Thanks to Simply Television for sharing this review.
Many people found this to be the slowest episode of the three so far – only three zombie sightings! - but it gets better with every strongly-recommended rewatch; I found a lot of hidden gems during mine. This episode has been referred to as the “landing” episode, the one where the ensemble reunites and gets its bearings, and to an extent, its division of labor. We become familiar with the new home base and with the remaining ensemble characters, to varying degrees.
I loved that Merle went through the 5 stages of grief when confronting the very real possibility of being taken by the zombies on the Atlanta rooftop. Denial, bargaining, anger (he had those two switched), depression, and acceptance – or action, depending on your point of view. Maybe he accepted the fact that he had to hack off his hand? If only he had known that he was safe from the zombies. If he survives, is it possible that he will become even nastier?
The reveal that Shane told Laurie that her husband died put a whole different spin on every scene with Shane and with Laurie. A rewatch reveals that what she’s thinking is NOT what we THOUGHT she was thinking when she saw her husband and then looked at Shane. “I barely got them out” – so did Shane lie to Laurie to get her to leave, or to get her to leave with him? I expect we shall learn, at least from his point of view, as the story continues to unfold.
Ed. We hate Ed. And he’s not even Merle’s brother. We were warned that Merle’s brother was no treat, so when we met Ed and his selfishness with his campfire, and horrible way with his wife, it would have been easy to think that he was Merle’s brother. “Mind your own business for once” - seriously? In this new world? Sorry, that can’t happen, especially about something like a fire big enough to draw the attention of walkers. Eejit. And he just keeps getting worse.
Rick, on the other hand, is wonderful. He thanks Carol for her kindness in doing the washing; we like Rick. He is a hero. He is willing to leave his newly-reunited family to go back to Atlanta, and even has no fewer than three reasons to do so. Not only does he want to rescue Horrible Merle but he has guns, ammo, and tools to pick up, and his friend Morgan to save from entering Atlanta. But here’s an interesting question: Rick is a good person who has held on to his humanity. But if he had lived through what the others did instead of sleeping through it, would he still be as good a person? Are we going to see his humanity slip away as his ordeal catches up with what the rest have already faced?
Thanks again to LOSTblog friend http://simplytelevision.blogspot.com/ for sharing this review
