Review: Snowpiercer

Spoiler-free Review:
Dystopias can be a tricky thing. They run a gamut between the outright believable, and thus more chilling settings (Children of Men, The Road), to those exotic and sometimes overly stylish canvasses that serve to showcase a writer's themes (Brazil, 1984, The Handmaid's Tale). Snowpiercer can be firmly placed somewhere on the side of the latter, but that's not a bad thing at all, as there's a hefty amount of substance mixed in with its slick look.

The film is directed by South Korean Joon-ho Bong. While not familiar with Joon-ho Bong's full body of work, I'm a fan of his clever 2006 endeavour, The Host, and encourage any lover of monster movies to check it out. Snowpiercer doesn't spend a great deal of time on the premise or explaining all the details of its setting—a present-day attempt to reverse global warming results in the freezing of the world. A brilliant industrialist with a love of trains has already constructed a luxury locomotive with a self-contained ecosystem that circumnavigates the planet, and that becomes the refuge for humanity's survivors. Jump ahead 17 years and life aboard the train is a rigid caste system with the elites at the front, and the rabble at the tail. A situation ripe for revolution. Yes, Snowpiercer can be heavy-handed in its themes.

Bong assembled an effective and eclectic cast with Chris Evans (Captain America) as hero of the tail section, Curtis, who takes charge of the revolution to seize the front of the train and the eternal engine. Kang-ho Song (The Host) is a former security expert crucial to the uprising. Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk About Kevin) delivers another memorable performance as Mason, one of the elites charged with keeping everyone in their proper place, with John Hurt as the wizened mentor to Curtis. Octavia Spencer (Community) and Ed Harris also star. It's a great cast that meshes well together, with Evans managing the main role quite effectively.

Snowpiercer looks great. It's beautifully shot, with some memorable vistas of the frozen Earth. While the entire movie takes place on the train, each car presents a new setting, and progressively gets brighter the farther we move from the tail section, beginning in its washed out palette and moving to the vibrancy and technological wonders of the front. 

I was continually reminded of Terry Gilliam's filmmaking style. There are some particularly surreal scenes, a lot of it surrounding the cultlike and messianic adoration of the people for Wilford, the train's creator (the eternal engine is life! Everyone has their place!), and bizarre bits of random humour. It's especially personified by Tilda Swinton's character and actress Alison Pill's over-the-top school teacher performance. But it serves to highlight this isn't a humanity familiar to us. Just enough time has passed to allow us to believe in this self-contained community (and wouldn't some kind of religious zeal be necessary to keep such a microcosm of society in line for so long?).

The dystopic world presented here does need to be taken with a hefty grain of salt. While the global cooling chemical that pushes the Earth into an ice age isn't much beyond the realm of experiments gone awry, the train itself is best enjoyed when not scrutinized too much. It's a closed environment that runs on a perpetual motion machine, and circles the earth once every year. Coincidentally (or not) it becomes the last refuge for a sliver of humanity when the world freezes. It hugs the sides of snowy peaks as it crosses enormous trestle bridges and smashes through fallen ice with relative ease. Yet Bong's sometimes surreal style still kept me grounded in the movie and allowed me to buy in to the premise, unlike the more hard science fiction like Elysium, which, while looking real, left me scratching my head for most of it wondering how such a geo-political future came about.

The train is the perfect metaphor. It's a prison. It's the world. It never stops. It follows the same route year after year. The progression from the back to the front is a progression from darkness into light, ignorance into knowledge. 

Snowpiercer is just as engaging as an action movie alone, and launches into it very quickly, taking the audience along with few breaks in the momentum. And those pauses, when they occur, provide welcome moments to explore some of the history and characters and insights into life aboard the train.

That dichotomy led to an interesting controversy in getting Snowpiercer into the American market, with Harvey Weinstein demanding to cut as much as 20 minutes in order to make for a more action-oriented experience. Or to put it more blatantly, dumbing it down for American audiences. I have a sense what those cuts would have entailed (the aforementioned elementary school scene, and a dramatic insight into Curtis' backstory, two of the larger breaks in the action). But these were essential to the movie, so it would have been severely diminished without them, or any number of others. Fortunately the director won that battle and it's getting its intact release, and judging from box office results could be a sleeper hit in North America.

Snowpiercer kept me guessing as to its ultimate destination. Bong manages to maintain tension throughout in a steady progression through the cars, with each opened door revealing something new and unsettling. While several aspects were predictable, a host of others were not. There is no character too important not to be expendable, and one is never certain they know exactly what is driving the plot. 

Snowpiercer is very blatant in its allegory, but presents plenty of material for post-theatre discussion, and very likely lots to rediscover in rewatching. Bong succeeds in giving the audience a sufficient emotional punch, as I had bought into the fates of everyone, even the more minor characters. Definitely not on the scale of something like Cloud Atlas, but I was reminded a little bit of The Divide by the end of it. While I had no doubts I would enjoy Snowpiercer, I was pleasantly surprised how much I did. It's a film that definitely can find its niche among the less thoughtful summer blockbusters.

Review: The Walking Dead 118

Non Spoiler Review:

Issue 118 keeps the All Out War arc moving briskly, with Rick and Ezekiel's armies attacking Negan's outposts. Back at the Hilltop Gregory returns to find controversy over his decision to appease Negan.

All Out War continues to be a good read, and the last few issues have not lacked for action or development. Casualties begin to mount and loyalties start to fray, and I'm sure something ominous must be on the horizon despite the current state of Negan's forces.

Spoilers Now!

Gregory is alive, and returns to the hilltop exhausted with the few who abandoned Rick's campaign. He's furious when Maggie asks if the attack was successful, revealing she knew of it. Gregory declares it was him who stopped the suicide mission and smoothed things over with Negan. While Gregory doesn't even know who Maggie is, she accuses him of being a coward, but when Greg replies that Negan is the reasonable party and it's Rick who is crazy, she punches him.

Maggie proceeds to address the crowd telling them it's their time to act to take down Negan lest they be beholden to him the rest of their lives. While Gregory weekly protests, she announces she believes in Rick Grimes.

Back in Alexandria a worried Carl finds Michonne returning absent his father, but she assures him he's working on attacking Negan's outposts. He's relieved to hear the plan worked.

Later Ezekiel makes his way to Alexandria and confides how their first victory had been luck. Dwight had revealed the location of four of their outposts. While Rick led a successful attack against one (despite Eric being killed), Ezekiel's men were massacred, and he was forced to flee. Shiva managed to save him from walkers, but was overwhelmed and killed herself, allowing him to escape. Alone with Michonne, he admits he wishes he had not survived, so his men would see him as a hero and he would not have lost Shiva.

The Verdict:

118 keeps the pace of the storyline and brought some much-needed attention to Maggie so that she could rally troops at the Hilltop. I admit I was surprised that Gregory had actually survived. He's the biggest wild card right now and I can imagine him doing something desperate to retain control.

The first major losses stacked up this month—Eric and Shiva. Right now it's unclear how many men Rick has left, but no doubt the Hilltop will be able to provide some new recruits, unless Gregory somehow manages to rebuild his power base. 

Review: The Walking Dead 117

Non Spoiler Review:

Negan and Rick deal with the fallout from the first battle of the war. Holly gets a firsthand view of Negan's state of mind.

117 was a decent follow up to an exciting few issues, and leaves us with plenty to wonder about as Rick's crew prepares for the next attack.

Spoilers Now!

Negan believes he's captured Rick's girlfriend, but Holly informs him she barely knows him and that he never succeeded in killing Andrea either. She goes on to reveal the reason she wanted to bring down their gate was revenge for killing Abraham. Vexed, Negan needs time to figure out his next move so has her taken away.

Negan and his men attempt to cut through the horde surrounding his compound but are forced back inside by shear numbers. He gets his smart people working on a solution while ordering his men to sporadically go out and attempt to trim down their numbers.

On the road, Rick struggles with Holly's decision as the others wonder what fate awaits her. Without delaying too long, Rick announces their plan to press on and take out Negan's outposts before they can be alerted.

Holly is visited by one of Negan's men, David, to check in, but he proceeds to attempt to rape her. Negan suddenly arrives and pulls him off, berating him for descending to that level. They will eventually have to work with these people once the war ends. We don't rape, he tells him, and cuts David's throat. As David dies Negan explains to a stunned Holly they're not monsters.

The Verdict:

The big question this month is how genuine Negan is with Holly, or was David's death a con? He does seem to retain his own moral code given how he kept Carl and Rick alive for so long. But pressed with the reality of the zombies outside his home, will he crack? 

How long will Rick's success last? Cut off from Negan, can the outposts survive? No doubt Rick and Jesus will run into a few surprises during their campaign.

Review: The Walking Dead "Too Far Gone"

Non Spoiler Review:

Too Far Gone brings the first half of the season to a close as the Governor rallies his people to take the prison in order to ensure their own survival. Meanwhile Rick finally addresses Carol's absence with Daryl, but there is little time for discussion as the Governor plays his hand.

After a slow moving succession of episodes, The Walking Dead delivered an epic finale in spades. This is truly the series' Red Wedding moment, and one fans have been anticipating since the beginning. While it followed as close as it currently can to the same storyline in the books, Too Far Gone also addressed this season's theme of getting to come back. 

I'm sure there is a different reaction between those just watching the show and the rest of us who are well-versed in the comic storyline. While feeling the impact, I definitely was not left in shock as I was during Lori's abrupt death in The Killer Within. But those not in-the-know will be left dealing with the heap of their emotions by the end of it.

Spoilers Now:

The Governor addresses his people, pitching the necessity of doing something unsavory to ensure their survival given they will eventually be overwhelmed by a herd of biters. If they stay there they die. He explains the people who destroyed his previous camp now live in a prison, with walls and plots of land for farming. They don't need to kill anyone, but must be prepared to. He has a plan to take it without bloodshed—two captives—Hershel and Michonne, taken when he snuck up and knocked out the latter, and forced Hershel to put down his weapon.

Most of the people in the prison are thieves and murderers, he goes on, adding that they mutilated him, killed his daughter and burned his camp. They have little time to delay before the others realize their people are missing and they lose the element of surprise. Tara is first to say she's in, followed by everyone else. The Governor orders them to pack up and get ready. As they disperse, Lily reminds him she was happy where they are and the idea of killing repulses her. But the only judgement he cares about is that she and Megan are still breathing.

The Governor has Michonne and Hershel in his RV, assuring no one will hurt them and it isn't personal. He tells Michonne he knows his daughter was dead now. But he needs the prison and no one else needs to die. She'll kill him, Michonne counters. Hershel attempts to reason with him, offering him a way to live in peace. The Governor suggests Hershel is a better man than Rick. Hershel sees he's changed, but the Governor counters they will never be able to live together. Hershel appeals to him as a father and the fact they both have daughters. But they aren't his daughters, the Governor replies. The Governor secures their convoy in a temporary safe place by the water, then gets a hug from Megan before he goes.

In the prison, Glen is slowly recovering from the flu. Bob sits with his unopened bottle when Sasha arrives to thank him for helping with the supply run that saved them all. Bob doesn't want anyone's thanks but advises Sasha she should be resting. Rick tells Daryl the truth about Carol. The other is understandably furious and wonders what they're to do with the girls. Rick hasn't told Tyreese yet and isn't sure how he'll take it. Daryl suggests they go find out.

They find him down in the tunnels, but Tyreese wants to show them something first—a rat skin pinned to a board. Tyreese declares they have a psychopath among them, the same one who killed Karen and fed the walkers rats through the fence. Rick begins to explain it's not the same person who killed Karen, when they hear an explosion that rattles the building. They come running outside to find a convoy of vehicles plus the tank sitting outside the gates. The Governor announces he wants to talk.

Rick explains there's a council now. The Governor asks if Hershel and Michonne are on the council, and brings them into view. He suggests Rick will be making decisions today and advises him to come out to have that talk.

Daryl nods to Rick. He speaks to his son, and then goes out across the courtyard to face his adversary through the fence. Daryl tells the others they need to get ready to flee through the back and to get the bus ready with their supplies. He begins quietly passing out weapons to Bob and Maggie, Beth and Tyreese.

Rick offers himself in exchange for Hershel and Michonne. The Governor doesn't want to blast a hole in their new home. They have until sundown to leave or his hostages die. It's not about the past. It's about right now. Rick counters that there are children inside, some still sick. The Governor is offering to let them walk away. There's nothing else to talk about. Even if they attack, the Governor still has superior fire power and will win.

From the fence, Carl wants to kill the Governor right now. Daryl says that would just start something else and to trust his father. The kids begin to load up the bus but Lizzie doesn't want to go. Carol told them to be strong. They should have guns too, she says.

Back at the Governor's camp, Lily sits on watch while Megan plays by the shore, struggling to free a sign in the mud. Lily spies a biter wander into the river and begins to come towards them. Megan calls for her to come over and help. The walker falls down and gets carried away by the water. Relieved, Lily puts down her weapon as Megan manages to lift the sign up and wipes it off. It says Warning. Flash Flood Area. Next to her a hand begins to come out of the wet mud and grabs her. Her screams draw Lily, who rushes over, but the walker bites Megan's shoulder before she can shoot it.

The Governor dispatches some walkers that begin to gather, reminding Rick the noise will only draw more over. The longer they wait, the harder it will be to leave. Rick looks to Hershel. Rick then offers that they can all live together. There's enough room. The Governor doubts they'd sleep well being under the same roof. It wouldn't work after Woodbury or Andrea. Rick knows it won't be easy, but they don't have a choice. They're not leaving and Rick promises to fight back. And gunshots will bring a herd that will take down the fence, he adds. They can all live there or none of them.

The Governor takes Michonne's sword and threatens Hershel. Rick addresses the others, explaining they've taken in some of the Governor's old friends and they're leaders in the prison now. They'll be one of them if they put down their weapons. Nobody needs to die. Rick says they can all still come back—they're not too far gone from the things they've done. They all can change. Hershel smiles at the speech. The Governor pauses. Liar, he says, and slices Hershel's neck.

Carl fires and hits the Governor in the shoulder, starting a barrage of gunfire. Michonne falls and rolls to the ground while Rick takes cover. Hershel is still alive, crawling along the ground, but the Governor finds him and cuts his head off. He looks up to find Lily standing there with Megan in her arms.

Tara hides behind the tank, shell-shocked and unable to use her weapon. Alicia tries to get her to fight but then tells her she'll find her if they get separated.

The Governor shoots Megan in the head, then orders the convoy to start up and break through the fence. Kill them all. The fence goes down under the tank with the Governor's forces following. The tank fires into the main buildings and proceeds up to the inner fence. Maggie rushes in to get Glen and tells Beth to get the bus ready.

Rick tackles the Governor as the tank rams into the last fence. As the bus gets loaded up, Maggie arrives with Glen, but Beth isn't there. She goes off to look for her. The Governor pounds Rick's face. Walkers begin to swarm towards the prison drawn to the commotion.

Maggie finds Bob and Sasha pinned down by a car as he takes a hit. The bullet passed through him. They watch the bus drive off and flee together. Tyreese gets trapped by Alicia and another man, but Lizzie shoots her cohort, then Alicia in the head. Tyreese tells Lizzie and her sister they need to make it to the bus, but they go running off in another direction and he's forced to follow.

The Governor gains the advantage and begins to strangle Rick, but Michonne stabs him through the chest. Struggling to his feet Rick asks about Carl. She doesn't know. As he runs off in search she looks down at the Governor gasping for breath and leaves him there.

The tank continues to barrage the prison but Daryl throws a grenade in the barrel. Mitch jumps out as it blows up only to find himself facing Daryl's crossbow. Daryl shoots him in the chest. Beth comes running over and he tells her they have to go.

Rick stumbles back calling for Carl, but only finding walkers. Then Carl appears, shooting them. Sobbing, Rick asks for Judith, but his son hasn't seen her, and they find the empty baby seat covered in blood. Rick tells them they have to go and they flee the prison.

The Governor lifts his head to see Lily covered in blood and walking over. She raises her gun and shoots him. The herd begins to converge inside the burning prison as Rick tells Carl not to look back.

The Verdict:
Too Far Gone was one of the best episodes to date and ended the storyline quite a bit sooner than I would have thought. Until I saw the tank in the Governor's camp I anticipated the prison arc lasting until the end of this season, but once that prop made its appearance at the fence there was no other path for Rick's group other than to say good-bye to the prison for good.

I do feel the Governor's double episode arc was essential in fleshing out his character a little more as well as the faces in his own camp. While he arrived at the same place he left, he remained more than a two-dimensional villain (with kudos going to David Morrissey for his fantastic well-rounded portrayal). Even the conversation-heavy face off between him and Rick was just as intense as the final battle itself. Having two episodes with the Governor left us with a (slim) bit of hope that he might take Rick up on his offer of rapprochement. His single word liar carried plenty of weight as he ended the life of a beloved character.

I kept thinking how valuable Carol would have been during the attack (and could not help but notice Rick maintaining he couldn't make decisions now because there was a council, despite that Carol was on that same council). My theory is that one of the groups will encounter Carol on the road, even possibly Tyreese's. With Hershel dead, only Rick and Maggie and Daryl (maybe Beth) know the truth about the murders, so her return to the fold could be based on keeping that secret. And by the time Rick is reunited with them it could all be decided upon. Just a theory.

I'm happy that the series continues to pull no punches. Hershel's death wasn't entirely unexpected, given his big climactic speech in Internment that hinted at bad things ahead. He did die during the prison attack in comic continuity anyway, but his presence here also served to fill the absence of Dale, and the series is left without the sage wisdom of either of these characters now.

The attack was especially chilling considering how sick most of the background characters are as they recover from the flu, so having that extra element figuring into the equation added to the tension. The deaths of the Governor's new people got more weight given we've gotten to know them. Some were very welcome, like Mitch, while others like Alicia were shocking, if more for the fact of how great a shot Lizzie is. I even had to go back to the comic to realize that Lily indeed killed the Governor then, as well. So that leaves Tara and Lilly as the only survivors (that we know of). The series needs to replace Andrea in some way, so I'm guessing the two of them might end up with the rest of the survivors eventually.

I did love the chaos of the final moments and the disparate groups that have run off in wildly different directions. Tyreese appears to be with Lizzie and Micah, and I'm assuming the other children made it to the bus. Beth and Daryl are an interesting pairing too, while Maggie (who is seven kinds of awesome right now), Bob and Sasha are off in their own direction. That leaves Michonne on her own again, and the rest of the group with Glen on the bus. And the final scene in the comic is matched with a beautiful shot of Rick and Carl fleeing over the hill and his urgings not to look back. Very effective.

There are lingering questions of course—who skinned the rats? I'm guessing Lizzie, but Micah is also a possibility as I'm certain the series is going to follow the twins storyline now that the group is on the road. I'm leaning towards Micah, given Lizzie has proven herself a capable killer. Also, there is the question the mysterious third group who killed the camp the Governor was spying on. There are a couple of storylines from the comics that could lead them all to cross their paths on the road, too.

As for Judith, my bet is that the series is sticking to the comic and keeping her dead. I will be very let down if they've somehow gotten her to safety on the bus. It would certainly be an odd happy twist for The Walking Dead to pull on its audience and rob Rick and Carl of the angst they earned here.

The Walking Dead closes its mid-season break refreshed, with a cathartic end to the Governor, shaking up the status quo and the potential of new characters arriving on the horizon. While it would have easily made an amazing season finale, I'm happy it wasn't. There's plenty of dark storylines to harvest and I'm excited to see the series within reach of them.

Review: The Walking Dead "Dead Weight"

Non Spoiler Review:

Continuing the Governor's story, Dead Weight finds Martinez taking his former leader and the girls into his own camp, and the subsequent power struggle and angst that results within the group. The Governor struggles to maintain his new family life despite the pressures of their situation that requires a strong hand to lead.

I'm enjoying the excess development forced upon the Governor and his own cast of characters, but the series is definitely feeling like it's plodding through molasses given this abruptly all came at the expense of the prison storyline. Despite this nitpick, the episode ends bringing things back to the present. And with the addition of a certain heavy-duty piece of equipment now under the Governor's command, the mid-season finale promises plenty of action.

Spoilers Now!

Martinez stares down at the Governor for a moment before reaching down to help pull out Megan and throwing the rope down to him. Martinez asks him quietly if he's been on the road all this time. He explains they have their own camp, but the Governor must accept he's in charge and there's no dead weight—contribute or be cast out. The Governor agrees.

The Governor and Lily set up house together in an RV, next door to a tank that a former army man brought. He wishes he could make it better for her (annoyed by the leaky roof) but she's optimistic.

He goes on a supply run with Martinez and some others, Mitch and Pete, to investigate a survivalist camp. They come upon a decapitated corpse tied to a tree with a sign on it saying liar. As they get closer to the cabin they find another labelled rapist. Inside they find another with murderer tacked on him, and who appears to have shot himself. There are two walkers inside—the mother and child—both quickly dispatched. But they also discover the still biting heads from the corpses. 

As they stay there for the night, finding some beer, Martinez reveals he would have left him in the pit had the girls not been with him, but he thinks the Governor's changed. They wonder what happened in the cabin to create such an odd scene. 

Back at their own camp and enjoying their beers, Martinez explains he wanted to recreate what they had before. Lily admits the Governor won't say a word about their former settlement. After everyone disperses, Martinez and the Governor golf on top of the RV. Martinez confesses his cohort is dead and got reckless after they abandoned the Governor. He notices a family really brought him back, though Martinez would never risk something like that again for fear of losing them. He offers to share the crown a little now that the Governor's here. The Governor abruptly hits him in the back of the head with a club and kicks him off, then proceeds to drag him to the walker pit. He doesn't want the crown, he tells him over and over again and feeds him to the walkers.

Lily and Megan return home to find the Governor sobbing. He explains he had a bad dream. In the morning Mitch announces they found the remains of Martinez in the pit, having gotten drunk and likely fell in. Pete takes leadership of the camp, prompting cries for a vote. He assures them it's temporary until they arrange something more democratic, and asks the Governor to come along on a hunt.

Pete confides in the Governor that he needs some help with leading, but they're distracted when Mitch finds another camp ahead of about ten people with ample supplies. Pete suggests they take them in, but Mitch counters they need their supplies, wanting to take what they need and go. Pete refuses. 

They manage to trap a few meagre animals for food by the end of the day. The Governor walks off and they follow him back into the other camp, which has been massacred and pillaged. Mitch is furious that someone else took the supplies, while Pete is horrified they're all dead. 

The Governor returns home, directing Lily and Megan to pack. Things are about to go very wrong, he explains, and he can't put them at risk. They leave at night, including Tara and new girlfriend Alicia, but they stop on the road when they see a crowd of walkers blocking it, trapped in the mud. They return to camp.

In the morning he goes to talk to Pete, and quickly stabs him in the back. Next he goes to Mitch, pulling his gun on him, sitting down to have a chat. He explains Pete is dead. He admits he was right about taking the other camp's supplies. Pete was weak for wanting to do the right thing. His own brother was similar, always being the hero. He's running things now and will do anything it takes to protect the camp, and if he joins him, he'll never have to worry about doing the right or wrong thing...they'll do the only thing.

Later the Governor drops Pete's body in the creek, telling the rest he died on a supply run. Everybody loves a hero. The camp begins to organize and starts construction of a secure perimeter. The Governor warns them to avoid strangers and report back what they see when they search for supplies. 

A walker gets into camp and nearly kills Megan. The Governor shoots it in the head and everyone comes running. The Governor goes down to the dock and stares down at Pete beneath the water. Pete is a walker, struggling to reach the surface. The Governor then takes the truck to the edge of the woods, spying on the prison as he sees Rick and Carl tend to their garden. With gun drawn he moves on to find Michonne and Hershel disposing of the bodies of the walkers from the fence incursion. He raises his gun.

The Verdict:

I'm torn between my appreciation of the the Governor's arc and the derailment of the momentum of the prison storyline. It's unacceptable that the whole Carol/Daryl revelation has yet to happen. I'm also left wondering what the point is if we've basically brought the Governor right back to his post-Woodbury mental state. Did we really need two episodes to hit the reset button?

It will be curious to see if the Governor can put his need for revenge against Michonne aside in favor of protecting his new family. Or if he will let that opportunity cloud his judgement (I'm assuming he doesn't shoot Michonne and Hershel in the opening act next week).

The massacre of the other camp didn't make much sense given the close proximity the Governor, Mitch and Pete must have been over the course of their day out and heard nothing. But it also means there's another dangerous group of survivalists running around close by too. Will they show up again?

What intrigues me more is the preview for next week which sees the Governor at the gates of the prison with his iconic tank—if this storyline is playing out as it did in the graphic novel then the mid-season finale is definitely going to bring an abrupt change of direction for the entire season. I don't know if I'm even ready for that level of plot development coming on the heels of such an erratically paced batch of episodes.

Review: The Walking Dead 116

Non Spoiler Review:

The standoff that ended last issue is broken pretty quickly as Rick and Jesus put their big plan into effect. 

Another fast paced, quick read, issue 116 was an enjoyable one, providing some surprises and call backs to lessons learned from earlier storylines. The result is a very satisfying conclusion to this particular chapter and the promise the war is only beginning.

Spoilers Now!

As Negan and Rick face each other down, the former suddenly realizes there's a mere handful of men from the Hilltop leaving, not half the army as Gregory promised. With that Negan pushes him off the wall and opts for a more diplomatic approach with the invaders.

Rick holds firm to his demands so Negan's men begin firing. Rick's army takes cover and begins picking off the snipers, then unleashes a barrage of gunfire to pin down Negan and his men inside. Negan orders Dwight off to warn the other outposts, but realizes too late just what Rick's plan is—the cacophony has drawn every walker in the area to their position. With the plan working, Rick loads up his troops on the buses, intending on ramming the gate himself with a car.

Holly rushes out to stop Rick, wanting revenge for Abraham. She realizes he's willing to strand himself inside with Negan to break the gate, but Rick assures her he's the only one he won't kill. Holly knocks him down and takes the car, breaking through the barrier and hitting a wall.

As Negan orders everyone inside before the zombies enter the compound, he finds Holly alive, advising her he won't be letting her off that easy. Outside, Jesus is pleased with their first victory, but Rick warns it's just the beginning of the war.

The Verdict:

Issue 116 had some unexpected twists, not the least of which was Rick managing to derail Negan on a couple of fronts. Having grown to expect regular defeat lately, this first victory was a long time coming. The use of the herd as a weapon comes from plenty of past teaching moments and it worked really well as a battle tactic. As Rick comments, he who attacks first, wins.

It looks like Dwight didn't make it out, so I hope Rick and company manage to take down the other outposts before they can be alerted to trouble. Negan does have, Holly, however, and I'm sure she's in for a world of hurt as Negan will certainly want to demoralize his enemies by making an example of her.

What didn't ring right was Rick's decision to drive the car through the gate. Was he planning on being captured? After all the talk from Jesus that his people need him alive as a leader? That makes no sense and he's mistaken if he thinks Negan still needs to keep him alive—what better symbol to parade to their troops than Rick's dead body?

Review: The Walking Dead "Live Bait"

Non Spoiler Review:

Following last week's surprise reveal of the Governor watching the prison, Live Bait joins him immediately following the massacre of his citizens and his subsequent abandonment by his henchman. Alone and disconsolate, the Governor wanders aimlessly until meeting another group of survivors that reminds him of his past.

Live Bait succeeded in the impossible—humanizing the Governor again. It was also quite a slow burn of an episode, as well, coming on a string of them, but I found I wasn't bored at all. In contrast, there was a high level of tension given it's the Governor we're dealing with, and how he would respond to encountering other people. 

Live Bait refuses to go into expected territory, ending on a surprising note and playing against what most of the audience would have anticipated. The Governor's storyline will continue to get fleshed out next week, but there's the potential for interesting developments.

Spoilers Now!

Following the massacre of the Woodbury militia, the Governor and his two men make camp for the night. As he sits in a fugue in front of his fire he watches a zombie make its way towards him, trying to reach him through the flames until Martinez shoots it. Come morning he emerges from his tent to find they've abandoned him. He gets a rig working and returns to Woodbury, which he burns to the ground. 

Wandering for a couple of months he finally collapses on a street when he sees a girl in a window and goes inside to investigate. He finds two women with the little girl, armed with a gun and bat. He hands his weapon to them and explains the man in charge of his town lost it and he barely got out alive. He offers his name as Brian (from a message he saw scrawled on a barn). Tara, a former cop, and her sister Lily have been waiting for the National Guard. They also have their disabled father (suffering from lung cancer and requiring oxygen) and Lily's daughter Megan, who doesn't talk. They were lucky in having a food truck parked outside their building when the outbreak happened. They ask if he plans on staying, and he says just for the night. Tara warns him not to mess with her family or she'll put him down. Lily comes to visit him after, bringing him food. He takes it, but later dumps it out. 

The Governor brings the plate back and they invite him in. He helps them take their father to his bed. There are walkers moving around in apartments upstairs and the old man says Tara has tried repeatedly to kill them. He asks him to go to a friend's suite to retrieve a backgammon set, something that might make Megan talk again. The Governor does so, and finds the neighbour (who had lost both legs) now turned to a walker and trapped in the bathtub. He kills it and takes the gun in his hand. 

The Governor brings the game back to them, and in his room looks at the family photo he carries. In the morning Lily comes in with a few things for the road. She also gives him his gun back but he tells her to keep it as they need another one. He has the one he found upstairs, and explains that they have to kill the walkers in the brain. Tara's just been shooting them in the body. She reveal her father has stage four lung cancer and nearing the end, with just two days of oxygen left. She asks if he'll go to an old folks home to get any tanks he can find. 

The Governor walks to the place and finds it filled with the former residents. He discovers a dozen oxygen tanks and quickly heads out with them, but his activity has alerted the walkers and he can only escape with two. He brings them back but won't talk about what happened.

Lily insists on tending to his cuts. She admits Megan thought he was her dad when she saw him as he abandoned them a few years before the apocalypse. Megan stays with him while Lily goes for ointment and asks what happened to his eye. He confesses he's a pirate, and when they laugh he explains what really happened was he tried to help someone. 

The Governor stays awhile. Cleaned up and with a hair-cut, he proceeds to teach Megan chess as the girls tend to their dying father. When he passes, they finally bring in Megan to see him. The Governor urges them to go but she wants a minute. The old man's eyes open and he grabs Tara, and the Governor proceeds to bash his head in with the oxygen tank as the others scream for him to stop. The Governor digs a grave and Lily comes out to help bury her father. When they return Megan runs away from him but Tara admits he saved her life, and her father would have been grateful.

He leaves them alone, and when he returns home he burns the photo of his family. He packs up and tells Lily good-bye, but she wants him to take them with him to find some place better. He reluctantly concedes and they leave in the food truck. On the road, Tara admits she's not really a cop, though she was in the academy, and apologizes for lying. When they make camp Lily and the Governor wake up in the night and have sex.

The truck breaks down and they set off on foot to find a car. The Governor spies a herd of walkers ahead. Megan remains frozen but finally runs to him and they head into the woods. The Governor and Megan fall into a pit with a few walkers trapped inside. He violently kills them with his bare hands and promises Megan he won't let anything happen to her. That's when Martinez appears and looks down incredulously on them.

The Verdict:

Live Bait sets up a humbled Governor with a new group of survivors as a contrast to the prison. It's too early to make such grand predictions (after all, we only saw the Governor at the end of Internment). But the series managed to humanize the man in ways I couldn't have thought possible after last season, and raises the question if redemption is possible for anyone in the post-apocalypse. 

I felt plenty of apprehension watching him interact with everyone, and certainly relieved that Tara, Lily and Megan lived to see the end of this episode. Given how so many new characters are offed as soon as they break out of the gate, I hope they stay around as they've received more development in one episode than all the Woodbury characters. 

There's a comparison to be drawn between Carol and the Governor's abandonment of the past, which has become a running theme this season. Only once he lets go of his dead family can he move on and embrace a potential new one. Interesting to see if somehow Carol and the Governor cross paths how they might get along now. But the past isn't far behind with Martinez showing up with all the Governor's secrets. Will the latter kill him or can they agree to make peace now that he appears to be stable?

I'm still satisfied with the low key pacing of this season, mixed with a few skirmishes here and there, as I'm sure the mid-season finale promises a big event. However, it's irritating that we wait yet another episode to get to Daryl's reaction to Carol's absence. It feels like poor pacing to do that, especially if the Governor's story next week doesn't bring him closer to current events at the prison. 

Would I accept a redeemed Governor? It would certainly be an exciting storyline to pursue that would fly in contrast to the graphic novel and ripe for drama with all the characters at the prison coming to terms with the whole idea of it. I doubt that's going to happen, but at least the writers have succeeded in raising that hope. So if (and when) the Governor falls back into his old ways it will be just that more tragic.

Review: The Walking Dead "Internment"

Non Spoiler Review:

Internment finds Rick returning to the prison as Hershel desperately struggles to hang on to the last vestiges of civilization while dealing with the worsening conditions of his patients. On the outside, Maggie manages the ever-increasingly herd of walkers pressing against the fence.

I found the first half of Internment a tad slow and uneven, especially following a string of slow-burn type episodes. But it really turned around for the second half and made for quite a tense and riveting hour when all was said and done. The dark tone of the series seemed extra heavy here, especially with the focus on Hershel, who has always had his faith in a higher power that their situation was happening for a reason.

The Carol revelation only got cursory mention given the more pressing events at the prison, so hopefully that provides suitable drama next week. The final act brought a satisfying cliffhanger that answers the anticipation of many viewers.

Spoilers Now!

Rick continues his drive home, staring at Carol's watch. Meanwhile, Hershel, Glen and Sasha try to save the seriously ill who are choking on their own blood, but people continue to die, and Hershel insists on removing them from the cell block before they dispatch with the body. Lizzie finds him and Glen taking out the latest fatality.

Hershel goes to talk to Maggie and reassures her Glen is resting. As she tries to clear the massing walkers from the wall, Rick returns, and she sees he doesn't have Carol with him. He reveals the truth about Karen and David and tells her to fill in her father. He then asks if she would have brought her back, and after a moment Maggie admits he was right to send her away. He goes on to find Carl and is relieved he hasn't had to use his gun. He passes off the food he gathered, but won't let him out of quarantine yet. Carl points out he hasn't gotten sick, but Rick needs to protect him for as long as he's able. 

Dr. Caleb believes he's past the point of recovery and urges Hershel to focus his attention on the others as well as securing the cells in case people begin to turn. Despite his best efforts, someone dies in the middle of the cell block and Hershel tells everyone to go back inside. A very ill Sasha comes over to help him take the body out. 

Rick finds him afterwards, learning they've lost three so far. Rick assures him the people still have hope. Hershel still believes there's a reason all of it has happened. Rick confesses what's happened with Carol, which weighs heavily on Hershel as he closes off all the cell doors. He finds Sasha unconscious and tries to save her, while in the next cell over another has died and begins to rise as a zombie.

Sasha wakes up and thanks Hershel for being so damn stupid to come in and care for them. Meanwhile, Glen has been looking after one of their patients helping him to breathe with a makeshift tube, but he starts to choke. Glen collapses himself before he can call out for Hershel. Lizzie finds him bleeding from the mouth just as the other wandering zombie takes down Hershel, and Glen's patient also rises from the dead. That makes three walkers on the loose as the others are roused to the commotion.  

Hershel gets up as Lizzie leads the zombie away from Glen. Lizzie falls down but Hershel throws it over the rail. He finds Glen struggling to breathe. Caleb has also turned and Hershel stabs him in the head. 

At the fence, a gunshot alerts Rick and Maggie that trouble is brewing inside. He tells her to go, as he'll take care of the fence, so she runs off. Rick goes to find Carl and gets him to come with him to help, but the weight is too great and walkers pour through a break. Carl and Rick run back into the inner fence.

Maggie finally breaks through the viewing glass window to get inside the quarantine. Hershel begins to draw another walker away and kills it, then returns to Glen's side. The other walker that was Glen's patient still has the breathing pipe in its throat and he tries to tear it out to use on Glen. Maggie arrives and shoots it in the head. They rush back, connect the tube to Glen and get him breathing again. Lizzie comes back, asking if it's over. 

As the walkers get through the second barrier, Rick and Carl start firing to hold them back. They finally manage to take down the herd and go through to ensure they're all dead. They see Daryl's group returning.

With the situation inside under control, Tyreese rushes to Sasha's side. Maggie brings the supplies for Hershel and Bob to begin dispensing and tells her father to go rest. He goes back to Caleb's cell and tries to read his Bible, but starts crying. 

In the morning cleanup of the prison begins. Daryl asks Hershel where Carol is. He suggests he talk to Rick about it. Hershel asks to tag along with Michonne as she drives out the pile of bodies. Rick and Carl taste the first beans from their garden as Rick delays talking with Daryl. Outside the gate the Governor watches from the trees.

The Verdict:
While some of Internment felt plodding, in hindsight I did enjoy the end result. The level of tension and foreboding was pretty weighty, and Rick voiced everyone's thoughts that life at the prison will never be the same again once this plot is resolved.

As people begin dropping like flies for a second outbreak, I was left with my criticism from the beginning of the season—we've never had a chance to see these Woodbury characters in any context other than about to die. While Rick and Hershel and the rest have had months to bond with these people, the continuing slaughter of the background characters doesn't provide the emotional impact it should. Even Dr. Caleb, who has had more screen time that most, didn't affect me in any way.

While we didn't get the anticipated Daryl/Rick confrontation, that must come next week. I guess Maggie's reaction doesn't surprise me, given her faith-based upbringing, but when all hell was breaking loose and the wall was coming down, my only thought was that they certainly could have used an extra set of capable hands like Carol.

Some well-deserved shout outs go to the Hershel focus this week, someone who is juggling his own character arc, as well as plenty of Dale stuff that passed to him from the graphic novels. Watching him struggle to kill the walker (given his previous history) was effective. Also great to see Maggie, who really shone in her command role. And finally to Sasha, for surviving the flu, given her character holds a lot of promise.

The reappearance of the Governor came sooner than I thought. I don't know if he can be the rat-feeder, given that person was operating from within the prison. But it suits his modus operandi to slowly wear down the prison defences with the herds as has been happening so far this season. It's more likely Lizzie, who is treating the undead like pets. As the The Walking Dead approaches its midseason break, I'm sure that events will begin to accelerate for what promises to be a significant cliffhanger.

Review: Walking Dead "Indifference"

Non Spoiler Review:

With supplies running low, Rick and Carol leave on a food and medicine run as he copes with the knowledge of what she did in the prison. Daryl, Michonne, Tyreese and Bob attempt to find a new vehicle and salvage their mission to the veterinary college.

Indifference was another quiet but ominous episode, continuing this season's theme (in case we missed it) that people either change or die in the post-apocalypse. It was packed with moral questions and the two groups provided a contrast of how each deal with similar ethical obstacles.

I found the conversation between Rick and Carol very gripping and some of the best scenes of the season. Giving Daryl, Tyreese and Michonne some time together was also a nice move. It was all a welcome respite from the prison set. I thoroughly enjoyed this thought-provoking chapter, despite the conclusion which left me outraged at certain characters and is sure to divide fans into two camps. 

Spoilers Now!

Carol speaks to Lizzie through the glass partition, letting her know she and Rick are going on a run for food and whatever other supplies they can find. Lizzie informs her no one else has died yet, but she expects more will, and at least they will get to come back. They're still something, someone, she tells Carol. If she doesn't die she'll get bit, but she'll still be her, just different. That attitude worries Carol, who reminds her to run if there's danger. She can't be afraid to kill to save herself or her sister. Lizzie understands and Carol assures her she's a survivor. When Lizzie accidentally calls her mom, Carol asks her not to do that again. If Lizzie is still afraid to kill, Carol advises her to fight it, and one day she'll just change. They all change. Meanwhile, a pensive Rick loads up the car.

On the drive, Carol points out Rick doesn't trust her now and left Maggie in charge at the prison. She explains Karen and David were suffering, drowning in their own blood, and she made it quick. They needed the bodies gone and at the time were the only ones who were sick. She had to try to save lives. Rick says maybe. 

The two disembark in a neighborhood and find a car that appears to have been recently parked there. They set about investigating the houses. After cleaning out a medicine cabinet, Carol kills a zombie that comes tumbling down the stairs, and then a man and woman emerge, offering them food. Carol treats his dislocated shoulder as they explain they were trapped there after raiding a greenhouse. Rick watches as Carol manages to reset his shoulder and tend to it. The couple, Sam and Ana, were separated from their crew about a week before. They ran a refugee centre together until people trampled her in a fire and injured her leg. Sam saved her life. They've been on the move ever since. Rick and Carol share a look, and then he asks them his three questions.

Daryl's group cleans up at a creek and sets off in search of a new ride. Tyreese remains disconsolate that they're so far behind schedule and Sasha is likely dead. They come upon a service station where a car looks to have been hidden beneath some branches. As they clear away the vines to see what else is there, Tyreese accidentally cuts through the binds on the door, which is holding back all the walkers trapped inside. After dispatching them Michonne berates him for not working with the team.

Inside Daryl finds a battery for the car while Tyreese and Michonne wait. She tells him he should have let the walker go when they told him, and suggests he just wants to die. Anger makes him stupid, she warns. He counters she's still angry about the Governor. If he was here, she'd cut him in two, she admits, but she's not angry. She was. He asks why she still searches for him, but she confesses she doesn't know.

Daryl and Bob find those inside killed themselves by drinking antifreeze. They come across an older walker trapped under a desk. Bob puts it out of its misery. Daryl asks Bob about the group he was with before. Bob was found on a road by Daryl after having been with two different groups and ended up as the last man standing in both. It weighed heavily on him and he almost didn't come with Daryl. Then he confesses he came on the run to the big box store because he wanted a bottle, and that's what brought down the shelf and got Zack killed. Daryl tells him that's bullshit. He and Sasha picked the spot and there's no way he could have known. He's not standing alone. With the car working, the four of them head off in their new ride.

Sam asks if they passed their test. Rick explains the prison and the dire situation, but they're keen on the prospect of fences and walls and want to come. Rick tells them to sit tight while they sweep the neighbourhood. The others offer to help but Rick is reluctant. Sam promises not to take any chances. Rick acquiesces and gives them a gun to fire if they're in trouble, promising to rendezvous in two hours. He gives Sam his watch.

In another house, Rick asks Carol if it was right to let the kids come back with them. It was the humane thing to do, she says. Carol concedes if they're strong enough to help them survive then he made the right call. Carol asks why he hasn't said a word about her killing Karen and David. She wants him to face reality—he can be a farmer, but he can't just be a farmer. He was a good leader, she admits. He never murdered two of their own, Rick shoots back. Just one, she replies, referring to Shane. He doesn't have to like what she did, just accept it, Carol tells him.

Outside Rick picks some tomatoes growing in a garden and asks how Carol knew how to fix Sam's shoulder. She confesses she learned it from living with her abusive husband and being thrown down the stairs. She never thought she could be strong then but she already was. He asks why she doesn't say Sophia's name anymore. She's dead, she replies. He admits he wakes up expecting Lori to be there, too. As they come around the back of the yard they find a discarded apple box and blood, and Ana's torn off leg. Across the street walkers are consuming her body. 

Daryl, Tyreese, Bob and Michonne make it to the veterinary college. Inside they hurry to find the supplies Hershel outlined for them. They succeed in getting everything on the list and head out through the dark corridors, fighting their way out through crowds of walkers. Tyreese breaks a window and they escape on a landing on the second floor. Bob slips and nearly loses his bag of supplies to the undead below. Tyreese tells him to let it go, but he refuses and manages to get it free. Daryl looks inside and finds a bottle of booze and no meds. He should have kept walking that day, Daryl says bitterly, and makes to throw it. Bob warns him don't and puts his hand on his gun. Daryl gets in his face and takes his gun, while Tyreese asks Daryl to let it go. Bob didn't want to hurt anyone. Daryl gives him the bottle back and warns him not to take a sip until the meds get to their people.

They discuss a route home to get them back the fastest. In the car Michonne tells Daryl he was right. The trail went cold with the Governor. She doesn't need to go out anymore. It's a quiet ride in the car.

Back at the house Carol and Rick realize Sam is overdue. He wants to wait a little longer, but Carol tells him it doesn't matter because he's not there and they have to go. It was a nice watch, she says. As they pack the car Rick confronts Carol that Karen and David might have lived and it wasn't her decision to make. When Tyreese finds out he'll kill her. When the others find out they won't want her there. If everyone else dies, with just the two of them, he won't have her there either. Carol thought he was done making decisions. He's making it for himself, he adds. She could have pretended everything was fine, but she stepped up, she protest calmly. She refuses to go anywhere without Lizzie and Mika. Rick tells her they'll keep them safe. She's not the woman too scared to be alone anymore. She'll start over and find others, he says, and she'll survive. 

Rick helps her stock up Ana and Sam's vehicle. She hands him her watch that her husband had given her to replace the one he gave Sam. She has no use for the past anymore. She drives away. Rick heads back, keeping an eye on his rear view mirror.

The Verdict:

Indifference left me with plenty of anger and frustration with Rick's ongoing god complex. The pairing of Rick and Carol was long overdue and extremely effective. The survivors at the prison will definitely feel her absence.

The episode had another strength with the grouping of Tyreese, Daryl and Michonne and I enjoyed the interplay between these three. I can't say I'm getting attached to Bob at all given I doubt he will survive much longer (who knows, perhaps the writers will surprise us with a redemption). But he seemed to let the group down a little too easily given his confession. 

Interesting that Rick banished Carol but Daryl and Michonne saw fit to keep Bob. It reveals the poor decision-making that exemplifies Rick (which I shouldn't complain about given it's remaining true to the source material). Carol's growth has been a steady journey to leadership, despite the moral questions she's raised by her actions. Meanwhile Rick has made numerous bad decisions and suffered breakdowns, withdrawn from governance, and abruptly takes it upon himself to make decisions that will affect the entire community.

Carol brings up a salient point that Rick killed Shane, but as always, Rick justifies his own decisions when it suits him. I have no doubt Carol cares about the survival of the group as a whole, though she takes extreme measures to do so. And I have no doubt Rick would abandon the group if the situation was dire enough and he had to choose to save Carl and Judith.

Carol's contribution was immense and will damage their longterm viability. It's especially hypocritical when one considers how Rick's handled Carl's less than ethical actions. There has to be some fallout for this, and definitely some reaction from Daryl. I'm sure (hoping) that the chickens come home to roost for farmer Rick. At least Carol remains alive and can return, which is more than we got with Andrea. She's much too strong a character (and a great actress) to abandon so easily.

Sadly, Sam and Ana were too adorable to last. I really want them to work out with our survivors but this is The Walking Dead, of course, and they were quickly dispatched, leaving Sam's fate in question. On a final note, I'm growing more certain that Lizzie and Mika will play out the twins storyline from the graphic novel, which would be quite a bold move.

Review: The Walking Dead "Isolation"

Non Spoiler Review:

As the flu turns into a full blown epidemic, the council isolates the sick from the healthy. Daryl and Michonne set off in search of antibiotics while Rick looks for answers on who might have killed David and Karen. 

Isolation was far more subdued than the previous weeks, focusing on the characters and how they deal with the critical health situation. While some might find it too low key, it was an interesting contrast to find the formerly safe haven of the prison very much a prison now. The episode ends with a revelation that opens up a host of additional problems. 

I enjoyed this one, because it succeeded in conveying the seriousness of the situation and the new normal at the prison. But I don't think the show can get away with too many of these overly chatty episodes. But that's not to say it was all talk either—there was a decent action scene later on. The series continues to run strong, opening up multiple plot threads to address later on once this flu (hopefully) is resolved.

Spoilers Now!

Tyreese shows Rick, Daryl and Carol the bodies and demands Rick find who did it and bring them to him. Rick tries to calm him down but Tyreese ends up punching him, and Rick viciously beats him down until Daryl pulls him off. 

Hershel tends to Rick's hand afterwards. After losing twelve in the initial outbreak, they've now lost Karen and David killed in cold blood. Bob finds Tyreese digging graves, suggesting he go get checked out by the doctor, but Tyreese refuses until he buries them. Bob lends a hand.

Sasha has come down with the flu and goes into the quarantine cell block. Dr. Caleb is already sick himself. The rest of the council discusses the outbreak, but Glen finding himself showing symptoms already. They need antibiotics and Hershel knows of a veterinary college 50 miles away that would have the medication they need. Daryl and Michonne elect to go. In the meantime they'll separate the most vulnerable from the rest. 

Tyreese finishes the graves and Rick comes over to pay his respects and apologizes. Rick thinks the guilty party might be trying to stop the spread of the disease. Tyreese warns Rick that if he doesn't act, he will.

Carl goes into isolation with the rest of the kids. Beth remains in seclusion with Judith. Maggie sits outside her door confiding in her that Glen has it. Beth assures her they all have their duties in their time of crisis. Daryl and Michonne enlist Tyreese to come with them on their supply run, but he wants to stay and keep watch on the sick ward. Daryl assures him no one will get into the ward without other people seeing them. 

Lizzie falls ill, too, and Carol escorts her into quarantine. When she asks Carol to tuck her in, Carol sends her in alone, telling her Glen can help. After she leaves her Carol breaks down.

Hershel has an idea and gets ready to head out into the woods but is stopped by Carl, who won't let him leave by himself. They go together, and Hershel searches for elderberries to make tea to alleviate some of the symptoms. Carl stands watch, and they note how peaceful the woods are. They find a decomposing walker lying next to a tree, and another wandering slowly with a leg hold trap on her. Hershel tells Carl there's no need to shoot them and disturb the peace.

Tyreese assures Sasha they're getting medicine and joins with Daryl, Michonne and Bob. He asks Carol to look in on Sasha. Carol confides in him how sorry she is about Karen's death, and after he leaves she breaks down and angrily pushes the water barrel over. 

Maggie berates her father for not staying in quarantine, and instead going into the cell block to try to treat the sick with his tea. Rick doesn't want him risking his life either but Hershel lectures them both that he might be able to save lives and right now everything they do is a risk.

Rick goes on to investigates the crime scene. Carol goes outside the fence to clear the water supply hose but finds herself surrounded. Rick notices and comes running. He's angry that she went out on her own, but with people falling sick she wanted to get it done while they still had a chance.

On the drive to the veterinary college, Daryl assures Michonne he would come along with her in her search for the Governor had the trail not gone cold. Michonne wants it known that's she's not abandoning them when she goes out on her long sojourns. They suddenly hear a voice on the radio, and then abruptly slam on the brakes when they find the road full of zombies, and over the hill the college is swarming with a herd of thousands. Backing up, they get stuck on a pile of bodies so have to make a run for it. Tyreese stays in the car until Bob screams at him to get out. He goes on a blind rampage with his hammer and is quickly surrounded while the others run into the woods to regroup. They're surprised to find Tyreese emerge after awhile, exhausted. 

Rick reminds Carol it was stupid of her to go out by herself. She sacrifices a lot for the group, he muses, and wonders if there is anything she wouldn't do for their people. No, she says. Rick then asks if she killed Karen and David. Yes, she admits, and walks off with her water.

The Verdict:
While not the most exciting episode, Isolation did deal with the quarantine and the idea that the wilderness is perhaps a more safer refuge for everyone at the moment. Characters got paired up with some good scenes together—Maggie and Beth, Hershel and Carl, while Tyreese finally got some extended screen time with the others.

The giant herd was a satisfying large scale set piece to end the show on. It will be interesting if that whole excursion is a failure and (according to the previews) it falls on Carol and Rick to get supplies. Daryl, Michonne, Tyreese and Bob are without a vehicle and stranded anyway.

There's also the matter of the mystery radio signal that's completely overshadowed by subsequent events. Something to look forward to later. And the Governor remains a phantom only talked about rarely even in name at the moment, so I'm sure his return will come when we least expect it.

Carol's casual admission to the crime speaks to quite a change in her outlook. But were Karen and David already dead, or did she murder them outright? That's critical in how Rick deals with this, as he has to decide if he should bring it all out in the open or maintain the secret (especially from Tyreese). I prefer the latter, as the show hasn't dealt with a heavy secret since Shane and Lori's affair, and I think the threat of that reveal would be a nice addition to everyone's stress. However, that all relies on Carol not being crazy. While I can see her decision to kill Karen and David, that would not explain the rat feeding to the walkers, which suggests another culprit remains on the loose.

Review: The Walking Dead "Infected"

Non Spoiler Review:

Infected kicks off a tense episode as Patrick lumbers his way back into the populated cell block to wreak havoc. But equally urgent threats loom, including the gathering walkers outside the fence. Rick is forced to make some decisions about his new lifestyle, and Carol worries if her teaching methods might be put in jeopardy.

Another fantastic episode, Infected could very well have been titled Paradise Lost, as the calm and security of the prison is shattered for good. It maintained a level of unease and increasing despair that really made for an emotionally draining hour. We got movement on Rick's arc, as well as some curious behaviour from Carol, some nice bits with Michonne and Carl and Daryl, and some new faces (that hopefully aren't just more cannon fodder).

Two episodes in and the season is running on strong legs and feels rejuvenated. While the time jump (much like last year's) leaves the audience grappling a bit with some abrupt character shifts and behaviours, at least the series isn't dragging like the much-maligned second season.

Spoilers Now!

In the middle of the night someone tempts the walkers closer to the fence with a flashlight and feeds them a rat. Inside, Tyreese sits up with Karen and remains pensive about Zack's death and the number of people who move in and out of their lives now. Karen wants to take things slow and goes back to her own quarters, stopping by the showers to wash up. She hears something, but a search of the room yields nothing and she leaves, while Patrick slowly rises from the floor. Back in her cell she readies for bed, leaving the cell doors open. Patrick approaches the curtain over her door, only to be distracted by a cough one cell over where he kills another sleeping man.

As morning comes, Rick tends to Judith and wakes up Carl. Patrick has spent the night feasting on his victim before the sounds of activity draw him out. The other man then rises himself. Glen and Maggie have been on watch in the tower. He takes her picture with the camera he got at the mall supply run. She wakes up to the noise and takes her turn on watch while he goes for a perimeter check. 

Michonne is about to depart on her next search, and Rick and Carl see her off. She asks why Carl doesn't wear his hat anymore. It's not a farming hat, he says. They notice the cluster of walkers leaning against the fence and he asks his father if they can help clear them. Rick has cucumbers to tend to, he dismisses, and refuses to let Carl go. Carl asks for his gun back. Rick ignores that, but gunshots alert both of them, Michonne and Maggie. Glen and Sasha yell out walkers are on the loose inside.

Carl runs to the gate to let Michonne in, but the doors are open long enough to allow a few undead into the safe area and she has to fight them off. Carl grabs a rifle and saves her as Maggie gets her inside. Michonne twists her ankle in the process, and they all watch a herd approach the fence, alerted to the commotion.

Inside, the cell block is in chaos as people try to flee. Several have either turned or are bitten. Tyreese reaches Karen and gets her out. Carol tends to one of the wounded, Ryan, and sets about to amputate his arm, only to sees he's also been bitten in the back of the head. Glen, Daryl and Rick finally find Patrick and kill him, securing the area. Unfortunately they must then go through and ensure the casualties remain dead. 

Carol comforts Ryan. He has no one else and asks her to look after his kids. She tells him he's going to have to let them say good-bye, so brings in his two girls, Lizzie and Mika. He dies quickly, and Carol ushers them out, reminding them what they're supposed to do. Lizzie, the oldest, says they should be the ones to do it. While her little sister can't, Carol allows Lizzie to take the knife and helps her through it, reminding her what they showed her to do. But she falters and Carol takes over, puncturing him through his ear.

Rick discovers a locked cell with a walker inside bleeding from the eyes. He kills it and finds no wounds or bites. Dr. Caleb and Hershel notice he died choking on his own blood, something they saw on Patrick, as well as on the walker outside the fence. Caleb suggests it's an aggressive flu strain. They piece together the connection between the sick pig and similar dead game in the woods, and Hershel suggests they need to do something about the hogs. They've all been exposed. 

Rick goes outside but warns Carl away, and the others to stay back given the possibility of infection. Rick explains Patrick got sick from the flu, died and attacked the cell block. They've lost a lot of good people. He warns them not to get close with any who have been exposed for awhile.

The council meets to discuss the crisis, wondering if they can separate everyone who may have been infected. Hershel suggests they need a new cell block to quarantine people. Carol finds a coughing Karen, and they inform Tyreese she needs to be sequestered with the rest. Hershel warns everyone not panic while they get a handle on medications. 

Carol finds the girls at the fence, assuring them she'll protect them as she promised their father. But she bluntly tells Lizzie she's weak. She needs to act fast every time given it's life or death. If she wants to live she has to become strong. Mika thinks her older sister is stupid for crying. She's messed up, not weak, she tells Carol.

Rick joins Daryl at the new grave sites. Daryl is thankful for all the help Rick has been and says he earned his time off. Maggie comes to get them as a herd of zombies presses against the fence. A team goes to try to clear them off. Sasha calls the others over when she find the remains of the rats that have been used to lure the walkers. The fence begins to buckle and forces the others back. Rick considers what to do, then tells Daryl to get the truck.

Beth tends to Michonne's ankle, happy she came back safe. Michonne is angry at her own stupidity, but Beth reminds her they care about her. Judith's crying begins to annoy Michonne, and later Beth wants her to hold Judith. Michonne only reluctantly does so, and when they're left alone she breaks down and cries. Beth sees her and leaves them together.

Carl is inside making markers for the graves as Carol finds him. She asks if he told his dad about what he saw in the library. He didn't. Carol needs to keep teaching the kids to survive, but she hasn't told their parents. She doesn't want to risk them not understanding. Carl feels that's between her and them. Carol asks him not to tell his father, but Carl won't lie to him. 

Daryl and Rick drive out, hauling a trailer behind. They begin to attract the herd to them and Rick takes out a live pig, kills it, and throws it out. Leaving a trail behind them, they succeed in drawing the herd away while the others make repairs to the fence, but the task emotionally exhausts Rick.

The girls continue to stare at the walkers and Carol joins them again, more comforting to Lizzie this time. She cuts a flower and puts it in her hair, and Lizzie accepts the knife in her hand and keeps it. 

Rick dismantles the pig pen. He tells Carl to keep away and thinks both of them should stay away from Judith for awhile. Carl reveals Carol has been teaching the kids to use weapons and their parents don't know, and she doesn't want him to know. He thinks Rick should let her. Rick pours gas on the pen and thanks him for telling him. He won't stop her and he won't say anything. As it burns he gives Carl his gun back, and puts his own gun belt back on. He throws his blood-stained shirt into the fire and sees another herd gathering at a different section of the fence.

Tyreese goes to visit Karen in her isolated cell block bearing some flowers, only to find bloodstains everywhere, and a trail that leads down the hall. He follows it into the outside courtyard and comes upon two scorched bodies that have been dragged out and burned. One of them is Karen.

The Verdict:

Infected was certainly an exhausting episode—an intense and deadly attack, further discoveries and discussions of the flu crisis, and finally Rick's decision to symbolically and violently undo his rustic life. While the massacre at the prison (over a dozen apparently) carried plenty of impact, part of it did feel like a culling of a bunch of no-names from Woodbury. To balance that out we get Dr. Caleb to provide some quick influenza education, and a very quick look at zombie victim Ryan before he was offed. I do hope the series spends more time developing some these background characters so they're more than just faces in the crowd. Otherwise the gravity of their deaths will quickly fade. Case in point—Karen's not-so-surprising demise.

Rick's continuing dismissal of Carl's questions is troubling, and looks like old style Rick issue avoidance, though that might be on the mend given his return to his gun-wielding self. It was tragic to watch him give up his hope of a normal life for his son (and cutting the throats of his pigs was a heavy metaphor to hammer the message home).

This season appears to be less talky/more showy, highlighted by the lovely little scene with Michonne that easily conveyed that she lost a child rather than providing us a long, drawn out conversation about it. But the heavier dialogue scenes with Carol and the kids were some of the best. I'm glad Lizzie and Mika got fleshed out as real characters. I was getting the impression that Carol's behavior was shifting to the bizarre side of things. I can't say she's acting in a crazy manner yet, but she came off as overly harsh and paranoid. I realize several months have passed and so her take on things has evolved. And she did lose Sophia, so with kids running around for the first time her protective motherly instincts may be in full swing. Mika could be the problem to watch out for given how aloof she is to her father's death and Lizzie's feelings—and perhaps the sisters will play out one particular disturbing story from the graphic novels?

Who is the mysterious figure drawing the walkers to the fence? Gosh, is it Carol?! I hope not. We've never seen the unhinged version of her comic book persona and the television series hasn't shown her anywhere close to that version. Bob or other various Woodbury refugees are too easy solutions, which leaves the show with a problem of falling short of expectations if the identity of the culprit is someone we've not met yet.

Note of the week: Everyone in the prison trusts one another so much no one bothers to close or lock their cells, or even the cell block door? Sloppy.