stalking dead (spoilers)

Kenny Nardozza

The Walking Dead has returned with a bang to AMC with Season Four Part Two.  I have been waiting with baited breathe for this ever since the mid-season finale, which saw the demise of the Governor and Hershel, among others.  Also the destruction of the prison saw the disbanding of the Rick Grimes crew.  So, what happens next?  How can AMC and The Walking Dead writers top what has already transpired and proven to be an explosive season.  Thus far two episodes have premiered entitled "After" and "Inmates" and they have picked up right where they left off.

Episodes "After" and "Inmates", although separate episodes, are really meant to be viewed together in one sitting.  They explain what has happened to all the survivors from the prison and even answer all the questions from the mid-season finale.  The first episode "After" focuses on the whereabouts of Rick and Carl Grimes plus Michonne.  At the onset of the episode, we even see the aftermath of the prison bloodbath.  You can see the Governor lying dead with a bullet in his head.  There's even an exceptional scene in which Michonne encounters Hershel's decapitated head and puts it out of its misery,  The one thing we knew as viewers were that Rick and Carl escaped together, however, Michonne was on her own to fend for herself.  The episode excels in that we get to finally see Michonne's back story through a series of flashbacks while she cuts her way through walkers on route to finding Rick and Carl.  The flashbacks are great because we see her  former husband and friend before they turned and she cut off their hands, jaws and used them as zombie bait.  We also get to see via the flashback Michonne holding her baby boy.  This sort of explains how Michonne felt earlier in the season when she was holding baby Judith and started crying.  There is pent up anger in Michonne and we finally get to see why she acts the way she does.  She does take out some of her frustrations in a brutal scene in which she takes out a horde of walkers with her sword.

As for Rick and Carl they are on the road and seeking out temporary food and shelter. Rick is banged up from his epic fight with the Governor and needs time to rest, which means Carl gets to explore on his own, proving his own merit.  The episode does a great job showcasing Carl and what its like to grow up as a young boy about to hit puberty in a zombie apocalypse.  There are great scenes which show Carl looking at a life that he once had filled with entertainment, video games, books and music.  It also shows Carl's frustrations with his father.  There is a gripping scene where Carl is lamenting to an unconscious, resting Rick, telling him that he failed to keep so many of his loved one's safe such as Shane, Judith and his mom.  He even goes as far as to tell his own father, "I'd be fine if you died".  Something that comes full circle within the episode as it ends with the prospect of Rick awakening as if he had turned into a zombie, yet Carl cannot pull the trigger.  He still does in fact need his father, as his actions in the episode explain, he simply is not ready to take on the perils of the zombie apocalypse without his father.  The episode concludes with Rick and Carl meeting up with Michonne, and I was personally glad to see them unite.  Now what about the rest of the gang?  The next episode is dedicated to them.

"Inmates" is an exceptional episode that fills us in on what's going on with the rest of the survivors. We are first reunited with Daryl and Beth, two unlikely partners on the road to survival.  It's quite a contrast as Daryl looks like he has given up hope, yet Beth appears as if they'll survive and meet back up with the others.  Maybe the sting of Daryl putting a bullet in his brother Merle's head has corrupted him yet again.  He does have some amazing quotes in the episode with "Faith ain't done s--- for us," and "It sure as hell didn't do anything for your father."  A call back of sorts to the man with the most faith, Hershel (Beth's father) falling victim to the Governor.  Perhaps Beth and Daryl have more in common than meets the eye as they have both lost so much yet continue to trek on.

The next band of survivors we meet are Tyrese, Mica and Lizzie.  However, Tyrese also is carrying baby Judith,  Answering that much anticipated question as to what happened to Rick's baby, she was snatched up.   I have to admit it was amusing to see Tyrese contend with these three little girls as they make their way through the walker infested woods.  Although they are not alone for too long as they encounter Carol.  We haven't seen her since Rick banished her for killing David and Karen, who, oh by the way, was Tyrese's girlfriend.  Remember Tyrese doesn't know that Carol killed Karen.  That should make for quite an awkward scene when the conversation comes up.  However, before they can even start reminiscing they encounter a sign entitled Terminus.  Furthermore, a sign on a pole read "Sanctuary for all. Community for all. Those who arrive, survive."  Interesting to say the least, hey I'm intrigued.

Now onto the group which consists of Maggie, Sasha and Bob Stokely.  We instantly get to see that a romance is budding between the latter, however, Maggie is in no romantic mood as she has been separated from her love, Glen.  Maggie also proves that she will stop at nothing to find Glen.  They all hit the road to find Glen, much to the chagrin of Sasha.  Eventually, they encounter  the bus that left the prison that contained the survivors, who have since turned walkers.  Bob was even quoted as saying, "They were good people, all of them." A pretty cool way to kill off a bunch of characters, however, Glen was not one of them, apparently he was not on the bus.  So where is he?  Cut to the final scene of the episode and we see him with a brutal head injury, still stuck at the prison.  I thought this was brilliant as we get to see Glen man up and battle his way through hordes of walkers creating mass carnage.  On his way out he does encounter Lily's sister Tara.  She appears to be praying for death as she says ""I was part of this," I trusted him and he just killed that old man. ... I'm a piece of s--."  Glen is willing to forgive and forget because he needs her help to escape the prison and go find Maggie.  She reluctantly accepts and provides a good shot.  The two prove to be a formidable team until they encounter a jeep occupied by some bad ass in camo equipped with two gun-wielding sidekicks.  These aren't just ordinary people they are the long awaited arrival of popular characters from the comic named Abraham Ford, Rosita Espinosa and Eugene Porter.

     Episodes 9 and 10 of the Season 4 of the Walking Dead were fascinating.  If you are a fan of the comic then you definitely should have liked these two episodes as they are exactly alike.  They explained all of the happenings of the survivors and advanced the plot with many new questions.  Will Rick, Carl and Michonne meet up with any of the survivors?  Will Daryl give up hope?  What awaits Carol, Tyrese, Lizzie, Mica, and Judith in Terminus?  Will Carol tell Tyrese she killed his girlfriend Karen?  Will Maggie find Glen?  What impact will Abraham, Rosita and Eugene have on the crew?  Also what happened to Lily, the girl who killed the Governor?  So many more questions to be answered and I'm sure they will all be uncovered within the final 6 episodes.  Stay tuned and enjoy.

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