review by Thom Yee

Images courtesy of AMC and Fox International Channels.

5×08: “Coda”

I don’t think what I’m feeling about last night’s midseason-ending episode is schaudenfreude, a sense of pleasure from the suffering of others, because it’s not the suffering that I’m enjoying, and I don’t think it’s survivor’s guilt, because it’s not my survival that superseded other real people. But I am very glad about who died in “Coda”, and I do feel a little bit guilty about how hard I’ve come down on that person in the very recent past.

So the big news this week in the land of the walking, roaming, lurking, biting geeks is that Beth is dead, killed almost by an accident largely of her own doing as our heroes went through with their plan to trade the two cops they were holding hostage for Beth and Carol instead of just killing everyone like they should’ve. Continue reading →

review by Thom Yee

Images courtesy of AMC and Fox International Channels.

5×07: “Crossed”

Possibly for the first time ever, we begin the latest episode of The Walking Dead with three separate storylines, each of which are stories that most viewers would actually wanted to follow. We’ve got our group’s hospital infiltration, Beth and Carol’s continuing adventures in the hospital, and Abraham’s road trip (plus the usual “Carl isn’t old enough to come along” sidestory). Of the three, Abraham’s group draws the short straw, where the only even mildly notable things that happen are some minor character development for Rosita, some fishing, the discovery of a yo-yo, and Tara further exposing her terrible sense of humour (more from her apparent lack of wit than the Gallows direction she’s trying to take). I’m starting to feel a little guilty for how hard I’ve come down on Beth, mostly because Tara also deserves a fair amount of that animosity if not the majority. What a horrible, useless addition to the group. Continue reading →

by Thom Yee

All images courtesy of AMC and Fox International Channels.

5×06: “Consumed”

As much as I’ve disliked Beth in the past, as much as I’ve thought that her strongest contributions to the show have been somewhere between peripheral and outright unnecessary, and as much as I’d hoped her kidnapping (and the ensuing apathy of the characters affected by it) would prove to be permanent, at least she’s given our heroes something to do.

In “Consumed”, we catch up with Carol and Daryl, who were previously in hot pursuit of the same car that Daryl saw after Beth’s kidnapping. At the same time, we’re filled in on some of what Carol’s been doing away from Rick and company ever since she was kicked out of the prison, including… I guess all we really see is her holing up in a building for a while. Carol’s flashbacks, though relevant to the story at hand, don’t fill in much of her missing time (which, who knows, might only be like two weeks in story time), and I actually would’ve liked to see more. Continue reading →

by Thom Yee

All images courtesy of AMC, Fox International Channels, and Image Comics.

5×05: “Self Help”

For a variety of reasons, including the Governor’s story being overly drawn out — which I maintain ruined the pacing and development of a lot of different parts of the show last season — Abraham’s group has been pretty underserved so far.  Beyond the mission, we don’t really know what’s going on with them, what’s motivating them, or who they are under the surface. Abraham’s incredibly militaristic; Eugene’s improbably anti-social; Rosita’s impossibly hot. That’s been about all there was to them up until this episode.

“Self Help” represents a fairly important turning point in the whole cure storyline that’s been percolating (and going nowhere) ever since we were introduced to the Abraham trio.

Continue reading →

by Thom Yee

All images courtesy of AMC and Fox International Channels.

5×04: “Slabtown”

Remember that time we went back to the future to rescue Peter Petrelli’s time-displaced girlfriend, Caitlin? Or when those giant praying mantis eggs finally hatched and took over Sunnydale? Or when we finally found out what was going on with Walt’s psychic powers? Like it or not, there are just some plot points that prove to be such dead weight or way too difficult to solve or so disruptive to the rhythm of a TV series that they’re completely dropped lest they bring all the positive momentum the show has since gained to a screeching narrative halt.

Also known as this week’s “Slabtown.”

A Beth-centric episode.

A whole hour of Beth.

Continue reading →

by Thom Yee

All images courtesy of AMC, Fox International Channels, and Image Comics.

5×03: “Four Walls and a Roof”

I kept on re-writing the end of last week’s “Strangers” review because I couldn’t decide on how much I thought was okay to reveal about what happened to Dale in the comics. After this week’s “Four Walls and a Roof”, I’m glad I didn’t reveal too much, because this time around, roughly the exact same thing happened to Bob. Tainted meat!

While not calling for the most intricate of plots (Terminites/Hunters try to scare Rick & Co. with Bob’s missing leg, Terminites/Hunters fall into Rick & Co.’s trap), quite a bit happened in this episode in terms of milestones.
The Terminites/Hunters storyline is fully resolved with their grim, grisly deaths, we lose a member of Rick & Co., we examine moral quandaries in a way that doesn’t feel too cloying or insincere, father Gabriel stands revealed, the group splits up, and we’re already on to our next threat. Continue reading →

by Thom Yee

All images courtesy of AMC and Fox International Channels.

5×02: “Strangers”

Remember Dale? The old-guy voice of reason and supposed moral centre of the group until he just started being really annoying? Dale’s death was one of the most impactful in the show, not for its execution or how much we didn’t want to see him die (because we did want to see him die by that point in season two), but because it was a huge departure from the comicbooks. His death was the first real sign that we weren’t in Kansas anymore/Kansas is going bye-bye/some other Wizard of Oz-based affectation about Kansas representing home/somewhere we’re comfortable (though you could argue zombie Sophia was a big one too, but nobody cares about Sophia, who’s still still alive in the comics). In the comicbook, Dale lived past the farm, past the Governor and past the prison, and it finally looks like we’re catching up to his comicbook (or “real”) death.

Here’s a great shot of Dale in case you’ve already forgotten him: Continue reading →

by Thom Yee

Why I’m watching… The Walking Dead season 5

All images courtesy of AMC and Fox International Channels.

So in a lot of ways, The Walking Dead has gotten progressively worse since its six-episode launch, all the way back in 2010.  Beginning with a strikingly shot, strongly paced and compelling first episode before settling into a tight, dramatic and fairly realistic overall arc (except for that one episode… you know the one), in many ways that first season was the high watermark for the entire series.

Now, when people tell you what’s good about The Walking Dead — that it’s exciting, that the action is well done, that nobody’s safe — they’re not entirely wrong.  On a technical level, the show does look like a post-apocalypse zombie world and all of the maiming and killing and set pieces look fully realized — the execution of the good parts is all very strong.  It’s just the storytelling that doesn’t add up.  We spend too long in places (the farm) and it really slows everything down, things are drawn out for way too long (letting the Governor live beyond the natural conclusion of his seasonal arc), we’re introduced to incorporeal threat (the virus), and we see characters hang around for three seasons without ever being fleshed out (T-Dog). Continue reading →