The next half season of flesh eaters kicked off tonight.
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| My friends call me meat chest. |
Second. Best. Episode. Ever.
After a less than stellar first half of a season, The Walking Dead comes back with an episode nine that puts our characters right back in the depths of an undead hell. Picking right up where we left off, Rick and his crew have another eight episodes to make this show start to go somewhere. Stalling about mid-way through, the first episodes this year were an amalgamation of good, bad, some really good, and a little writing that was drenched in the boredom of a staff not knowing where to go with this thing. But, No Way Out seems to make headway at getting the Walking Dead back on even footing with some forward motion for the characters and story.
The show always seems to stutter when we're stuck in one place for too long and the constant barrage of having to protect a safe haven has finally worn thin in general, meaning it's time to move again. Luckily for all of us, this mid-season starter gets down and dirty with a virtual splatterfest loaded to the gills with unexpected deaths, an orgy of zombie dismemberment, call backs to the comic book, and the most progression this show has made during season six. In fact, No Way Out easily qualifies as one of the best series entries ever. Unlike the meandering center section of season six, viewers are substantially treated to the action we've been waiting for. With the core group beginning to come back together and the fate of the town still hanging by a thread, the Walking Dead is starting to show some much needed signs of reinfused vitality.
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| Dude. I am SO much shorter than you. |
The viewership has come to expect that no one is truly safe. With that said, the writers really nailed it home this week by showing us their true colors and dedication to putting us all through a vile chapter of bloody tension, bent on destroying the remnants of Alexandria. And we absolutely loved every second. With Rick's hold on sanity still in the balance and a constant barrage of human carnage around him, this episode may actually cause him to fully crack under the pressure of mounting responsibility. With the surviving members of Alexandria in dire need of a qualified leader and resources in short supply, The Walking Dead is entering a phase of darkness that it's needed to bring back for a while.
Here's to hoping they keep going down this path. Unlike the mediocre Fear The Walking Dead, this feels like they may have something to offer us again. Toying with our emotions while brutally slaying tons of support players just feels sickeningly satisfying. If they keep it up at this pace, a sometimes waning audience may stick around for more.
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Score
-CG