by Robbie Jones
It’s back! Yes, it’s that time again for The Walking Dead to return to our screens. Season Five Part One was one hell of a ride, with cannibalistic creeps trapping our heroes, we said goodbye to some major characters and the beacon of hope that was Eugene’s cure turned out to be a lie. Now, we start the second half of the season and upon its return, the show has immediately done what it always does best: Ruin your fucking life.
It’s back! Yes, it’s that time again for The Walking Dead to return to our screens. Season Five Part One was one hell of a ride, with cannibalistic creeps trapping our heroes, we said goodbye to some major characters and the beacon of hope that was Eugene’s cure turned out to be a lie. Now, we start the second half of the season and upon its return, the show has immediately done what it always does best: Ruin your fucking life.
This week’s episode took a very artsy turn, with a cold opening consisting of seemingly unrelated clips that occur throughout the episode. It was stunning, even when we didn’t know what was happening, and perfectly sparked interest in the rest of the episode. Unfortunately, the rest of the episode was heartbreaking. Of course, we shouldn’t just focus on that; It was surreal. It was mesmerising. It was hands down one of the best episodes of The Walking Dead to date. The episode focused on Tyreese, as he joined Rick, Glen, Michonne and Noah to a place where they might find sanctuary, only to be severely disappointed. As Tyreese finds himself distracted by a picture of Noah’s younger brothers, he’s bitten by one of them (Which is stretching believeability, no way could Tyreese not have heard him coming in unless this walker was a ninja before the infection) and, as he lays dying, he sees visions of past characters who explore the complexities of his character and help him discover who he really is. It’s not often in a situation like this where a character softens up, but Tyreese became less and less brutal as his time in the show went on, thanks to certain events. He was surrounded by characters who tested him, and just as he told Noah about how he powered on and got through the bad times, he’s made to question if everyone would be better off had he done things differently; he sees Martin, the Terminus guy who threatened to kill Judith, and who he couldn’t bring himself to kill. We generally would’ve passed off Martin as an unimportant character until we truly look at the effect he had on Tyreese, and what keeping him alive meant, but it was all just torment. As the ghost of Bob pointed out to him, leaving Martin alive never had that much of an impact on the group’s future.
He was also visited by the spirits of The Governor and Lizzie and Mika (And Beth, for some reason. Not entirely seeing the relevance, but she does become effective later on). Tyreese has always had Lizzie and Mika’s deaths on his conscience, and it’s a big part of him being so unwilling to kill. The Grove was an emotionally traumatising episode not just for Tyreese or Carol but for the viewers too, we all know how painful it was. And yet here they are, telling him that their life is better now. Then you have The Governor, who points out the broken promises between them. All these spirits point out who Tyreese is, and ultimately, help him decide whether to give up or power on. It’s emotionally enticing, and soul wrenching to say the least, but it’s done so well. The writing in the episode in terms of all the other characters is fairly bland, as they say the same shit they say all the time and nothing really happens in that department. But the writing for Tyreese’s scenes is flawless.
We must say a Walking Dead goodbye to Chad L. Coleman, who has served three seasons on the show and has done an excellent job. Tyreese was one of the most likeable characters, one that you could get behind and support, and feel for him when needed. He was stunningly performed by Coleman, and he was my personal favourite character in the show. Farewell Tyreese, you will be missed.
Aside from the writing issues in other parts of the show, this episode was outstanding. The direction was beautiful; Greg Nicotero kept us in this dreamlike state with the beautiful visuals and allowed us to experience this emotional journey on which Tyreese is on, and whilst you wouldn’t think Beth would play too major a part in this episode, it’s her beautiful voice that really puts the icing on the cake as her signing accompanies the group’s desperate attempt to save Tyreese, making for one of the most beautiful moments of the entire show.
The Walking Dead has come back on a high, much like the season’s first half, and hopefully it’ll stay there.What Happened and What’s Going On is one of the best episodes to date, and it’ll be interesting to see if the rest of this season can top it.
Aside from the writing issues in other parts of the show, this episode was outstanding. The direction was beautiful; Greg Nicotero kept us in this dreamlike state with the beautiful visuals and allowed us to experience this emotional journey on which Tyreese is on, and whilst you wouldn’t think Beth would play too major a part in this episode, it’s her beautiful voice that really puts the icing on the cake as her signing accompanies the group’s desperate attempt to save Tyreese, making for one of the most beautiful moments of the entire show.
The Walking Dead has come back on a high, much like the season’s first half, and hopefully it’ll stay there.What Happened and What’s Going On is one of the best episodes to date, and it’ll be interesting to see if the rest of this season can top it.
RSS Feed
