Much to some readers’
consternation, I felt the mid-season finale of The Walking Dead’s third season wasn’t all that wonderful. It was
still energetic, visceral and enjoyable (bettering the majority of contemporary
television) but was noticeably poorer than the 7 episodes that had preceded it.
Returning after a two-month hiatus, The
Walking Dead still stands as one of the best programmes currently airing,
but episode 9 is nonetheless overshadowed by the several seminal episodes.
Major
Spoilers Follow
Season 2 was flawed by a bitterly
slow series of events – a problem dealt with perfectly during the start of the
third season. Whilst “The Suicide King” never becomes too sluggish, there are
some issues with the pacing, mostly a decision to rush through events. Given
the relatively long break from episode 8 to 9 airing, the best thing to have
done is to take things steady with the action. I found episode 8’s Woodbury
infiltration and escape frantically shot and edited, ruining some of the
tension. The same can be said for episode 9 which starts off with Daryl and
Merle pitted against one another in a fight to the death. This was the cliff-hanger
clincher for me last December – something I was eager to see the result of – but
takes a mere few minutes to end at the start of the season’s second half. Just
a few more shots on the brothers’ faces (showing their turmoil/anger/fear)
would have sufficed and brought a bit more drama to the set-piece.
Despite this, the second
infiltration by Rick and Maggie brilliantly builds on the new “Rick versus The
Governor” story arc. The Governor coolly walking through the smoke grenade’s
smog is now the new iconic image of The
Walking Dead’s conflict. It shows the possible end to Woodbury – a point
lingered on for the right amount of time. The best piece of damning evidence to
Woodbury’s survival is a gap in the gate, with a classic-looking zombie
drooling and moaning before it.
With The Governor knowing of Rick
et al’s hide-out, the prison may also become a doomed locale. However, before
that happens there is still some change happening there to keep you interested.
For one, there is the new group currently housed in the cell next to Hershel,
Carl, Beth and Judith. They all seem pleasant and humbly concerned about their
future with or without the prison lot. But one member changes your perception
when he mentions knocking off Carol and Carl in order to get their guns. The
leader, Tyreese, is shocked by the idea, yet it can’t erase the idea in the
audiences’ mind that they may not be as innocent as they appear.
There isn’t much development with
the new crowd that warrants immediate attention; all concern goes towards Daryl
leaving his borrowed family for his blood one. Daryl is an integral part of the
show – Rick’s right-hand man and one of the most beloved characters. As he
trudges off with his evil brother there is a definite drop in the show’s credit
(how it will last without Daryl or how they’ll bring him back is now a haunting
question).
What marks the series as a
well-acclaimed one is its ability to deal well with certain themes. The
overarching ones will always be loss, survival and humanity, though each
episode usually contains a specific one. Episode 9 looks closer at Rick’s
madness and also the clashes between counter-communities (Woodbury and the
prison). For the latter, there is a sense of the community degenerating –
whether it’s the take-over of Woodbury with zombies or its people wanting to
leave, or Daryl leaving Rick and co for the prison lot – showing a slightly
mirrored image of decay. Rick’s tortured mind is a theme seen only in snippets
since Lori’s death. As the episode finishes he looks up a Shakespearian-type
ghost of Lori, cloaked in shadow on the upper floor of the cell. As a programme
continually promoting horror or scares, this is one of the most upsetting
images to date. Not only does it reveal Rick as a broken, disillusioned man, it
also draws on paranoia and phantoms – prime material for creeping you out.
By Piers McCarthy. Also posted on Flickering Myth
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