motor functions return. We also discover that Jenner does not know what causes the disease, or how to cure it, and that only a few hours remain before the entire center goes up in a firebomb that Jenner wants to incinerate everyone. He is not made out as an evil man; he isn't trying to murder the group in cold blood, he just thinks the situation outside is hopeless, and believes quick, painless death is better than the short, brutal life that awaits them outside. The group immediately starts panicking, with Darly and Shane doing the most damage, but of course Rick wins the day with a plea to the human side of the situation, explaining to Jenner that the situation may seem hopeless, but there is always a chance as long as they are still alive. He persuades most to escape, but Jacqui and Andrea elect to stay behind, that is until Dale threatens to stay with Andrea because he doesn't want to face the world alone. So Dale and Andrea also flee, and Jacqui and Jenner stay behind to be incinerated painlessly while the others forge on.
Rick's speech, and the scene of the group driving away at the end send the themes of the show home nicely, and reminded me of the vast potential this series has to be an excellent examination of the human will to survive and the desire of one man to retain his essential humanity when all else is falling apart around him. It would be easier to stop, to just allow yourself to be painlessly incinerated and to ensure you wouldn't be torn to shreds, but that is surrender. Rick, and the rest of the survivors have kept hope alive, and their struggle to survive is a story that I tihnk can easily be the groundwork for an excellent television series. Unfortunately, most of tonight was taken up with silly plot contrivances, some exceedingly dumb behavior from the characters, and very little plot advancement. All we learned could have been just as easily assumed, and while Shane and Rick both had great moments of emotional honest that shade in their characters a little more fully, these moments pretty much confirmed things we already knew about them. Jacqui's death could not have meant less to me, while the prospect of losing Dale showed me just how much I'd come to care about him over the last few weeks (and just how sad I'll be when this show inevitably kills him. Come on, wise old man who loves everybody? He HAS to die at some point, but I'm glad it isn't yet). I still think its hard to judge The Walking Dead until we see its second season, and I remain excited for the show's potential there, but this finale didn't do much to increase that excitement. Until next season, folks.
Grade: B-
Notes:
-Jenner whispered something in Rick's ear before he left. That certainly leaves me curious...
-Some really stupid moments: "Is that a brain?" i know Carl is a kid, but is he like four? That was insanely stupid. Also, "Is that what happened to Jim?" OF COURSE IT IS. Plus, Daryl going at the metal door with an axe was remarkably cliche and a clear waste of his time and energy.
-"No pain, an end to sorrow, greif, regret, everything."
-Loved the choice of the ending song, Bob Dylan's "Tomorrow is a Long Time." See you guys next season!
Showing posts with label The Walking Dead. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Walking Dead. Show all posts
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Jordan's Review: The Walking Dead: Season 1, Episode 4: Wildfire
Following my discussion last week of the two camps of people who are likely to watch The Walking Dead, I engaged in a further debate with my sometimes co-blogger here, Sam, in which he claimed that as a fan of both zombie entertainment and AMC dramas, he only watched the show as the former mostly because it doesn't meet his requirements for the former. He argued that he didn't care about whether any of the characters lived or died yet, especially because this season is only 6 episodes long and we barely know any of them. Because of this, he said, the show is at its best when there is a lot of zombie violence and less dialogue or drama. If you've been following my coverage of the show so far, it is probably pretty clear that I disagree with this assessment, but the man has some fair points. I think The Walking Dead is a better show than that, and I think that given a bit more time to grow and gain depth, I will really care about every character and what happens to them. The show has its flaws, yes, but I hope that in its forthcoming second season, it will overcome them. That makes judging these episodes in the interim a bit tricky, but that's what I've pledged to do, so here goes.
This week opens with Rick on the walkie talkie trying to communicate with Morgan to tell him to stay away from Atlanta. There's a hint of futility in his voice that I found fairly convincing--he knows how bad things have become, and he really doesn't see a way out. The sanctuary his group has made in the wilderness has been invaded, and people he has come to know (albeit only slightly) are dead all around him. While the men go about destroying the brains of their dead, burning the zombie bodies (but notably burying the bodies of their own dead) and clearly the wreckage, Andrea mourns Amy and refuses to let anyone come near her. Her grief is a little over done, but its convincing, and Dale's speech to her about how much he has come to care for her and for Amy was very moving. Watching Amy come back to life and scrape at Andrea in mindless hunger was very heart-wrenching, as Andrea screamed and put a bullet through the head of her baby sister.
Yet as decently as Amy's reanimation and death was handled, watching Carol beat Ed's head in was a giant, walking cliche. Every time an abusive husband is killed in anything ever, the wife always takes her anger out on the corpse. It may be a realistic reaction and a decent portrayal, but it comes across as false and forced simply because its been done so many times. While Carol and Andrea grieve in their own ways, Jim realizes he has been bitten, and is therefore in the slow, painful process of becoming one of the walkers. The debate over whether to kill Jim is short ("we don't kill the living" seems to be a code that Rick will stick to very strongly), but the question of what to do next is more drawn out. Rick wants to take Jim to the CDC in the (fairly naive) hope of finding a cure, and Shane hopes to get to a military base 125 miles in the other direction.
Shane continues to be possibly the most fascinating character on the show. He is quick to use violence to exert his authority, but seemingly does this because he knows that power must be consolidated or order will fall by the wayside. He believes in practicality over the righteousness that Rick clings to, which often sets them at odds. Rick is quick to hand out guns to those who choose not to accompany of them, and even to offer Jim one when he eventually decides to be left at the side of the road; Shane seems more weary of getting rid of the supply that most closely resembles any kind of currency in this post-apocalyptic world. Most crucially, this week, Shane considers killing Rick in the woods after Rick tells him he does not understand hat its like to have a family to consider. The moment is a tour de force for Jon Bernthal, who excellently portrays Shane's torment as he contemplates murdering his former partner. On the one hand, it would further consolidate power, which is practical. It would also give Shane a chance to be the father figure for Carl and the lover to Lori that he so wants to be. Most interestingly, it shows how quickly Shane has learned to resort to violence in order to solve even his smallest problems. Shane is a man who believes in keeping order even if he does it by breaking the peace, and the question of how far he will go to gain power or control is a fascinating one. The moment when Dale comes upon Shane with a gun trained at Rick is also a fascinating one--Dale clearly knows what he has just seen, and is obviously unsettled by it, yet what can really be done? Shane is the de facto leader of their group (though Rick consistently struggles for that position with him), and he clearly doesn't take kindly to those who question his authority. Dale, at least for now, chooses not to.
The moment when Jim asks to be left by the road, and when everyone says goodbye to him, is truly harrowing, a somewhat beautiful expression of how powerful every life is in a world with very few people left. This is one moment where everyone seems to come into agreement with Rick's fairly die hard view that every human life is sacred; each member of the group appreciates the quiet tragedy of Jim's decision, and realizes what a precious presence will be missing from here on out. Many members of the group had honestly considered killing Jim, yet no one is happy to leave him dying by the side of the road.
I would be remiss if I didn't discuss the awesome, shocking ending of the episode, in which a mostly abandoned CDC is still populated by one dedicated, if cynical, scientist searching for a cure. The man suffers a miserable setback when his best samples are destroyed--a setback so severe he contemplates suicide until he sees a small group of survivors. Rick has something of a breakdown in front of the CDC shutters, screaming "you're killing us!" and hurling himself against the shudders. Its another excellently played scene, and even though the shutters opening to reveal a Close Encounters style white light was a little bit much, the ending of the episode suggested a bold new direction the show could go in for the next several weeks.
This was another very solid episode of The Walking Dead. I do still think of the show as flawed, but I don't see a single flaw that can't be overcome with slightly better writing. That isn't to say that the uneven writing isn't a large problem for the show--it is. Moments like Andrea's tragic murder of Amy are seriously undercut by walking cliches like Carol's beating of Ed's corpse, and that lessens the quality of the show overall. This is not a great television series yet, but I can think of several series that had uneven shortened first seasons, only to come back with excellence when they had a full order in front of them (the first examples to come to mind are Buffy, which had a mixed first season of 13 episodes, and then a pretty stellar second, The Office, which aped its British predecessor a bit much in its first 6 episodes only to set itself apart in its next season, and Parks and Rec which felt derivative of The Office until the second season where it became a much, much funnier version of The Office). All of this is basically to say that The Walking Dead is far from perfect at this point, but its pretty damn good, and I can see many ways that it will become pretty damn great in its second season. For now, though, I'm just excited to see how this first season wraps up.
Grade: B+
Notes:
-Apparently the outbreak of zombies started 163 days ago. That may help us start to narrow the window of how long Lori thought Rick was dead before she started banging Shane. And, you know, its important for other reasons too...
-"We don't burn them! We bury them!"
-"Its not about what you want. That sound you hear is God laughing while you make plans."
This week opens with Rick on the walkie talkie trying to communicate with Morgan to tell him to stay away from Atlanta. There's a hint of futility in his voice that I found fairly convincing--he knows how bad things have become, and he really doesn't see a way out. The sanctuary his group has made in the wilderness has been invaded, and people he has come to know (albeit only slightly) are dead all around him. While the men go about destroying the brains of their dead, burning the zombie bodies (but notably burying the bodies of their own dead) and clearly the wreckage, Andrea mourns Amy and refuses to let anyone come near her. Her grief is a little over done, but its convincing, and Dale's speech to her about how much he has come to care for her and for Amy was very moving. Watching Amy come back to life and scrape at Andrea in mindless hunger was very heart-wrenching, as Andrea screamed and put a bullet through the head of her baby sister.
Yet as decently as Amy's reanimation and death was handled, watching Carol beat Ed's head in was a giant, walking cliche. Every time an abusive husband is killed in anything ever, the wife always takes her anger out on the corpse. It may be a realistic reaction and a decent portrayal, but it comes across as false and forced simply because its been done so many times. While Carol and Andrea grieve in their own ways, Jim realizes he has been bitten, and is therefore in the slow, painful process of becoming one of the walkers. The debate over whether to kill Jim is short ("we don't kill the living" seems to be a code that Rick will stick to very strongly), but the question of what to do next is more drawn out. Rick wants to take Jim to the CDC in the (fairly naive) hope of finding a cure, and Shane hopes to get to a military base 125 miles in the other direction.
Shane continues to be possibly the most fascinating character on the show. He is quick to use violence to exert his authority, but seemingly does this because he knows that power must be consolidated or order will fall by the wayside. He believes in practicality over the righteousness that Rick clings to, which often sets them at odds. Rick is quick to hand out guns to those who choose not to accompany of them, and even to offer Jim one when he eventually decides to be left at the side of the road; Shane seems more weary of getting rid of the supply that most closely resembles any kind of currency in this post-apocalyptic world. Most crucially, this week, Shane considers killing Rick in the woods after Rick tells him he does not understand hat its like to have a family to consider. The moment is a tour de force for Jon Bernthal, who excellently portrays Shane's torment as he contemplates murdering his former partner. On the one hand, it would further consolidate power, which is practical. It would also give Shane a chance to be the father figure for Carl and the lover to Lori that he so wants to be. Most interestingly, it shows how quickly Shane has learned to resort to violence in order to solve even his smallest problems. Shane is a man who believes in keeping order even if he does it by breaking the peace, and the question of how far he will go to gain power or control is a fascinating one. The moment when Dale comes upon Shane with a gun trained at Rick is also a fascinating one--Dale clearly knows what he has just seen, and is obviously unsettled by it, yet what can really be done? Shane is the de facto leader of their group (though Rick consistently struggles for that position with him), and he clearly doesn't take kindly to those who question his authority. Dale, at least for now, chooses not to.
The moment when Jim asks to be left by the road, and when everyone says goodbye to him, is truly harrowing, a somewhat beautiful expression of how powerful every life is in a world with very few people left. This is one moment where everyone seems to come into agreement with Rick's fairly die hard view that every human life is sacred; each member of the group appreciates the quiet tragedy of Jim's decision, and realizes what a precious presence will be missing from here on out. Many members of the group had honestly considered killing Jim, yet no one is happy to leave him dying by the side of the road.
I would be remiss if I didn't discuss the awesome, shocking ending of the episode, in which a mostly abandoned CDC is still populated by one dedicated, if cynical, scientist searching for a cure. The man suffers a miserable setback when his best samples are destroyed--a setback so severe he contemplates suicide until he sees a small group of survivors. Rick has something of a breakdown in front of the CDC shutters, screaming "you're killing us!" and hurling himself against the shudders. Its another excellently played scene, and even though the shutters opening to reveal a Close Encounters style white light was a little bit much, the ending of the episode suggested a bold new direction the show could go in for the next several weeks.
This was another very solid episode of The Walking Dead. I do still think of the show as flawed, but I don't see a single flaw that can't be overcome with slightly better writing. That isn't to say that the uneven writing isn't a large problem for the show--it is. Moments like Andrea's tragic murder of Amy are seriously undercut by walking cliches like Carol's beating of Ed's corpse, and that lessens the quality of the show overall. This is not a great television series yet, but I can think of several series that had uneven shortened first seasons, only to come back with excellence when they had a full order in front of them (the first examples to come to mind are Buffy, which had a mixed first season of 13 episodes, and then a pretty stellar second, The Office, which aped its British predecessor a bit much in its first 6 episodes only to set itself apart in its next season, and Parks and Rec which felt derivative of The Office until the second season where it became a much, much funnier version of The Office). All of this is basically to say that The Walking Dead is far from perfect at this point, but its pretty damn good, and I can see many ways that it will become pretty damn great in its second season. For now, though, I'm just excited to see how this first season wraps up.
Grade: B+
Notes:
-Apparently the outbreak of zombies started 163 days ago. That may help us start to narrow the window of how long Lori thought Rick was dead before she started banging Shane. And, you know, its important for other reasons too...
-"We don't burn them! We bury them!"
-"Its not about what you want. That sound you hear is God laughing while you make plans."
Monday, November 22, 2010
Jordan's Review: The Walking Dead, Season 1, Episode 4: Vatos
There is no doubt about it, The Walking Dead's biggest problem is the two masters it is serving. On the one hand, people who have become accustomed to a certain level of depth and quality to their AMC programming, through Madd Men, Breaking Bad and to a much lesser extent Rubicon are watching the show expecting a more meditative, complex, and deeply wrought version of the standard zombie storylines. On the other are the zombie people who come to the show (probably in much larger numbers than the former group) possibly entirely unaware of AMC's track record and just looking for week-to-week thrills and gore. Personally, I fall more into the former camp than the latter, but I understand that the show will always have to deal with those who are around just to watch zombies get slaughtered. The Sopranos often drew complaints from people who thought there should be more wacking, and a similar contingency will likely be clamoring for more gore if the show goes too philosophical for too long. Personally, the more introspective The Sopranos got, the happier I was, and the same will be true of The Walking Dead, I'm sure. I hope that in the long run, the show leans less on zombie violence and more on thought-provoking ethical conundrums, but for now I understand the need for balance, and I think the show has done a pretty solid job of doing that so far.
This week's episode opens with a subtly heart-warming discussion between Andrea and Amy as they compare notes about their father's fishing style. At first they think that they're memories are failing them, but they soon come to realize that their dad knew the differences between them and accommodated them both as best he could. What starts as a nice moment between two characters quickly becomes a quietly tragic contemplation of the pain of outliving those you love and the marks that parents indelibly leave on their children. I should have seen this as foreshadowing of what was to come, but the scene was so tranquil, I failed to notice it as the calm before the storm. Jim, meanwhile was a few steps ahead of me, having apparently dreamed of a zombie attack and spending the day digging graves in a nearby field, refusing to stop for anyone until Shane broke out his trusty violent tendencies and subdued Jim. I like how the show plays Shane so far as a man who truly wants to do good for everyone around him but is discovering the most efficient way to do that is to rule like a dictator, through violence and fear. Shane may be corrupted by the power he wields, and he may stop using violence for the greater good, but at the moment he is a kind, contemplative man of action with a dark side brewing under the surface. I'm excited to see where this internal conflict takes him. Jim was also deepened in a fascinating way tonight, with the discovery that his wife and children were eaten in front of him, and he only escaped because the zombies were to busy eating his family to notice him.
In Atlanta, Rick, Daryl, Short Round, and T-Dog search for Merle and get into a conflict with another group of survivors, who kidnap Short Round to extort the guns out of the group. What begins as a showdown between a ruthless "gang leader" in Guillermo quickly gains added depth after it is revealed that Guillermo and Felipe, his right hand man, were staff at a hospital who stayed behind after everyone else fled the city to assist the elderly who couldn't make it out. Even better, while Felipe is a nurse, Guillermo was only a janitor before the zombie apocalypse began. This was a nice way to give depth to a storyline that would otherwise have been pretty straightforward "people are assholes" schtick. While The Walking Dead seems perfectly willing to show us that in a post-apocalyptic world, people are the real enemy, not zombies, I appreciated the color that was added to Guillermo's character with the revelation that he is not a cold gang leader, but rather a janitor trying his best to help people in need. Not everyone on this show is a hero, but its nice to know that not everyone is an obvious villain either. The scene was played out in almost eye-rolling fashion, especially in Guillermo's dialogue, but the heart was in the right place, and for now that's enough for me.
As the episode ends, the Atlanta group has rushed back to camp on foot, thinking that Merle was driving back to get some revenge, only to discover a zombie horde attacking their peaceful camp. The night fight scene was incredibly well executed and should have made any of the "watching only for the gore" group pretty happy. Yet it also packed the emotional punch that this show does best, taking Amy on the eve of her birthday, and leaving Andrea crying over the loved one she has now lost, hearkening back to the beginning of the episode.
In all, this episode is definitely a step down from last week's. While I appreciated the shading on the Vatos, I still think their plotline was a bit sappy, and ultimately felt like a stall rather than a necessary cog in this season's story arc. The opening and closing scenes were incredibly strong, though, and there was enough thoughtfulness, and yes, action in between them to call "Vatos" a solid, if not stellar, installment of The Walking Dead.
Grade: B
Notes:
-While seeing Amy go was sad, I was actually relieved to watch Ed be devoured by a zombie. One asshole down.
-"Guess the world changed." "No. Its the same as it ever was. The weak get taken."
-"How long do you think they got?" "How long do any of us?"
-"I give this to you not so you can remember time, but so you can forget it, and not waste your every breath trying to conquer it."
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Jordan's Review: The Walking Dead: Season 1, Episode 3: Tell it to the Frogs
After the definite step down that was last week's "Guts," The Walking Dead really needed to hit one out of the park. This first season is only 6 episodes long, and if the show is going to be successful, it needs to minimize the first season missteps. Any show will stumble a bit out of the gate, but this is more allowable when a series is tossing out 22 or so episodes in that inaugural run. When you only have 6 episodes, you can't really afford to throw out too many off-episodes. Fortunately, "Tell it to the Frogs" is the best episode the show has done so far, and gives a good indication of where the series may be headed in the remainder of this season, and in subsequent ones (AMC recently renewed it for a second season, which will likely be longer).
The show starts with a bang, showing Merle going just a little bit crazy chained to that pipe on the roof, babbling to himself as if he doesn't even remember where he is, then going through a moment of clarity when some zombies start trying to get onto the roof. This was a definite step in the right direction for the character after the atrocious stereotype he was last week, and watching him desperately fight for his life, and make a dire decision for survival, was a visceral, moving cold open.
After three episodes, I can say pretty surely that The Walking Dead is at its best when it is dealing with raw, powerful emotions, a skill that will serve it well seeing as it is set during a zombie apocalypse, when emotions run high. Case in point is the scene in which Rick arrives at the camp to see his wife and child are still alive. The reunion is pretty much pitch perfect, and filled with genuine, earned emotion. Rick has already been through a lot to get to his family, and you can see the weight of his journey hitting him as he holds his wife and child in his arms again. Lori's reaction is also handled perfectly, from her initial shock that Rick is alive, to the creeping realization of what that means for her life. Rick and Lori may be reunited, but their marriage was in trouble before the dead started walking, and his simply being alive isn't going to fix the long term problems they were having. Add to that Shane's relationship with Lori and Carl, which clearly means a lot to him, and Lori's cold insistence that he is no longer a part of her life and there are enough emotional conflicts just within this core family unit to sustain the series for a long time to come. Each of the characters involved in this conflict is incredible well drawn and fully realized. Rick is so glad to be back that he is blinded to Lori's regret and apology, Lori wants to be faithful to her husband, but is not sure if she's even happy at his return, and Shane wants to step back graciously but truly loves Lori and has bonded with Carl. Because all of this is believable, each character is immediately relatable. They may be making mistakes, but their actions are understandable.
The tensions at the camp are also palpable and well drawn, with one exception. Ed, the misogynistic wife beater feels pretty much as stereotypical as Merle did last episode, though I hope the show will give him more depth in the remaining weeks of the season. The survivors are barely keeping things together though, and Shane's near despotic rule is already not sitting well with the rest of the group. Small incidents like the size of a fire and the borrowing of tools engender resentment, and the show makes it pretty clear that just because all of these people have survived and ended up in the same place does not mean they trust each other, or even like each other. This is made abundantly clear in a scene near the episode's end, when a poorly drawn conversation about sexual roles (that felt a bit too Sex and the City for my taste) quickly descends into a revelation of the guilt and fear that drives this little commune, and how quickly those strong emotions can lead to strong outbursts. When Ed beats his wife for not following orders, Shane steps in and nearly beats Ed to death, partially to protect his wife, and partially to exert control, but also because of the latent anger that has been simmering since Rick's return. There is no law in this post-apocalyptic world, and so violence has become the only way to establish order. If people are afraid of you, they are more likely to listen to orders and therefore, less likely to screw up. This is a tough, ugly fact about the realities of life once society has disappeared, and The Walking Dead is doing an excellent job of exploring that fact.
Another thing the show is getting better at is exploring the moral quandaries that arise in this world, and the importance of this development cannot be undersold. If The Walking Dead is to attain greatness, it will be partially because of its ability to explore ethical questions in-depth, and tonight the question of whether to rescue Merle is a good example of how the show can do this well. The introduction of Daryl, Merle's brother, is well handled. Daryl is clearly an asshole, but he seems to be less overtly aggressive than his brother. He doesn't like anyone anymore than Merle does, but he directs his anti-social behavior into hunting and mostly seems to internalize his rage where his brother takes it out on those around him. Its obvious from the beginning that an expedition to rescue Merle will be mounted (this is television, after all, and while the show is willing to be dark, it is only willing to go so far into the darkness at this early stage), yet watching Rick convince the family he just found that he needs to go is interesting, and it was refreshing to hear doubt expressed that a miserable human being like Merle is worth risking four lives to save. That Rick brings his decision back to the debt he owes Morgan is excellent and perfectly within his character. None of the men who were in Atlanta feels good about the fact that they left Merle, and the realization that he is almost definitely still alive makes their lapse all the more terrible. Rick refuses to let a man die in a world where the only real line is between the living and the dead, but he also feels deeply indebted to Morgan, who literally saved his life and got him started on his journey. Watching the group reach the roof only to find Merle's hand is a wonderful ending to a very good episode of The Walking Dead.
"Tell it to the Frogs" convinced me that the show is more ambitious than it indicated in "Guts," and that makes me excited for where it will go from here on out. It gave added depth to the characters, began filling in the complex details of their relationships, and gave the actors plenty of room to fully realize their performances, in both the little moments and the explosive conflicts. The episode isn't perfect. The dialogue is getting better, but is still spotty at best, and it still relies on stereotypes more often than I'm comfortable with, but tonight was evidence that given time, the show will fix both of those problems. Half way through the show's first season, I am very excited for what's to come.
Grade: A-
Notes:
-I intended to give this episode an A, but as I wrote this review, I realized that there was a little too much clumsiness and a few too many missteps for it to attain a perfect grade.
-"Words can be meager things. Sometimes they fall short."
-"Why would you risk your life for a douchebag like Merle Dixon?" "Hey! Choose your words more carefully!" "No, douchebag is what I meant."
-"Tell her that." "She knows." Clearly the communication issues in Rick and Lori's relationship still linger.
-I didn't mention Short Round tonight, but I enjoyed how upset he was at the dismantling of the car.
The show starts with a bang, showing Merle going just a little bit crazy chained to that pipe on the roof, babbling to himself as if he doesn't even remember where he is, then going through a moment of clarity when some zombies start trying to get onto the roof. This was a definite step in the right direction for the character after the atrocious stereotype he was last week, and watching him desperately fight for his life, and make a dire decision for survival, was a visceral, moving cold open.
After three episodes, I can say pretty surely that The Walking Dead is at its best when it is dealing with raw, powerful emotions, a skill that will serve it well seeing as it is set during a zombie apocalypse, when emotions run high. Case in point is the scene in which Rick arrives at the camp to see his wife and child are still alive. The reunion is pretty much pitch perfect, and filled with genuine, earned emotion. Rick has already been through a lot to get to his family, and you can see the weight of his journey hitting him as he holds his wife and child in his arms again. Lori's reaction is also handled perfectly, from her initial shock that Rick is alive, to the creeping realization of what that means for her life. Rick and Lori may be reunited, but their marriage was in trouble before the dead started walking, and his simply being alive isn't going to fix the long term problems they were having. Add to that Shane's relationship with Lori and Carl, which clearly means a lot to him, and Lori's cold insistence that he is no longer a part of her life and there are enough emotional conflicts just within this core family unit to sustain the series for a long time to come. Each of the characters involved in this conflict is incredible well drawn and fully realized. Rick is so glad to be back that he is blinded to Lori's regret and apology, Lori wants to be faithful to her husband, but is not sure if she's even happy at his return, and Shane wants to step back graciously but truly loves Lori and has bonded with Carl. Because all of this is believable, each character is immediately relatable. They may be making mistakes, but their actions are understandable.
The tensions at the camp are also palpable and well drawn, with one exception. Ed, the misogynistic wife beater feels pretty much as stereotypical as Merle did last episode, though I hope the show will give him more depth in the remaining weeks of the season. The survivors are barely keeping things together though, and Shane's near despotic rule is already not sitting well with the rest of the group. Small incidents like the size of a fire and the borrowing of tools engender resentment, and the show makes it pretty clear that just because all of these people have survived and ended up in the same place does not mean they trust each other, or even like each other. This is made abundantly clear in a scene near the episode's end, when a poorly drawn conversation about sexual roles (that felt a bit too Sex and the City for my taste) quickly descends into a revelation of the guilt and fear that drives this little commune, and how quickly those strong emotions can lead to strong outbursts. When Ed beats his wife for not following orders, Shane steps in and nearly beats Ed to death, partially to protect his wife, and partially to exert control, but also because of the latent anger that has been simmering since Rick's return. There is no law in this post-apocalyptic world, and so violence has become the only way to establish order. If people are afraid of you, they are more likely to listen to orders and therefore, less likely to screw up. This is a tough, ugly fact about the realities of life once society has disappeared, and The Walking Dead is doing an excellent job of exploring that fact.
Another thing the show is getting better at is exploring the moral quandaries that arise in this world, and the importance of this development cannot be undersold. If The Walking Dead is to attain greatness, it will be partially because of its ability to explore ethical questions in-depth, and tonight the question of whether to rescue Merle is a good example of how the show can do this well. The introduction of Daryl, Merle's brother, is well handled. Daryl is clearly an asshole, but he seems to be less overtly aggressive than his brother. He doesn't like anyone anymore than Merle does, but he directs his anti-social behavior into hunting and mostly seems to internalize his rage where his brother takes it out on those around him. Its obvious from the beginning that an expedition to rescue Merle will be mounted (this is television, after all, and while the show is willing to be dark, it is only willing to go so far into the darkness at this early stage), yet watching Rick convince the family he just found that he needs to go is interesting, and it was refreshing to hear doubt expressed that a miserable human being like Merle is worth risking four lives to save. That Rick brings his decision back to the debt he owes Morgan is excellent and perfectly within his character. None of the men who were in Atlanta feels good about the fact that they left Merle, and the realization that he is almost definitely still alive makes their lapse all the more terrible. Rick refuses to let a man die in a world where the only real line is between the living and the dead, but he also feels deeply indebted to Morgan, who literally saved his life and got him started on his journey. Watching the group reach the roof only to find Merle's hand is a wonderful ending to a very good episode of The Walking Dead.
"Tell it to the Frogs" convinced me that the show is more ambitious than it indicated in "Guts," and that makes me excited for where it will go from here on out. It gave added depth to the characters, began filling in the complex details of their relationships, and gave the actors plenty of room to fully realize their performances, in both the little moments and the explosive conflicts. The episode isn't perfect. The dialogue is getting better, but is still spotty at best, and it still relies on stereotypes more often than I'm comfortable with, but tonight was evidence that given time, the show will fix both of those problems. Half way through the show's first season, I am very excited for what's to come.
Grade: A-
Notes:
-I intended to give this episode an A, but as I wrote this review, I realized that there was a little too much clumsiness and a few too many missteps for it to attain a perfect grade.
-"Words can be meager things. Sometimes they fall short."
-"Why would you risk your life for a douchebag like Merle Dixon?" "Hey! Choose your words more carefully!" "No, douchebag is what I meant."
-"Tell her that." "She knows." Clearly the communication issues in Rick and Lori's relationship still linger.
-I didn't mention Short Round tonight, but I enjoyed how upset he was at the dismantling of the car.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Jordan's Review: The Walking Dead: Season 1, Episode 2: Guts
Before the premiere of The Walking Dead, I had already heard that the second episode was a disappointment after the very solid pilot. I thought last week was very good, and while I did not hate "Guts" as much as I worried I might, it was certainly not as strong an outing.
The episode opens in the survivor's camp we saw briefly last week, and its clear from the start that this is the "character's being introduced" episode after the pilot was mostly Andrew Lincoln by himself. We meet Dale (Jeffrey DeMunn) who is trying to repair his RV (and let's guess if that'll be important later). We also meet Amy (Emma Bell), and see Shane and Loria again when he pops out and scares her in the woods, and then they have sex for which she feels the need to remove her wedding ring. First off, jumping out and scaring someone in the woods is never ok, but during the zombie apocalypse that shit is punishable by death. Think about it: if someone jumps out at you, and that person might be a zombie, you have every license to just murder them.
Back in the tank where we left Rick, he is guided out of his situation by Glenn (the solid Steven Yeun), who will heretofore be referred to on this blog as Short Round. It was a good introduction to the best new character in the episode to have Short Round save Rick by guiding him out of the tank, but after the hopelessness of the end of the last episode, it felt like a fairly easy solution to what the pilot had set up as a pretty desperate situation. However, Rick still hasn't learned his lesson about gunshots attracting zombies, and so soon he and his new band of survivors are trapped in a department store, Dawn of the Dead style. We quickly meet the insane, racist Merle Dixon, who is the type of character that doesn't exist anywhere in the real world and is only around to cause tension. I think even the most hardened racist would probably make an exception in terms of survival during the zombie apocalypse (though maybe I'm being too optimistic). He wastes bullets needlessly firing off the roof, is a complete misogynist, and beats T-Dog (which is a ridiculous name, and is ridicuously overacted by Robert Singleton). It doesn't make any sense that anyone would have let them into this group in the first place. He is exactly the kind of person you don't want around you in the zombie apocalypse, which is the only reason he is on this show. I understand why they didn't kill him on the show (though I think it would have been morally interesting to at least discuss killing the dangerous crazy person who held them all at gunpoint and beat T-Dog just for being black), but I don't understand why there was even the question of uncuffing him. He should have been left. He's fucking crazy, and a danger to everyone around him.
The rest of the group is pretty broadly drawn this week, from Morales (Juan Pareja) who mostly just stands there, to Jacqui (Jeryl Prescott Sales, who is a distractingly spastic actress), and finalyl Andrea, who is the most well drawn character outside of Short Round, if only because we know that Amy is her sister. An escape plan of the grossest proportions is hatched when Rick surmises that zombies rely on their sense of smell and he hacks up a defunct zombie and smears the guts of the title all over he and Glenn so they can walk down the street to the moving vans that can get them to safety. This is a shockingly disgusting scene on a show that gets away with a surprising amount of gore, even for cable. The zombies are disgusting, and we've already seen a rat, a horse, and now a man torn to shreds, intestines and all on display. I did like the touch of Rick getting to know the guy before hacking him up, showing that he still cares about humanity and all, but doing it in a surprisingly effective way. This episode is chock full of some terrible dialogue, but like last week, The Walking Dead seems particularly adept at catching the small moments of tragedy that occur in a world overtaken by death and the dead. The sequence is suspenseful, even though its been done a thousand times before, and leads to Glenn providing a distraction by driving a car with the alarm going off to distract the horde while Rick gets everyone else out.
There's the hint of a moral quandary, when the camp gets a splice of an update from T-Dog that lets them know the group is trapped, and Amy argues for mounting a rescue until Shane shuts her down, refusing to sacrifice anyone else in a futile attempt to save them, but its brought up and promptly dropped without a true debate. This show will likely be full of moral quandaries, and I hope in the future there's a little more weight given to both sides of the ethical situation instead of lip service paid to the opposing views.
"Guts" was a disappointing second outing, sure, but it was saddled with a lot of exposition, a ton of character introductions, and a lot of plot to get thorugh in 42 minutes. The cinematography was still excellent, Glenn seems like a fun character, and some future conflicts were already set up (though I hope Merle dies very, very soon. He is a drag on the whole show, and certainly lowered the grade for this episode) ot be paid off in the coming weeks. But after the pilot, I'm willing to hope that "Guts" was more of a misstep than a sign that the show peaked early. I am stil lexcited for the remaining for episodes in The Walking Dead's first season, and can't wait to see where the show is going next.
Grade: B-
Notes:
-Its always strange to me when in zombie movies people don't call the creatures "zombies." Here, they are "Walkers," which is a decent term (and better than the oft used "the infected"), but still rings false. Either everyone on this show has never seen a zombie movie (which is possible, I guess. Maybe they don't exist in the show's universe), or they need to start calling them zombies, and fast.
-"Bright side? It'll be the fall that kills us."
-It seems like these zombies are already learning how to use tools. How advanced will their methods get?
The episode opens in the survivor's camp we saw briefly last week, and its clear from the start that this is the "character's being introduced" episode after the pilot was mostly Andrew Lincoln by himself. We meet Dale (Jeffrey DeMunn) who is trying to repair his RV (and let's guess if that'll be important later). We also meet Amy (Emma Bell), and see Shane and Loria again when he pops out and scares her in the woods, and then they have sex for which she feels the need to remove her wedding ring. First off, jumping out and scaring someone in the woods is never ok, but during the zombie apocalypse that shit is punishable by death. Think about it: if someone jumps out at you, and that person might be a zombie, you have every license to just murder them.
Back in the tank where we left Rick, he is guided out of his situation by Glenn (the solid Steven Yeun), who will heretofore be referred to on this blog as Short Round. It was a good introduction to the best new character in the episode to have Short Round save Rick by guiding him out of the tank, but after the hopelessness of the end of the last episode, it felt like a fairly easy solution to what the pilot had set up as a pretty desperate situation. However, Rick still hasn't learned his lesson about gunshots attracting zombies, and so soon he and his new band of survivors are trapped in a department store, Dawn of the Dead style. We quickly meet the insane, racist Merle Dixon, who is the type of character that doesn't exist anywhere in the real world and is only around to cause tension. I think even the most hardened racist would probably make an exception in terms of survival during the zombie apocalypse (though maybe I'm being too optimistic). He wastes bullets needlessly firing off the roof, is a complete misogynist, and beats T-Dog (which is a ridiculous name, and is ridicuously overacted by Robert Singleton). It doesn't make any sense that anyone would have let them into this group in the first place. He is exactly the kind of person you don't want around you in the zombie apocalypse, which is the only reason he is on this show. I understand why they didn't kill him on the show (though I think it would have been morally interesting to at least discuss killing the dangerous crazy person who held them all at gunpoint and beat T-Dog just for being black), but I don't understand why there was even the question of uncuffing him. He should have been left. He's fucking crazy, and a danger to everyone around him.
The rest of the group is pretty broadly drawn this week, from Morales (Juan Pareja) who mostly just stands there, to Jacqui (Jeryl Prescott Sales, who is a distractingly spastic actress), and finalyl Andrea, who is the most well drawn character outside of Short Round, if only because we know that Amy is her sister. An escape plan of the grossest proportions is hatched when Rick surmises that zombies rely on their sense of smell and he hacks up a defunct zombie and smears the guts of the title all over he and Glenn so they can walk down the street to the moving vans that can get them to safety. This is a shockingly disgusting scene on a show that gets away with a surprising amount of gore, even for cable. The zombies are disgusting, and we've already seen a rat, a horse, and now a man torn to shreds, intestines and all on display. I did like the touch of Rick getting to know the guy before hacking him up, showing that he still cares about humanity and all, but doing it in a surprisingly effective way. This episode is chock full of some terrible dialogue, but like last week, The Walking Dead seems particularly adept at catching the small moments of tragedy that occur in a world overtaken by death and the dead. The sequence is suspenseful, even though its been done a thousand times before, and leads to Glenn providing a distraction by driving a car with the alarm going off to distract the horde while Rick gets everyone else out.
There's the hint of a moral quandary, when the camp gets a splice of an update from T-Dog that lets them know the group is trapped, and Amy argues for mounting a rescue until Shane shuts her down, refusing to sacrifice anyone else in a futile attempt to save them, but its brought up and promptly dropped without a true debate. This show will likely be full of moral quandaries, and I hope in the future there's a little more weight given to both sides of the ethical situation instead of lip service paid to the opposing views.
"Guts" was a disappointing second outing, sure, but it was saddled with a lot of exposition, a ton of character introductions, and a lot of plot to get thorugh in 42 minutes. The cinematography was still excellent, Glenn seems like a fun character, and some future conflicts were already set up (though I hope Merle dies very, very soon. He is a drag on the whole show, and certainly lowered the grade for this episode) ot be paid off in the coming weeks. But after the pilot, I'm willing to hope that "Guts" was more of a misstep than a sign that the show peaked early. I am stil lexcited for the remaining for episodes in The Walking Dead's first season, and can't wait to see where the show is going next.
Grade: B-
Notes:
-Its always strange to me when in zombie movies people don't call the creatures "zombies." Here, they are "Walkers," which is a decent term (and better than the oft used "the infected"), but still rings false. Either everyone on this show has never seen a zombie movie (which is possible, I guess. Maybe they don't exist in the show's universe), or they need to start calling them zombies, and fast.
-"Bright side? It'll be the fall that kills us."
-It seems like these zombies are already learning how to use tools. How advanced will their methods get?
Monday, November 1, 2010
Jordan's Review: The Walking Dead: Season 1, Episode 1: Days Gone By
I have watched my fair share of zombie stories over the past month. Writing a column on George Romero threw a lot at me, and made a rewatch of Shaun of the Dead a necessity. Then there was Thursday's episode of Community. There has been a lot of zombie entertainment in my life of late. And while I certainly wouldn't call myself an acolyte of the genre, I have spent many an hour over the course of my life discussing exactly how I would deal with the coming zombie apocalypse. In fact, in a recent discussion about that very possibility, my friends and I realized that we are likely more prepared for the "coming" zombie apocalypse than we would be for a fire, earthquake, hurricane, or terrorist attack. Those real disasters would catch us completely unaware, but if the dead start walking, by God I'll be ready.
All of this is preamble to a discussion of the opening episode of The Walking Dead, AMC's new zombie series. Considering AMC is home to my two favorite shows of the moment, Mad Men and Breaking Bad, and considering all of the praise I have heard heaped on Robert Kirkman's comic book series (which I have avoided reading in fear of spoiling the show for myself), I was excited for this show from the moment it was announced. I have read interviews with Kirkman in which he lays out the basic premise of his comic: most tales of the zombie apocalypse are short and sweet; his examination of the world after the dead rise just keeps going on and on and on. I have heard the comic pitched as one of the bleakest examinations of the human will to survive ever put to paper (bold words, I'd say), and so went in curious as to whether the show could capture the dark tone I had heard so much about, especially since it was airing on television (sure, its on cable, but cable isn't HBO).
In its first hour, it seems like The Walking Dead isn't looking to pull any punches, either in its tone, nor in its depiction of the violence that has overtaken the world in which its characters live. From its opening moments, in which our hero Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) is forced to kill a little girl who has become zombified (a word I think I will be forced to use often in these reviews, in spite of the fact that it doesn't technically exist), its clear that this is not going to make for light, airy television. Rick is clearly taken aback by murdering the girl, but its also obvious that he has become more accustomed to committing acts like this in recent days. Cue the flashback that reveals lawman Rick and his partner Shane (Jon Bernthal) shooting the shit like standard cops in simpler times. Shane has women troubles, namely that his girlfriend won't turn off any lights; Rick has problems too, mostly arising from the fact that he doesn't communicate enough. Before he gets the chance to communicate much more, he is shot by a group of runaway fugitives and is plunged into a coma. When he awakens, the world is not as he left it.
The show doesn't spend much time acclimating Rick to this world, nor does it bother with particulars like how long he's been in a coma (at least not yet). Instead, it plunges directly into one creepy setpiece after another, as Rick stumbles upon a room locked from the outside with something trying to get out, stumbles through a darkened staircase in which nothing leaps out (though the tension is still shockingly high), stumbles through a parking lot lines with hundreds of rotting corpses, and finds his first zombie in the form of a half-gone woman crawling through the park. Its clear that Rick is shocked by what he sees, but he learns quick and adapts to what is going on around him with admirable ease--this trait works both because it moves the show along quickly and because it allows him to survive.
Rick quickly makes his way home, only to find his family is missing but not dead. Their clothes are gone, as are photo albums that lead to the revelation that his wife and son were at least still alive when they left the house (and thank God the show let us know they were still alive tonight, because I dreaded the drawn out faux-suspense until we realized they were still kickin'). He soon meets the first living people he's seen in Morgan Jones (an excellent Lennie James) and his son Dwight, who are more accustomed to the new world order, but perhaps no more capable than Rick. Morgan has been frozen in motion since his wife was zombified, and in the episode's most touching, if frustrating moment, we see him take aim and attempt to put her down, only to find himself incapable of doing the deed.
As Rick heads for Atlanta, he sends out a distress call, heard but not successfully answered by a small group of survivors including Shane, Rick's wife Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies), Rick's son Carl (Chandler Riggs), and a few others. They know what Rick will soon learn--Atlanta does not hold the refugee camp that Rick was promised (of course it doesn't. Refugee camps are hard to come by in zombie apocalypses), but is instead a haven to hordes of zombies. Rick rides into Atlanta triumphantly on a horse, but is quickly humbled by a massive swarm of zombies who force his dismount, devour his horse, and leave him crawling under a nearby tank for last refuge, in another terrifying scene. We know Rick will survive this ordeal (this is not a zombie movie, in which the main character might die, but a television series, in which he has to make it out of the pilot), but that makes his struggle no less visceral and shocking. Watching him fire randomly at the horde crawling at him under the tank is legitimately scary, and its a relief to watch him seal himself inside the tank that might be his tomb. Fortunately, as the episode ends, a voice that will surely be his savior crackles across the tank radio.
"Days Gone By" has arguably more exposition to get through than most television series do in their pilots; after all, the series is trying to set up an entire world in its first outing, yet it handles the task exceptionally well. The episode feels like the first hour of a zombie movie, which may bode well or poorly in weeks to come. The pacing is certainly deliberate, but slow enough to let us feel the story develop around the edges. This is a show that knows its headed somewhere, and is hoping we have the patience to follow it there. If the show is as expansive as the comic has proven to be (it has been running for around 1o years now), its first installment, and even the next few to follow it can play out as slowly and deliberately as they like. So I have no problem with the fact that The Walking Dead does not distinguish itself from any number of other zombie stories in its first outing. I'm willing to wager it will get there in the coming weeks. For now, the show hit all of the stock points of the genre pretty much perfectly, buoyed by solid, if flawed, work by Andrew Lincoln, and an excellent performance by Lennie James. The Walking Dead turned in an incredibly solid pilot, and one that makes me shiver with anticipation at what we will be treated to in the weeks to come.
Grade: A-
Notes:
-This show is superb at setting tone, from the 16mm camera, to excellent production design and cinematography, to a stellar use of silence broken by the impact of sound.
-"She's good at turning off lights."
-"The last thing she said to me this morning--'Sometimes I wonder if you really care about us at all.'She said that in front of our kid before he went to school. Difference between men and women: I would never say something that cruel to her." So Rick and his wife's marriage wasn't perfect. Shane still looks like an asshole for stepping in on his partner's lady that quickly.
-Lincoln's southern accent was just terrible. Really hurt the otherwise solid performance in my eyes.
-I really like the idea that the zombies are attracted to the loud noise a gunshot makes. That will make for some solid tension in the weeks to come, I think, as our heroes have to weigh whether to fire and kill one zombie, or hold off to avoid attracting the horde.
All of this is preamble to a discussion of the opening episode of The Walking Dead, AMC's new zombie series. Considering AMC is home to my two favorite shows of the moment, Mad Men and Breaking Bad, and considering all of the praise I have heard heaped on Robert Kirkman's comic book series (which I have avoided reading in fear of spoiling the show for myself), I was excited for this show from the moment it was announced. I have read interviews with Kirkman in which he lays out the basic premise of his comic: most tales of the zombie apocalypse are short and sweet; his examination of the world after the dead rise just keeps going on and on and on. I have heard the comic pitched as one of the bleakest examinations of the human will to survive ever put to paper (bold words, I'd say), and so went in curious as to whether the show could capture the dark tone I had heard so much about, especially since it was airing on television (sure, its on cable, but cable isn't HBO).
In its first hour, it seems like The Walking Dead isn't looking to pull any punches, either in its tone, nor in its depiction of the violence that has overtaken the world in which its characters live. From its opening moments, in which our hero Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) is forced to kill a little girl who has become zombified (a word I think I will be forced to use often in these reviews, in spite of the fact that it doesn't technically exist), its clear that this is not going to make for light, airy television. Rick is clearly taken aback by murdering the girl, but its also obvious that he has become more accustomed to committing acts like this in recent days. Cue the flashback that reveals lawman Rick and his partner Shane (Jon Bernthal) shooting the shit like standard cops in simpler times. Shane has women troubles, namely that his girlfriend won't turn off any lights; Rick has problems too, mostly arising from the fact that he doesn't communicate enough. Before he gets the chance to communicate much more, he is shot by a group of runaway fugitives and is plunged into a coma. When he awakens, the world is not as he left it.
The show doesn't spend much time acclimating Rick to this world, nor does it bother with particulars like how long he's been in a coma (at least not yet). Instead, it plunges directly into one creepy setpiece after another, as Rick stumbles upon a room locked from the outside with something trying to get out, stumbles through a darkened staircase in which nothing leaps out (though the tension is still shockingly high), stumbles through a parking lot lines with hundreds of rotting corpses, and finds his first zombie in the form of a half-gone woman crawling through the park. Its clear that Rick is shocked by what he sees, but he learns quick and adapts to what is going on around him with admirable ease--this trait works both because it moves the show along quickly and because it allows him to survive.
Rick quickly makes his way home, only to find his family is missing but not dead. Their clothes are gone, as are photo albums that lead to the revelation that his wife and son were at least still alive when they left the house (and thank God the show let us know they were still alive tonight, because I dreaded the drawn out faux-suspense until we realized they were still kickin'). He soon meets the first living people he's seen in Morgan Jones (an excellent Lennie James) and his son Dwight, who are more accustomed to the new world order, but perhaps no more capable than Rick. Morgan has been frozen in motion since his wife was zombified, and in the episode's most touching, if frustrating moment, we see him take aim and attempt to put her down, only to find himself incapable of doing the deed.
As Rick heads for Atlanta, he sends out a distress call, heard but not successfully answered by a small group of survivors including Shane, Rick's wife Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies), Rick's son Carl (Chandler Riggs), and a few others. They know what Rick will soon learn--Atlanta does not hold the refugee camp that Rick was promised (of course it doesn't. Refugee camps are hard to come by in zombie apocalypses), but is instead a haven to hordes of zombies. Rick rides into Atlanta triumphantly on a horse, but is quickly humbled by a massive swarm of zombies who force his dismount, devour his horse, and leave him crawling under a nearby tank for last refuge, in another terrifying scene. We know Rick will survive this ordeal (this is not a zombie movie, in which the main character might die, but a television series, in which he has to make it out of the pilot), but that makes his struggle no less visceral and shocking. Watching him fire randomly at the horde crawling at him under the tank is legitimately scary, and its a relief to watch him seal himself inside the tank that might be his tomb. Fortunately, as the episode ends, a voice that will surely be his savior crackles across the tank radio.
"Days Gone By" has arguably more exposition to get through than most television series do in their pilots; after all, the series is trying to set up an entire world in its first outing, yet it handles the task exceptionally well. The episode feels like the first hour of a zombie movie, which may bode well or poorly in weeks to come. The pacing is certainly deliberate, but slow enough to let us feel the story develop around the edges. This is a show that knows its headed somewhere, and is hoping we have the patience to follow it there. If the show is as expansive as the comic has proven to be (it has been running for around 1o years now), its first installment, and even the next few to follow it can play out as slowly and deliberately as they like. So I have no problem with the fact that The Walking Dead does not distinguish itself from any number of other zombie stories in its first outing. I'm willing to wager it will get there in the coming weeks. For now, the show hit all of the stock points of the genre pretty much perfectly, buoyed by solid, if flawed, work by Andrew Lincoln, and an excellent performance by Lennie James. The Walking Dead turned in an incredibly solid pilot, and one that makes me shiver with anticipation at what we will be treated to in the weeks to come.
Grade: A-
Notes:
-This show is superb at setting tone, from the 16mm camera, to excellent production design and cinematography, to a stellar use of silence broken by the impact of sound.
-"She's good at turning off lights."
-"The last thing she said to me this morning--'Sometimes I wonder if you really care about us at all.'She said that in front of our kid before he went to school. Difference between men and women: I would never say something that cruel to her." So Rick and his wife's marriage wasn't perfect. Shane still looks like an asshole for stepping in on his partner's lady that quickly.
-Lincoln's southern accent was just terrible. Really hurt the otherwise solid performance in my eyes.
-I really like the idea that the zombies are attracted to the loud noise a gunshot makes. That will make for some solid tension in the weeks to come, I think, as our heroes have to weigh whether to fire and kill one zombie, or hold off to avoid attracting the horde.
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