The Walking Dead s05e09 "What happened and what's going on"

Original air date: 02/08/15
60 second recap:
After Beth's death, the group moves on to Virginia. Rick, Glenn, Michonne, Noah and Tyreese drive off to Noah's old neighborhood to see if any of his family members are still alive. They quickly find out that none have survived. Tyreese accompanies Noah to his house while Rick, Glenn and Michonne scout for supplies. Rick and Glenn discuss Rick's thought process behind killing Officer Dawn. Michonne then convinces them both that they should all head to Washington D.C. After being distracted by a photo on the wall, Tyreese is bit in the arm by Noah's younger walker brother. As the fever sets in, Tyreese starts having hallucinations and flashbacks of Beth, Bob, Mark, Mika, Lizzie and the Governor. Michonne tries to save Tyreese by amputating his arm but he ends up dying later anyways.

The Walking Dead s05e02 "Strangers" Grade: A-

Original air date: 10/19/14

60 second recap:
As Rick and the gang regroup after their escape from Terminus, they hear a defenseless priest, Gabriel, calling for help in the woods. Gabriel invites them back to his untouched church. The group goes on a supply run and Bob has a close call with an underwater walker. Tara makes amends with Rick and Maggie regarding her prior allegiance to The Governor. Abraham makes an impassioned speech to convince the group to continue their mission to Washington D.C. Daryl catches Carol in the act of running away but they're both distracted by a passing car that bears the same white cross as Beth's kidnappers. After suspiciously going outside to cry, Bob is kidnapped by Gareth and the other Terminus survivors. He awakens to find that they have cut off his leg and are eating it in front of him.




Major Character Development:

Rick/Carl:

Rick is doing his best to balance his inner-Shane with his inner-Dale. He's Dale enough to help Father Gabriel but Shane enough to be insanely suspicious of him. He's humble enough to ask for Carol's forgiveness for banishing her and reasonable enough to pardon Tara for her former ties. He has built a network of loyal family members that would follow him to the ends of the earth. Rick is finally becoming a formidable leader and he has Carl to thank for that. Carl is a valuable yin to his father's yang. He keeps Rick's humanity in check when he gets too hardened but also brings out his inner "mama bear" instincts when things go south. It's nice to see how mature their relationship has become. They have overcome some traumatic things together and instead of straining their bond, they've only made it stronger. 


Kudos to Carl for being....kind of great now. I'll admit, he hasn't always been my favorite character (still not over Dale's death). As an adult, it's easy to forget how hard going through puberty was, never-mind during a zombie apocalypse. I'll cut him some slack and begrudgingly admit he's turning out to be a pretty cool kid.

The Walking Dead s05e01 "No Sanctuary" Grade: A+

60 Second Recap:
We start season five right where we left off: with everyone stuck in a train car in Terminus. Rick, Daryl, Glenn and Bob are taken by Gareth and his crew to the slaughterhouse. Tyreese and Carol come across a Terminus member, Martin, outside the fence and hold him hostage. After he threatens to kill baby Judith, Tyreese goes on a rampage and kills him. Carol goes undercover to investigate Terminus and covers herself in walker blood. She blows up a propane tank, making Terminus more vulnerable to the oncoming herd of walkers. Rick and the others use the explosion as a distraction to escape and free the rest of their group. They escape into the woods after killing as many walkers and Terminus members as they can. Carol kills Mary in the weird candle room. She later finds Rick and the group and is welcomed back with open arms. Afterwards they are all reunited with Tyreese and Judith.



 
Character Development:

Rick: 
     So it looks like Rick has finally reached a kind of peace with his humanity and his brutality. He's comfortable being the guy who will rip your throat out if you threaten Carl but will also risk his life to save you if you're trapped in a train car. He has become the man Shane said he never could be.
     Before you judge Rick too harshly for wanting to go back and kill everyone in Terminus, you have to consider what just happened to him less than a month ago. That psycho he didn't kill the first time (the Governor) found him again, blew up his home and killed Herschel. Can you really blame Rick for not wanting something like that to happen again? And lets be honest here, the people in Terminus are a special breed of evil. The Governor was cruel but at least he didn't eat children.

Recap & Review: The Walking Dead s04e10 "Inmates"

"Anyone know where the nearest barber is??"

60 second recap: 

Everyone is seperated. Daryl and Beth fight to stay positive after stumbling upon a gruesome discovery.  Tyrese tries his best to protect Mika, Lizzy and baby Judith. When things start looking pretty bad, they get some help from an unlikely hero. Bob and Sasha help a determined Maggie search for Glenn. Glenn wakes up alone at the prison but comes across a suicidal and stranded Tara on his way out. Glenn enlists Tara's help in finding Maggie but their search is put on hold when they run into three new strangers. 

Character Development. 

Daryl/Beth:

They're an odd pair, but for some reason it works. Beth is the passionate, emotional partner that keeps Daryl grounded and Daryl is the skilled, experienced survivor that keeps Beth alive. The opening montage with Beth's narration was quite powerful. It was a reminder of the hope and optimism the prison once held. In retrospect, it only makes everything that happened there more depressing. 

Everyone knows that Daryl is the brooding, socially awkward one but, would it have killed him to be more sensitive to Beth's situation? It's easy to forget that she just lost her father in the most brutal way imaginable. We've had a few months to process Herschel's death (still too painful) but Beth has only had a few hours. We see what happens when she finally starts to deal with her emotions. Daryl's response is to completely shut down while Beth likes to talk things out. Hopefully the two of them will learn a few things from each other. 

Recap & Review: The Walking Dead s04 e09--"After"

60 second recap: 

Carl and a badly injured Rick are left limping away from the overrun prison. The relationship between the two is strained as they fight over what to do next. Rick collapses out of exhaustion and Carl explores the neighborhood in search of food. Elsewhere, Michonne goes back to her old habit of survival in solitude. After coming across an eerie walker doppleganger, she decides she doesn't want to do things on her own anymore and goes out in search of Rick and Carl. 

Overall:

If you've ever wondered what the Walking Dead comics are like, this week's episode was a pretty good adaptation. Not surprisingly, it was penned by comic book creator Robert Kirkman. There was a narrowed focus on Rick and Carl, limited dialogue and several scenes that were lifted almost exactly from the comics. Even the way the camera framed Carl and Michonne at the forefront of the screen was very reminiscent of the original medium:

Recap & Review: Mad Men--"A Tale of Two Cities" Grade: B+

Season: 6
Episode: 10
Director: John Slattery
Original Air Date: June 2, 2013




60 second recap:
Roger, Don and Harry visit a client out in California. Don has a hallucination about Megan after taking some drugs and almost drowns in a pool. Ted makes major progress with Chevy after a visit to Detroit. Ginsberg butts heads with Cutler over politics. Bob is promoted to the Chevy account by Cutler after going to the Manischewitz meeting with Ginsberg. Joan stumbles upon a potential new client after a dinner date with the new head of marketing at Avon. She ignores protocol and takes the account into her own hands. Manischewitz puts the company on review. The partners finally decide on a name for the company.





Overall:
Although it was entertaining (as all Mad Men episodes are), this episode didn't break very much new ground. For the most part, it just reinforced what we already knew about the characters (Don is a cheater, Roger is a charming asshole, Pete feels unappreciated, Joan is sick of being treated like the secretary, etc). But we did get some interesting new insights into Cutler and Benson.

This week's episode tastefully covered the 1968 Democratic National Convention riots. Politics are slowly becoming intertwined with business, much to Cutler's dismay. While the younger generation (Megan, Stan and Ginsberg) is passionately affected by the news, some of the other generations (Don and Joan) are having a harder time displaying their feelings. Although they may be be personally affected by it, they keep their feelings mostly to themselves. It will be interesting to see how they react to all the political tension that will only get more passionate as time goes by.


The show is at its best when it's at the office, especially in the meeting room or at the creatives table. The chemistry between everyone at the office is such a delight to watch. When the characters are separated from each other for too long the scenes tend to drag a bit (all the California scenes, especially when Don is alone). Don's drug hallucination was well done though; very eerie and disorienting.


From a technical standpoint, Mad Men is on point once again with its cinematography. There were so many gorgeous shots this week; Cutler standing by the window, Don face down in the pool and most notably the entire slow motion shot of Pete smoking.

Recap: The Walking Dead S3 E14 "Prey"--Grade B+

Alright.....who farted?

Season 3 Episode 14 "Prey"

Original air date: March 17, 2013

60 second recap: Andrea finally realizes how much of a conniving psychopath the Governor is after Milton shows her his torture chamber. She tries to run away and warn her friends at the prison about the Governor's plans. The Governor goes after her, chasing her through a field, a forest and into an abandoned warehouse. Andrea manages to get within a few feet of the prison before the Governor finally captures her. He sneaks her back into Woodbury and locks her up in his torture chamber. Tyrese and Sasha start to have their doubts about Woodbury, much to the disappointment of Ben and Allen. Milton sabotages the Governor's plans to use walkers to attack the prison with. 

Hell hath no fury like a woman chased down a road, across a field, through a forest and into a
 office building/meat hook factory.

Open letter to Andrea:

Dear Andrea,

So, you just found out your ex boyfriend is a psychotic, narcissistic, manipulative, power hungry bastard. You're probably feeling pretty angry at yourself right now for not realizing this sooner. Well, don't be too down on yourself. I mean, aside from the floating heads, the chained up zombie daughter, the zombie gladiator fights, Michonne's immediate distrust of him or the holding Maggie and Glenn hostage without telling you, how were you supposed to know? Phillip could have fooled anyone!

I know that a lot of fans have been giving you a hard time this season (guilty!) but, just know that its because we're frustrated that you're not living up to your full potential. We know there's a smart, badass women somewhere underneath there. We even saw a bit of her this week. We just wish you could have gotten your priorities straight earlier. A charming, handsome man with whisky and ice cubes is not a good enough reason to abandon your best friend that you just spent 8 months living with, especially when she says there's something off about him. 

But hey, no one's perfect. I mean Rick is indecisive and makes phone calls to dead people. Michonne has questionable taste in home decor. Carl hasn't cut his hair or washed that stupid hat in 8 months. One of the reasons you're such a favorite character is because you are so flawed. You're not afraid to go through the wide range of human emotions, however ugly they may be. (Whether we'd like to admit it or not, the character many of us would be like in a zombie apocalypse is you) But the most important thing about you is that you're willing to own up to your mistakes and learn from them. So if there's one lesson to learn from all of this, its that people are never what they seem. 

We're really sorry you're being held prisoner by a psychopath. Hopefully you, or Milton or Michonne busts you out of there before the Governor does anything crazy. 

Love,

Your concerned fans.

P.s.We really, really, really hope you get to kill the Governor.

P.P.S. Next time Carol tells you to go all black widow spider on a man after sex---DO IT.

Recap and Review: The Walking Dead S3 Ep. 1 "Seed" Grade: A

T-Dog: "wtf is on my shoe?"

Series: The Walking Dead
Episode: Season 3 Episode 1 "Seed"
Air Date: October 14, 2012



60 Second Recap: The gang survived the winter without anyone dying. For the last few months they've been going from house to house scavenging for food. Everybody is badass now and knows how to shoot a gun. Lori is uber pregnant. Andrea and her katana sword wielding rescuer, Michonne, have also survived but are still separated from the group. Andrea is really sick and not doing well. Rick and Daryl find an abandoned prison. The entire group helps clear out the zombies in the front enclosure. Rick and Lori are having marital issues. Daryl gives Carol a back rub but then gets self conscious about it and turns beet red when she playfully flirts with him. Lori is worried about giving birth to a zombie baby. Rick wants the group to clear out the inside of the prison. Herschel comes along to help but gets bitten on the leg by a walker. Rick chops off Herschel's leg in the cafeteria to stop the spread of the infection. Rick and the group come across a small group of survivors (prison inmates) that have been hiding out in the cafeteria.







Full disclosure: During The Walking Dead's hiatus I read the entire Walking Dead comic book series. Although the comics offered a significantly different story in terms of characters (most comic book characters do not exist in the tv series), both mediums did a wonderful job of conveying the hopeless, savage nature of the post Apocalyptic world. Personally, I prefer the television series (better character development). The comic books clarified a lot of Season 3's major plot points though, (i.e. Michonne, The Governor and the prison) so forgive me if I ever forget that most viewers are learning about them for the first time.




Review: Wow. It's been a long 7 months hasn't it?

In what (hopefully) was a subtle middle finger to the "there's too much talking" crowd that bemoaned the first half of last season, the opening sequence went on for 4 minutes and 58 seconds without a word of dialogue. Everyone shuffled through the house, cleared it of zombies, rested for a bit, then packed up and left to escape an oncoming herd all without saying a single thing to each other. It was brilliant and effective. We got all we needed to know about how the group's been doing just by watching what they've become; robotic, animalistic and desperate. These guys really are the walking dead.

For the gore loving crowd, "Seed" had more than enough action and zombie killings. The makeup department clearly had their fun with this episode. (Just think about how much nerd-gasming there was going on in the room when they came up with the riot gear walker's face falling off idea.) There were beheadings and stabbings with pipes, machetes, knives and arrows. The threat of zombies was real again.

It looks like the producers and writers really took what the fans and critics had to say and actually worked with it. The result was a touching, violent and adrenaline filled return to television. At this rate, The Walking Dead might just live up to all of its potential, and then some. Hallelujah, Sunday nights are awesome again!



Best zombie kill: Michonne's double beading at the convenience store. Silent. Deadly. Badass. Exactly what this post apocalyptic world needs. If Michonne is anything like her character in the comics, this kill is just one of many.

The Walking Dead S2 Ep. 11 "Judge, Jury, Executioner"-Grade: A

"What just happened guys?!?"

Series: The Walking Dead
Episode: Season 2 Episode 11 "Judge, Jury, Executioner"
Air Date: March 4, 2012





Recap: Daryl tortures and interrogates Randall to confirm suspicions that Randall's group are not nice people. Rick announces that Randall is going to need to die. Dale unsuccessfully tries to convince everyone that killing Randall is morally wrong. Carl acts like a typical attention starved, disobedient little boy and almost gets himself killed by a walker while wandering around the woods. Shane and Andrea plot to overthrow Rick and Herschel as leaders. Herschel tells Glenn he approves of him dating his daughter. The group has a town meeting to discuss Randall's fate. Dale (and later Andrea) are the only ones that oppose Randall's execution. Everyone else thinks he is too much of a threat to keep alive. When push comes to shove, Rick can't go through with executing Randall.

The Walking Dead S2 Ep. 10 "18 Miles Out"-Grade: A

"That's where you're going to throw a wrench at me"

Series: The Walking Dead
Episode: Season 2 Episode 10 "18 Miles Out"
Air Date: February 26, 2012




Recap: Sunday night's episode begins with a "flash forward" (pardon my "Lost" lingo) to Shane, Rick and Randall running away from a pack of hungry walkers. Cut back to an earlier scene with Rick and Shane driving a blindfolded Randall 18 miles away from the farm. Rick has "the talk" with Shane, tells him to back off his family (aka Lori) and to stop doubting his leadership abilities. Shane looks genuinely remorseful. At the farm Lori catches a suicidal Beth with a knife and alerts Maggie. Her and Beth argue about whether life is worth living now. Andrea and Lori fight about who's contributing more to the group and whether Beth has the right to kill herself. Rick picks an abandoned compound to leave Randall at. Rick stops Shane from shooting Randall when he mentions he went to school with Maggie. Rick and Shane fist fight over whether to kill Randall right now or not. Shane throws a wrench at Rick, breaking a window and awakening a pack of walkers. Randall and Rick escape while Shane gets trapped by the walkers in a school bus. Shane panics when he sees Rick abandoning him. Rick has a change of heart though and rescues Shane. Andrea tells Maggie she will look after Beth but leaves her alone in her room instead. Beth cuts her wrist but not deep enough to die. Maggie banishes Andrea from the house. Rick and Shane drive Randall back to the farm so that Rick has more time to decide what to do with him.

The Walking Dead S2 Ep. 9 Triggerfinger- Grade: A-

"There was a fireeee fiiiightt"

Series: The Walking Dead
Episode: Season 2 Episode 9 "Triggerfinger"
Air Date: February 19, 2012






Recap: Lori is resourceful and kills the zombie coming through the broken glass (The Walking Dead has the BEST. MAKEUP. TEAM. EVER.) She kills a second one on the street with her gun (slow clap for Lori). Three men come looking for the guys Rick shot in the bar. Rick, Glenn and Herschel engage them in a fire fight. Herschel shoots one to save Glenn and the man gets eaten alive by zombies. Glenn chickens out. The two remaining gunmen flee but one impales his leg on a fence. Rick and Herschel save the impaled gunman (Randall) and rip his leg off the fence. Everybody realizes Lori is missing from the farm. Shane goes after her and lies about Rick being safe. He "accidentally" mentions Lori's pregnancy in front of everyone at the farm. Carol tries to confront the self exiled Daryl. Daryl is insanely mean to Carol. Lori tells Shane that Rick knows about the affair and that she thinks it was a mistake. Shane thinks what they had was real. Maggie tells Andrea an uneventful story about Beth. Andrea disagrees with Dale's suspicions about Shane. Rick, Herschel and Glenn get back just as Daryl, Shane, Andrea and T-Dog are about to go look for them. Randall is blindfolded in the back seat. Everyone fights about what to do with Randall after he recovers. Rick wants to let him go, Shane thinks thats stupid. Andrea tells Shane his decisions are right but he is too harsh. Glenn tells Maggie that he froze during the shootout because she said she loved him. Lori tells Rick that Shane thinks the baby is his and that she's terrified of what he might do about it. Rick glares.

The Walking Dead S2 Ep. 8 Nebraska- Grade: B+

Rick Grimes sees something he doesn't like.

Series: The Walking Dead
Episode: Season 2 Episode 8 "Nebraska"
Air Date: February 12, 2012




How much you enjoyed this past week's episode (and most of Season 2 for that matter) of the Walking Dead has a lot to do with what you're looking for in the show. If its non stop zombies that you want--be prepared to be disappointed. "Nebraska" is all about the slow burning character driven stuff.


The episode begins right where we left off--staring down the barrel of Rick's smoking gun. Our favorite group of zombie survivors is in shambles; Carol rips herself out of Daryl's arms to grieve alone, Herschel's stepdaughter Beth (who is she again?) discovers that Momma Zombie is still alive and hungry and Shane is pissed that Herschel didn't tell them Sophia was in the barn.


Herschel doesn't take well to Shane's anger and tells him to get off his land. Rick and Shane have another fight about who's making the right decisions. A depressed Herschel slips back into his alcoholic ways and disappears. Carol refuses to go to Zombie Sophia's burial. Maggie tells Glenn she loves him. Beth falls into a weird post traumatic shock coma thing (can that really even happen?). Rick and Glenn go into town to find Herschel. Carol angrily rips up some Cherokee Roses. Dale tells Lori of his suspicions about Shane killing Otis. (who knew Dale was the new Miss Cleo?) Shane confronts Dale about how little he contributes to the group (which is kind of a valid point...). Lori calls Daryl selfish for refusing her request for him to go "get" Rick and Glenn. Daryl, still bitter about Sophia, tells Lori he is done taking bullets and arrows for people. Lori decides to go after Rick and Glenn on her own. She gets hits a walker and crashes her car. Rick and Glenn find Herschel at the town saloon. Herschel admits that there is no hope for any of them anymore. Two strangers walk into the bar. Rick (grows some balls and) shoots them once their dangerous intentions to find Herschel's farm become clear.

Oh, and Shane washes Carol's hands.