This episode was good. But it wasn’t perfect. In fact it was far from perfect. It’s good for a few reasons that make me hopeful for the return in February. It’s flaws however might just be some things that we’ll just have to get used to. Either way there’s some interesting events that need to be digested and a few lives left hanging in the balance.
Good Day Governor
This was a bitter sweet end to the largest looming danger over two seasons. The Governor had pushed the zombies to second place as the most dangerous things left in the world. It’s bitter for the fact that the Governor was played by one of the best two actors on the show (the other actor we’ll get to in a minute). It’s sweet to me cause the story and background of the Governor never resonated. The character himself was definitely compelling and gravitating but the show too often wanted to establish him has definitively evil. For me things, like keeping the heads of enemies or killing whatever is left of his camp in the middle of the road made him cartoonishly evil. The best villains for me tend to make a bit of logical sense, but have a less than great means of enacting their plan. At his best, when he was giving inspiring speeches or pontificating on the moral code of the future, the Governor was a great a villain, but his lows were too low, and he overstayed his welcome just a little bit. The performance will be missed, but I’m glad to see the story move on. Good day Governor.
Hershel, you will be missed
Well I was surprised, but my friend who watched the show with me, made me realize I shouldn’t have been so surprised. Let’s start with the praises. The actor playing Hershel is consistently one of the best performances on the show (one of the top two, see my previous paragraph). He made everything he said seem wise beyond anyone else’s years. Other than Maggie, Carl, or Daryl, Hershel was the last person I’d want to go. But the writing was on the wall and he had to leave. The point my friend made and a consistent problem with the show is it’s need for singularity. Previously in the season I complained how the show obviously wanted you to only care about Maggie and Glen, which is why Tyrese’s girlfriend had to meet her demise. And staying with that need for a simplified, color by numbers approach there can only be one doctor. Bob Stookey, the alcoholic doctor, has been hoisted from backup QB to starter and the viewers are too dumb to mentally handle more than one doctor (at least that’s what the writers must think), so Hershel had to go. Scott Wilson will be missed as there will be a clear vacuum left in his place on the screen each week. My only hope is that the actor playing Carl becomes some sort of prodigy.
The Walking Dead or Lost 2.0
I have a very unpopular opinion that I have to share. I did not like Lost. I’ve always attributed it to the fact that I watched it in a binge fashion. Everyone I talked to about it loved the characters and the stories, but for me the real star of the show was the island, and the show did a terrible job of confronting it. I bring this up cause I now am beginning to wonder if The Walking Dead is going down that same rabbit hole. Look I care about Maggie and Glen, and yea Carl has turned a corner for me, and of course Daryl is great; but no one should be above the real star of the show which is the apocalypse. I hope with this “clean slate” they’ve created they’ll be able to re-align the focus. It would be a great thing if they could take lessons from Game of Thrones.
Well that’s it. I’ll be back watching in February but the show is on probation for me. If the second half doesn’t improve I might need to give it up. But I will say if it ended tomorrow, it was a good run.
About Matt Cargile
Matt Cargile is the Editor in Chief of rookerville.com. He also works in finance, but refuses to read any news printed on pink paper. He is a child at heart with adult means. His childhood dream was to either become a magician or the leader of the next great empire and somehow both these things make complete sense. He's contradictory in nature, but is always consistent.
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