Summary: Glenn helps Rick get out of the tank. Rick shoots some zombies but that draws a horde towards them. Glenn takes Rick to his group who are trapped in a building with zombies right outside. The group looks for a way out and ultimately decide to rub guts on Rick and Glenn so that they can go through the horde and get a truck. The plan works and Rick brings the trucks so everyone can escape. One of the members, Merle, is handcuffed though and is left on the roof of the building when the key is dropped.
The Good: This was a great follow up to the series' fantastic pilot. The most impressive thing about this episode to me is how it kept the tension levels really high all the way throughout. It was a joy to sit back and watch the episode as we get introduced to the characters while they try to get themselves out of a real pickle. The actual problem of the walker horde was well done and it adds a great new sense of drama to the show, as we know that using guns will only attract more walkers. And of course one walker is threatening enough, but a horde is practically unbeatable. The way the show handled the escape from the building was very smart. Of course Rick and Glenn's tense walk through the street was fantastic television and had some awesome moments of tension, especially as the rain started coming down. But more importantly, I really enjoyed seeing the group plot out the different phases of the escape as well, as it really shows why these radically different people need to band together to have any hopes of survival. This also explains why somebody like Merle may be allowed in the group, as they need everyone they can get. But now back to the escape for a second, I do like how there were different phases to the escape, featuring plans that failed like the sewer system. This allowed for the walker threat to slowly escalate throughout the episode before climaxing in the group's final sprint to make it to the truck. The last thing I liked regarding the escape is how we essentially had a mini-escape at the beginning to set the tone with Rick escaping from the tank, another fun scene to watch. The character work was solid in this episode as well. I got a good idea of who most of the characters in the story are, and I'm excited to learn more about them as the show goes on. Glenn was a particularly likeable character and I think he was the standout character that was introduced, though I also got the sense of Andrea, Amy, Dale, Shane and T-Dog's characters. There wasn't any fantastic characterization here, but it was good enough, and so long as the show develops the characters more in future episodes (and I suspect that it will), I think everything will be fine. One of the easiest traps to fall into for a show like this is to get caught up in the depressing nature of the world and to forget that these characters are human, and instead just make them killing machines which do things mindlessly. Thankfully, this show dodges the trap by providing an absolute ton of human moments. The standout to me was Rick hesitating to rip open the zombie Wayne for his guts, instead opting to learn who he is and to make a little speech to honour Wayne. It was a perfect human moment to anchor the weight of the show in its characters. Other moments were great too, like Shane deciding not to go after Rick's group to protect those that are alive. This clearly demonstrates the differing point of views that these characters will have, while also showing that hard decision will need to be made in this world. We had a great moment seeing somebody making a hard decision later in the episode (see: Best Moment), but more on that later. I liked that the show had some humorous moments as well to keep things from being too depressing. Little things like Glenn enjoying the hell out of his sweet car go a long way to make this show easier to watch despite its gore and depressing overall theme. The Bad: Merle was a little bit too on the nose for me. I do like the idea behind him and Michael Rooker played him very well, but I thought that some of the things he did were too excessive. Lori is the first character in this show to piss me off. I wasn't happy with her decision making in the previous episode, but I didn't put it in my review because it was a small thing. This episode continued Lori's trend of being annoying though so I had to mention it. Lori is a crap parent to Carl, leaving him alone in this episode, and also trying to go to put up signs, which would again leave Carl alone in the previous episode. She is also extremely detestable with her sarcastic comments to Dale who is only trying to make sure she doesn't get herself killed. There were a few small things I didn't like here. I wasn't happy with everybody dismissing the helicopter as Rick's imagination. Wouldn't everyone want to latch on to anything hopeful they could get? Also, would the rain really clear away the walker smell so quickly? I understood what the threat was with the rain, but I don't think it would work like that. The Unknown: What are the backstories of these characters? I really want to know. So Glenn calls the walkers "geeks". What other names do people have for them? Does the word "zombie" even exist in this world? So now Rick is on his way to meet Lori and Shane again. How will they react to his return? What will happen with their little affair? What is Merle's fate? Are we going to assume he died? I noticed that T-Dog knocked over a box of tools as he made his escape, so could Merle have used those to get out? Also, did Rick leave his bag? Does that mean Morgan won't be getting any messages and may end up going to Atlanta with Duane only to find the walker hordes? Best Moment: The group runs to make their escape but Merle is left in handcuffs. T-Dog goes to let him out, unable to leave him to die, but on the way he drops the key, leaving no way to save Merle. This was a really good moment and Merle's reaction really helped put over how bad everything was. Better than that though, was T-Dog who had to make a split-second decision and leave, apologizing to Merle. But his humanity persisted and T-Dog ensured to lock the door to the roof, perhaps giving Merle something of a chance to survive, before T-Dog dashes out calling everyone not to leave him the way he just left Merle. This was such a powerful scene and put over how having humanity could very well cost you in this world, while also highlighting how terrifying it would be to have your friends all run away while leaving you for dead. Powerful stuff. Character of the Episode: Glenn. Conclusion: This was a really great follow up to the pilot episode. The tension kept up throughout and there were some really great moments here. There were some small flaws too, but other than that I think this episode did a great job of continuing to establish the post-apocalyptic world. Score: 72
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
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