A bit later than normal, but here’s my ‘good and bad’ on the rather infectious The Walking Dead episode 1.05 Wildfire. Hit the jump to check it out before the season finale checks in a bit later tonight.
THE GOOD
- If Amy’s death didn’t quite carry the impact it could have in the previous episode, they certainly went some way to making up for it in this episode with some extensive cradling. It was painful to watch, but somewhat necessary for us to understand what Andrea’s sister meant to her, and how her absence might affect Andrea going forward. Amy’s transformation from dead human to zombie was fascinating. Was there still a hint of residual humanity there before ‘Zombie Amy’ took hold? Andrea being the one to pull the trigger is also significant. She knew when to let go.
- Jim’s slow decent into zombiedom was also significant. His initial attempt to conceal his infection from the group was interesting, their varying reactions to him were even more so. No surprises with Daryl’s response – and this from a man who is upset over Rick and T-Dog leaving his hate-spewing brother on a roof. I was intrigued by the manner in which the transformation took place, with the man-flu symptoms and delirium taking hold pretty quickly. Ultimately, I was pleased that Jim sacrificed himself willingly. And that made sense to me – he wanted to be with his family, why not go out having made a choice they would be proud of.
- The CDC scenes were a nice change of pace and aesthetics. It had something of the Desmond’s about it, if not quite hitting those heights. I’m really interested to see where this goes as it’s not the kind of development I expected to happen, least not so quickly.
- I’m still not liking Shane much, but he’s certainly an interesting character and that’s a good thing. As suspected, his perspective has become clouded, and his temptation to murder Rick tells us a lot about where he is right now. He may love Rick, but there’s a thin line between love and hate, especially now that Shane’s position of power has been usurped by everyone’s favorite policeman. And while this is about Lori, it’s also about mindset. Does Shane really despise Rick enough to want him dead, or does he believe that Rick’s decisions will get the group killed? I think it may be a mixture of these things. And how good was it when Dale saw Shane’s pointy gun? I love the fact that he didn’t fall for his rubbish about confusing Rick for a walker. Good on you, Dale – at least we know someone is watching the policemen!
THE BAD
- I would like to get to know some of the other survivors a little better. Granted it’s still very early days, but with the first season almost over, this is one issue that I have with this episode and series so far. I feel that after five episodes of LOST, I knew our secondary Losties better than I do the secondary Deadites. Or maybe I just found them to be more intriguing? Either way, it would be nice to experience more background Bob and red shirt Sally. Though this isn’t a major complaint at this stage.
- I thought Rick’s crazed reaction at the CDC camera was a bit too much. I don’t buy that the character was quite at that place. Sure, he was under pressure and had seen more of his people die (etc), but it didn’t land right. Perhaps it was the writing, maybe it was Andrew Lincoln overcooking it slightly, but it just didn’t feel authentic to me. A small criticism to an otherwise interesting cliffhanger.
Best Character: Jim
Episode Rating: 8/10
PERSON OF INTEREST Renewed For Season 2
TERRA NOVA: Season 2 Decision Delayed Until 2012
SHERLOCK: Reichenbach Fall -- Explained
ONCE UPON A TIME: The Comprehensive Character Guide
CBS Coughs Up Fall Schedule: Where Goes PERSON OF INTEREST?
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ONCE UPON A TIME OBSERVATIONS: 1.22 A Land Without Magic
FRINGE OBSERVATIONS: 4.22 Brave New World: Part 2
ONCE UPON A TIME OBSERVATIONS: 1.21 An Apple Red As Blood
FRINGE OBSERVATIONS: 4.21 Brave New World: Part 1
ONCE UPON A TIME OBSERVATIONS: 1.20 The Stranger
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I wonder if it wasn’t a tad irresponsible to leave Jim leaning up against that tree, still breathing. I realize we don’t kill the living (well, Darryl would), but Jim won’t be living for long, and then….dead today, undead and voracious tomorrow. He could end up being a problem for Lennie James and his kid as they make their way to Hotlanta.
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That’s a tough question, but a very worthwhile one. It did cross my mind that the survivors would meet up with Jim-Z again, but I didn’t think of it from that point of view – responsibility. I hope Morgan and Kid Morgan are still at home!
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I know that the death of Amy carried more significance in this episode, but it felt so anticlimactic when Andrea shot her, more like it was just a step in the whole process. It was also unrealistic, since I would feel by this point everyone would be desensitized and realize that a bite=going to become a zombie, therefore, it’s time to eliminate them. Basically Daryl’s point of view. Although the writers want to get across that even in a zombie apocalypse, real humans can still be compassionate and have feelings, but let’s be honest, there’s no room for that kind of risky behavior when zombies have taken over.
I would have liked it much more had Andrea blown her brains out immediately at the end of the episode before this one. It just seems that one minute the gang will be intelligent about dealing with zombies, then the next minute they become stupid and start playing with fire, which takes away from the show IMO.
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You make interesting points, but I think they did it right in this episode because Amy was her sister. I think they wanted to make a point about how much Amy meant to her and what losing her little sis may do to Andrea’s humanity and desire to carry on. Her journey so far has been all about keeping Amy safe, or getting back to Amy. For her to accept her departure so easily/quickly, regardless of the risks to her own life, would have – I think – sold that crucial character point down the river.
What I found interesting was that when it came down to it, Andrea was still able to recognize the difference between humanity and zombie. Once the residual Amy had gone it was no longer kiss, kiss, but bang, bang!
That being said, I can understand why it may have seemed unrealistic, but I’m glad that not everyone is desensitized at this point. If everyone was a Daryl (who I’m sure has his soft spots somewhere), I think that would be even more unrealistic. I think there’s still some room for that in heightened situations where living seems more of a struggle than dying – especially when a person’s framework has been removed.
While the show does have its contrivances like any other show, I think an important point has been in illustrating how people act differently when the situation is personal to them – when the knife is at its sharpest.
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Good to hear from you on this front Brother Roco. I’ve been wondering what it is about the zombification process that re-aminates the victims. It does seem to leave them with a vestige of their former selves momentarily and perhaps Andrea sensed that. Amy did reach for her sister compassionately before she got all hungry. It makes me wonder if the CDC was working on some viral super-immunology for all mankind and somehow it took a bad turn.
A couple of things I noticed. The upside down flag in the back of Dale and Jims camper. An international sign of distress. And when the doors opened at the CDC it reminded me of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” when the hatch opened on the mother ship and the harsh light spilled out staggering all the people outside it.
The most poignant scence of the episode for me was the departure of family for their kin in Birmingham. I thought the music was terrific and I think I read somewhere it was from the “Sunshine” soundtrack. (The Danny Boyle SF pic which I loved by the way.)
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Hey Brother Dave. I thought it was all very interesting – I only wish we could have gotten some more of that this season, but I guess there’s a long road ahead and they don’t want to do everything all at once. That’s what I find really intriguing – at what point can someone be considered a zombie (in all seriousness, how fine is the line and can it be reversed?), and do they recognize their diminishing humanity in the earliest moments of ‘rebirth’? And I like the way you phrased it – “a vestige of their former selves”.
Thanks for the “Close Encounters..” reference. I knew there was ‘something’ about that scene.
I really dug the “Sunshine” music. I didn’t find it quite as resonating as I hoped, but it was a nice surprise – and let’s face it, that track is never a bad listen!
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