Ah, this is better.
After last week's laughably bad and little sense-making episode, this week's "Inmates" proved to be a return to form, although it still wasn't without its faults.
First, the positives. This seemed to be a return to form for The Walking Dead, filled with real tense moments (contrast to the stupid Carl- falling-every-ten-seconds, Rick might be dead gimmicks from last episode) and some good drama from the characters, including Maggie's heartfelt search for Glenn. The acting was quite solid, the action scenes good (the bus, the brutal killing of zombies in the last scene), and it gave characters room to develop in meaningful ways and grow connections. Tyreese got some good character moments in trying to juggle two little children (one psychotic) and a baby (more on that later), and we felt Maggie and Glenn's relationship strengthening as both wanted strongly to find each other. The gore effects were great, especially the ending when Tara bashed in the zombie's head and it gradually squished piece by piece. It was a good character building episode, filled with some good development and some interesting plot developments and questions, including the distant Terminus and the new characters in Abraham and his group.
Which transitions to the negative aspects of the episode. Firstly, what was with Abraham and his group's stupid pose? I know they were trying to recreate the comic book's cover, but it transitioned horrifically and hilariously to visual form. Why were they posing? To look cool? It was unnatural and it was laughable. I assume the comic fans were getting all gooey over it, but realistically, it looked terrible.
Secondly, some scenes were unnecessary. Beth and Daryl's scenes were quite pointless as seeing them walking through the woods does not prove an engaging viewing experience. Beth's dramatic voice over, providing an ironic twist for the viewer and the characters regarding their situation, seemed pointless and overly-dramatic.
Carol's return was also done quite poorly. Not only am I not a fan of Carol as a character and therefore was quite upset at her return, her return was done poorly, making the show's knowledge of itself as a show known. She suddenly appears behind Tyreese, and the viewers are left to gasp in surprise at her return. It was wholly unnecessary and did not provide much in the way of dramatics. Also, JUDITH'S NOT DEAD! Honestly, show? I lost quite a bit of respect for the show when I saw Tyreese holding her. I KNEW the show would not have the balls to kill her off, and it really cemented the show as safer and more conventional than the comic. Where the comic takes BOLD steps regarding deaths and themes, the show, due to its mainstream appeal, became too cowardly to kill off a baby in fear of upsetting its viewers. I KNEW the show would not have the guts to kill off a baby, and because of its lack of risk-taking abilities, I lost a huge amount of respect for the writers and this episode in general.
So, it was a good episode with some good character moments and some good gory effects, but filled with some sloppy dramatics, had some unnecessary scenes, and did not take risks, and because of that, I deduct a few points.
7/10
For full review and others, see http://nathansharp28.tumblr.com/
After last week's laughably bad and little sense-making episode, this week's "Inmates" proved to be a return to form, although it still wasn't without its faults.
First, the positives. This seemed to be a return to form for The Walking Dead, filled with real tense moments (contrast to the stupid Carl- falling-every-ten-seconds, Rick might be dead gimmicks from last episode) and some good drama from the characters, including Maggie's heartfelt search for Glenn. The acting was quite solid, the action scenes good (the bus, the brutal killing of zombies in the last scene), and it gave characters room to develop in meaningful ways and grow connections. Tyreese got some good character moments in trying to juggle two little children (one psychotic) and a baby (more on that later), and we felt Maggie and Glenn's relationship strengthening as both wanted strongly to find each other. The gore effects were great, especially the ending when Tara bashed in the zombie's head and it gradually squished piece by piece. It was a good character building episode, filled with some good development and some interesting plot developments and questions, including the distant Terminus and the new characters in Abraham and his group.
Which transitions to the negative aspects of the episode. Firstly, what was with Abraham and his group's stupid pose? I know they were trying to recreate the comic book's cover, but it transitioned horrifically and hilariously to visual form. Why were they posing? To look cool? It was unnatural and it was laughable. I assume the comic fans were getting all gooey over it, but realistically, it looked terrible.
Secondly, some scenes were unnecessary. Beth and Daryl's scenes were quite pointless as seeing them walking through the woods does not prove an engaging viewing experience. Beth's dramatic voice over, providing an ironic twist for the viewer and the characters regarding their situation, seemed pointless and overly-dramatic.
Carol's return was also done quite poorly. Not only am I not a fan of Carol as a character and therefore was quite upset at her return, her return was done poorly, making the show's knowledge of itself as a show known. She suddenly appears behind Tyreese, and the viewers are left to gasp in surprise at her return. It was wholly unnecessary and did not provide much in the way of dramatics. Also, JUDITH'S NOT DEAD! Honestly, show? I lost quite a bit of respect for the show when I saw Tyreese holding her. I KNEW the show would not have the balls to kill her off, and it really cemented the show as safer and more conventional than the comic. Where the comic takes BOLD steps regarding deaths and themes, the show, due to its mainstream appeal, became too cowardly to kill off a baby in fear of upsetting its viewers. I KNEW the show would not have the guts to kill off a baby, and because of its lack of risk-taking abilities, I lost a huge amount of respect for the writers and this episode in general.
So, it was a good episode with some good character moments and some good gory effects, but filled with some sloppy dramatics, had some unnecessary scenes, and did not take risks, and because of that, I deduct a few points.
7/10
For full review and others, see http://nathansharp28.tumblr.com/