[JesusMonroe]

Are you writing for the AV Club now?

In all seriousness, I enjoyed your review. You make a lot of good points.

Haha. I love the AV Club (only thing that got me through the final season of Dexter) and you are correct in assuming that's where I got it from (and the grading system). I also wanted to add the "Adaptation Choice I Liked" and "Adaptation Choice I Didn't Like" in the stray observations, like they do for Game of Thrones reviews, but there wasn't much I could do for this one

[Matt G]

That's where I think it changed him. Last season I know he wouldn't do that without becoming suspicious but I think he's really trying to trust people again and let people in and again it back fires when she tries to kill him. That's what I think away. He's just trying to change his ruthless don't trust anyone ways.

[tigress]

For the first episode of the 4th season it was good but not strong. I don't really care for farmer Rick, I understand he is doing this for his kids, and that he stepped back from carrying his gun and stepping down as leader. He comes off as a little weak and soft to me. Patrick has the flu, maybe just a different strain, stronger, I think he passed it to the walker? Maybe? The camp/group comes down with the flu.Makes sense it's not like they could make a run down to the local hospital/clinic/ Walgreens for a vaccine. I watched World War Z where Brad Pittt's character uses a virus to keep the zombies away. Maybe the twist here is that the walkers get infected or something from people. I know Norman Reedus said in the recent TV Guide that that camp has the flu and he has to stay away from Judith. I liked Tyreese and Sasha in this epiode. Carl is more behaved not so bratty.

[ll wrath ll]

Grade: C+
Rating System Explained

Spoiler

I rate a show AGAINST ITSELF. If I don’t, then it would be unfair to compare an episode of something like Under the Dome to Mad Men

The highest grade I give is an A and the lowest I give is an F (no F+ grade)

A goes to what I think a show can pull off when it’s firing on all cylinders (1 episode of TWD has gotten an A)

F goes to truly remarkable, awful television (No episodes have gotten an F yet)

D- goes to as dull and uninspired an episode of a show can get (Two have gotten this)

C IS AVERAGE. I feel the need to say this in case I get hate for giving something a C this season. It means not good, not bad.

A+ breaks the rule of rating a show against itself. A+ goes to the best episodes of television ever. I do not hand out this grade lightly. Only 4 or 5 episodes of TV ever have gotten this grade. Some of my favorite shows have never gotten an A+. Walking Dead hasn’t gotten this

I will make no reference to the comic in this post so you can read without fear of being spoiled

I watch a lot of TV and my favorite aspects of it that I think all shows should have without an exception are characters that you fall in love with. Watching TV should be like eating a warm bowl of soup. You sit down at a certain time every night, watch your favorite show, and leave satisfied because you spent another hour with them. You got to see the characters you love again and go to bed happy.

How I personally feel about the characters on TWD is irrelevant. Let’s assume I loved every single character during Season 3. Now, it’s Season 4. There’s been a long time jump and almost every single character is different.

They did the same thing from Season 2 to 3 and frankly, it’s ridiculous. I know I’ve complained about time jumps before and it might be getting old but how can this be a character driven drama that’s “not about the zombies and gore, but about the characters” when every single character changes from season to season and they’re not even recognizable by who they were

Rick is now a farmer and refuses to have a gun. I’d be fine with this if we could see it happen. This feels like this is here just to have Rick go through a character arc during the season. It doesn’t feel like an organic and natural development. It feels ham-fisted. Like, last season, he abandoned a hitchhiker on the side of the road, and now he’s inviting a stranger into his camp? Other characters were changed just to be more likable, like Michonne. I didn’t like her character much at first so it’s a welcome change, but it feels like there’s too much string pulling by the writers. They don’t care about characters being true to whom they were and possibly developing them into more likable characters if it’s needed. They just want to give characters like Sasha and D’Angelo a lot of lines before they’re inevitably killed so we feel something

Cutty now has qualms about killing walkers which is another dumb character development that doesn’t feel natural. These characters don’t have any depth to them. It goes as far as nice guy, wise old man, leader, fan of Daryl, etc. The only ones who have any measurement of depth are Rick, Carol, and Carl

The following is a post I wrote in July regarding the time jump



I know I didn’t hit the nail on the head for everything but some things like number 4 are pretty accurate. Michonne and Daryl, Rick and Cutty, etc. They’re all buddy-buddy and they don’t give us any reason to believe it besides saying that they are

The main reason these time jumps bother me is because we skip over really compelling stuff. I swear you could’ve written two seasons worth of material for these two time jumps between seasons. I’m getting sick of it because they’re missing some pretty compelling stuff. I didn’t get to see the group on the road last season and this season, we skipped that awkward “Getting to know you” phase between the prison group and Woodbury, which could’ve made for some great drama

We also skipped the clearing of the prison, which sucks. I feel like if we saw the group clearing it, struggling, then overcoming, it could’ve led to extreme development and satisfaction for the characters, the audience, and the location. Last season, when Maggie and Glenn were rescued, it didn’t feel like they were heading back home. I feel even more disconnected from the prison this season because it doesn’t even look the same. At least last season, we got to see them fight their way inside and Rick killed a prisoner. I don’t feel like there was a great struggle to get all these defenses up. Plus, nobody in Rick’s group died while on the road last season. A lot of people have died in the prison and during the time jump. I don’t think the writers are doing a good job at showing the value of a sanctuary

And by the way, I’ll say this now. I don’t want to hear the argument that a time jump is necessary because of Chandler Riggs aging or Georgia’s seasonal conditions. If there was no time jump this season, it would be May or June, which wouldn’t be hard to film during. Also, people know actors age. Based on all the problems this show should be focusing on, continuity with a child’s age shouldn’t be one of them. It would seem strange at first and then people would just shrug and move on

Anyway, let’s get to the meat of the episode

There are more people at the prison. There names are annoying children who I hope will get eaten (and whose only purpose will be to develop Carl/Carol and act like a plot device for a dark scene in the future), D’Angelo, Daryl fanboy, Governor target practice, and zombie food

D’Angelo is a new member to Rick’s group and Lawrence Gillard Jr. is probably the best actor on this show so I hope he sticks around. However, every line involving him was some of the worst exposition I’ve ever heard. I know this a premiere and there was a time jump but this entire episode had some awful exposition and some bad dialogue. All of Rick’s lines toward Carl could’ve been replaced by, “I’M TRYING TO RECONNECT WITH THE SON I USED TO HAVE BEFORE HE LOST HIS HUMANITY IN THIS BLEAK AND HOPELESS WORLD!”

Most awful scene in this episode? The one with the children by the fence. Chandler Riggs is still a terrible actor, and I was more lenient on this before, but after watching Game of Thrones, this is unacceptable. All of the kids besides Greg from Everybody Hates Chris are bottom of the barrel actors (and he’s still mediocre…and dead)

I’m glad this show is finally interjecting some humor into it. I know it’s bleak but it can be funny once in a while. The scene outside the Big Spot had some chuckle worthy moments

Rick’s scenes with the woman were kind of…I don’t know? Weird would be the word. I guess they were trying to have a mysterious vibe to them but it didn’t work. I just kept wondering why Rick wasn’t suspicious of her for not being suspicious of him? Wouldn’t she think he’s a murderer or rapist? She reminded me of Jolene from TWD game. She was also a terrible actress

That grocery store scene was cool from a technical standpoint but it was absolutely ridiculous. Glenn struggling with one walker even though he dealt with one tied up last season? You fooled me, writers! I certainly thought you were going to kill a major character in the first episode, as well as the best new actor on your team! The only person I thought was safe was that chubby kid!

The bottom line is, this was simply a decent episode. It wasn’t remarkable by any means and if it showed up at any point later in the season, it would’ve been considered filler

Favorite characters: Carol, Sasha, and D’Angelo. Least favorite: Rick, Beth, and all those 4^th graders

Stray Observations (Things that don’t affect the grade/notes):

-The good grade for this episode is mostly because I’m willing to give the episode the benefit of the doubt since it’s the premiere and they had a lot of groundwork to cover. This grade could fluctuate in either direction depending on how the rest of the season goes. I’d be willing to bump it up to a B+ or even an A- if the rest of the season follows through on a lot of the stuff set up in this one. If the rest of the season sucks, this could go down to a C-

-This will be the only episode this season where I take points off because of the time jump

-The people who edit the “Previously on…” segments leave choice things in. When they mentioned that “we’re all infected”, it was pretty apparent that someone would die and turn

-I don’t remember the opening credits last season but it foreshadowed a lot of things. Dania Guirra was on a tombstone. Hmm…

-Something about Rick’s frustrated, “Don’t name them. They’re not pigs, they’re food” made me laugh my ass off

-Why are the zombies on the fence a problem? Have four groups of people that rotate every six hours. It’s dumb. There should be people on that fence all the time

-Carl’s going to be pretty disappointed with those comics. With the luck of this world, they probably all end on major cliffhangers

-How ironic that Greg Nicotero was doing an “art of directing” segment because he’s f***ing terrible. This was the only passable episode under his belt

THANK YOU.

[Hater]

Dreadful. Bad, lame writing, ridiculous zombies crashing through the ceiling, How embarrassing is it that the season 4 webisode is better? And how has the dialogue gotten so profoundly stupid?

Mazzara seems like Vince Gilligan after that episode. Deeply worried about the show's future-- this episode was the worst of the series so far, IMHO.

[Matt G]

I have not gotten that feeling at all. I fully enjoyed the episode. Interesting that some of you hated it this bad.

[Hater]

And worst of all, no character depth and emotional intensity. Zilch. Say what you will about Shane, Lori, Merle, and the a Governor...they evoked strong emotions out of our characters.

[Matt G]

I think the only emotion we could have had this episode was Beth losing her boyfriend which she didn't really bat an eye at.

[JesusMonroe]

I have not gotten that feeling at all. I fully enjoyed the episode. Interesting that some of you hated it this bad.

I didn't hate it. I thought it was decent. I gave it an above average grade. I don't think it was so bad that Mazarra looks like Vince Gilligan now, though haha

[DominusPisces]

I think they are all linked too and that the walker with the bleeding eyes is the source. Whatever it is kills fast. Patrick was fine that morning talking to Daryl and Carol, and in the afternoon with the other kids. All of a sudden, he was sick, then dead.

I can tell you from experience that pnumonia can go from cold-like w/fever to lung so filled with fluid its about to collapse and shows up white in an x-ray in less than 6 hours

[Tgzz]

Me thinks its in the water.

The two walkers with blood coming out of eyes and mouth, the dead hog and what ever Rick and the woman found in the forest that was dieing. Rick in the open washing off before working in the garden, when the shower slowed to a drip after Patrick collapsed (just though that was interisting). He did have blood running out of his eyes and mouth. Think there was a comment by Hershel about the water killing them in the season preview.

Patrick took over the cooking from Carol when she went to the fence w Daryl.

[Watty]

Had a lot more action than what I expected. I figured it would just kind of summarize what all had happened during the time skip, but they jumped right into it

[Sweetsister]

And worst of all, no character depth and emotional intensity. Zilch. Say what you will about Shane, Lori, Merle, and the a Governor...they evoked strong emotions out of our characters.

IMO the characters you mention had 1 strong emotion in common hate, at one point or another the all had their share of viewer hate and that is over multiple episodes. The other main characters evoked strong emotions as well, over multiple episodes. If we are to base it on single episodes then IMO the episode where Rick killed Shane, that's just 1 example of one of the other characters being able to pull strong emotions and depth.

[Tay]

Character depth in a premier episode?

[RickRhymes]

I'm only halfway through the episode, but I'm pretty confident when I say "Best. Episode. Ever."

[gracie lou]

This one really didn't do it for me. The whole Rick sub-plot should have been scrapped, the Daryl worshiping was annoying, rather than funny, and I don't care much for 'farmer Rick' (although, I doubt that phase will last too long). I realize they had a lot of ground to cover, but I wish it had been done differently.

I did like the organized groups taking shifts at the fence, the raining walkers, and the new virus that appears to be in the water. Also, some great gore - really cool looking zombies in this ep.

I imagine it will go up from here, but I'd hoped for a stronger start.

[Zombeemom]

Weren't the three questions that Rick had for Clara the same that he had to answer on the phone last season ? They might not have been put out there as the specific questions for that purpose , but he was asked.

I want to say that they showed that weird eyed walker twice, once with Karen killing them and then again later with Rick. I thought it was odd that Karen would skip certain walkers, she was kinda examining them, picking and choosing which ones to take out.

[Roamer2]

Bubonic plague causes the vessels in the eyes to rupture and the victim bleeds bloody tears. In the middle ages, the plague was known as The Red Death.

[CrystalBabyGrimm]

Liked everything except Ricks sub plot. I found that boring and ridiculous. The Darryl praising was kinda off and weird. Everything else was cool. Loved the walker hanging by his own guts. I am annoyed at the time jump but I knew it was coming. I would have liked to have seen the beginning of making the prison more like home. All in all a good episode. Good development with some action.

[Sonaliegh]

The one thing I really liked was the interaction between Rick and Michonne. He seemed genuinely happy to see her. Both of them smiling in each other's faces. Give me Richonne now!

Unfortunately, I hated Rick's trek with the crazy woman in the woods. Like a previous poster said, he isn't that stupid. He should know better and the bad part is, HE DOES.

As soon as I saw Kyle Gallner as Beth's boyfriend I knew he wasn't sticking around long. Also, her interaction with Daryl? Most. Awkward. Hug.Ever. What was that all about? What will Carl say? (rolls eyes).

The shopping center sequence was pretty cool. The falling zombies and the hanging by the entrails was innovative.

Really enjoyed Sasha. She's all about her business. Great to see another strong woman on the show. I also like how smart Carol's gotten. She's turning into a real jack of all trades. I don't blame her for teaching those kids how to use knives. As the mother of a child who died because of their inability to defend themselves, that makes sense. No more dead kids on her watch!

Overall, it's a good episode but not great.

[Deadpelican]

This one really didn't do it for me. The whole Rick sub-plot should have been scrapped, the Daryl worshiping was annoying, rather than funny, and I don't care much for 'farmer Rick' (although, I doubt that phase will last too long). I realize they had a lot of ground to cover, but I wish it had been done differently.

I did like the organized groups taking shifts at the fence, the raining walkers, and the new virus that appears to be in the water. Also, some great gore - really cool looking zombies in this ep.

I imagine it will go up from here, but I'd hoped for a stronger start.

I saw a parallel between Rick and the woman in the woods.

They both were ignoring reality.

The show starts with Rick playing farmer and listening to music and behaving as though there's normalcy in the world. He even listens to music to drown out the snarling walkers. He refuses to carry a gun. It's like he lives in his own artificial world.

The woman in the woods was the same, living in an artificial world where her husband is still alive.

Rick is trying hard to be the man that he once was, but in this world it's simply not possible. The woman is a reminder of brutal reality that he's trying to ignore.

Thought it was interesting.

[Drunktard]

I enjoyed watching the episode.

The walkers falling from the ceiling was a pretty nice scene. I definitely did not expect Beth's boyfriend to die so fast though.

The virus is pretty curious to say the least. I am not a doctor so I can't really begin to speculate on what it could be...

I wonder why Carl seemed so upset that Carol was teaching the other kids how to defend themselves. He wanted to learn how to defend himself back in season 2, how come the other kids can't?

[Rictatorship]

7/10

Alot of exposition. I guess the thing I enjoyed most about the episode was that Scott Gimple is trying to make every character relevant. The raining zombies part was way to ridiculous to me. I was laughing through out that scene. Ricks plot with clara was really pointless if you ask me. It didn't really add anything other than give Rick something to do. We already got "can you come back from this" story with Morgan last season. Why feel the need to start that up again? The Daryl worshiping was eye rolling even if it was meant to be a joke. We get it Daryl is the most popular character in the show.

IDK this show lost something when shane was killed off. And I knew that had to happen because of the comic and story and what it does to rick, but Jon Bernthal brought a certain amount of intensity to the role that made the show more interesting to watch.

I keep imagining how awesome this show would really be if they hired Vince Gilligan and his team of writers. Every little detail would be accounted for.

[brain baker]

I think when the people find out about the virus they'll look to Daryl. When Daryl doesn't have the answer they'll turn on him. I think that's why the Daryl worship is being thrown down your throat. It's to show how fast a large group can go from worship to hate.

[KidSeventySeven]

I'm too tired to write out what I thought about tonight's episode (not too shabby in my opinion) but I have to address Carol referring to Daryl as...Pookie?