Ladies and gentlemen, thank the fucking lord! Our prayers were answered and this week we were finally treated to a great Walking Dead episode!
Most don't understand that last season was jammed packed with zombie killing and quick story because it was only a 6 episode season. Now that AMC has given the show a full 12 episode season the writers have taken time to expand on the characters and give them full backstories and episodes that just focus on character development.
This weeks episode "Save The Last One" had the best of both worlds with some kickass zombie killing, and character development that wasn't just 2 people sitting down crying to eachother. The episode starts off with what we're led to believe is a flashback of Shane shaving his head, then it cuts to Shane and Otis in the high school being chased by a huge horde of zombies and the episode begins!
For the first time this season I was actually contemplating if the characters were going to die, it felt good to have the suspense factor back into the show. Humans with there back against the wall, scared to death, trying to conserve ammo, and doing anything to survive. That's what the show is about!
The other focus storyline was Carl(Chandler Riggs) being close to death. This was the second time in the entire series that I've been impressed with his acting and I think it kept things fresh from all the poor child actors on tv. Something to note, in this episode Rick wasn't a main focus character this time around. I liked this change as it gave other characters a chance to be in the spotlight.
For example the last main storyline was Dayrl (Norman Reedus) and Andrea (Laurie Holden) going for a night walk to try to find the still missing Sophia. This is how character development should be done, walk and talk camera positions, and during scenes when the characters are actually doing something. I also found it hilarious when they found the zombie that hung himself at the little campsite, a nice little comic relief to add to the episode.
The final storyline involved Tdog (Irone Singleton) and Glenn (Steven Yeun) going to the farm house to get Tdog some medical aid for his arm. This was the weakest storyline of the night as it turned into Glenn having a religious moment. I'm usually not a fan of shows using religion to involve characters into subplots, this was a prime sinario when its done poorly. Barely touched upon, and brought out of nowhere, it just feels slapped on. We'll have to see if they continue this storyline in later episodes but until then I'm disappointed.
My favorite part of the episode came at the end when were told that Otis didn't make it home, and sacrificed his life so that Shane could get away. This brought us one of the best twists to the show yet. Shane shot Otis so that he could get away from the zombie horde, a twist that I didn't see coming and took me by surprise! I was convinced that the writers were trying to make Shane more likeable this season but now that he's done this I have no idea what's in store for him.
I'm now looking forward to the rest of the season because of this episode. Looks like the writers have finally got the ball rolling and I'm very excited to see where the story goes from here.
9/10
A+ Review. Great Work!
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