by Thom Yee

Images courtesy of AMC and Fox International Channels.

5×13: “Forget”

The Walking Dead is a show that’s had character and pacing problems ever since the showrunners decided to keep Shane around for so long past his due date, and that’s a trend that reached its crescendo last season when the Governor’s extended story was allowed to truncate the seasonal arc. While that may be an example of weak storytelling (no matter how valuable it may have been to learn more about the Governor), it’s also an example of how difficult it can be to write for a seasonal structure where a midseason break calls for two different climaxes. Even though the narrative through line should be strong enough to carry the entire season, it’s still tough to match up two different climaxes when they’re separated by eight episodes of material. Continue reading →

by Thom Yee

Images courtesy of AMC and Fox International Channels.

5×12: “Remember”

Subtlety? Discretion? Strategy? Characters acting sensibly? What’s happened to The Walking Dead?

While not a lot happened in this week’s episode, there was a lot going on on more personal levels as our heroes decompressed and relaxed just a little a bit into the seemingly very real possibility of normalcy. Particularly towards the earlier parts, the episode really felt like a great, big, comforting bear hug from your therapist, like the moment when the hardened, emotionally distant protagonist who’s clearly been through a lot finally feels comfortable crying in front of people. Continue reading →